Paytm share price falls over 1% despite strong Q1 results 2026: Should you buy, sell or hold?

Paytm Q1 Results 2026: One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, stock fell 1.4% to ₹1,328.80 in intraday deals on Tuesday, July 21, even after it reported a strong financial performance for the quarter ended June 2026 (Q1 FY27) after market hours on Monday, as sustained momentum across its core businesses led to a sharp rise in profitability.

The company posted a net profit of ₹220 crore for the quarter, marking a 79% increase from ₹123 crore reported in the corresponding period last year. Excluding the impact of the PIDF incentive, comparable profit after tax (PAT) surged 207% to ₹212 crore from ₹69 crore a year earlier.

The earnings growth was supported by strong operating leverage, healthy expansion in the company's high-margin payments and financial services businesses, and improved cost efficiencies, with revenue growing at a faster pace than operating expenses.

Alongside its June quarter earnings, the Board also considered a proposal to issue bonus shares. However, it decided not to proceed with the proposal at this stage. The Board said it remains committed to compounding growth and profitability to deliver long-term shareholder value and, after due deliberation, concluded that prioritising business growth is in the best interests of shareholders.

Revenue from operations increased 28% year-on-year to ₹2,448 crore from ₹1,918 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. On a sequential basis, revenue rose 8% from ₹2,264 crore reported in the March quarter.

The growth was primarily driven by the company's Payment Services business, where revenue climbed 33% YoY to ₹1,384 crore, supported by higher merchant payment volumes and the continued expansion of its payments ecosystem.

The company's profitability improved sharply during the quarter, with reported EBITDA surging 182% year-on-year to ₹203 crore from ₹72 crore in the corresponding period last year. The EBITDA margin also expanded to 8% from 4%.

Excluding the impact of the government's PIDF incentive, comparable EBITDA rose to ₹195 crore from ₹18 crore a year ago, while the comparable EBITDA margin improved significantly to 8% from 1%.

The company said its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) growth accelerated to 31% year-on-year in Q1 FY27, compared with 27% in Q4 FY26 and 24% in Q3 FY26.

According to the company, the improvement was driven by continued investments in products, merchant distribution, and servicing of device merchants. It also said it has started witnessing strong momentum in its online merchant business following the receipt of the online Payment Aggregator (PA) licence last year.

Pranati Deva is a seasoned financial journalist with over a decade of experience in high-pressure newsroom environments, currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at LiveMint. Over the years, she has developed a reputation for sharp editorial judgement, a strong grasp of market dynamics, and the ability to translate complex financial developments into clear, engaging stories for a wide audience. <br><br> Her core areas of coverage include stock markets, leading listed companies, currencies, and commodities, with a particular strength in fast-paced, real-time market reporting. She is known for handling breaking market news, earnings-driven stock movements, and macroeconomic developments with speed, accuracy, and context—qualities that are essential in financial journalism. <br><br> Pranati has built a diverse and credible professional track record across some of India’s most respected news organisations, including MintGenie, CNBC-TV18, Business Standard and EconomicTimes.com. During her stints at these platforms, she produced data-driven market stories, curated and steered live blogs during volatile trading sessions, and conducted interviews with market veterans, fund managers, economists, and industry experts. Her work often combines on-ground reporting with analytical depth, helping readers make sense of daily market fluctuations and...