A busy November ends with gains for Groww, Pine Labs, and Lenskart; losses for PhysicsWallah

November has quietly become one of the most crowded months for Indian startup listings. Bankers say several factors tend to converge around this period: companies prefer to go public before year-end holidays slow foreign institutional investor activity; some global funds seek to close positions within the calendar year; and a post-festive market often carries positive momentum. 

Besides, historically, November has also been a high-liquidity month, largely because Diwali—one of India’s most widely celebrated festivals and one that has deep cultural significance for the trading community—typically falls around this time, lifting both sentiment and participation in the markets.

Another practical consideration, investment bankers point out, is financial disclosure. Companies, particularly high-growth startups moving from loss to profit, prefer to showcase one full financial year and one recent quarter of results before going public. A listing around November gives issuers the flexibility to present relatively fresh numbers while still meeting regulatory timelines and foreign investor expectations.

Whatever the mix of reasons, the pattern has held for years. Nykaa, PB Fintech and Paytm in 2021, Mamaearth in 2023—whose steady debut broke the “startup IPO jinx”—and Swiggy in 2024, which went on to become India’s largest new-age tech IPO of that year, all chose November as their launch window. Over time, the month has evolved into an unofficial barometer of investor appetite for consumer internet and tech-led businesses.

This year was no exception. Groww, Lenskart, Pine Labs and PhysicsWallah all went public in November, making it one of the most active months for new-age tech listings since the pandemic-era boom.

The month, however, ended with a clear split.

Three of the four companies closed November above their issue price. Groww, listed at Rs 112, ended the month at Rs 158.88. Lenskart, which debuted at Rs 395, finished at Rs 410.45. Pine Labs also stayed above its Rs 242 issue price, closing at Rs 249.76. Together, the three saw steady demand throughout the month, reflecting investor preference for business models perceived as predictable, diversified or already profitable.

PhysicsWallah was the outlier. Listed at Rs 145, it slipped to Rs 124.89 by the end of November, making it the only debutant this month to trade below its issue price. The stock’s performance mirrors persistent caution around edtech, a category that has normalised sharply since its pandemic-era boom and continues to face questions around growth visibility and unit economics even as broader market sentiment remains steady.