Physicswallah swings to -5.4% operating margin as costs outrun revenue
Sequential revenue rose 14.71%, but expenses grew 24.81%; other income rose 203.52% yet net loss deepened 27.68%.
Filed 14 Aug 2026, 17:34 IST · after market close · Physicswallah Ltd (PWL)
Key takeaways
- Revenue grew 14.71% sequentially, but expenses rose 24.81%, pushing operating margin down 8.53 percentage points to -5.4%.
- Other income rose 203.52% to Rs 108.75 cr, yet the consolidated net loss deepened 27.68% to Rs 88.28 cr.
- Physicswallah's -5.4% operating margin was 18.27 percentage points below the 12.87% median for 180 Consumer Discretionary peers.
Price around the results
Revenue momentum did not cover the cost increase
In consolidated Q1FY27 results, revenue grew 14.71% sequentially, but expenses grew 24.81%. The faster cost growth erased the operating profit of Rs 28.78 cr reported in Q4FY26 and produced an operating loss of Rs 56.9 cr. Net loss deepened 27.68% sequentially to Rs 88.28 cr, with EPS at Rs -0.27.
Other income softened the loss but did not improve earnings quality
Other income increased 203.52% sequentially to Rs 108.75 cr, equivalent to -128.97% of pre-tax profit because the company remained loss-making before tax. Interest costs rose 9.49%, while depreciation fell 9.2%. The tax rate declined 18.88 percentage points to -4.7%, but that tax-rate change did not offset the operating loss.
Operating margin has fallen for two straight quarters
Operating margin declined from 21.84% in Q3FY26 to 3.13% in Q4FY26 and then to -5.4% in Q1FY27. This puts the company 18.27 percentage points below the 12.87% median margin among 180 Consumer Discretionary peers that reported the quarter. Physicswallah ranked ninth from the bottom on this measure.
The filing came after market close
The results were filed after market close, so there is no current market reaction to assess. In the last three result reactions, the stock fell each time, with a median absolute move of 4.44%.
Q1FY27 at a glance
Consolidated figures as filed with NSE — cross-checked against an independent source.
| Line item | Q1FY27 | Q4FY26 | QoQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹1,054 cr | ₹919 cr | +14.71% |
| Other income | ₹109 cr | ₹36 cr | +203.52% |
| Expenses | ₹1,111 cr | ₹890 cr | +24.81% |
| Operating profit | ₹-57 cr | ₹29 cr | — |
| Operating margin (%) | -5.40% | 3.13% | — |
| Interest | ₹26 cr | ₹23 cr | +9.49% |
| Depreciation | ₹111 cr | ₹122 cr | -9.20% |
| Profit before tax | ₹-84 cr | ₹-81 cr | -4.67% |
| Tax | ₹4 cr | ₹-11 cr | — |
| Net profit | ₹-88 cr | ₹-69 cr | -27.68% |
| EPS (₹) | ₹-0.27 | ₹-0.26 | -3.85% |
Operating margin of -5.40% compares with a Consumer Discretionary sector median of 12.87% across 180 peers that have reported Q1FY27.
What to watch
- Whether operating margin recovers from -5.4% after two consecutive quarterly declines.
- Whether revenue growth of 14.71% is accompanied by a moderation in expense growth from 24.81%.
- Whether other income remains a material offset to operating losses after reaching Rs 108.75 cr.