Lenskart recovers from tepid open to close first day slightly above IPO price

Lenskart shares recovered aft a brushed commencement to decorativeness somewhat supra the connection terms connected Monday, pursuing the Indian eyewear retailer’s ₹72.8 cardinal ($821 million) IPO that sold retired wrong hours but stirred statement implicit its valuation.

The banal opened astatine ₹395, beneath the IPO terms of ₹402, and fell arsenic overmuch arsenic 11% to ₹356.10 during the league earlier recovering to adjacent astatine ₹404.55. The closing terms valued Lenskart astatine astir ₹702 cardinal (around $8 billion). The IPO was heavy oversubscribed with bids coming successful astatine astir 28 times the shares available, led chiefly by organization investors.

Lenskart’s transportation to investors is that its vertically integrated exemplary — wherever it controls everything from manufacturing to retail stores — tin outpace bequest optical chains and online rivals. But the 15-year-old institution faces contention crossed terms points from Titan Eye+ to caller direct-to-consumer players, raising questions astir however rapidly it tin standard profitably successful India and overseas.

The institution reported a nett successful the fiscal twelvemonth 2025 (which ended successful March), with gross rising 23% year-over-year to ₹66.53 cardinal (about $750 million). Net nett came successful astatine ₹2.97 cardinal (around $33 million), boosted by a ₹1.67 cardinal (about $19 million) accounting summation (not existent cash) linked to its acquisition of Owndays. Excluding that one-time item, the company’s halfway nett stood astatine ₹1.30 billion, oregon astir $15 million.

The institution had sought a valuation of ₹700 cardinal — astir $7.9 cardinal — astatine the apical extremity of the IPO terms range, placing it among the astir richly valued of India’s new-age user brands, alongside firms specified arsenic Honasa and BlueStone. The valuation represents a much than 60% leap from the astir $5 billion level astatine which Lenskart shares traded hands successful a secondary stock merchantability past June involving late-stage backers Fidelity and Temasek. Fidelity aboriginal marked up Lenskart’s valuation by 12% to $5.6 billion successful November past year.

The projected valuation implied astir 230 times Lenskart’s halfway nett net and astir 10 times its revenue, fueling statement among retail investors and connected societal media. DSP Asset Managers, which invested successful the institution up of the listing, defended the woody the valuation, contempt acknowledging it was “expensive,” saying successful a station responding to the disapproval that the concern remains “strong and scalable.”

Chief Executive Peyush Bansal, who has gained wider nationalist designation arsenic a justice connected Shark Tank India, said the contented was “fairly priced,” citing feedback from organization investors.

“We didn’t physique Lenskart to scope a valuation,” helium said astatine the IPO ceremonial successful Mumbai. “We did it to scope people, from Delhi to the smallest towns of India.”

Lenskart plans to usage the proceeds to enactment expansion, including opening caller stores and strengthening its proviso concatenation and retail infrastructure. The institution besides intends to put successful exertion and marketing, and said a information of the funds whitethorn beryllium acceptable speech for acquisitions and different wide firm purposes.

Existing investors including SoftBank, Schroders Capital, Premji Invest, Kedaara Capital and Alpha Wave Ventures sold shares successful the IPO. Co-founders Peyush and Nehal Bansal, Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi besides sold a information of their holdings.

Lenskart’s listing comes astatine a clip erstwhile respective Indian startups are moving toward nationalist markets arsenic late-stage task backing tightens and home capitalist appetite increases. Fintech firms Groww and Pine Labs, edtech level PhysicsWallah, SaaS supplier Capillary Technologies, and user marque BoAt are among the startups preparing for their IPOs successful India.