Net profit rebounds as operating margin returns to 77.58%
Revenue growth outpaced expenses, but a 40.46% YoY rise in interest limited the increase in pre-tax profit to 9.12%.
Filed 23 Jul 2026, 16:06 IST · after market close · Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd (MOTILALOFS)
Key takeaways
- Consolidated net profit rose 9.53% YoY to Rs 1,273.70 cr after a Q4FY26 loss.
- Operating margin expanded 3.26 percentage points YoY as revenue grew 25.16% while expenses rose 9.32%.
- The stock fell 7.15% after the results, versus a 3.18% median absolute move across its last eight result reactions.
Price around the results
Revenue growth restored profitability
Consolidated revenue grew 25.16% YoY, while operating profit increased 30.64%, showing that the quarter's operating leverage came from costs growing more slowly than revenue. Other income contributed only 0.42% of pre-tax profit, so reported earnings were not materially supported by non-operating income. Net profit growth was limited to 9.53% as interest expense rose 40.46% YoY.
Sequential margin rebound followed the Q4 cost spike
Operating margin rose 56.52 percentage points QoQ as revenue increased 28.01% and expenses fell 63.64%. After dropping to 21.06% in Q4FY26, margin returned to 77.58%, which was 3.26 percentage points above Q1FY26. The quarterly trend was uneven: margin fell from 74.32% in Q1FY26 to 60.98% in Q2FY26, recovered to 66.85% in Q3FY26, and then dropped sharply in Q4FY26 before this rebound.
Margin was above the reported peer median
Motilal Oswal's 77.58% operating margin was 5.36 percentage points above the 72.22% median among 22 Financial Services peers that had reported the same quarter. This places the quarter's margin above the sector comparison despite the sharp sequential volatility.
Market reaction was larger than its usual result move
The stock fell 7.15% on July 24, with trading volume at 19.77 times the reference level. That decline was larger than the stock's 3.18% median absolute move across eight recent result reactions, although five of those eight reactions were positive.
Q1FY27 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q1FY27 | Q4FY26 | QoQ | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹3,426 cr | ₹2,676 cr | +28.01% | +25.16% |
| Other income | ₹6 cr | ₹16 cr | -59.69% | -9.13% |
| Expenses | ₹768 cr | ₹2,113 cr | -63.64% | +9.32% |
| Operating profit | ₹2,658 cr | ₹564 cr | +371.51% | +30.64% |
| Operating margin (%) | 77.58% | 21.06% | — | — |
| Interest | ₹414 cr | ₹388 cr | +6.84% | +40.46% |
| Depreciation | ₹28 cr | ₹28 cr | +0.87% | +6.69% |
| Profit before tax | ₹1,534 cr | ₹-194 cr | — | +9.12% |
| Tax | ₹260 cr | ₹25 cr | +954.91% | +4.16% |
| Net profit | ₹1,274 cr | ₹-219 cr | — | +9.53% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹21.15 | ₹-3.69 | — | +9.08% |
Operating margin of 77.58% compares with a Financial Services sector median of 72.22% across 22 peers that have reported Q1FY27.
How the stock reacted
| Window | Stock | vs NIFTY |
|---|---|---|
| Results day | -7.15% | -6.72% |
Volume on the results session was 19.77× its 20-day average.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin holds above 77.58%.
- Whether interest expense growth moderates from +40.46% YoY.
- Whether revenue growth remains above +25.16% YoY.