Paytm Shares Plummet Nearly 5% Ahead of Q4 Results, Here's What Preview Signals

Paytm shares plunged by around 4.6% on the National Stock Exchange just ahead of its Q4 earnings. The fintech firm received mixed estimates for Q4 from brokerages. At 1:10 pm, Paytm shares were trading at Rs 826 price level, down by 4.52%.

JM Financial and Yes Securities projected a net profit for the January-March quarter to fall between Rs 3.6 crore and Rs 4.5 crore. However, some analysts also gave a negative outlook. For instance, Motilal Oswal anticipates a net loss of Rs 112 crore. However, it expects this loss to shrink as compared to both the previous quarter and the same period last year.

"We expect Paytm to report positive EBITDA (ex-ESOP) primarily driven by better financial services revenue and lower indirect cost. However, the lower UPI incentives are likely to weigh on its prospects of turning net profitable," Emkay Global said in a report.

While the movement in the share price has largely remained subdued, Paytm stocks have managed to stay afloat, up by over 3.5% during the last 6-month period. In the last 1-year period, the shares have delivered multibagger returns of 135% on the National Stock Exchange.

ESOP Issue

Last month, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, CEO of One97 Communications (parent company of fintech giant Paytm), gave up 21 million shares, worth around Rs 1,800 crore. These shares were previously allotted to him under the company's Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

“Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company vide letter dated April 16, 2025, has informed the company that he has voluntarily forgone all 2,10,00,000 ESOPs granted to him under One 97 Employees Stock Option Scheme, 2019, with immediate effect,” the exchange filing read. 

This development came after the market watchdog, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued a show-cause notice to Paytm for violating ESOP grant regulations. The shares were provided to Paytm’s founder in 2021 under the company’s 2019 ESOP policy, just before the fintech firm’s IPO.