PhysicsWallah Ltd – the edtech unicorn built around Alakh Pandey’s “Physics Wallah” brand – is now a listed stock, and its first two weeks on the market have been… lively.
As of mid‑session on 1 December 2025, PhysicsWallah (ticker PWL) is trading around ₹131 per share on NSE/BSE, after swinging between roughly ₹123 and ₹133 intraday. That values the company at about ₹37,000 crore in market capitalisation, with a 52‑week range of ₹121.22–₹161.99 already established in just a couple of weeks of trading. [1]
The stock is now sitting almost 19% below its post‑listing high near ₹162, but still well above its IPO issue price of ₹109. [2]
Below is a deep dive into the latest share price action, IPO details, broker views, and growth plans around PhysicsWallah Ltd as of 1 December 2025.
PhysicsWallah share price today (1 December 2025)
On 1 December 2025, ICICI Direct’s live equity dashboard shows the following snapshot for PhysicsWallah Ltd (PWL): [3]
- Last traded price: ~₹131.4
- Intraday range: Low ~₹123.30, high ~₹132.70
- 52‑week range: Low ₹121.22, high ₹161.99
- Market capitalisation: ~₹37,576 crore
- 1‑year return: about ‑15%, despite the recent listing (this includes unlisted price history rolling into the listed series)
- Valuation multiples:
- Trailing P/E is negative (around –147x), reflecting consolidated losses
- P/B ratio: ~9.3x
- Dividend yield: 0%
Bajaj Finserv’s stock page reports a very similar picture – price around ₹131, comparable intraday range, and a negative P/E with book value per share near ₹15 – reinforcing that PhysicsWallah trades at a high price‑to‑book multiple and no meaningful earnings multiple yet. [4]
Trendlyne’s dashboard labels the stock “Expensive Valuation” on fundamentals and “Technically Bearish” on short‑term price action, with no formal analyst price targets available yet. [5]
In other words: the market is still price‑discovering this new‑age education stock, and the swing meter is already busy.
From YouTube channel to listed edtech giant
PhysicsWallah is essentially the stock‑market avatar of one of India’s most influential education brands.
Key business facts from the IPO documents and broker research: [6]
- Origins: Started as a YouTube channel focused on JEE/NEET prep, incorporated in 2020 in Prayagraj and later shifted base to Noida.
- Business model: Multi‑channel learning –
- Online: apps, website and multiple YouTube channels
- Offline: Vidyapeeth centres
- Hybrid: PW Pathshala, where students attend digital classes at physical centres with on‑site doubt support.
- Categories: As of June 2025, PhysicsWallah offered courses across 13 education categories, including JEE, NEET, UPSC, state board foundations, as well as upskilling courses in data science, banking and software development. [7]
- User base & footprint:
- 4.46 million paid users as of FY25, growing at ~59% CAGR from FY23
- 4.13 million unique transacting online users in FY25
- 303 offline centres across India by 30 June 2025
- 6,267‑plus faculty and over 18,000 employees. [8]
- YouTube reach: Main channel “Physics Wallah – Alakh Pandey” had about 13.7 million subscribers by July 2025; across properties, the company claims nearly 99 million subscribers by June 2025. [9]
Financially, the company is a classic growth‑vs‑profitability tug‑of‑war:
- Total income jumped from about ₹772 crore in FY23 to ₹2,015 crore in FY24 and ₹3,039 crore in FY25 – a two‑year CAGR close to 97%.
- Net loss, however, came in at ₹84 crore (FY23), ₹1,131 crore (FY24) and ₹243 crore (FY25), with another loss reported in Q1 FY26. [10]
Liquide’s IPO note summarised it bluntly: PhysicsWallah has “impressive topline growth” but remains loss‑making, and its EBITDA margin briefly turned positive in FY25 before slipping back into the red in Q1 FY26 due to offline expansion costs and higher faculty spends. [11]
This is the core investment debate: is PhysicsWallah a fast‑growing education platform still in its investment phase, or a structurally low‑margin offline‑heavy business wrapped in a tech narrative?
