In Pole Position

Groww is the most-profitable new age unicorn to go public—by a distance; and it is expanding beyond its brokerage roots into wealth management

- Nabodita Ganguly and Deepsekhar Choudhury

Not long ago, an analyst cornered Ambarish Kenghe, group chief executive at Angel One, India's third-largest broker, with a discomforting question in a post-earnings meeting: “One of your peers has filed for an IPO [initial public offering]. Their revenue structure and their client base is higher than Angel's, but the cost ratios are far lower. What are the reasons?”

It was no secret that the “peer” being referred to was Groww, the Satya Nadella-backed fintech that joined the race from nowhere in 2020 and became the market leader in no time.

Also, it is now the most profitable of the two-dozen new age companies that have debuted in the public market since Zomato set the ball rolling in 2021.

“Groww's path to the public market has been calm because of big profits in the rear view: from over ₹450 crore in 2022–23 to more than ₹1,800 crore in 2024–25,” says Ambareesh Baliga, a veteran equity analyst who advises family offices.

Of course, the online-broking business, which contributes about 80% of the company's revenue, inherently has better unit economics, compared to new age sectors like food delivery or edtech. There are no physical goods or people involved in the transaction.

Moreover, as the analyst pointed out in the Angel One post-earnings call, Groww's outperformance also holds true within the broking segment. Its profitability towers over larger rivals like Paytm Money, Upstox and IndMoney.

This wouldn't be possible without a strong moat that's deeply structural.

Getting Them Hooked