Walmart has asked Flipkart to pause any fundraising efforts and instead focus on achieving EBITDA breakeven in the current financial year (FY27)
Flipkart’s plans to raise a $2-2.5 Bn pre-IPO round have also been put on hold as it might distract the leadership from its margin improvement efforts
The ecommerce firm has been eyeing a public listing for years now, but has been unable to convince Walmart
Ecommerce major Flipkart has reportedly deferred its IPO till at least the next year as it eyes profitability before listing publicly.
As per a Bussiness report, US-based retailer Walmart, which owns an 80% stake in Flipkart, has asked the ecommerce company to pause any fundraising efforts and instead focus on achieving EBITDA breakeven in the current financial year (FY27).
With this, Flipkart’s plans to raise a $2-2.5 Bn pre-IPO round have also been put on hold as it might distract the leadership from its margin improvement efforts, the report added.
Questions sent to Flipkart didn’t elicit any response till the time of publishing this story.
The ecommerce firm has been eyeing a public listing for years nowbut has been unable to convince Walmart. It was reported early last year that Flipkart’s board was pushing group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy to halve monthly cash burn to $20 Mn in the lead up to the IPO. It is already the biggest ecommerce player in India right now, with a 50-60% market share on a gross merchandise value (GMV) basis with 220 Mn monthly active users.
Flipkart’s Diversification Push
However, reigning in cash burn conflicts with the company’s bid to enter new delivery formatsespecially the expansion of its quick commerce offering Flipkart Minutes. The segment is capex heavy, especially amid the intense competition ongoing in the space. Most existing players are unable to reign in losses amid discounts, dark store expansion, and rising customer acquisition costs.
In the first quarter of 2026, Flipkart Minutes scaled to 800 dark stores and was on track to touch 1,200 in the near term, with an aim to make Minutes operational in 30 Indian cities this year. Its current competitors include Eternal’s Blinkit, Swiggy’s Instamart, Amazon Now, IPO-bound Zepto, Reliance’s JioMart, and Tata’s BigBasket — all of whom are investing heavily in their offerings.
Among other new initiatives, Flipkart is also mulling plans to launch a standalone app for a food delivery vertical by the end of 2026 or early next year, but it’s still exploring a differentiated offering. It is aiming to pilot a food delivery service in Bengaluru around June and a subsequent full-scale launch by the end of 2026.
Besides, it is also said to be eyeing the movie and live events ticketing segment. The company is likely to launch offerings similar to incumbents like BookMyShow and Eternal’s District as early as May.
Leadership Churn At Flipkart
In the run up to the IPO, Flipkart made several changes to its internal structure, including a reverse flip from Singapore to India, laid off around 500 employeesand divested stakes in Flying Machine and Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands. Last year, Flipkart shut full-stack ecommerce enabler ANS Commerce, three years after its acquisition.
More recently, group CFO Sriram Venkaraman stepped down from his role in March after a 15-year stint. Following this, the company elevated senior vice president Ravi Iyer to the role. It also appointed former Meta executive Dan Leary to its board in December.
To strengthen senior leadership, Kunal Gupta, vice president and head of Minutes and Grocery at Flipkart, was elevated to the role of senior vice president (SVP) last month.
Within the Flipkart Group, fashion ecommerce player Myntra’s CEO Nandita Sinha also stepped down from her role recently to give way to Flipkart Fashion head Sharon Pais to take on the role. Myntra also appointed Pramod Adiddam as its chief technology officer in February.
Separately, the group promoted Anurag Nair, Gaurav Patwari, Nishitkumar Mehta and Tafeem Uddin Siddiqui in a push to deepen leadership across categories, travel, enterprise systems and policy.
Push For Profitability
On the financial front, Flipkart’s marketplace business, Flipkart Internet’s operating revenue rose 14.4% YoY in FY25 to ₹20,493 Cr. Its loss narrowed 37% to ₹1,494 Cr during the year. It is yet to file its financial figures for FY26.
Myntra, on the other hand, saw its net profit zoom 18X YoY to ₹548 Cr in FY25, buoyed by diversified revenue streams to earn from not just marketplace but also its logistics offerings and advertising on the platform.
Meanwhile, its online travel aggregator (OTA) arm Cleartrip narrowed its net loss by 20% YoY to ₹651 Cr in FY25, while its revenue jumped 70% to ₹169.2 Cr. Lastly, its logistics arm Ekart is also yet to turn a profit, narrowing net loss by 12% to ₹1,515 Cr during the year. It reported an operating revenue of ₹13,732.9 Cr in FY25, up 13% YoY.
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