Eternal shares surged nearly 15% on July 22nd, reaching a record high of Rs 311.25 per share. This sharp increase boosted Zomato’s parent company’s market capitalization to nearly Rs 2.9 lakh crore, representing a massive gain of Rs 40,000 crore in under two days. The stock has now rallied over 21% in just two consecutive trading sessions. The price jump was accompanied by exceptionally heavy trading volumes; by 10 am, nearly 10.55 crore shares had changed hands, already exceeding twice the 10-day average volume.
The rally followed the release of Eternal’s Q1 FY26 results. While the company reported a significant 90% year-on-year decline in net profit to Rs 25 crore, its revenue from operations grew robustly by 70% YoY to Rs 7,167 crore. A key highlight was Blinkit (quick commerce) achieving a major milestone: its Net Order Value (NOV) surpassed Zomato’s (food delivery) for the first time in a quarter. Annualized across its B2C businesses, Eternal now approaches $10 billion in NOV, with quick commerce contributing nearly half. Blinkit added 243 stores during the quarter, ending with 1,544 stores, and is targeting 2,000 stores by December 2025. Blinkit’s Q1 revenue surged 155% YoY to Rs 2,400 crore, while Zomato’s food delivery revenue grew 16% YoY to Rs 2,261 crore.
Positive management commentary further fueled investor optimism. Eternal highlighted Zomato’s improved adjusted EBITDA margin of 5% in Q1 FY26, up from 3.9% a year earlier. Regarding potential new competition in food delivery, notably from players like Rapido, CEO Deepinder Goyal acknowledged disruption is inevitable but expressed confidence: “New ideas, new entrants and disruption are all inevitable… it also makes our business stronger as long as we are able to learn, adapt and out-innovate.” The company also announced board approval to incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary, Blinkit Foods, with a Rs 10 lakh share capital, focusing on food services innovation and delivery. Additionally, CFO Akshant Goyal noted the high average revenue per order (over Rs 160) in their “going out” business (District), projecting potential for it to scale to $3 billion in annual NOV with $150 million Adjusted EBITDA within five years.
The share price rise was also supported by positive brokerage reactions. Analysts cited growing market confidence in Eternal’s business model and improving fundamentals, particularly narrowing losses in the delivery segment and a clearer profitability path. Jefferies upgraded the stock to ‘buy’ with a target price of Rs 400, while CLSA reiterated its ‘high-conviction outperform’ rating and Rs 385 target. Macquarie, however, maintained an ‘underperform’ rating with a Rs 150 target.
Deepinder Goyal’s net worth
Deepinder Goyal’s net worth surged significantly following a dramatic rally in Eternal shares. The CEO holds 36.95 crore shares in Zomato’s parent company. At the time of the Q1 FY26 earnings announcement, the stock price was Rs 266 per share. The shares then soared, touching an intraday high of Rs 311 in the July 22nd trading session. This sharp price increase translated into a staggering wealth gain of over Rs 1,667 crore for Goyal based on that peak. Although closing slightly off the high, Eternal shares still settled at Rs 299.75 on the NSE, marking a robust 10.32% gain for the day. At this closing price, the total value of Deepinder Goyal’s substantial stake in Eternal reached an impressive Rs 11,071.86 crore as of July 22nd. This substantial wealth appreciation for the founder-CEO was directly fueled by the market’s enthusiastic reaction to Eternal’s quarterly results, particularly the strong performance and surpassing growth of its quick commerce business, Blinkit, which drove the stock to record levels and significantly boosted the company’s overall market capitalization.
summarizing Zomato’s food delivery performance in Q1 FY26
Zomato’s food delivery segment demonstrated resilient and steady growth during Q1 FY26, navigating broader market challenges effectively. The segment achieved an adjusted revenue of ₹2,657 crore, marking a significant 17.7% year-on-year increase from ₹2,256 crore in Q1 FY25. Revenue also showed robust sequential improvement, rising 10% quarter-on-quarter from ₹2,409 crore in Q4 FY25. Simultaneously, the Gross Order Value (GOV) exhibited strong momentum, reaching ₹10,769 crore. This represented a healthy 10% growth compared to the previous quarter (₹9,778 crore) and a substantial 16.2% increase year-on-year from ₹9,264 crore. Reinforcing this strength was a notable rise in customer engagement, with Monthly Transacting Customers (MTCs) climbing to 22.9 million. This figure surpassed both the 20.9 million recorded in the preceding quarter (Q4 FY25) and the 20.3 million from the same period last year (Q1 FY25), highlighting sustained platform traction and user adoption even within a tepid demand environment. Collectively, these metrics underscore the segment’s consistent performance and ability to drive growth amidst headwinds.