One 97 Communications Ltd (Paytm) has announced robust financial performance for its September quarter, reporting a 28 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in revenue to Rs 2,648 crore. The company's Ebitda saw a significant 90 percent jump YoY, with its Ebitda margin reaching double digits for the first time at 10 percent. Profit surged an impressive 10-fold to Rs 225 crore.
Following these strong Q2 results and ahead of its scheduled conference call, several foreign brokerages and global investment banks have largely maintained 'Neutral' to 'Buy' recommendations on Paytm shares, adjusting their price targets.
Brokerage Recommendations and Price Targets
- Goldman Sachs recommended a 'Buy' rating with a target price of Rs 2,010.
- Jefferies, which sees UPI-MDR contributing 2.5 basis points on Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) as revenue post-Diwali, maintained its positive outlook, suggesting a target price of Rs 2,150. The firm noted strong growth continuing, placing Paytm in the '25 percent CAGR Club'.
- Bernstein retained its 'Outperform' rating, setting the highest target price among those mentioned at Rs 2,200.
- Citi also recommended a 'Buy' with a target price of Rs 1,940.
- Macquarie issued an 'Outperform' rating with a target price of Rs 2,025.
- Conversely, UBS maintained a 'Neutral' rating with a target price of Rs 1,340, while Morgan Stanley recommended 'Hold' with a target price of Rs 1,450.
Key Operational Highlights and Growth Drivers
Paytm's underlying operating revenue growth was even stronger at 33 percent YoY, excluding the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) incentive. Ebitda nearly quadrupled, with margins expanding from 3 percent to 10 percent YoY. Net payment revenue grew 21 percent YoY to Rs 644 crore, driven by improved payment processing margins and growth in high-margin instruments like credit cards on UPI and Paytm Postpaid.
The company expanded its merchant subscription plans, adding 27 lakh YoY to reach 1.64 crore. Paytm also reported gaining consumer UPI payment market share for the sixth consecutive quarter, with its UPI Gross Transaction Value (GTV) growing at more than double the industry rate. Monthly Transacting Users increased by 1 crore YoY, reaching 8.5 crore, attributed to product enhancements, stronger acquisition, retention, and AI-led personalization.
Financial Services and AI Integration
Distribution of financial services revenue surged 49 percent YoY to Rs 912 crore, fueled by accelerating growth in merchant loan distribution, personal loans, and Paytm Postpaid. The number of key financial services customers increased 35 percent YoY to 8.8 lakh.
Paytm highlighted AI as an increasingly central operating system, with fine-tuned models and agents deployed across consumer, merchant, engineering, risk management, collections, fraud prevention, and personalization. These AI-led efficiencies helped reduce indirect expenses as a share of revenue from 52 percent to 46 percent over the year. Paytm has also begun offering its AI platform to enterprise merchants to help them grow and engage customers.
As of September 2026, Paytm's cash balance stood at Rs 13,617 crore.