Which Indian startups are actually profitable in 2026

The short answer: In the July to September 2026 quarter, Eternal (Zomato and Blinkit), Paytm, Nykaa and Lenskart reported net profits, while Swiggy and Meesho still reported net losses. Every company on the list is growing fast, and the losses are shrinking, but "profitable" means different things in different headlines.

This is a news summary written on 11 November 2026, not investment advice. Results are for the quarter ended 30 September 2026 (Q2 of the financial year FY27). Figures come from press coverage of each company's results, so check the exchange filings for the final numbers.

Which Indian startups made a profit in Q2 FY27?

Here is the scorecard. All amounts are consolidated, in ₹ crore.

Sources for each row are listed below. Two patterns stand out. First, revenue grew 28% to 78% for all six. Second, nobody got worse on the bottom line compared with a year ago.

Is Zomato (Eternal) profitable?

Yes, but thinly. Eternal's net profit was ₹125 crore on revenue of ₹24,138 crore, according to Entrackr. That is a margin of about half a percent.

Three details matter:

• Other income carried a lot of the weight. Entrackr reports ₹351 crore of non-operating income. Indian Startup News puts profit before tax at ₹323 crore. In plain words, other income, such as returns on cash, was bigger than the pre-tax profit.
• Tax took about 61% of it. The same source reports a tax charge of ₹198 crore, which is why net profit (₹125 crore) is far below the pre-tax figure.
• Blinkit turned the corner on an adjusted basis. Blinkit's adjusted EBITDA was ₹184 crore, against a loss of ₹156 crore a year earlier. Food delivery under the Zomato brand made an adjusted EBITDA of ₹627 crore, according to the same report. Entrackr's segment table shows different EBITDA figures, because companies and outlets define the term differently.

Management also raised its Blinkit store target to more than 3,500 by March 2027, from 2,751 now, per Indian Startup News. Growing that fast costs money, which is one reason profit stays small.

For the longer history of how Zomato got here, read our story on how Zomato went from losses to profit.

Is Swiggy in profit or loss?

Loss. Swiggy's consolidated net loss was ₹922 crore on revenue of ₹7,571 crore, per Indian Startup News. The loss is 16% smaller than a year ago.

The company's two main businesses look very different:

• Food delivery made an adjusted EBITDA of ₹341 crore, which Swiggy says is its highest ever, at 3.4% of gross order value.
• Instamart, its quick commerce arm, had an adjusted EBITDA loss of ₹895 crore, up from ₹778 crore a year earlier.

That is the same story as Eternal, one step behind. Both companies make money delivering food and spend heavily building 10-minute grocery delivery. Blinkit has reached an adjusted profit. Instamart has not.

Is Paytm profitable now?

Yes. Trak.in reports a net profit of ₹225 crore on revenue of ₹2,648 crore, up 28%. EBITDA was ₹270 crore, a record for the company, at a 10% margin.

The headline says profit rose more than tenfold. That is true, but the year-ago profit was only ₹21 crore. The trend is steadier than the headline suggests: profit for the first six months of the year was ₹445 crore, against ₹144 crore a year earlier, which fits ₹220 crore in the first quarter and ₹225 crore in the second.

What about Meesho, Nykaa and Lenskart?

Meesho is still loss-making, but the gap is closing fast. Inc42 reports a net loss of about ₹132 crore, down 68% from ₹411 crore, on revenue of ₹4,132 crore. Meesho had ₹127 crore of other income in the quarter. Its loss before exceptional items and tax was ₹123 crore, so its operating picture is still negative.

Nykaa made a net profit of ₹101 crore, up from ₹33 crore, on revenue of ₹3,006 crore, according to Business Today. EBITDA was ₹263 crore, a margin of 8.7%. Kotak Neo adds that Nykaa Fashion's EBITDA margin moved from negative 3.5% to 0.2%.

Lenskart made a net profit of ₹232.5 crore, more than double the ₹103.5 crore a year earlier, on revenue of ₹2,845 crore, per Inc42. It also reports an EBITDA of ₹624 crore. That figure follows an accounting rule (Ind AS 116) that treats store rents differently. Inc42 also quotes a lower EBITDA of ₹394 crore before that rule, so two numbers are in circulation.

Why do "profit" headlines disagree?

Four things change a company's bottom line, and headlines mix them up:

1. EBITDA versus net profit. EBITDA ignores interest, tax and depreciation. It is useful for comparing operations, but net profit is what shareholders actually keep.
2. Adjusted figures. Companies strip out items such as share-based pay. Adjusted EBITDA is a company-defined number, so compare it only with the same company's own past.
3. Other income. Cash raised in IPOs earns interest. That income can turn an operating loss into a net profit.
4. A low base. A 10x jump from ₹21 crore sounds huge. The better question is whether the quarter-to-quarter trend is steady.

A good habit: when you see "profitable", check the line it refers to. If you want a method for this, our guide on how to read an IPO prospectus walks through the same lines in a filing.

Which startups are still not profitable?

Plenty. Swiggy and Meesho are on the list above. Quick commerce has also meant big losses for newer players. Our story on Zepto's IPO valuation covers a company that doubled revenue and still saw its valuation cut. Zetwerk, which listed in October, lost money in FY26, as we covered in Zetwerk IPO: what the company does. And some businesses never reach this stage: Unacademy was sold at 94% below its peak value.

What does this mean for you?

If you work in or follow startups, three takeaways stand out:

• Profit follows scale. The companies that turned profitable are mostly the ones that grew revenue by a third or more.
• Segments matter more than totals. Food delivery is the profitable engine at both Eternal and Swiggy, while quick commerce is where the investment goes.
• Read the line, not the headline. Eternal's quarter can be called a 92% profit jump, yet its margin was about half a percent of revenue. Both are true.

If you want a daily way to keep up with results like these without scrolling for an hour, there is a short guide to following Indian startup news. We also make Qrio, a free Android app of short videos on business, startups and the world, so take that suggestion with a pinch of salt.

Results are still coming in, and companies sometimes restate figures. This post reflects numbers reported up to 11 November 2026.

Sources

• Entrackr: Eternal reports Rs 24,138 Cr revenue and Rs 125 Cr profit in Q2 FY27
• Indian Startup News: Eternal Q2 profit jumps 92% as Blinkit earns Rs 184 crore
• Indian Startup News: Swiggy Q2 loss narrows 16% to Rs 922 crore
• Trak.in: Paytm net profit surge 10X to Rs 225 crore
• Inc42: Meesho Q2 loss narrows 68% to ₹132 Cr
• Business Today: Nykaa Q2 earnings, 4 November 2026
• Kotak Neo: Nykaa Q2 FY27 results
• Inc42: Lenskart Q2 profit jumps 125% to ₹233 Cr