Swiggy Q4: Food Delivery Thrives, Instamart Slows Amid LPG Crisis

Swiggy Navigates LPG Crisis with Strong Food Delivery Performance

Swiggy has demonstrated remarkable resilience in its core food delivery business during the fourth quarter of FY26, effectively overcoming fears of significant disruption stemming from the LPG crisis in India. Despite initial apprehensions that supply-side pressures, particularly the availability of commercial LPG cylinders impacting restaurants in key urban hubs, would dampen demand, Swiggy’s food delivery segment not only held steady but achieved substantial growth. Adjusted revenue for this segment surged by 23% year-on-year, reaching ₹2,304 crore, with gross order value climbing to ₹9,005 crore from ₹7,347 crore in the previous year. This performance underscores Swiggy’s ability to maintain consumer demand even amidst external economic challenges.

Rohit Kapoor, Swiggy Food CEO, attributed this success to a dual approach of close collaboration with restaurant partners to manage operational adjustments and ensuring a diverse range of choices for consumers. This strategy allowed Swiggy to mitigate the impact of potential restaurant unavailability or cuisine limitations during the crisis. While acknowledging that the broader restaurant industry did experience a hit, Kapoor highlighted Swiggy’s ability to meet its growth and EBITDA targets through agile operational adjustments. The company has since observed a significant easing of the situation, with expectations of a full recovery in the food delivery ecosystem.

Food Delivery Profitability and Growth Trajectory

Beyond revenue growth, Swiggy’s food delivery segment also reported incremental improvements in profitability. The contribution margin for food delivery rose from 7.6% to 7.8% during the quarter, accompanied by enhanced EBITDA margins. Kapoor credited these gains to a combination of operating leverage and a more strategic deployment of incentives. Looking forward, Swiggy anticipates its food delivery business to expand at a steady rate of approximately 20% annually, signaling a mature phase of predictable growth rather than hyper-expansion. This projected growth aligns with industry trends, mirroring projections made by competitors like Zomato.

Operational factors, including seasonal shifts, delivery partner migration, and election-related travel, continue to influence performance by affecting supply, even when demand remains robust. Swiggy is also refining its customer acquisition strategy, shifting from aggressive discounting to a focus on retention-led spending. The company is prioritizing higher-value users over sheer volume, a deliberate move that may result in some churn among lower-frequency or price-sensitive customers, but aims to foster greater engagement and loyalty.

Instamart Faces Growth Slowdown Amidst Market Dynamics

In contrast to the robust performance of its food delivery arm, Swiggy’s quick commerce vertical, Instamart, experienced a slowdown in its growth trajectory during Q4 FY26. The average order value for Instamart saw a slight decline to ₹700 from ₹746 in the preceding quarter, and gross order value also dipped marginally to ₹7,881 crore from ₹7,938 crore. Swiggy has indicated that it will not pursue growth through aggressive pricing strategies, especially given the current market conditions characterized by what the company terms