Eternal cash balance increases to Rs 18,857 crore in Q1FY26; nearly 3X of rival Swiggy

Swiggy went public in November 2024 and raised over Rs 8,500 crore through an IPO.

Zomato parent Eternal on July 21 said its cash balance increased marginally by Rs 33 crore from Rs 18,825 crore in Q4FY25 to Rs 18,857 crore in Q1FY26 even as it spent heavily on setting up dark stores for Blinkit (capex) and others during the period.

The company had a cash balance of Rs 12,539 crore during the same quarter last year. It however added Rs 8,446 crore to its cash reserves via a qualified institutional placement (QIP), completed in Q3FY25, which helped it invest heavily on expansion and take on rivals.

Over the months, a profitable food delivery business, Zomato, helped the company build cash reserves. “The increase would have been much higher if not for part recovery of the ticketing advances given in Q4FY25 in the Going-out business,” the company said in its regulatory filings.

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Moreover, Eternal has a cash balance which is nearly 3X more than arch rival Swiggy. Bengaluru-based Swiggy had a cash balance of Rs 6,695 crore as of Q4FY25 which compares with Rs 18,857 crore for Gurugram-based Zomato in Q1FY26, regulatory filings showed.

Swiggy went public in November 2024 and raised over Rs 8,500 crore through an IPO.

While the comparable periods are not similar as Swiggy is yet to announce its Q1FY26 results, it is likely that Swiggy’s cash balance will further reduce from Rs 6,695 crore, and widen the gap with Eternal, as the Bengaluru-based company invests in Instamart, its quick commerce arm.

Quick commerce has been a red-hot market in India and key players like Eternal’s Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart, Tata’s BigBasket, Flipkart Minutes are all competing for market share.

To become a dominating player, and take the crown away from Blinkit, players need to be flush with funds so they can expand at a rapid pace and make decisions at a faster pace.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that Zepto is in talks to raise as much as $500 million (Rs 4,250 crore) to up the ante and compete more closely with other players.