“India Hates To Wait” — Swiggy’s letter to its shareholders for the September quarter declared boldly, splashed in Instamart’s signature blue-orange colours.

Ironic, ain’t it? India hates to wait, but the wait over Swiggy’s profitability continues.

Of course, the tag line screams speed as Swiggy tries to establish that its quick commerce game, Instamart, is making bulls run, while aggressively trying to lead the race to quench India’s intensifying thirst for quick doorstep deliveries. Yet, as the public market investors eye profitability, their wait continues.

In Q2 FY26, Swiggy posted a 74% on-year increase in its net losses, surpassing the INR 1,000 Cr mark, while revenue shot up by 54% to INR 5,561 Cr. On a sequential basis, however, its net loss narrowed by 9% while the top line grew 12%.

As we have noted earlier in Eternal’s case as well, demand for food delivery is plateauing nationwide. Swiggy’s latest quarterly earnings report has further affirmed the trend shift.

The company’s second growth engine, Instamart, has now begun to shoulder a larger share of the company’s overall revenue. The quick commerce platforms’ contribution has expanded steadily, reaching nearly 18% of total revenue in Q2 FY26, up from 13% a year earlier.

Though food delivery continues to have a larger contribution to its consolidated revenue at 34.5%, it has lowered from almost 44% in the last year’s quarter.

This core vertical, food delivery, which is also profitable, continues to see an increase in its bottomline, which stood at INR 251 Cr in Q2. However, the growth fundamentals are not as steady as quick commerce. Its adjusted revenue saw a marginal increase by 6% to INR 2,206 Cr on a QoQ basis, while its quick commerce arm’s adjusted revenue rose by 21%.

To bolster the Instamart game further, Swiggy is now turning to an inventory-led model like Blinkit and Zepto, which offers more operational benefits compared to the marketplace-based business model.

JM Financial said in its latest report on Swiggy that, despite all the new efforts, including the INR 10,000 Cr fresh fundraising via a qualified institution placement (QIP) to shift to an inventory-led model, investors should be cautious.

“We, however, note that Swiggy’s execution in QC remains unproven (adjusted EBITDA breakeven unlikely to happen before FY29 as per our estimate) and to that extent investors should cautiously turn constructive on the company’s medium- to long-term prospects.”

So, now, as the company keeps Instamart as its top bet, the market’s focus is increasingly turning to this vertical’s execution and path to profitability.

Shoots Of Hope Emerging In Instamart?

Swiggy Instamart has delivered more than 100% year-on-year (YoY) gross order value........

© Inc42