Swiggy Vs Zomato: Instamart or Blinkit – Who Won the Quick Commerce Race in Q4?

Synopsis: Blinkit outperformed Instamart in Q4 FY26 with stronger growth, better scale-up, and improving profitability, while Instamart lagged with slower growth and higher losses despite some efficiency improvement.

The article compares the performance of two quick commerce giants in Q4 FY26, highlighting Blinkit’s stronger growth and improving profitability versus Instamart’s slower expansion and higher losses, along with rising competitive pressure in the fast-growing quick commerce sector.

Quick commerce in India saw strong competition in Q4 FY26, with Eternal’s Blinkit and Swiggy’s Instamart expanding rapidly across cities and users. While both platforms reported solid revenue growth and operational improvements, performance trends show clear divergence in scale, margins, and overall execution strength during the quarter.

Eternal Limited, formerly Zomato, is an Indian tech and delivery company based in Gurugram. It operates multiple services, including food delivery, grocery delivery through Blinkit, restaurant supplies via Hyperpure, and events & ticketing through District. The rebranding reflects its expansion beyond food delivery, aiming to grow a wide range of services under one umbrella for convenience and scale.

With the market capitalization of Rs 2,37,206 crore, the shares of this company closed at Rs 246 per share, up 3.32 percent from its previous day’s close price. The share gave a return of 4 percent over the last 1 year with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15x.

Swiggy is an Indian food delivery company that connects people with restaurants through its app. Customers can order meals online, and Swiggy’s delivery partners bring the food right to their doorstep. It also offers grocery and essential delivery in many cities, making it a convenient service for daily needs.

With the market capitalization of Rs 70,954 crore, the shares of this company closed at Rs 257 per share, up 1.62 percent  from its previous day’s close price. The share gave a negative return of 17 percent over the last 1 year with a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14x.

Business Performance

Eternal Ltd delivered steady growth in its food delivery business during Q4FY26, with NOV rising 18.8 percent YoY and GOV increasing 22.5 percent YoY. The segment’s Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 5.5 percent, while absolute Adjusted EBITDA grew 24 percent YoY to Rs 532 crore.

Quick commerce arm Blinkit maintained strong momentum in Q4FY26, reporting NOV growth of 95.4 percent YoY. The company added 216 net new stores during the quarter, taking its total store count to 2,243, while Adjusted EBITDA improved to Rs 37 crore from Rs 4 crore in Q3FY26.

At the consolidated level, Zomato reported 186 percent YoY growth in Adjusted Revenue to Rs 17,680 crore, supported by strong performance across food delivery, quick commerce, and Hyperpure. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA rose 160 percent YoY to Rs 429 crore, while B2C NOV increased 54 percent YoY to Rs 26,880 crore.

Swiggy Ltd reported strong platform growth in Q4FY26, with average monthly transacting users rising 27.2 percent YoY to 25.2 million. Consolidated Adjusted Revenue increased 41.3 percent YoY to Rs 6,665 crore, while consolidated Adjusted EBITDA losses narrowed sequentially to Rs 652 crore.

The food delivery business delivered its strongest growth in 15 quarters, with GOV rising 22.6 percent YoY to Rs 9,005 crore. Adjusted EBITDA from the segment grew 39.8 percent YoY to Rs 297 crore, while EBITDA margin improved to 3.3 percent of GOV, reflecting better operating efficiency.

Quick commerce business Swiggy Instamart posted GOV growth of 68.8 percent YoY to Rs 7,881 crore, supported by higher order values and expansion across 129 cities. The company improved contribution margins and reduced Adjusted EBITDA losses by Rs 50 crore sequentially to Rs 858 crore.

Quick Commerce performance and outlook

Blinkit

Quick Commerce Performance: Blinkit continued to deliver strong growth despite moderation in expansion rates due to a higher base. Management highlighted that Blinkit’s NOV grew at a 104 percent CAGR between FY23 and FY26, while expecting growth to remain above 60 percent CAGR over the next three years, implying more than fourfold business expansion.