PhysicsWallah IPO in brief: size, price and use of funds
The PhysicsWallah IPO was one of the marquee mainboard offerings of 2025 in India’s edtech space.
According to ICICI Direct’s IPO note and the RHP: [12]
- Issue size: ~₹3,480 crore
- Structure:
- Fresh issue: ~₹3,100 crore
- Offer for sale (OFS): ~₹380 crore by promoters
- Price band:₹103–₹109 per share (face value ₹1)
- Lot size: 137 shares (minimum retail application around ₹14,111–₹14,933)
- IPO dates:
- Bidding: 11–13 November 2025
- Allotment: 14 November
- Listing: 18 November 2025 on NSE and BSE.
Business Standard and the IPO documents outline how the fresh issue proceeds are earmarked: [13]
- Capex and lease payments for new and existing offline/hybrid centres
- Server and cloud infrastructure
- Marketing spends
- Additional stake in subsidiary Utkarsh Classes & Edutech
- Capital for Xylem Learning and other subsidiaries
- Inorganic growth (future acquisitions) and general corporate purposes.
In parallel, PhysicsWallah secured an NBFC license for its lending arm Finz Finance Pvt Ltd, allowing the company to directly offer student loans rather than routing them through partner NBFCs and banks – a move clearly aligned with its IPO‑funded expansion plans. [14]
Subscription and sentiment before listing
Despite the hype around India’s first listed edtech unicorn, the IPO was not wildly oversubscribed.
Business Standard, citing NSE data, notes that the issue saw overall subscription of roughly 1.9x, driven mainly by institutional demand: QIBs subscribed about 2.7x, retail investors about 1.1x, while non‑institutional investors (NIIs) came in at less than 0.5x. [15]
Research houses were cautious:
- Swastika Investmart rated the IPO AVOID, flagging continued losses, an EV/EBITDA multiple of about 145x and EV/Sales near 9.7x on FY25 numbers – far ahead of traditional education peers. [16]
- Liquide highlighted strong revenue and user growth but emphasised: sustained losses in FY23–FY25, negative margins in Q1 FY26, loss‑making subsidiaries, high faculty attrition and intense competition. Their verdict: remain cautious and consider exposure only once profitability visibility improves. [17]
So even before the bell rang on listing day, the consensus was: great brand, tough maths.
Listing day: blockbuster debut on Dalal Street
On 18 November 2025, PhysicsWallah answered the big question: would the market pay up?
Across multiple live blogs and news reports, the numbers are consistent: [18]
- Listing price:
- ₹145 on NSE, about 33% above the issue price of ₹109
- Around ₹143.10 on BSE, roughly a 31% premium
- Intraday high:
- Up to ₹161.99–₹162.05, nearly 49% above the IPO price and ~12% above the listing price
- Market cap at peak: Reuters estimates implied a valuation near $5.2 billion, well above the $3.2–3.6 billion valuation implied at the IPO price.
Economic Times, Business Standard, Mint and Business Standard’s “Bumper debut!” coverage all frame it the same way: PhysicsWallah delivered a textbook blockbuster listing, beating grey‑market premium expectations even in a relatively muted broader market. [19]
The demand was seen as a vote of confidence in the company’s brand, its hybrid model and the broader edtech‑plus‑offline coaching thesis – especially after the bruising years for other edtech giants.
Then came the hangover: sharp pullback after the high
The party didn’t last long.
Within a week of listing:
- LiveMint calculated that PhysicsWallah’s share price had dropped about 21.5% from its peak, wiping out nearly ₹9,824 crore in market value as the stock fell for four straight sessions. [20]
- The Times of India reported a similar theme: a multi‑day slide that erased roughly ₹8,600 crore of investor wealth since debut. [21]
- Brokerage PL Capital described the move as investors “re‑rating” the stock after early exuberance, noting a decline of over 21% from the listing‑day high. [22]
In other words, the stock did what newly listed growth stories often do: overshoot on day one, then mean‑revert hard as investors looked beyond listing pop headlines to the income statement.
By 1 December 2025, with the stock around ₹131, PhysicsWallah is still about 20% above the IPO price but noticeably below the euphoric highs of listing day. [23]
How expensive is PhysicsWallah stock now?
