Swiggy’s plan to raise up to Rs 10,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement is seen by analysts as a measure to build a larger cash buffer in an increasingly crowded quick-commerce market. The move will see its total liquidity rising to nearly Rs 17,000 crore, just a shade lower than rival Eternal’s Rs 18,314 crore.
The proposed fundraise comes barely a year after Swiggy’s Rs 11,327-crore IPO, and also at a time when its balance sheet appears comfortable.
According to analysts, the continued need for capital reflects the competitive intensity in the quick commerce segment rather than any immediate financial stress.
Swiggy ended the July-September quarter with Rs 4,605 crore in cash and is set to add another Rs 2,400 crore from the sale of its 12% stake in Rapido. That would take its reserves close to Rs 7,000 crore. The fundraise announcement comes weeks after rival Zepto raised $450 million, taking its own cash balance to around Rs 8,000 crore. Swiggy told shareholders that while it remains confident about its financial position, the dynamic competitive environment calls for additional capital to maintain flexibility and support growth.
The decision comes despite a steady operational performance during the quarter. Swiggy reported a 12% sequential and 54% year-on-year rise in revenue to Rs 5,561 crore, while its net loss widened to Rs 1,092 crore. The food-delivery business continued to expand, and Instamart, its quick-commerce unit, recorded 21.5% quarter-on-quarter and 100% year-on-year growth in revenue to Rs 980 crore. Losses narrowed slightly, supported by better contribution margins.
However, the pace of network expansion has slowed. Instamart added 40 new dark stores in the quarter compared with Blinkit’s 272. A few quarters ago, Swiggy was opening stores aggressively to narrow the gap with Blinkit.
Brokerages have offered a mixed assessment of Swiggy’s quarterly performance and fundraising plan. Jefferies noted that the rise in average order value in quick commerce was encouraging, but said profitability will depend on an increase in take-rates and better network utilisation. HSBC said while there were positives in the quarter, the company continued to lose market share to Blinkit. The brokerage added that reducing marketing costs and improving take-rates could strengthen unit economics.
DAM Capital said lower-than-expected losses in the quick-commerce segment were driven by maturing stores and Swiggy’s Maxxsaver strategy. It expects Instamart to turn adjusted Ebitda positive by FY28. Nomura said the likely fundraise will support a stronger balance sheet and expects 19–20% gross order value growth in FY26–27, with contribution margins in the range of 7.5–7.7%. CLSA maintained an outperform view, describing the quarter as mixed with margin improvement in Instamart but slower order growth.
The company’s management described the proposed capital raise as part of building an innovation reserve and maintaining strategic flexibility. Analysts said that with the quick-commerce market still heavily dependent on discounts and promotions, the path to profitability remains uncertain.