Eternal Q3 FY26: Broker targets raised up to ₹506

Stock in focus after Q3 and leadership transition

Eternal Ltd, formerly Zomato and now the parent of Zomato and quick commerce platform Blinkit, has seen heightened trading activity after its Q3 FY26 results. The stock has swung sharply in a short window, with reports of a jump of over 6 percent in early trade on Thursday, January 22, alongside other reports that it fell about 8 percent the same day. The move came as investors weighed a strong operating print against questions raised by a CEO change that some analysts said needs monitoring.

Brokerage commentary turned broadly constructive on the earnings, especially after Blinkit delivered an adjusted EBITDA profit in the quarter. Even so, price action remained choppy, reflecting how sensitive the market currently is to execution cues in quick commerce.

Where the share price stands versus key levels

Eternal’s shares have slipped about 30 percent from their record high in a little over three months, according to the provided data. The stock hit a record high of ₹368.40 on October 16, 2025, and has been in a bearish trend since then. The scrip has also been cited as trading below multiple moving averages across short and long timeframes, including 5-day through 200-day averages.

Technical indicators flagged weakening momentum, with RSI reported at 34.6, near the 30 level that is widely tracked as an oversold threshold. Separately, Jefferies noted on February 2 that the stock was trading about 25 percent off its peak, arguing that the risk-reward profile was improving at those levels.

Q3 FY26 results: profit up 73% YoY, revenue up 202% YoY

Eternal’s consolidated net profit for Q3 FY26 rose 73 percent year-on-year to ₹102 crore from ₹59 crore, with the bottom line also up 57 percent sequentially. Adjusted EBITDA increased 28 percent year-on-year to ₹364 crore and surged 63 percent quarter-on-quarter from ₹224 crore in Q2 FY26. Another report cited EBITDA at ₹368 crore with margins expanding to 2.3 percent.

Revenue from operations surged 202 percent year-on-year to ₹16,315 crore in Q3 FY26, compared with ₹5,405 crore a year ago, and rose 20 percent quarter-on-quarter. B2C Net Order Value (NOV) grew 55 percent year-on-year and 11 percent quarter-on-quarter to ₹25,732 crore, crossing ₹1 lakh crore on an annualised basis.

Blinkit turns the corner on profitability

The most closely watched development in the quarter was the inflection in Blinkit’s profitability. One report stated Blinkit posted an adjusted EBITDA profit of ₹4 crore after losses in recent quarters, while also noting that Hyperpure turned adjusted EBITDA-profitable during the quarter.

CLSA highlighted Blinkit’s contribution per order (CPO) at ₹30, above its estimate of ₹28. It also pointed to Blinkit NOV growth of 121 percent year-on-year. Those metrics were cited as evidence of improving unit economics at a time when competition in quick commerce remains intense.

Food delivery growth shows signs of recovery

Food delivery NOV growth was described as continuing to recover in Q3 FY26. It rose 17 percent year-on-year and 4.5 percent quarter-on-quarter, marking the second straight quarter of acceleration after bottoming at 13.1 percent year-on-year growth in Q1 FY26.

Brokerage notes referenced food growth acceleration as a key highlight alongside quick commerce EBITDA break-even. HSBC, for instance, flagged food growth acceleration and quick commerce EBITDA break-even among the top takeaways from the quarter.

What brokerages are saying: targets up to ₹506

CLSA reiterated a high-conviction outperform view and raised its price target to ₹506 per share (also reported as ₹503 in another note), implying roughly 78 to 80 percent potential upside from the levels referenced in those reports. CLSA also raised its FY26-28 estimates by 5 to 15 percent and noted that Monthly Transacting Users (MTU) came in at 2.36 crore versus its estimate of 2.25 crore, attributing this to consistent pricing and expanding assortment.

Jefferies maintained a buy rating and set a street-high target of ₹480 per share, describing Eternal as an “FPI favourite” and citing strong growth and margin improvement across quick commerce and food delivery. HSBC kept a buy call with a ₹350 target. Nomura reiterated buy at ₹380 but urged caution on management changes and the risk of prolonged lower profitability in quick commerce.

Jefferies valuation framework: EBITDA and revenue multiples

Jefferies laid out a sum-of-parts framework to arrive at its ₹480 target price. It valued the food delivery business at 40x March 2028E adjusted EBITDA. It valued quick commerce at 2.5x March 2028E revenues. It also valued the Going-Out segment at 1.5x gross order value (GOV).

This approach matters because it shows where the brokerage sees the bulk of value creation: scaling quick commerce while improving margins, without losing momentum in food delivery.

Market impact: volatility despite upbeat commentary

The stock reaction captured a split market narrative. On the one hand, there were reports of the stock rising 4.3 percent to ₹295.6 at midday on January 22, after a prior close of ₹282.8, and separately an early trade jump to ₹301.65 (over 6 percent). On the other hand, at least one report described a drop of about 8 percent on the same day despite the higher CLSA target, linking the fall to the CEO shake-up.

Eternal’s market capitalisation was reported at about ₹2.74 lakh crore after the early move, while another feed cited it crossing ₹2.84 lakh crore. The underlying point was consistent: the company is large enough in index and portfolio terms that both earnings surprises and governance or leadership news can move the stock quickly.

Key numbers at a glance

Brokerage targets and ratings snapshot

Why this quarter matters for investors

Q3 FY26 strengthened the case that Eternal’s quick commerce unit economics are improving, with Blinkit’s positive adjusted EBITDA cited as the main catalyst. At the same time, management transition risk is now explicitly on the checklist for some analysts, which helps explain why the stock can rise sharply on results yet still see sell-offs on governance or leadership headlines.

The next set of cues for the market will likely be continued proof that quick commerce profitability can be sustained while maintaining growth, along with clarity and stability around leadership changes. Brokerages have laid out optimistic targets, but the stock’s near-term direction has also been shown to react quickly to both operational milestones and corporate developments.