Quest PMS holds Eternal at 6% on Blinkit economics

BusinessToday reports that Quest PMS is holding Eternal at nearly 6 percent of its portfolio and has added to the position after the stock slid from around Rs 354 to the Rs 260 to 280 band. Fund manager Rakesh Vyas told the publication the company has very strong business fundamentals across food delivery and quick commerce.

The case rests on Blinkit

Per BusinessToday, Vyas calls Blinkit the largest player with the best unit economics in a battlefield that now includes Swiggy, Zepto, Amazon and Flipkart. He says Blinkit’s EBITDA margins are almost breaking even and occasionally touch slight profitability. His reference point is food delivery, which was loss-making in its land-grab years and now earns roughly 5 to 6 percent EBITDA margins. The argument is that quick commerce will trace the same curve, and the scale leader will trace it first.

Cash is the moat in a discount war

BusinessToday notes Eternal holds roughly Rs 18,000 to 20,000 Cr in cash, which means it is not forced to burn recklessly to defend market share even as Amazon Now and Flipkart Minutes escalate their spending. That matters for everyone who sells on these apps, not just shareholders. A leader that can fund the fight calmly keeps commissions, ad rates and fill rates steadier than challengers who must buy growth every quarter. Platforms under funding stress pass the pain to sellers first.

What an operator does with this

Read this as a signal about where the channel is heading rather than as stock advice. If professional money expects Blinkit to reach profitability first, expect the platform to keep tightening take rates, retail media pricing and private label pressure, because profitable platforms monetise sellers harder. Budget for rising ad costs on the leader, keep challenger platforms in your mix for negotiating leverage, and track quarterly platform margins the way you track your own, since a platform’s breakeven usually shows up as your cost line the following quarter.