The country’s leading food delivery and quick commerce giants are in focus with their Q2 results announced recently. Q2 was sweeter for Zomato, as it reported record revenue growth with continued profitability momentum. However, Swiggy, even though it posted over 50% jump in revenue, saw its losses widen further during the quarter, raising questions about its growth trajectory. This article delves deeper into their Q2 FY26 performance, focusing on how each platform is tuning the next phase of India’s ever-growing food delivery and quick commerce industry.
Q2 FY26 Performance Analysis: Zomato Vs Swiggy
Overall Performance
On a consolidated basis, Zomato’s adjusted revenue surged 172% YoY and 85% QoQ to Rs 13,968 crore in Q2 FY26. The jump in revenue reflects a change in Blinkit’s (quick commerce) business model, which changed from a marketplace to an inventory-led approach, under which revenue now accounts for the full value of goods sold as per Ind AS, rather than only marketplace commissions. On a like-for-like basis, adjusted revenue grew 65% YoY and 22% QoQ, excluding the cost of goods sold for owned inventory and Hyperpure’s non-restaurant business. Adjusted EBITDA stood at Rs 224 crore, down 32% YoY but up 30% sequentially from Rs 172 crore in Q1 FY26. Its net profit improved by 160% on a QoQ basis, from Rs 25 crore in Q1 FY26 to Rs 65 crore; however, on a yearly basis, it declined from Rs 176 crore in Q2 FY25.
Whereas Swiggy’s adjusted revenue increased by 53% YoY and 11% QoQ to Rs 5,911 crore, Instamart’s (quick commerce) strong order value growth contributed to the expansion in revenue. Its adjusted EBITDA loss stood at Rs 695 crore, which was an improvement sequentially from Rs 813 crore in Q1 FY26 but almost doubled from Rs 341 crore in the same period last year. Net losses for the quarter also widened on a YoY basis, from Rs 626 crore in Q2 FY25 to Rs 1,092 crore; however, it improved slightly on a QoQ basis, from Rs 1,197 crore in the last quarter. A 56% YoY increase in total expenses from Rs 4,309 crore last year to Rs 6,711 crore in Q2 FY26 was the major factor that wiped out the gains of revenue.
Quick Commerce
Blinkit’s Net Order Value grew 137% YoY from Rs 4,928 crore in Q2 FY25 to Rs 11,679 crore in Q2 FY26 and marked a 27% QoQ growth. It marked its highest NOV in the last ten quarters. Its network expanded with 272 net new stores added during the quarter, taking the total store count to 1,816 stores. During the quarter, Blinkit saw a net addition of 3.9 million average Monthly Transacting Customers (MTCs), taking the total MTCs to 20.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin (as a % of NOV) continued to improve QoQ from -1.8% in Q1FY26 to -1.3%. In Q2 FY26, about 80% of the NOV was on its own inventory, which is expected to increase to about 90% in the next quarter. The management expects that the change in business model should result in a net margin expansion of about 1 percentage point, which should be realized over the next 4-6 quarters gradually. The company is looking at a faster store network expansion, targeting to expand to 2,100 stores by Dec 2025 (up from its 2,000 stores earlier guidance), and is aiming to reach 3,000 stores by Mar 2027. Quick commerce losses improved QoQ to Rs 156 crore from Rs 162 crore in Q1 FY26.
Instamart’s Gross Order Value saw 108% YoY growth (up 24% QoQ), reaching Rs 7,022 crore, with 0.9 million Monthly Transacting Users (MTUs) added during the quarter, taking the total MTUs to 12 million. The number of dark stores reached 1,102 stores across 128 cities, with 40 new additions, and its active darkstore area grew to 4.6 Mn sq ft, marking 136% YoY growth (up 7% QoQ). Average order value grew around 40% YoY to Rs 697, led by the continued expansion of non-grocery selection and larger-basket buying behaviour across user cohorts. Contribution losses reduced by 30% QoQ to Rs 181 crore, and margin improved by 202 bps QoQ to -2.6% in Q2FY26, in line with its guided trajectory of breakeven before the June ’26 quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 375 bps QoQ to -12.1%, as losses declined by Rs 47 crore QoQ to Rs 849 crore, but on a YoY basis, losses widened from Rs 359 crore in Q2 FY25.
Food Delivery
Zomato’s Food delivery NOV grew 14% YoY to Rs 9,423 crore, and on the margin front, adjusted EBITDA margin (as a % of NOV) reached an all-time high of 5.3%, and the business delivered an absolute adjusted EBITDA of Rs 503 crore for the quarter (vs Rs 451 crore in Q1FY26). The NOV growth rate seems to have bottomed out in Q1FY26 and is starting to recover slowly. The company is constantly facing multiple headwinds, including soft discretionary consumption, the impact of quick commerce growth, and extremely volatile weather, which continue to weigh on near-term food delivery NOV growth.
