Zomato Becomes First New-Age Tech Company to Join BSE Sensex

Zomato shares were in focus on Monday as the company became the first tech-driven business to join the 30-share BSE Sensex index, replacing JSW Steel in a planned reshuffle on December 23. According to brokerage firm Nuvama, this shift is expected to drive inflows of $ 513 million into Zomato while JSW Steel could see outflows of $ 252 million.  

The reshuffle aligns with Zomato’s strong stock performance over the past year. The company’s share price has surged approximately 126 percent in the last year, outperforming the Sensex’s 10.7 percent returns over the same period. In the past six months alone, Zomato shares rallied by nearly 43 percent, while JSW Steel recorded about 9 percent returns during the year.  

“Over the past 18 months, as Zomato started to demonstrate its ability to gradually improve unit economics and move towards breakeven and beyond (especially in the food delivery segment), the stock rallied by almost 150 percent,” UBS noted in its report.  

UBS also reported that Zomato trades at an "FY27e EV/EBITDA (adjusted) of 39x, implying an FY27e EV/Sales of 6.3x."  

For the July-September quarter, Zomato reported a consolidated revenue of Rs 4,799 crore, marking a 69 percent year-on-year growth. The company also achieved a five-fold increase in net profit to Rs 176 crore during the same period. The relaunch of its subscription service, Zomato Gold, earlier in 2023 contributed significantly to higher ordering frequencies among top customers, as noted by UBS.  

As of December 21, Zomato’s market capitalization stood at Rs 2.72 lakh crore, surpassing JSW Steel's Rs 2.24 lakh crore valuation.  

The index rebalancing extends beyond the Sensex, affecting the BSE 100 index as well. New entrants include Jio Financial Services, Suzlon Energy, Adani Green Energy, Adani Power, Samvardhana Motherson International, and PB Fintech (Policybazaar). These companies will replace Ashok Leyland, P.I. Industries, IDFC First Bank, IRCTC, UPL, and APL Apollo Tubes in the broader index.  

This shift underscores the growing influence of tech-based and sustainability-focused businesses in India’s retail and financial markets.