Swiggy shares crash to 52-week low as Q2 losses mount

Swiggy shares crashed to a 52-week low on Friday after the food delivery and quick commerce major reported widening operating losses for the September quarter, triggering a round of target price cuts across major brokerages.

The stock fell sharply in intraday trade, touching a low of ₹174.90 on the NSE and ₹182.20 on the BSE, down as much as 17.2% from its previous close of ₹211.30. The decline extends a month-long slump of 35%, leaving the company far below its 52-week peak of ₹434.50 reached in late October last year.

While top-line expansion reflected India's buoyant consumer demand and the rapid adoption of digital commerce infrastructure, margins came under scrutiny. Consolidated revenue from operations jumped 36% year-on-year to ₹7,571 crore. However, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) loss widened to ₹760 crore from ₹695 crore a year earlier, marking a three-quarter high.

Net consolidated losses narrowed annually to ₹922 crore from ₹1,092 crore in the corresponding period last year, but expanded sequentially from ₹792 crore in the June quarter.

Quick commerce pressures mount

The central pressure point remains Swiggy Instamart, where heavy investments to expand dark stores and counter rival platforms have lengthened the horizon to operational profitability. Instamart posted gross order value (GOV) growth of 31% year-on-year to ₹9,230 crore, up from ₹7,022 crore.

By comparison, the core food delivery arm showed steady expansion. Food delivery GOV climbed 17.7% year-on-year to ₹10,054 crore, while monthly transacting users expanded 15.2% to 19.8 million. Yet the 17.7% pace sat at the bottom end of company guidance, lagging the 21.5% growth reported by market peer Zomato.

Analysts pointed to internal cannibalisation from newer offerings such as Toing alongside aggressive market-share defence by rival platforms, including Blinkit and parent firm Eternal.

How brokerages revised Swiggy targets

Several research houses reduced their target prices while maintaining constructive long-term stances on the company's core franchise and Indian digital market growth.

Jefferies noted that while the current market price understates the standalone cash and food delivery operations, reducing quick commerce cash burn remains essential for value discovery.

Nomura reduced its FY28 adjusted EBITDA margin projection by 40 basis points to 4%, observing that competitive dynamics may cap near-term margin expansion, though it retained core delivery GOV growth forecasts around 18%.

Motilal Oswal cut its FY26–30 net order value compound annual growth rate assumption from 38% to 32%, warning that extended cash burns delay operating leverage.

Taking a different tack, Elara Capital upgraded its recommendation from Accumulate to Buy while trimming its target, arguing that the recent 22% quarterly drop effectively prices Instamart at zero valuation, leaving substantial room for recovery as operating efficiencies materialise.