Eternal zips past DMart in m-cap as Blinkit shines

A surprise show from quick commerce unit Blinkit lifted shares of Eternal Ltd to a record on Tuesday, pushing its market capitalization to the highest level since its 2021 public listing.

- Vaeshnavi Kasthuril

The rally underscores growing investor confidence in the country's digital consumption narrative, as Eternal's market value shot past that of Avenue Supermarts Ltd, which operates grocery chain DMart.

Eternal, the parent of Zomato, began as a food delivery startup under founder Deepinder Goyal in 2008. Over the years, it has evolved into a broader consumer tech platform spanning quick commerce, dining-out experiences through District, and 10-minute food delivery via Bistro.

"The competitive intensity in quick commerce has witnessed some pullback due to lower cash burn by a key competitor. While the possibility of more fund-raise and cash burn by the competitor remains, Blinkit is still well-positioned to achieve adjusted Ebitda breakeven by 4QFY26," Kotak analysts Garima Mishra and Ishani Swain wrote in a note dated 22 July.

Eternal shares surged as much as 15% to hit ₹311.60 on BSE, before shedding some gains to close 10.6% up at ₹299.85. Market capitalization hit ₹2.89 trillion, overtaking DMart parent Avenue Supermarts Ltd's ₹2.62 trillion.

DMart was previously India's largest retail listed company by market capitalization.