Beyond Zomato: Eternal’s 5x Journey from IPO Spark to Market Giant

Eternal Limited (formerly Zomato) has grown far beyond food delivery, evolving into a platform that spans ultra-fast quick commerce (Blinkit), dining and event ticketing (District), and supplying restaurants with essential ingredients and products (Hyperpure).

From its 2021 IPO debut to emerging as one of India’s most valued companies, Eternal’s journey is a story of bold bets, investor confidence, and industry-shaping growth. Let’s dive in to explore how it got here.

Eternal: From Debut to Dominance

• Eternal Ltd debuted on 23 July 2021 with an IPO price band of ₹72–76. On listing day, shares opened at ₹115 and soared to ₹138, giving investors around 81% gains over the upper end of the IPO price.
• Fast forward to September 2025, Eternal trades around ₹324–325, a 4.3x gain over its IPO price, while commanding a market capitalization of ₹3,14,747.86 crore, solidifying its position as a long-term wealth creator.

Market Cap Benchmarking: Eternal vs Restaurant Giants

To put things in perspective, the combined market capitalization of major listed restaurant chains is as follows:

Yet, Eternal alone surpasses this entire universe, highlighting that investors see it not merely as a restaurant business, but as a fast-growing, multi-vertical platform with huge scalability.

For a quick look at these facts, you can also visit our Instagram post on this topic.

What Sets Eternal Apart

Eternal’s rise goes beyond food delivery; it’s built on early moves, bold bets, and multi-vertical expansion that peers have struggled to match, expanding its market reach along the way.

• Scaling the Marketplace: Eternal built India’s largest food delivery ecosystem early, connecting 306,000+ restaurants, 480,000+ delivery partners, and over 27 million monthly customers across food delivery and Blinkit.
• Quick Commerce Pioneer:  Blinkit sets the benchmark for 10-minute delivery, supported by a dense 2-3 km store network, setting new standards for how fast and how much customers can get delivered.
• Lifestyle & Entertainment Integration: Through District, Eternal combines dining, movies, sports, and live events in one app, broadening consumer touchpoints beyond meals and increasing both engagement and wallet share.
• B2B Supply Chain Edge: Hyperpure serves 87,000+ outlets across cities through a direct farm-to-restaurant supply chain, ensuring quality and reliability while securing partner loyalty and capturing higher margins than typical food aggregators
• Technology as a Growth Lever: Proprietary algorithms, location intelligence, and assortment science make scaling more efficient than asset-heavy restaurant chains, providing a sustainable competitive advantage.

Eternal vs Peers: The Differentiator

Eternal differentiates itself from restaurant peers and other platforms across multiple dimensions:

Eternal Financial Performance

Source: screener.in | Figures are in INR Crore

Swiggy Financial Performance

Source: screener.in | Figures are in INR Crore

• Eternal’s Turnaround:  From losses in FY23, Eternal has achieved positive operating profit by FY24, improving to a 3% OPM in FY25. Net profit also grew steadily to ₹527 Cr.
• Swiggy’s Struggles: Despite healthy revenue growth, Swiggy continues to post steep losses with negative OPM (-18% in FY25) and a net loss of over ₹3,100 Cr.
• Growth vs. Profitability: Eternal has scaled faster (₹20,243 Cr sales in FY25 vs. Swiggy’s ₹15,227 Cr) and achieved profitability, giving it a clear edge in sustainability.

Source: screener.in

• Premium Valuation Gap: Eternal commands over 2x the valuation multiple, driven by its profitability, positive margins, and diversified scale, while Swiggy’s continued losses keep investor confidence muted.
• Market Cap Contrast: As of 3rd September 2025, Eternal commands a market cap of ₹3,14,747.9 crore which is nearly 3x Swiggy’s ₹1,07,477.2 crore, underscoring the market’s stronger conviction in Eternal’s diversified playbook and profitability.

Emerging Competition

• Eternal’s Blinkit faces growing competition as several players enter India’s quick commerce, grocery, and hyperlocal delivery space.
• Swiggy Instamart continues to expand its rapid delivery offerings for groceries and essentials, while Zepto has carved a niche with its 10-minute delivery promise, directly challenging Blinkit’s speed-focused model.
• BigBasket and DMart Ready bring strong networks and loyal customers, while JioMart and Amazon Fresh use deep pockets and logistics scale to push into hyperlocal delivery. 

Challenges on the Horizon

Despite its strong positioning, Eternal faces several challenges:

• Slowing Growth: Food delivery expansion has softened post-2024, reflecting sensitivity to changing consumer behavior.
• Intense Competition: Rising quick commerce rivals and potential new entrants could pressure margins and market share.
• Operational Transition: Transitioning Blinkit to holding its own inventory could increase working capital needs and temporarily disrupt segment performance.

Key Takeaways for Investors

• Exceptional Wealth Creation: Eternal’s stock has surged from ₹62–65 in Sept–Oct 2022 to ₹323–333 in Sept 2025, delivering over 5x returns in just three years. Every ₹1 lakh invested back then is now worth over ₹5 lakh.
• Premium Valuation Reflects Confidence: Trading near ₹324–325 with a P/E of ~1,045x, the market is pricing in Eternal’s high growth potential. While this signals strong investor optimism, it also sets high execution expectations.
• Investor Signal: Eternal looks like the structurally stronger player, with both scale and earnings momentum, while Swiggy remains in a heavy cash-burn phase.
• Robust Technological Edge: Eternal’s proprietary tech, data platforms, and integrated supply chain are not just operational tools—they act as a sustainable competitive moat, making scaling more efficient and difficult to replicate.
• Multi-Vertical Growth: Eternal’s diversified playbook reduces reliance on any single segment, combining food delivery, quick commerce, ticketing, and B2B to position itself as a full-fledged consumer lifestyle platform, unlike traditional restaurant chains.

Conclusion: Eternal’s Playbook for the Future

Eternal has delivered over 5x returns in just three years, cementing its place as one of India’s biggest wealth creators. It's 2025, rebrand from Zomato to Eternal reflects a larger ambition, to move beyond food delivery and shape a diversified, consumer-first ecosystem. Eternal has redefined what a “restaurant stock” can be, and with its early-mover edge, bold bets, and disciplined execution, it’s well-positioned to lead India’s consumer internet and F&B landscape.

Eternal isn’t just scaling, it’s setting the pace for the future of how Indians eat, shop, and experience lifestyle.

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