Retail holding in Eternal at the end of March quarter stood at 5.64% that accounted for over 54.44 crore equity shares, up 29 bps from 5.35% in the December quarter. It rose by 27 bps in the December quarter from 5.08% in the September quarter.
The current trend reflects a buy on dips strategy employed by the retail investors when the stock has slipped 30% from the peak of Rs 368.45. In the last six months the scrip has corrected 25%. It hit a 52-week low of Rs 212.60 and is currently hovering at Rs 246.60.
By retail ownership we mean those investors who have investments up to Rs 2 lakh in a given stock.
Eternal’s share price is currently trading below its 200-day simple moving average of Rs 290, though holding its 50-day MA of Rs 246.
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The rise in retail shareholding followed a 90 bps cut by them in June quarter from 6.40% in the March quarter.
MFs, FIIs action
Mutual Funds have remained bullish on Eternal shares, increasing their stake for the past five quarters. From 16.4% in December 2024, the stake has gone up to 28.9% in the March quarter, according to Trendlyne data.
Meanwhile, holding by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) has been coming down for the past eight quarters from 52.5% in September 2024 to 32.6% in March 2026.
Earnings snapshot
The Zomato and Blinkit operator reported a 346% year-on-year (YoY) growth in its consolidated net profit, reaching Rs 174 crore in the Q4FY26. Revenue from operations surged 196% YoY to Rs 17,292 crore in the same period.
At a consolidated level, like-for-like revenue growth was 64% YoY (the difference reflects the accounting shift to inventory ownership in quick commerce, where revenue now includes the full value of goods sold rather than just marketplace revenue)
Also read: Eternal Q4 Results: Cons net profit spikes 346% YoY to Rs 174 crore; revenue soars 196%
For the full financial year, the company reported a net profit of Rs 366 crore, down 31% from Rs 527 crore in FY25. The decline was primarily due to its investments in quick commerce business and slowdown in food delivery business in previous quarters.
However, the company’s revenue surged 169% in the same period as Eternal finished FY26 with a topline of Rs 54,364 crore versus Rs 20,243 crore in FY25.
In a letter to shareholders, Eternal’s CFO Akshant Goyal said food delivery (Zomato) net order value (NOV) witnessed 19% YoY growth in Q4 while slipping 1% sequentially. The segment “continues to improve for the third quarter in a row, inching closer to our long-term expectation of 20%+ YoY,” he said.
While Blinkit’s NOV growth remained strong at 95 YoY and 8.2% QoQ with 216 net new stores added in the quarter taking the total store count to 2,243 stores as at the end of the quarter.
“At an aggregate level, the profitability has improved year-on-year consistently and we expect that trend to continue. We are more confident of getting to our guidance of 5-6% margins today than ever before – the only variable is the speed at which we get there. The path of margin expansion may not be linear though, given the multiple moving parts, but we are confident we will get there soon,” Group CEO Albinder Dhindsa said in the letter.
Should you buy?
Eternal has a lot of operational leverage but company has to increase its profitability by leaps & bounds to justify the current valuations, Kranthi Bathini, Director-Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities said, highlighting the company touched a market capitalization of Rs 3.6 lakh crore at its peak compared to its annual earnings of a few-hundred crore.
The current Mcap is Rs 2.38 lakh crore.
He initially attributed the recent stock price correction to weakness in overall markets caused by Trump tariffs, which was later overtaken by the war between Iran and Israel/US. Retail investors are buying the scrip seeing the correction as a dip as they are enamoured by the new-age tag and appealing business model, he added.
ElaraCapital retain its ‘Buy’ rating on the counter for a lower target price of Rs 400. “Blinkit’s execution track record, a cooldown in competition from Swiggy, and limited risk of immediate price wars from eCommerce incumbents provide visibility on profitability improvement,” the brokerage said in a note.
In its view, India’s platform companies are at an inflection point, with habits forming and categories established, enabling stronger profitability and improved return ratios in the medium term.
HDFC Securities said food delivery growth recovery continues to gain momentum, while Blinkit’s ability to balance aggressive blitz-scaling with disciplined unit economics, despite intense competition, remains commendable. “We have revised our adjusted EBITDA estimates upward for FY27/28 by 10% each and maintain BUY with an SOTP-based TP of Rs 340/share,” the brokerage said.
(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)