Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal’s Stake Surpasses $1 Billion

Increased Platform Fees Propel Zomato’s Stock to New Heights

Mumbai, India – Zomato Ltd founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal’s stake in the online food delivery platform has crossed the $1 billion mark, driven by a 3% increase in the stock price earlier today. This surge to a record high comes amid reports of a hike in platform fees by both Zomato and its competitor Swiggy.

As per the shareholding pattern for the March quarter, Goyal holds 36,94,71,500 shares in Zomato, which represents a 4.26% stake in the company. At Monday’s peak price of Rs 232 on the BSE, these shares were valued at Rs 8,571.74 crore. With the dollar-rupee exchange rate at 83.55, Goyal’s stake was worth approximately $1.02 billion intraday.

Recent reports indicate that Zomato has increased its platform fee to Rs 6 per order from the previous Rs 5 in major markets such as Bengaluru and Delhi. Earlier in April, the platform fee was raised from Rs 4 to Rs 5 per order in cities including Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Lucknow, and the National Capital Region. Last year, Zomato and Swiggy introduced a platform fee at Rs 2 per order. Swiggy is reportedly experimenting with a platform fee of Rs 7 in Bengaluru, though this has been adjusted down to Rs 6 per order.

The rise in platform fees is expected to positively impact Zomato’s financial performance. Analysts predict strong sequential numbers for both food delivery and quick commerce segments, boosted by the IPL season, the cricket World Cup, and ongoing heatwaves across the country that have kept people indoors.

JM Financial anticipates an 8% sequential growth in gross order value (GOV) for Zomato’s food delivery business, translating to a 25% year-on-year increase, aligning with the company’s guidance of over 20% growth. The firm expects monthly transacting users (MTUs) to rise to 2 crore, up from 1.9 crore in the fourth quarter of FY24. Ordering frequency and average order value (AOV) are projected to grow by 2% and 1% quarter-on-quarter, respectively. Additionally, take-rates are expected to increase to 20.8% in the first quarter, up from 20.6% in the previous quarter due to higher platform fees. This combination of robust GOV growth and increased take-rates is projected to drive a sequential revenue growth of 9.5%.

JM Financial also predicts a slight improvement in contribution margin, from 7.5% of GOV in the fourth quarter to 7.6% in the first quarter.