Even after the correction, PhysicsWallah is not “cheap” on conventional metrics because it is still loss‑making.
From a valuation standpoint: [24]
- Negative P/E: On trailing earnings, the P/E is meaningfully negative; losses make the ratio basically a warning sign rather than a useful gauge.
- High P/B: At around 9–10x book value, PhysicsWallah trades more like a high‑growth tech platform than a traditional coaching company.
- Revenue multiple: Swastika’s IPO note pegged the FY25 EV/Sales at ~9.7x at the issue price. Business Standard estimates this expanded to roughly 13x EV/Sales at post‑listing prices before the pullback. Even after the slide, the revenue multiple remains rich relative to many education and consumer internet peers in India.
- Third‑party dashboards: Trendlyne flags the stock as “Expensive Valuation” with no analyst price targets yet and a “technically bearish” reading after the recent decline.
In plain English: the stock price still bakes in high expectations of future profitability and growth. Any disappointment on margins or expansion could trigger further volatility.
What analysts and brokerages are saying
Pre‑IPO: mostly “avoid” or “wait and watch”
- Swastika Investmart (through both its own note and a Chittorgarh‑hosted PDF) recommended AVOID, citing:
- Persistent losses
- High EV/Sales and EV/EBITDA multiples
- Heavy capex and fixed costs from offline centres
- No clear timeline for sustainable profitability. [25]
- Liquide advised caution, pointing to:
- Negative net worth in earlier years
- Loss‑making subsidiaries like Xylem and Utkarsh
- High faculty attrition (~36% in FY25) and dependence on star educators
- Regulatory and legal risks in the education sector. [26]
Post‑listing: split between partial‑profit‑booking and cautious optimism
Business Standard’s listing‑day analysis captured a three‑way split in expert opinion: [27]
- Swastika’s Shivani Nyati
- Acknowledged the strong brand, large student base and expanding hybrid network.
- Recommended investors book partial profits after the bumper listing but hold some shares for the medium term, with a suggested stop‑loss around ₹130.
- Geojit Investments (Anil R.)
- Highlighted that post‑listing, PhysicsWallah’s EV/Sales moved from ~10.3x at IPO to ~13x, reflecting heightened investor confidence.
- Argued that if the company can sustain performance, it could re‑ignite interest in edtech IPOs and become a benchmark hybrid model.
- MasterTrust (Ravi Singh)
- Took the opposite view, calling the long‑term outlook weak at current valuations and advising investors who got allotment to book profits and exit.
Meanwhile, Mint’s piece on the 21% crash in a week explicitly urged investors to “tread cautiously”, framing PhysicsWallah as a textbook example of high‑beta, narrative‑driven IPOs where fundamentals must catch up with price. [28]
Put together, the Street message as of 1 December 2025 is roughly:
“Great brand, strong growth, but valuations are rich and earnings are fragile. Treat it as a high‑risk, high‑volatility idea, not a safe compounder – at least not yet.”
Management’s roadmap: aggressive expansion, OTT and student loans
While the market chews on valuation, the company is clearly in offence mode.
In a recent interview with Economic Times, co‑founder Prateek Maheshwari outlined an ambitious three‑year plan, funded by IPO proceeds: [29]
- Offline expansion:
- Open 60–70 new centres over the next two quarters
- Scale to around 200 additional centres over three years, with a strategic focus on South India and state board markets.
- Revenue mix target: Aim for a 55:45 online‑to‑offline revenue split by FY30, essentially betting that the online engine will grow faster even as the offline presence deepens.
- Content & product push:
- Launch of “Pi”, an OTT‑style learning platform priced at around ₹300/month, designed to keep the “affordability” promise while capturing recurring subscription revenue.
- Continued diversification into premium offerings and hybrid formats.
- Fintech angle: Through Finz Finance NBFC, PhysicsWallah plans to directly finance student loans and other credit‑linked services, reducing dependence on partner lenders and theoretically improving margins and control over customer lifecycle. [30]
If everything goes right, this blueprint could produce higher operating leverage over time. If it doesn’t, it could mean prolonged losses and balance‑sheet stress from capital‑heavy offline bets – exactly what several pre‑IPO notes warned about.
