Instamart owner Swiggy on January 29 reported a rise in its consolidated losses for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, to Rs 1,065 crore. This is a sharp increase from Rs 799 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year, driven by continued losses in its fast trading segment and increased advertising and sales spend.

Despite strong top-line growth, the company acknowledged that recent consumer-focused investments aimed at increasing order volume, particularly in low average order value (AOV) segments, have not yielded the desired results.

“We have consciously chosen not to engage in deep discount-based, volume-focused growth that sacrifices AOVs and margins,” Swiggy co-founder and group managing director Sriharsha Majety said in a letter to shareholders.

In the third quarter, revenue from Swiggy’s operations rose to 6.148 billion rubles, compared to 3.993 billion rubles a year ago. However, total expenses rose to ₹7,298 crore from ₹4,898 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal.

Swiggy’s food delivery business reported a 20.5% year-on-year (YoY) increase in gross order value (GOV) to ₹8,959 crore. Monthly transaction users grew 22% year-over-year to 18.1 million, while adjusted EBITDA margins improved to 3.0% of GOV, the highest in two years.

Meanwhile, Instamart’s GOV more than doubled, rising 103% YoY to ₹7,938 crore, with average order value rising 39.7% to ₹746. The business posted a loss of Rs 908 crore in the quarter, although the adjusted EBITDA margin improved to -11.4% from -12.1% in the second quarter. The company added 34 dark stores, bringing the network to 1,136 in 131 cities, covering 4.8 million square feet.

Addressing the ongoing debate over delivery deadlines and worker conditions, Swiggy clarified that delivery partners are not pressured or penalized by deadlines. Instead, the platform’s model aims to reduce last-mile distances through the dense placement of dark stores, allowing partners to complete more orders in the same amount of time. “As a result, our delivery partners’ hourly earnings have continued to increase steadily,” the company said, which it attributed to order pooling, geographic densification and seasonal incentives.

During the last four quarters, Swiggy said it had reallocated some consumer spending to support long-term structural improvements, even amid what it described as “unreasonable competition.” These investments are being reviewed in light of underwhelming returns from lower consumer monetization, particularly at the lower end of the AOV pyramid.