Zepto's IPO Delay Triggers 23% Crash In Unlisted Shares, Valuation Drops Below $3.5 Bn

Zepto's unlisted shares have fallen 23% over the past five trading sessions, with the grey market now implying a valuation of under $3.5 billion after the quick-commerce company paused its planned initial public offering (IPO) and opted for a smaller pre-IPO fundraising instead.

The sharp repricing broadly aligns with the valuation range domestic institutional investors had been discussing before Zepto deferred its IPO. The company has put its public issue on hold and is instead looking to raise around ₹1,000 crore through a pre-IPO placement.

Grey Market Resets Valuation Expectations

Wholesale quotes for Zepto have declined from around ₹35 to ₹27 per share over the past week, according to participants in the unlisted market.

The correction has been steep. About a month ago, the stock changed hands at around ₹38 per share. At its peak in December 2025, unlisted shares traded at nearly ₹68 before easing to around ₹62 in January 2026, according to unlisted-market trackers. At current levels, the stock has lost nearly 60% from its peak.

Based on the fully diluted share count of around 1,260 crore shares disclosed in Zepto's updated DRHP, the current wholesale price implies a market capitalisation of roughly ₹34,000 crore, or about $3.6 billion.

By comparison, the same share count implied a valuation of around $5 billion when the stock traded at ₹38 last month. At the December peak, the implied valuation approached $9 billion, although those trades took place in a much thinner market and before the company updated its DRHP.

The current wholesale price is also well below Zepto's last primary fundraising. The DRHP disclosed a weighted average acquisition cost of ₹37.74 per share for the Series H funding rounds completed in October-November 2025, indicating that secondary market trades are now taking place at a sharp discount to the latest primary issue price.

IPO Pause Widens Focus On Valuation

The repricing follows Zepto's decision to defer its planned IPO, originally targeted for July, in favour of a smaller pre-IPO fundraising.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that the company was looking to raise around ₹1,000 crore at a valuation of roughly $4.5 billion. Existing investors, including Glade Brook, General Catalyst, Goodwater Capital and Nexus Venture Partners, are expected to participate.

The revised fundraising comes after a widening gap emerged between the valuation sought by existing shareholders and what institutional investors were willing to pay.

While the company was seeking a valuation of around $4.5 billion, domestic institutional investors were discussing a range of $2.5-3 billion. Lead bankers attempted to defend a valuation closer to $4-4.5 billion, while buy-side investors pushed for around $3 billion or lower.

Growth Accelerates, But Losses Continue To Rise

The valuation debate comes despite strong operating growth.

Zepto's revenue from operations more than doubled to ₹22,623.58 crore in FY26 from ₹11,109.95 crore a year earlier. However, its net loss widened to ₹5,905.19 crore from ₹4,699.71 crore.

Brokerage reports analysing the company's DRHP highlighted the same dilemma confronting investors. While acknowledging Zepto's industry-leading order density and rapid expansion, analysts noted that the company continues to report materially higher operating losses than peers.

Jefferies estimated that Zepto lost around ₹79 per order in FY26, compared with Blinkit's near break-even economics. JPMorgan also said Zepto recorded the highest EBITDA burn among the three major quick-commerce players despite leading the industry in orders per dark store.

The company operated 1,139 dark stores at the end of FY26 and processed an average of 17.5 lakh orders a day, with total annual orders of 640.18 million. Net Receivables Value stood at ₹24,815.54 crore, while cash and cash equivalents totalled ₹5,680.53 crore.