The gap between Eternal‘s Blinkit and Swiggy‘s Instamart is becoming more pronounced, with the two companies reporting sharply different growth and profitability metrics in Q2FY27. While Eternal’s food delivery and quick commerce businesses continue to scale, Swiggy is focusing on building a more resilient business as it navigates a challenging phase for Instamart.
Eternal’s food delivery business reported a net order value (NOV) of ₹11,445 crore, growing 21.5% year on year, with an adjusted margin of 5.5% in Q2FY27. Swiggy’s food delivery gross order value (GOV) grew 17.7% to ₹10,054 crore, while its adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 3.4%.
The contrast is sharper in quick commerce, where Blinkit’s scale and profitability are significantly ahead of Instamart.
Blinkit leads on growth, scale and margins
Eternal’s quick commerce NOV stood at ₹20,940 crore in the September quarter, more than three times Swiggy’s ₹6,553 crore. Blinkit’s NOV grew 79.3% year on year, compared with 33.3% growth for Instamart.
Profitability also highlights the divergence. Blinkit’s contribution margin stood at 5.3%, while Instamart reported a negative contribution margin of 1.4%.
The difference extends to infrastructure and financial resources. Eternal had 2,751 dark stores at the end of the quarter, compared with Swiggy’s 1,240. Eternal reported cash of ₹16,475 crore, against Swiggy’s ₹13,662 crore.
Swiggy prioritises resilience over expansion
Swiggy co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer Sriharsha Majety said the company was focused on building a more resilient business rather than accelerating expansion simply because capital was available.
“Blinkit enjoys a pretty strong flywheel that has been compounding over the years. That is the reason why they’ve been able to build a more resilient business. For us, the next step is actually going to build that more resilient business before just using cash because it exists in the bank to set up new flags,” Majety said.
The comments point to Swiggy’s emphasis on strengthening its business model as it works through a difficult phase for Instamart.
Bernstein flags growing investor concerns
Global investment banking firm Bernstein highlighted the increasingly stark contrast between Swiggy and market leader Blinkit, both in operating performance and management commentary.
It said Swiggy faced the “unenviable task of chartering Instamart through a tough phase” and was being forced to explain its strategic decisions in greater detail.
Bernstein also noted that the widening performance gap was testing investor patience over Swiggy’s ability to turn around Instamart, while raising fresh questions about its food delivery business.
Stock performance
Shares of Swiggy fell more than 15% to a record low of ₹174.95 on Friday, while Eternal shares were trading nearly 3% higher at ₹312.90.
Swiggy shares have declined about 54% so far in 2026 and more than 57% over the last 12 months. Eternal, on the other hand, is up more than 10% year-to-date, but has fallen nearly 5% over the last one year.