Quick commerce startup Zepto's unlisted shares have experienced a dramatic 23% decline over five trading sessions, with wholesale quotes falling from around ₹35 to ₹27 per share over the past week. According to market participants, the correction has been steep - about a month ago, the stock traded at around ₹38 per share, while at its peak in December 2025, unlisted shares reached nearly ₹68 before easing to around ₹62 in January 2026. At current levels, the stock has lost nearly 60% from its peak, with the grey market now implying a valuation of under $3.5 billion after the company paused its planned initial public offering.
Quick commerce startup Zepto has delayed its IPO until February-May 2027 after facing significant valuation resistance from institutional investors. The company closed a pre-IPO private placement of equity on August 1, raising more than ₹1,000 crore ($105 million) from select investors ahead of its planned listing. According to company reports, this pre-IPO financing will strengthen Zepto's balance sheet, which already holds ₹5,681 crore in cash with no debt as of March 31, 2026. CEO Aadit Palicha confirmed at a company town hall on July 31 that IPO engagements continue and the company has until November 2027 to list without refiling its draft papers.
Institutional investors have pushed back hard on Zepto's valuation expectations, with reports indicating they valued the business at $2.5-3 billion against the company's $7 billion private valuation. The quick commerce firm had originally planned to list in August 2026 but faced resistance from large domestic institutional investors. As per CNBC TV18, in October 2025, the largest public pension fund in the United States backed Zepto at a $7 billion valuation, while in July 2026, India's mutual funds offered less than half of that valuation. The valuation gap reflects institutional investors' growing value consciousness, with Oister Global's Himanshu Periwal noting that less than 30 percent of IPOs in the last year faced worse pricing compared to listing, compared to a 50-50 split over the past six years. Domestic mutual funds were reportedly unwilling to value the quick-commerce firm at the level it sought, questioning both its continuing cash burn and comparisons with listed peers Eternal and Swiggy.
Despite the valuation challenges, Zepto's underlying business shows strong growth momentum across key metrics. Revenue from operations surged from ₹4,455 crore in FY24 to ₹11,110 crore in FY25 and ₹22,624 crore in FY26, while order volumes grew at a compound annual growth rate of 119.5 percent over the two-year period. The company's market share among scaled quick-commerce players increased from 26 percent to 35 percent during this period. However, losses have grown alongside this scale, with the restated loss standing at ₹1,214.79 crore in FY24, widening to ₹4,699.71 crore in FY25 and climbing further to ₹5,905.19 crore in FY26 - representing a 26 percent year-on-year increase. The current market correction reflects investor concerns about widening losses and high cash burn despite strong revenue growth.
The Zepto situation reflects broader trends in India's new-age tech IPO market, where institutional investors have become increasingly selective about high-growth, loss-making companies. According to The Financial Express analysis, nearly two-thirds of listed startups trade above their issue price, with 24 out of 38 analysed companies closing above their issue price on July 31. However, investors are becoming increasingly selective, rewarding companies that demonstrate execution and a credible path to profitability rather than those anchored to their last private funding round. The post-listing performance shows stark divergence, with companies like Eternal gaining 298% and Ather Energy 293% over their issue prices, while FirstCry fell 54% and Ola Electric 49%. The episode reflects a broader shift where startups seeking to list are now benchmarked against publicly traded peers, not merely against valuations achieved in private funding rounds. Despite challenges, more than 20 new-age companies were gearing up to tap the public markets in 2026, though many may need to accept 30-50 percent valuation haircuts from their last private rounds.