Swiggy’s Food delivery continued its growth trajectory in line with the management guidance, with a steady 18.8% YoY GOV, reaching Rs 8,542 crore during the quarter, even amidst volatile macro-consumption trends and higher-than-usual rainfall. The business saw faster MTU growth to 17.2% YoY by adding 0.9 million MTUs to reach 17.2 million. Its adjusted EBITDA increased by 25.4% QoQ to Rs 240 crore, and the adjusted EBITDA margin rose to 2.8% of GOV (+125bps YoY, 44bps QoQ). During the quarter, the company also launched a new food delivery app called “Toing,” which targets the budget-conscious users like students and early-jobbers.
Going out/out-of-home consumption
Zomato’s District NOV rose by 32% YoY, whereas adjusted EBITDA margin (as a % of NOV) declined to -3.1%, which led to an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 63 crore in the quarter (vs Rs 54 crore in Q1FY26), driven by continued investments in category creation. In Q2 FY26, the company added ‘stores’ as a new category alongside dining out, movies, and event ticketing. ‘District stores’ digitises offline retail by helping users to discover nearby stores and access exclusive deals. It has already onboarded around 3,400 outlets across six cities and enabled 60,000+ transactions. It also launched ‘District’ in the UAE, tapping into its strong entertainment and retail market potential.
Swiggy’s Dine-out & Scenes business has grown at 52% YoY to register a GOV of Rs 1,118 crore, with adjusted EBITDA margins of 0.5%. Adjusted revenue grew by 58% YoY, reaching Rs 95 crore. With more discretionary incomes opening up in-restaurant-dining further, the management remains confident that this business will also progress towards a 5% of GOV profitability.
B2B Supply Chain
In Zomato’s Hyperpure, the restaurant business continued to grow, rising at 42% YoY (15% QoQ) to Rs 940 crore in Q2FY26. Its adjusted EBITDA margin improved to -0.9% from -2.2% (in Q1FY26), resulting in an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 8 crore in the quarter (vs Rs 18 crore loss in Q1 FY26). Including the non-restaurant business, the total Hyperpure revenue declined 31% YoY (down 55% QoQ) to Rs 1,023 crore. The drop was mainly due to the shift to inventory ownership in quick commerce, which led to a scale-down in Hyperpure’s non-restaurant business. The total Adjusted EBITDA loss was at Rs 5 crore in the quarter (vs Rs 18 crore loss in Q1FY26). The management expects the core restaurant business to become profitable over the next two quarters, with steadily improving profitability, while scaling down the non-restaurant business to zero.
In Swiggy’s Lynk, the revenue from the supply chain and distribution business grew by 76% YoY from Rs 1,453 crore in Q2 FY25 to Rs 2,560 crore in Q2 FY26 (up 13% QoQ). Its adjusted EBITDA margin improved to -1.8% from -5.1% in Q2 FY 25, resulting in an improvement in EBITDA loss to Rs 46 crore from Rs 74 crore in the same quarter last year. Swiggy’s ‘Assure’, a B2B app, provides restaurants, hotels, and caterers with locally sourced, high-quality kitchen supplies, directly competing with Zomato’s ‘Hyperpure’.
Food Delivery & Quick Commerce Market- Growth Projections: The online food delivery market, which rose from USD 1.3 billion in 2018 to USD 8.9 billion in 2024, is anticipated to reach USD 16-20 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 15-22%. Whereas, the offline organised segment is expected to reach USD 60-74 billion by 2030 from USD 17 billion in 2019 and USD 29 billion in 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 13-17%. The Indian quick commerce industry is expected to reach USD 27-50 billion by 2028 from USD 5 billion in 2024, growing at a CAGR of 53-78%.
Who’s Leading the Race?
On a consolidated basis, Zomato is leading the race with a record revenue growth of 172% YoY and 85% QoQ in Q2 FY26, supported by incredible growth in its quick commerce business, ‘Blinkit.’ Its profits also improved by 160% on a QoQ basis. Additionally, the change in its quick commerce business model to an inventory-led approach from its earlier marketplace model also helps in improving its profitability in the future. On the other hand, Swiggy, though reporting a rise in revenue of 53% YoY and 11% QoQ, its losses widened this quarter due to a rise in expenses related to its quick commerce business, Instamart’s advertisement, marketing and purchase of stock in trade. Its food delivery business, however, continued to grow at a stable pace, with the company rolling out new segments like ‘Desk Eats’ and ‘99 Store’, and also a separate app called ‘Toing’ catering to budget-conscious users.
Conclusion
The quick commerce and food delivery industries in India are expected to grow at a faster rate due to rising demand for instant convenience, rapid digital growth, and rising disposable income. Zomato is winning the race currently, with its profitability growth supported by the inventory-led Blinkit model and strong guidance for continued expansion. Though Swiggy has been experiencing ongoing losses, to support long-term growth, it is strengthening its balance sheet through disinvestment, including the sale of its Rapido stake and a potential fundraise through QIP. As competition tightens with new players like Rapido’s ‘Ownly’, success will depend on balancing innovation with financial discipline. For now, Zomato has the edge, but the battle for quick commerce and food delivery dominance is far from over.
Written By Adhvaitha Nayani BA
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