PhysicsWallah revenue surges 49% in FY25, losses narrow to Rs 243 crore as offline bet scales up

On September 7, PhysicsWallah filed its Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI to raise Rs 3,820 crore via an initial share sale

Edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah (PW) has posted another year of strong revenue growth, narrowing its losses even as costs from its offline push continue to climb. The company’s restated revenue from operations rose 49 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,886.6 crore in FY25, up from Rs 1,940.7 crore in FY24, according to its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP).

Total income, including other revenue, stood at Rs 3,039.1 crore, while net loss shrank to Rs 243.3 crore from Rs 1,131.0 crore in the previous year.

Sale of services remained the backbone of the business, contributing Rs 2,614.5 crore (about 90.6% of revenue). Within that, coaching services alone contributed Rs 2,498.6 crore in FY25, with the remainder coming from related services such as hostels, transport and content access. Product sales, largely books and student merchandise, added Rs 259.2 crore, while ad and other operating income contributed Rs 12.9 crore.

Both online and offline channels grew at similar clips in FY25. Online courses brought in Rs 1,404.0 crore, up 45 percent, while offline centres generated Rs 1,351.9 crore, up 46 percent. With 198 centres across 109 cities as of March 2025, offline revenues are now nearly on par with digital.

This performance comes as the Noida-based platform, backed by WestBridge Capital, Hornbill and GSV Ventures, has moved a step closer to the public markets. On September 7, PhysicsWallah filed its Updated Draft Red Herring Prospectus with SEBI to raise Rs 3,820 crore via an initial share sale.

The issue will comprise a Rs 3,100 crore fresh issue of shares and a Rs 720 crore offer-for-sale by promoters Alakh Pandey and Prateek Boob. SEBI had cleared the company’s pre-filing draft in July.

The company’s paid user base rose to 4.46 million in FY25 from 3.63 million a year earlier. Average revenue per offline user increased to Rs 40,405 from Rs 39,597 in FY24, though overall ARPU was diluted by growth in lower-priced categories such as civil services, defense and accountancy.

Costs weigh on profitability

PW’s total expenses rose to Rs 3,264.8 crore in FY25, or 113% of revenue.

Employee benefits remained the single largest cost head at Rs 1,401.2 crore, or nearly half of operating revenue, reflecting a headcount of 15,775 employees at year-end. Direct expenses climbed to Rs 513.3 crore, driven by higher professional fees for contractual faculty (Rs 217.0 crore), student support (Rs 68.2 crore), server costs (Rs 61.6 crore), hostel and kitchen rentals, and franchise payouts.

Advertisement and publicity expenses surged to Rs 276.2 crore — about 10% of revenue — as PW promoted new courses and offline centres. Depreciation and amortisation rose to Rs 366.4 crore, reflecting leasehold improvements, technology spend and intangibles from acquisitions.

Other operating costs also spiked with offline expansion: power and fuel (Rs 52.3 crore), travel and accommodation (Rs 33.2 crore), and security (Rs 34.0 crore) all saw sharp increases.

The company’s bottom line improved in FY25 largely because it did not book the same one-off hit as the year before. In FY24, PW had reported an Rs 816.6 crore fair value loss on compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS), which did not recur in FY25. Stripping out this accounting impact, losses from operations remain material given the cost base.

Founders’ pay revealed

The DRHP disclosed that founder and CEO Alakh Pandey earned Rs 3.2 crore in FY25, while co-founder Prateek Boob took home Rs 1.35 crore. Their contractual base pay was Rs 90 lakh each, with the balance coming from allowances and other components. Independent directors were entitled to up to Rs 5 lakh annually, along with meeting fees.

PW’s revenues remain almost entirely India-driven, with overseas income contributing just Rs 35.5 crore out of Rs 2,886 crore. The company has also issued 30.9 million outstanding stock options as of FY25, indicating potential equity dilution ahead.

Founded as a YouTube channel, PW has grown at a revenue CAGR of nearly 97% between FY23 and FY25, scaling into one of India’s largest edtechs with a balanced online-offline model. Its offline footprint has been built through both organic expansion and acquisitions such as Xylem, Utkarsh Classes and Knowledge Planet.

While PhysicsWallah has successfully scaled revenues and narrowed its losses on paper, its cost-heavy structure — particularly employee expenses, marketing, and depreciation from offline investments — continues to weigh on profitability. With offline now contributing almost half of its topline, the company is betting that scale and pricing power can eventually tip the balance.