Paytm shares fall 9% in three session; here’s why

Shares of One 97 Communications Ltd, Paytm's parent, continued losing streak for the third straight session on Wednesday and declined nearly 9% during the same period as investors booked profit at higher levels. The fintech heavyweight touched a 52-week high of ₹939 on August 25, 2023 amid sustained rally in Paytm shares in the calendar year 2023.

Extending losses, Paytm shares declined as much as 4.6% to hit an intraday low of ₹825.35 on the BSE, driven by strong volume trade. The market capitalisation dropped to ₹53,092 crore with 2.7 lakh shares changing hands over the counter as compared to two-week average of 1.31 lakh stocks.

The share price of fintech major has given nearly 14% returns in the last one year, while it surged 57% in the calendar year 2023 following improvement in its financial performance. In the six month period, the counter gained 44%, while it dropped over 3% in a month.

Paytm, which made its market debut on November 18, 2021, was amongst the worst performing stocks in the first yer, but it recovered strongly in the last one year, especially in the calendar year 2023, amid improvement in its financial performance. The payment solutions company turned EBITDA positive in March 2023, two quarters ahead of its guidance, driven by stronger lending volumes and payment margins, coupled with UPI reimbursement from the government.

Paytm to focus on artificial general intelligence

In Paytm’s annual general meeting (AGM) on September 12, founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma said that the company is focusing on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) to make India a superpower.

Highlighting the company’s impetus on innovating, Sharma said, "Focusing on Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), we will soon become a global superpower and Paytm will lead this. AGI software stack will create opportunities to lower costs, spread farther and make our financial system safer and secure.” He also noted that with an eye on safety, security and on the various risks involved in financial services, Paytm’s AI stack will serve India’s financial services ecosystem for decades to come.

“Our recent launches of Soundbox devices show how we understand the needs of the Indian merchants and consumers. We are expanding our deployment each quarter, with more and more innovative payment devices, to bring technology for every small shop in India,” he said.

Madhur Deora, executive director, president and group chief financial officer, Paytm spoke about the rapid growth of Paytm devices and said, “It has the Paytm QR and Soundbox for small merchants, Paytm Soundbox, Paytm Card Machine and Paytm Payment Gateway for mid merchants.'' As leaders of in-store payments, Paytm has doubled the number of payment devices deployment such as Paytm Card Machine and Paytm Soundbox to 87 Lakh across the country.

"We are bringing technology to merchants that can help them grow their business, make their life seamless. We will continue to innovate, as we have been the first to launch many products in the country," Deora noted.

On the growth of Paytm QR code, Bhavesh Gupta, President Chief Operating Officer, Paytm  said there are over 5 crore merchants in India who use QR, most of whom use Paytm QR code. "India is still early at growth for digital payments and this will soon become 10 crore. We will see a lot of incremental growth. From smallest shops to largest, that is our focus," he added. Bhavesh Gupta also iterated that any form of plastic will eventually fade away and mobile payments will rule the future.

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