Paytm’s EBITDA Turns Positive in Q4
Paytm’s reported EBITDA stood at ₹132 crore in Q4FY26 compared with an EBITDA loss of ₹88 crore in Q4FY25, reflecting a YoY improvement of ₹220 crore. On a comparable basis, EBITDA improved by ₹330 crore YoY to ₹122 crore from a loss of ₹208 crore in Q4FY25.
Sequentially, reported EBITDA declined 15% from ₹156 crore in Q3FY26. However, comparable EBITDA rose 79% QoQ from ₹68 crore, indicating improvement in the underlying business despite Q4 being a seasonally weaker quarter after the festive period.
The company also stated that reported numbers were impacted by the discontinuation of the PIDF scheme and that FY26 UPI incentive is yet to be finalised. Paytm said it achieved its guidance of offsetting 30% to 40% of the PIDF impact in Q4FY26 and will target further offset over time.
Paytm’s Net Profit Sees Turnaround on YoY Basis
Paytm reported a profit after tax of ₹183 crore in Q4FY26 against a loss of ₹545 crore in Q4FY25. On a sequential basis, PAT declined 19% from ₹225 crore in Q3FY26.
For the full year, PAT stood at ₹552 crore compared with a loss of ₹663 crore in FY25. The company noted that FY25 PAT included a one-time gain of ₹1,345 crore on sale of the entertainment business and a one-time charge of ₹522 crore towards acceleration of ESOP expense and other impairments. FY26 PAT included a one-time charge of ₹190 crore towards full impairment of loan to its JV, First Games Technology Pvt. Ltd.
Payment Services and Financial Services Drive Growth
Payment Services revenue stood at ₹1,265 crore in Q4FY26, up 21% YoY and 6% QoQ. For FY26, the segment reported revenue of ₹4,646 crore, up 20% from ₹3,879 crore in FY25.
Distribution of Financial Services remained the key growth driver. Revenue from this business stood at ₹750 crore in Q4FY26, up 38% YoY and 12% QoQ. For FY26, the business scaled to around ₹2,593 crore, growing 52% YoY and adding nearly ₹890 crore in revenue over FY25. Paytm described this as a high-growth and high-margin business.
Marketing Services revenue declined 10% YoY to ₹239 crore in Q4FY26. For FY26, the segment reported revenue of ₹952 crore, down 18% from ₹1,158 crore in FY25.
Merchant Payments Show Market Share Gains
Paytm said it gained market share in both merchant and consumer payments during FY26. Merchant GMV stood at ₹6.5 lakh crore in Q4FY26, rising 27% YoY. The company said this was driven by product innovation, disciplined execution, wider distribution and improved service.
Subscription merchants, including devices, reached 1.51 crore, with the company adding 27 lakh net devices on a YoY basis. Paytm said that with an increase in lifetime value, it has passed on some benefits of lower device cost to its most engaged device merchants. This is expected to strengthen retention, improve market share and support higher monetisation.
The company also highlighted that Soundbox is no longer only a payment confirmation device. It is increasingly being positioned as a small business operating system, deployed across 1.51 crore storefronts in India.
Payment Processing Margin Expands Above 4 bps
Paytm’s payment processing margin expanded to above 4 basis points in FY26, compared with the earlier guidance of above 3 basis points a year ago. The improvement was driven by pricing discipline and higher growth of profitable MDR-bearing instruments, including credit cards on UPI and affordability offerings such as EMI.
The company expects this expansion to continue in FY27, supported by the same mix of higher-margin payment instruments and disciplined pricing across payment offerings.
Consumer UPI GTV Grows Faster Than Industry
On the consumer side, Paytm reported Consumer UPI GTV of ₹5.5 lakh crore in Q4FY26, up 46 per cent YoY. The company said this growth was 2.2 times the industry growth of 21 per cent. Monthly transacting users rose to 7.7 crore, an increase of 50 lakh YoY.
Paytm said AI-led personalisation in the app is improving relevance, retention and cross-sell readiness. It is also scaling Paytm Postpaid, which the company described as a high-margin payment instrument that improves engagement and acts as a funnel for additional consumer credit products.
Financial Services Remains Asset-Light
Paytm continues to follow a “distribution-only” model in financial services. Under this structure, loans are underwritten and booked by lending partners on their own balance sheets, while Paytm brings merchants, insights, customer experience and collections discipline.
The company said this model creates a win-win partnership with lending partners. Paytm believes it is better suited to remain asset-light and bring multiple blue-chip partners on its platform, rather than scale using its own balance sheet. It also stated that this model is more scalable given its large customer base and high penetration potential.
AI-Led Operating Leverage Supports Cost Control
Paytm’s total indirect expenses declined 3% YoY to ₹1,122 crore in Q4FY26 from ₹1,160 crore. For FY26, indirect expenses declined 16% to ₹4,358 crore from ₹5,184 crore in FY25.
Marketing expenses declined 36% YoY to ₹65 crore in Q4FY26, while employee cost, including ESOP costs, stood at ₹739 crore, down 1% YoY. Software, cloud and data centre expenses increased 20 per cent YoY to ₹175 crore, reflecting continued investments in technology and AI.
The company said AI is being used across engineering, merchant acquisition, consumer acquisition, fraud prevention, collections and service operations. This has helped improve productivity, reduce costs, control risk and support operating leverage.
Cash Balance Rises to ₹13,315 Crore
Paytm’s cash balance stood at ₹13,315 crore as of March 2026, compared with ₹12,809 crore as of March 2025, reflecting an increase of ₹506 crore. The company said this balance excludes Paytm Money customer funds and balances in escrow or nodal accounts, but includes the pre-funded balance in escrow from PPSL after the transfer of the offline business.
On capital deployment, Paytm said it sees opportunities in capex, scaling the MTF business, AI investments, distribution and talent. It also plans to keep cash available for selective inorganic opportunities, but only at the right price and where strategically additive. The company added that it will not deploy capital simply because it has it.
FY27 Guidance: Revenue Growth to Accelerate
For FY27, Paytm expects revenue growth to be higher than the 22% delivered in FY26. The company also expects indirect expenses to grow meaningfully slower than revenue, which should support further EBITDA margin expansion.
The FY27 outlook is based on four growth engines: expansion of merchant payments, structural growth in high-margin merchant loan distribution, consumer lifecycle monetisation and continued use of AI across the organisation. Paytm said these factors are already in motion and are expected to support both growth acceleration and margin expansion.
