PhonePe, one of the leading fintechs of India with the backing of Walmart, gears up for its most keenly awaited tech IPO. The company filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI in a move to get listed on Indian exchanges, expectedly by mid-2026. PhonePe is a dominant and financial services platform of India and its IPO was eagerly awaited by the investor community. The company would be the second major fintech to be listed on Indian stock exchanges after Paytm.
IPO Details and Valuation
PhonePe’s initial public offering is set to be among India’s biggest fintech listings. The goal is to raise close to $1.5 billion (around ₹12,000 crore) at a valuation of $15 billion, making it a first-of-its-kind listing for India’s digital ecosystem. The IPO will include a combination of new shares and an offer for sale by existing shareholders such as Walmart, Microsoft, and Tiger Global, according to reports. Large global investment banks such as JP Morgan, Citi India, Morgan Stanley, and Kotak Mahindra Capital have been appointed as lead managers.
Financial Performance and Profits
PhonePe has seen impressive growth as it prepares to go public. In the fiscal year ended March 2025 (FY25), the company’s consolidated revenue from operations rose by 40% to ₹7,115 crore from ₹5,064 crore in the prior year. The payments business remains the cornerstone, accounting for ₹6,300 crore, while others such as insurance, lending, and brokerage income account for ₹558 crore.
In line with this growth pattern, PhonePe also reduced its net loss by 13% to ₹1,727 crore for FY25, from ₹1,996 crore a year earlier. Notably, the company achieved free cash flow positivity, with over ₹1,200 crore of cash generated from operations over the course of the year. Adjusted EBITDA (excluding the cost of ESOP) increased more than two-fold, illustrating operating efficiency improvement as it continues to scale.
Business Segments and Strengths
Although PhonePe’s dominance in UPI-based transactions is firmly established, the company has moved very quickly into credit, insurance distribution, wealth management, and marketplace activities. PhonePe boasts of a registered user base exceeding 600 million and 40 million merchants, highlighting its size as India’s largest payments platform.
The firm’s shift from Singapore to Indian domicile in 2024 boosted towards compliance for its planned IPO. The recent payment aggregator license from RBI further broadens its ecosystem, allowing PhonePe to deepen merchant and value-added services.
Outlook
The PhonePe IPO is set to be a milestone moment for Indian fintech, with its strong growth, scaled-up user base, and increasing profitability to draw strong investor attention. While the company prepares to list, everyone is waiting to see if it can maintain operational traction and extend beyond payments in India’s crowded digital finance space.
