Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal Joins Billionaire Club As Firm's Shares Soar

Zomato founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal has now joined the ranks of billionaires, thanks to a major surge in company's share prices over the past year.

Today, the company's shares rose by 4%, hitting a new peak of Rs 232 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), marking a more than 300% increase since their low in July 2023.

This impressive stock performance has boosted Zomato's market capitalisation to over Rs 1.9 lakh crore, and Goyal's personal net worth has soared beyond Rs 8,000 crore, making him the richest professional manager in India at the age of 41.

He holds 36.95 crore shares, representing a 4.24% stake in the company.

The surge in Zomato's stock is largely due to the strong performance of its quick commerce division - Blinkit - which has outperformed rivals like Swiggy Instamart and Zepto.

Blinkit is projected to become profitable sooner than expected, with Zomato indicating that it could achieve EBITDA break-even by the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Investor confidence has also been bolstered by the profitability of Zomato's food delivery segment. Analysts believe that once Blinkit reaches break-even, Zomato will likely increase its investments in Blinkit, potentially leading its gross order value (GOV) to surpass that of the food delivery business sooner than anticipated.

This will solidify Zomato's market position amid growing competition.

Although it might take some time for Blinkit to attain sustainable EBITDA margins, factors like advertising revenue, take-rates, and operational efficiencies are expected to drive profitability in the long term.

A recent Goldman Sachs report notes that Blinkit's implied value now exceeds that of Zomato's core food delivery business. Blinkit is valued at $13 billion, up from $2 billion in March 2023, with a per-share value of Rs 119 compared to Rs 98 for Zomato.

Goldman Sachs projects that Blinkit's GOV will grow at a 53% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from FY2024-27, with its GOV and EBITDA surpassing the food delivery segment by FY29.

Acquired by Zomato in 2022 for $568 million, Blinkit has significantly improved its financial health, making it the most valuable part of Zomato's portfolio.

Deepinder Goyal, who graduated from IIT Delhi with a degree in Mathematics and Computing, co-founded Zomato, initially named FoodieBay.com, while working at Bain & Company.

His enthusiasm for food led him to dedicate himself to the company full-time, securing initial funding from Info Edge in 2011. Zomato rapidly grew to become a key player in India's food tech industry, achieving unicorn status in 2018.