PhysicsWallah IPO Makes Strong Debut with 33.94% Premium, Lists at ₹146.00 Against Weak Subscription

PhysicsWallah Limited, an edtech company offering test preparation courses for competitive examinations like JEE, NEET, UPSC and upskilling courses through omnichannel delivery with 13.7 million YouTube subscribers, 4.46 million paid users growing at 59.19% CAGR, 303 offline centers, 6,267 faculty members, and proprietary technology stack led by founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, made a strong debut on BSE and NSE on November 18, 2025. After closing its IPO bidding between November 11-13, 2025, the company commenced trading with premium of 31.29% opening at ₹143.10 and rose to ₹146.00 (up 33.94%).

PhysicsWallah Limited Listing Details

PhysicsWallah IPO launched at ₹109 per share with minimum investment of 137 shares costing ₹14,933. The IPO received weak response with subscription of 1.92 times - retail at marginal 1.14 times, QIB at moderate 2.86 times, while NII severely undersubscribed at 0.51 times.

First-Day Trading Performance

Listing Price: PhysicsWallah opened at ₹143.10 representing premium of 31.29% from issue price of ₹109.00, rose to ₹146.00 (up 33.94%) touching high of ₹162.05 (up 48.67%) and low of ₹138.50 (up 27.06%), with VWAP at ₹149.11, reflecting positive sentiment despite continuing losses.

Growth Drivers and Challenges

Growth Drivers:

• Market Leadership with Rapid User Growth: Top 5 edtech company by revenues, 4.46 million paid users growing at impressive 59.19% CAGR from FY23 to FY25, 4.13 million unique transacting online users and 0.33 million offline students, 13.7 million YouTube subscribers, presence across 13 education categories with 303 offline centers and 18,028 employees.
• Omnichannel Infrastructure and Technology: Proprietary technology stack enhancing learning experience, 6,267 specialised faculty members, 4,382 books published, multiple delivery channels including social media, website, apps, offline and hybrid centers, average collection per user of ₹3,930.55 providing comprehensive reach across student segments.
• Strong Revenue Growth with EBITDA Turnaround: Revenue increased impressive 51% between FY24 and FY25 reaching ₹3,039.09 crore, turned EBITDA positive with ₹193.20 crore in FY25 from loss of ₹829.35 crore in FY24, experienced management team led by visionary founders driving execution and category expansion.

Challenges:

• Aggressive Valuation and Profitability Concerns: Price-to-book of 14.10x appearing aggressive for loss-making company, negative RoNW of -12.50%, negative PAT margin of -8.43%, modest EBITDA margin of 6.69%, expert review describing as pure long-term story recommending only for well-informed/cash surplus/risk seekers.
• Capital-Intensive Growth Model: Massive ₹3,100.71 crore fresh capital requirement with ₹710.00 crore for marketing, ₹548.31 crore lease payments, ₹460.55 crore offline center fit-outs, ₹941.15 crore for acquisitions indicating high capital intensity, promoter dilution from 81.64% to 71.48%, operating in highly competitive edtech segment with pricing pressures.

Utilisation of IPO Proceeds

Offline Expansion: ₹460.55 crore for fit-outs of new offline and hybrid centers, ₹548.31 crore for lease payments of existing centers, investments in subsidiaries Xylem and Utkarsh Classes for offline network expansion.
Technology and Marketing: ₹200.11 crore for server and cloud infrastructure, massive ₹710.00 crore for marketing initiatives, ₹941.15 crore for acquisitions and general corporate purposes, plus ₹380.00 crore through offer for sale.

Financial Performance

• Revenue: ₹3,039.09 crore for FY25, strong growth of 51% from ₹2,015.35 crore in FY24, reflecting expanding operations across education categories.
• Net Profit: Loss of ₹243.26 crore in FY25, improving from loss of ₹1,131.13 crore in FY24, turned EBITDA positive with ₹193.20 crore.
• Financial Metrics: Negative RoNW of -12.50%, negative PAT margin of -8.43%, EBITDA margin of 6.69%, price-to-book of 14.10x, post-issue EPS of -₹1.76, P/E of -62.06x, and market capitalisation of ₹41,951.69 crore.