Different paths, same goal — scale and diversification
Lenskart, India’s largest eyewear brand, is eyeing a listing at a staggering valuation of Rs 69,700 crore, while Groww’s IPO, priced between Rs 95–100 per share, seeks a valuation of around Rs 60,000 crore. Despite similar market cap, their growth stories follow completely different trajectories.
Lenskart is a retail-first, capital-heavy business with over 2,800 stores across India and abroad. Its growth has been powered by physical expansion and aggressive marketing, though that comes at a cost. The company reported Rs 6,652 crore in revenue for FY25 with a net profit of Rs 297 crore, but analysts point out that this includes a one-time gain of Rs 167 crore from the Owndays acquisition. Adjusted for that, its normalized profit is closer to Rs 130 crore, implying a thin net margin of 1.9%.
At these earnings, the valuation translates to a sky-high 535x price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple — a figure even high-growth tech firms would find hard to justify.
“Despite maintaining strong gross margins of 70%, profitability remains constrained due to high store, marketing, and logistics costs,” said Abhinav Tiwari, Research Analyst at Bonanza. “Given that a large portion of the IPO is an offer-for-sale (OFS) by existing investors, there could be limited short-term confidence.”
In contrast, Groww runs a lean, digital-first operation with almost no physical footprint. The Bengaluru-based fintech has already turned profitable and reported Rs 1,824 crore in net profit for FY25 on Rs 3,902 crore in revenue. It boasts 1.29 crore active clients and commands nearly 26% market share in retail broking.According to SimranJeet Singh Bhatia, Senior Equity Research Analyst at Almondz Group, Groww’s focus on technology and diversification gives it an edge. “The company is investing Rs 152 crore of IPO proceeds into cloud infrastructure and expanding its ecosystem through acquisitions like Fisdom. Promoters are not exiting, which boosts investor confidence,” he said.
Valuation debate: Caution meets conviction
While Groww is being valued at around 34–44x FY25 earnings, far lower than Lenskart’s multiple, analysts still see room for caution. More than 84% of Groww’s revenue comes from broking — a segment vulnerable to regulatory tightening in the futures and options (F&O) space. Any curbs by Sebi could dent trading volumes and profitability in the short term.
However, the company is steadily reducing its dependence on broking income. In Q1FY26, revenue from broking fell to 79.7% of total sales from 85% a year earlier, while average revenue per user (ARPU) rose to Rs 3,339, up from Rs 2,520 in FY24. More than 57 lakh users now use more than one of Groww’s wealth products, showing deeper engagement.
“Groww’s platform is scalable, asset-light, and benefits from rising financial inclusion,” said Bhatia. “Lenskart’s growth depends on physical expansion, while Groww can scale exponentially with lower incremental cost.”
Which one should investors pick?
Lenskart’s fundamentals remain strong, but at 260x–500x earnings, investors are wary of paying such high premiums for modest profits. Groww’s 14% grey market premium (GMP) indicates moderate listing optimism, but the real test lies in how well it navigates regulatory headwinds and diversifies its income base.
For investors looking beyond short-term listing gains, Groww seems better positioned, according to Bhatia. Its asset-light model, profitable core, and technology-led diversification make it a more scalable play on India’s financial digitization wave. Lenskart, though a beloved consumer brand, faces a tougher path justifying its rich valuation and investors can adopt a wait and watch approach on its execution after listing.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)