Key risks investors should track
Based on IPO documents and independent research, the main risk factors around PhysicsWallah Ltd include: [31]
- Sustained profitability remains unproven
- FY23–FY25 losses and negative Q1 FY26 margins show that the current business mix is not yet self‑funding at scale.
- Offline centres have long payback periods and high fixed costs.
- Dependence on star educators and founders
- A teacher‑driven brand is vulnerable to faculty attrition (around 36% in FY25) and potential poaching by rivals.
- The brand is tightly associated with Alakh Pandey and key leaders; any disruption there is a material risk.
- Regulatory and reputational risk
- Education is a sensitive, regulated area. Changes in rules around test prep, K‑12 content or student data, or exam‑related controversies, can hit both operations and brand.
- Competitive intensity
- PhysicsWallah faces competition from both big edtech names (Byju’s, Unacademy, Vedantu, etc.) and legacy offline giants in Kota, Delhi NCR and other hubs.
- Pricing power may be limited if the market turns into a discount war, especially in Tier‑2/3 cities.
- Leverage and capital allocation
- While net worth has turned positive after years of negative reserves, the company still has meaningful borrowings and will be deploying large IPO proceeds. Mis‑allocation or delays in payback from new centres could hurt future returns.
What should investors watch next?
For anyone tracking or holding PhysicsWallah Ltd (PWL), the next 12–24 months are likely to be about execution and discipline, not just top‑line growth. Key upcoming triggers:
- Quarterly results post‑IPO:
- Are losses narrowing consistently?
- Do offline centres show improving contribution margins?
- Progress on centre rollout vs. utilisation:
- Opening 60–70 centres fast is one thing; filling them with paying students at healthy unit economics is another.
- Adoption of the “Pi” OTT platform and other subscription products:
- Higher recurring online revenue would support the management’s targeted 55:45 online/offline mix and could improve operating leverage.
- Student‑loan portfolio quality at Finz Finance:
- Direct lending introduces credit risk; delinquency trends will matter, especially if loans are extended deeper into lower‑income segments.
- Any new analyst coverage or formal target prices:
- As more brokerages initiate coverage, the market will get clearer consensus views on fair value and risk pricing.
Bottom line
As of 1 December 2025, PhysicsWallah Ltd sits at an interesting crossroads:
- Stock price: Around ₹131, well above the IPO price but materially below the first‑day euphoria highs. [32]
- Business: One of India’s most powerful education brands, with rapid revenue growth, millions of paying learners and a sprawling hybrid footprint.
- Financials & valuation: Loss‑making, capital‑intensive and trading at rich revenue and book multiples, with Street opinion split between “book profits”, “hold with caution” and “wait for earnings clarity”. [33]
For now, PhysicsWallah is not a sleepy, dividend‑paying education stock. It is a volatile, narrative‑heavy growth listing where execution over the next few years will decide whether today’s valuation looks visionary or excessive.
References
1. www.icicidirect.com, 2. www.business-standard.com, 3. www.icicidirect.com, 4. www.bajajfinserv.in, 5. trendlyne.com, 6. www.icicidirect.com, 7. www.icicidirect.com, 8. www.swastika.co.in, 9. www.icicidirect.com, 10. www.ipopremium.in, 11. blog.liquide.life, 12. www.icicidirect.com, 13. www.business-standard.com, 14. timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 15. www.business-standard.com, 16. www.chittorgarh.net, 17. blog.liquide.life, 18. m.economictimes.com, 19. m.economictimes.com, 20. www.livemint.com, 21. timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 22. www.plindia.com, 23. www.icicidirect.com, 24. www.icicidirect.com, 25. www.chittorgarh.net, 26. blog.liquide.life, 27. www.business-standard.com, 28. www.livemint.com, 29. m.economictimes.com, 30. timesofindia.indiatimes.com, 31. blog.liquide.life, 32. www.icicidirect.com, 33. www.business-standard.com