Growth Opportunity Remains Large: Management believes India’s quick commerce market is still far from saturation, as the business remains concentrated in the top 15–20 cities and limited product categories. The company sees significant growth potential through expansion into newer geographies, broader product assortment, and higher order frequency from existing customers.

Margin Outlook and Profitability: Blinkit stated that mature markets such as Delhi NCR are already nearing the long-term Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance of 5–6 percent. The company expects overall profitability to improve steadily, supported by stronger store throughput, customer retention, and increasing wallet share, while maintaining its primary focus on long-term growth.

Instamart

Instamart’s Expansion Strategy: Swiggy Instamart said its store expansion strategy has focused on improving city coverage and delivery efficiency rather than aggressively increasing store count. Over the last two years, the company expanded its dark store network from 523 to 1,143 stores, while total dark store area increased 3.2 times to 4.8 million sq ft.

Focus on Operating Leverage: Management stated that rapid expansion temporarily pressured contribution margins, but improving utilization levels are now driving visible operating leverage. The company believes it can comfortably double its business without significant additional store additions, with future expansion expected to depend largely on demand growth and network densification requirements.

Positioning in a Competitive Market: Swiggy Instamart aims to position itself as a convenience-led platform rather than a value-focused retailer. Along with reliable delivery and wider assortment availability, the company plans to strengthen customer stickiness by offering premium and differentiated products, including its clean-label brand Noice, to drive higher user growth and order frequency.

Business Outlook

Eternal Ltd expects quick commerce NOV growth to remain above 60 percent CAGR, driven by three key levers are assortment expansion, geographic penetration, and demand densification. Management highlighted that deeper product assortment improves customer retention, wallet share, and spending per user, especially in mature markets such as Delhi NCR.

The company also sees significant growth opportunities beyond the top eight cities, where serviceable pin code coverage remains below 30 percent. Blinkit stated that improving store density, faster delivery speeds, and broader assortment availability across newer markets are expected to drive higher customer adoption and long-term growth.

Swiggy Ltd reported food delivery GOV growth of 22.6 percent YoY to Rs 9,005 crore in Q4FY26, surpassing its guidance range of 18–20 percent. The company attributed the strong performance to focused execution across speed, selection, and affordability initiatives, which helped drive a 15-quarter high in user and order growth.

Management stated that offerings such as Bolt, One BLCK, Eat Right, Desk Eats, Food on Train, and the 99-Store have expanded customer use cases and improved platform accessibility. Swiggy added that sustainable growth is being supported by lower overall service costs for users, while maintaining its medium-term GOV growth guidance of 18–20 percent YoY.

Financial Highlights Fiscal year

Eternal reported strong growth in revenue from operations, which rose to Rs 54,364 crore in FY26 from Rs 20,243 crore in FY25, marking a sharp increase of around 169 percent year-on-year. 

However, profitability showed weakness. Profit before tax declined to Rs 615 crore in FY26 compared to Rs 697 crore in FY25, a fall of nearly 12 percent. Net profit also dropped to Rs 366 crore in FY26 from Rs 527 crore in FY25, down about 31 percent, reflecting margin pressure despite strong revenue expansion. 

Swiggy reported strong growth in revenue from operations, which increased to Rs 23,053 crore in FY26 from Rs 15,227 crore in FY25, reflecting a rise of about 51 percent year-on-year. 

However, profitability remained under pressure. The company reported a profit before tax loss of Rs 4,154 crore in FY26 compared to a loss of Rs 3,117 crore in FY25, indicating a widening loss position. Net profit also mirrored this trend, with a loss of Rs 4,154 crore in FY26 versus a loss of Rs 3,117 crore in FY25, showing increased losses despite robust revenue growth. 

Conclusion: Blinkit clearly outperformed Instamart in Q4 FY26 on growth and profitability. It reported 95.4 percent YoY NOV growth, strong store expansion, and improving EBITDA, while Instamart grew at a slower pace and continued to post higher losses despite revenue expansion.

Instamart, however, showed steady improvement in efficiency with narrowing losses and better operating leverage, but Blinkit’s faster scale-up, stronger growth momentum, and early profitability signals make it the stronger performer in the quick commerce space for Q4 FY26 and full year FY26.

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