Eternal Limited stock—traded on India’s National Stock Exchange as ETERNAL—is back in the spotlight on Wednesday, 17 December 2025, after a volatile stretch that has reignited a familiar debate: how much is India’s food-delivery and quick-commerce growth worth when competition keeps getting louder? [1]
Eternal (formerly Zomato Limited) runs four main businesses—Zomato (food delivery), Blinkit (quick commerce), District (going-out experiences), and Hyperpure (B2B supplies). That mix matters, because the stock’s near-term mood swings are often driven by Blinkit growth expectations and the market’s view on when spending-heavy expansion turns into durable profits. [2]
Eternal share price today: where the stock traded on 17 December 2025
By early afternoon in India, Eternal shares were trading around ₹285–₹286, with the day’s range roughly ₹284.7 to ₹290.5, as the stock tried to stabilise after the previous session’s sharp move. Business Standard showed the stock near ₹285.65 around 12:38 PM IST, while Mint’s market stats page had it around ₹285.70 around 12:46 PM IST. [3]
That “trying to find its footing” tone makes sense in context: on Tuesday, 16 December, Eternal fell more than 5% intraday to about ₹282.65, snapping a short winning streak as investors reacted to fresh data points on food-delivery market share and broader competition concerns. [4]
What’s driving Eternal stock right now: market share jitters, then fresh “Buy” calls
The current Eternal narrative (as of 17 December 2025) is a tug-of-war between:
- Near-term worries: market share shifts in food delivery, intensifying discounting/fee waivers in quick commerce, and recurring fears of a “price war”.
- Medium-term optimism: analysts arguing that Eternal/Blinkit has structural unit-economics advantages, plus the balance sheet strength to keep investing through a rough patch.
This week delivered both—almost back-to-back.
UBS note flagged Swiggy gaining share in November (a key trigger for Tuesday’s drop)
A Moneycontrol report (citing a UBS note referenced by Informist) said that Swiggy gained market share from Eternal in food delivery during November, in a month when industry volumes softened. UBS estimated:
- Industry order volumes fell 5.3% month-on-month in November
- Eternal’s order volumes fell 4.4%
- Swiggy’s volumes rose 0.1%
UBS also linked Swiggy’s relative resilience to initiatives such as Snacc, Bolt and the “99 store”, which it said supported overall volumes. [5]
The market’s message on Tuesday was blunt: when the “growth + efficiency” story is priced tightly, even a small market share wobble can move the stock.
Analyst forecasts on 17 December 2025: Jefferies stays bullish; JM Financial trims its target
On 17 December, two separate brokerage-driven news flows shaped the day’s outlook: Jefferies remained positive even as rivals raised money, while JM Financial stayed constructive but dialed back expectations.
Jefferies: “No quick-commerce price war” from Zepto IPO chatter and Swiggy’s ₹10,000-crore QIP
A Moneycontrol report on Wednesday said investors have been on edge after:
- Swiggy raised ₹10,000 crore via a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), and
- reports suggested Zepto may soon move toward an IPO process.
Jefferies’ view, per that report: these developments are unlikely to worsen competitive dynamics meaningfully, and Blinkit remains the leader with “best-in-class profitability” (as characterised in the coverage) driven by aggressive expansion and a growth-first playbook. [6]
Moneycontrol also reported that Jefferies sees “horizontal” players—Amazon, Reliance and Flipkart—as more defensive entrants that may take time to scale, and it flagged potential minor near-term impacts from timing shifts around the festive season and inventory pricing adjustments, while keeping the underlying demand view intact. [7]
A separate Economic Times report (also dated 17 December) said Jefferies reiterated a “Buy” rating on Eternal with a ₹480 target price, arguing fundraising and listing plans by rivals are unlikely to fundamentally disrupt the competitive landscape. The report also described Jefferies’ framework for valuing Eternal’s pieces of the business and forecasted food-delivery revenue growth at roughly 17% CAGR between FY25 and FY28. [8]
JM Financial: keeps “Buy”, cuts target to ₹400 as Blinkit’s Q3 growth is expected to cool
JM Financial’s message (as reported on 17 December) was basically: great business, tougher quarter-to-quarter comps.
Business Standard reported JM Financial expects Blinkit’s net order value (NOV) growth to slow to around 13% quarter-on-quarter in Q3FY26 (from 25% and 27% in Q1 and Q2), attributing it to an unfavourable base (festival boost) and heightened competition—especially tactics like reduced minimum order values and low/zero fees. [9]
Despite that moderation, the same report said JM Financial still expects Blinkit NOV to rise over 120% year-on-year in Q3FY26, and about 90% YoY in FY27—signalling that the brokerage sees the slowdown as more “tempo” than “trend.” [10]
On valuation and targets, Business Standard said JM Financial retained “Buy” but revised its December 2026 target price to ₹400, using 75x NTM EPS (down from 80x previously). [11]
Business Today’s coverage added further colour from the same JM Financial view: it described intensified competition from newer entrants (including Minutes, Now and JioMart), reiterated the revised ₹400 target (from ₹450), and highlighted the argument that Blinkit’s unit economics are structurally stronger (including a cited adjusted EBITDA loss-per-order comparison versus a key competitor). [12]
The metrics that matter: NOV, unit economics, and why Blinkit is the centre of gravity
If you’re trying to read Eternal stock like a detective novel, here’s the clue: the market is less confused about “will quick commerce grow?” and more obsessed with “who can grow without lighting money on fire?”
