Let's be honest: when I first saw Eternal's Q4 FY26 numbers, I felt a rush of excitement. Net profit up 4.5X year-over-year to ₹174 crore. Revenue nearly tripling. Albinder Dhindsa's first quarter as CEO looked like a home run. But the more I dug into the details, the more I felt a knot in my stomach.

Here's the problem nobody's talking about: if you strip out ₹342 crore in other income, Eternal actually posted a loss for the quarter. And the biggest growth engine—Blinkit's quick commerce—is running on fumes with an adjusted EBITDA margin of just 0.3%. That's not a business; it's a treadmill.

I've seen this pattern before. Companies chase top-line growth, pile on costs, and then wake up one day wondering why they're not profitable. The cost of ignoring this? Eternal's total expenses surged 185% YoY to ₹17,406 crore. That's not sustainable, no matter how big you are.

The Quick Commerce Trap: Scale Without Substance

Blinkit is the star of Eternal's show. In Q4, it processed ₹14,386 crore in net order value—nearly double last year. Monthly transacting users hit 27.2 million, and dark stores crossed 2,200. On paper, it's market dominance.

But here's the kicker: average order value (AOV) is flat. Orders per store aren't growing meaningfully. Growth is coming from adding more users and more stores, not from getting more value out of each customer or location. That's a classic volume trap.

In my experience, this is where companies bleed cash without realizing it. Every new store requires capital, inventory, and labor. If each store isn't becoming more efficient, you're just multiplying losses. Blinkit's 0.3% margin is a warning sign, not a victory lap.

Why Food Delivery Isn't Saving the Day

Zomato's food delivery business is steady. Contribution margins are stable, and platform fees have gone up. But here's the thing: steady doesn't mean profitable enough to carry the whole company.

Deepinder Goyal himself said,

'The objective is to optimise for growth of absolute profit, not the margin percentage.'
That's a polite way of saying they're reinvesting every rupee they earn back into growth. It's a deliberate choice, but it means food delivery isn't a cash cow—it's a break-even operation at best.

Meanwhile, the going-out vertical is still in its infancy and losing money. So Eternal has three businesses: one that's bleeding (going-out), one that's barely breaking even (food delivery), and one that's growing but not making money (quick commerce). That's a triple bet with no safety net.

The Real Cost of Ignoring Margins

Let me put this in perspective. If you're running a business with ₹17,634 crore in total income and only ₹174 crore in net profit, your net margin is about 1%. That's dangerously thin. Any hiccup—a price war, a regulatory change, a supply chain disruption—could wipe out that profit entirely.

Let me share a quick story that illustrates this perfectly.

I've consulted for companies that ignored this warning. One e-commerce client grew revenue 300% in two years but never fixed their unit economics. When venture capital dried up, they folded within six months. The cost of ignoring margin discipline isn't just lost profit—it's lost survival.

For Eternal, the numbers are clear: excluding other income, they're in the red. Other income—interest, investments, etc.—is not a reliable long-term profit source. It's a band-aid, not a cure.

Step-by-Step: How to Fix the Quick Commerce Profitability Problem

Based on my work with similar businesses, here's a practical playbook for Dhindsa and any leader facing the same challenge:

  • Step 1: Stop adding stores until existing ones hit a minimum efficiency threshold. Set a target of, say, 500 orders per store per day before opening new ones. This forces operational discipline.
  • Step 2: Increase average order value through bundling and upselling. Blinkit's flat AOV means customers are buying one or two items. Push 'complete the meal' or 'stock up' offers. Even a ₹10 increase in AOV at 27 million users adds ₹270 crore in revenue—almost all profit.
  • Step 3: Optimize delivery costs per order. Use dynamic routing and batch deliveries. Many quick commerce players have 20-25% delivery cost as a percentage of order value. Shaving 5% off that can double margins.
  • Step 4: Reduce inventory shrinkage. Perishable goods in dark stores have high waste. Implement real-time inventory tracking and dynamic pricing for near-expiry items. This alone can improve EBITDA by 1-2%.

Real Example: What a Turnaround Looks Like

I worked with a mid-sized grocery delivery company in Southeast Asia that had the same problem: 0.5% margins on $100 million in revenue. They were opening 10 stores a month but losing money on each one.

We implemented a 'profit-first' expansion strategy. For six months, no new stores. Instead, we focused on increasing AOV by 15% through bundling and reducing delivery costs by 8% through route optimization. Within a year, margins hit 4%, and they resumed expansion with a profitable model. The key was patience—something Eternal needs right now.

What This Means for the Industry

Eternal isn't alone. Across quick commerce, the race for market share is creating a race to the bottom on margins. Companies are burning cash to win customers, then hoping to figure out profitability later. That works only if you have unlimited funding—and even then, it's risky.

I believe we'll see a consolidation wave in the next 18 months. Companies that don't fix unit economics will either get acquired for pennies on the dollar or shut down. Eternal has the advantage of scale and a strong brand, but that doesn't guarantee survival. They need to pivot from growth-at-all-costs to smart growth.

For Dhindsa, the path forward is clear: make Blinkit profitable first, then scale. Food delivery can stay steady, and going-out can be a long-term bet. But if quick commerce doesn't deliver margins, the whole house of cards collapses.

So here's my question to you: is your business chasing growth without profitability? Because the numbers don't lie. And neither will the market.