That’s why brokerage notes keep circling three concepts:
1) Net Order Value (NOV)
NOV is essentially the value of orders after certain adjustments (brokerages use it as a clean way to talk about marketplace scale and monetisation). JM Financial is effectively saying: Blinkit’s NOV will still grow fast, but sequential growth could cool as competition spikes and comparisons get tougher. [13]
2) Unit economics (profitability per order)
JM Financial’s report (via Business Standard) highlighted Blinkit’s comparatively low losses per order versus a major rival, arguing that better supply chain efficiency and operating leverage can protect both growth and margins even when others subsidise demand. [14]
3) The “price war” question
Jefferies’ stance (as reported by Moneycontrol and Economic Times) is that competition won’t automatically spiral into irrational pricing—even if rivals are better funded—because scaling and sustaining ultra-low pricing is hard, and public-market scrutiny can discourage “anything goes” tactics. [15]
Regulatory and market backdrop: labour-code cost concerns still in the mix
Beyond competition, another theme periodically spooking the group is regulation around gig/platform work.
A Mint report on Eternal’s sharp 16 December decline noted that the stock has stayed under pressure since its October peak (around ₹368), and it pointed to Street concerns that newly rolled-out labour rules could increase compliance burdens for aggregators—requiring contributions tied to turnover toward social security benefits for gig/platform workers (as described in the report). Mint also reported that brokerages expect a gradual pass-through to customers and that a small per-order increase may not materially change behaviour. [16]
Whether those costs end up being a margin speed bump or a bigger structural change is still a “watch this space” item—especially because Eternal and peers compete in a market where consumers are extremely price sensitive at the margin.
Where Wall Street-style consensus sits: analyst targets cluster around the high-300s
Zooming out from today’s headlines, broad analyst consensus (as aggregated by major market-data platforms) still leans positive.
Investing.com’s consensus page for Eternal showed:
- 31 analysts in its dataset
- an average 12-month target of ~₹382.32
- a target range from about ₹200 (low) to ₹483 (high)
- and a consensus rating labelled “Buy” (with the majority of analysts in the Buy/Strong Buy bucket). [17]
TradingView displayed a very similar target range (max ~₹483, min ~₹200) with an overall price target around the mid-₹380s, reinforcing that the market’s “base case” remains constructive—while still acknowledging a wide band of uncertainty. [18]
What to watch next: 5 practical checkpoints for Eternal investors
Here are the key near-term checkpoints implied by the 17 December research flow—without pretending anyone owns a crystal ball:
- Food delivery market share and order growth
If the UBS-reported November shift toward Swiggy persists into December/January, Eternal will need to demonstrate either re-acceleration in volumes or improved monetisation to keep sentiment steady. [19] - Blinkit sequential growth in Q3FY26
JM Financial’s “13% QoQ NOV” expectation is now a reference point. Beating it could reset confidence; missing it could amplify the “maturing growth” narrative. [20] - Signs of irrational discounting (or the lack of it)
Jefferies is effectively betting the market stays rational even as rivals raise funds. Investors will watch order-level economics, fees, and promotional intensity for evidence. [21] - Competitive scaling by ‘horizontals’
Amazon/Reliance/Flipkart are repeatedly mentioned as slower-burn threats. Any meaningful acceleration in their store footprint or adoption could change the medium-term map. [22] - Regulatory cost pass-through
If gig/social security contributions become more concrete in enforcement and timing, the key question is how quickly platforms can pass costs on without denting demand. [23]
Bottom line on 17 December 2025: Eternal’s story is intact, but the market wants proof quarter-by-quarter
Eternal Limited stock is acting like what it is: a high-expectations consumer internet leader in a brutally competitive category.
The “news stack” on 17 December 2025 is broadly supportive—Jefferies reiterating Buy/₹480, JM Financial reiterating Buy but trimming to ₹400—but it comes with a clear warning label: the next leg up likely depends on evidence, not just ambition. That evidence will show up in market share trends, Blinkit NOV trajectories, and whether the sector can avoid self-destructive pricing while still expanding rapidly. [24]
References
1. www.business-standard.com, 2. eternal.com, 3. www.business-standard.com, 4. www.moneycontrol.com, 5. www.moneycontrol.com, 6. www.moneycontrol.com, 7. www.moneycontrol.com, 8. m.economictimes.com, 9. www.business-standard.com, 10. www.business-standard.com, 11. www.business-standard.com, 12. www.businesstoday.in, 13. www.business-standard.com, 14. www.business-standard.com, 15. www.moneycontrol.com, 16. www.livemint.com, 17. www.investing.com, 18. www.tradingview.com, 19. www.moneycontrol.com, 20. www.business-standard.com, 21. www.moneycontrol.com, 22. www.moneycontrol.com, 23. www.livemint.com, 24. m.economictimes.com
