Flipkart pauses IPO discussions amid rising volatility in markets

Synopsis

Walmart-owned Flipkart has indefinitely paused its IPO plans due to rising market volatility and a crowded pipeline of upcoming public issues. This decision follows similar postponements by other major tech firms, as Flipkart focuses on aggressive investment in its quick commerce arm, Flipkart Minutes, to drive growth amidst stagnating e-commerce expansion.

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Walmart-owned Flipkart has indefinitely paused its initial public offering (IPO) plans, becoming the latest large internet company to delay its listing amid volatility in Indian financial markets that has weighed on the country’s new-age IPO pipeline, people aware of the matter told ET.

The decision comes two months after fintech major PhonePe, another Walmart-owned Indian company, postponed its $1.3 billion IPO, citing similar market concerns.

Flipkart had been preparing to file its draft papers with India’s market regulator by the end of this year or early 2027, ET had reported earlier. The ecommerce giant had already begun taking steps towards a listing. In December last year, Flipkart received approval from the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) to shift its domicile back to India and subsequently initiated its IPO process.

People familiar with the company’s plans said Flipkart’s IPO timeline has also been pushed back due to heightened market volatility triggered by the ongoing West Asia conflict, along with a crowded pipeline of large public issues expected this year, including Reliance Jio, Zepto and the National Stock Exchange.

Flipkart’s decision to defer its IPO comes a week after Walmart CEO John Furner visited India and addressed a town hall at the ecommerce giant’s Bengaluru office. Walmart owns about 70% of Flipkart. The world’s largest retailer acquired Flipkart in 2018 in what remains the biggest acquisition of an Indian internet company to date.

Moneycontrol was the first to report the development. Flipkart did not respond to ET’s queries.

Over the past few months, Flipkart has been doubling down on its quick commerce arm, Flipkart Minutes, adding nearly 100 stores a month since March this year. The company is expected to reach 1,100-1,200 stores by July 2026, putting it on par with Instamart and Zepto.

The Bengaluru-based company currently clocks around 1,200-1,250 orders per store per day on average in its home market, according to sources. During his town hall last week, Furner also said Walmart remained bullish on quick commerce, ET had reported.

“Flipkart has not managed to break even, and if it continues to invest aggressively in Minutes, it is unlikely to turn profitable, at least in the medium term. But the company also needs a growth narrative, and Minutes appears to be that, especially as ecommerce growth has stagnated,” one of the people cited above said.

“The push into food delivery and ticketing is also aimed at driving growth, and the management believes it is best to hold off on the IPO for now. Given the market volatility, there are also concerns about investor appetite and bandwidth for such a large public issue, especially for a loss-making company that is not growing very fast currently,” the person added.

In FY25, Flipkart Internet, the company’s marketplace arm, reported revenue of Rs 20,493 crore, up 14% from the previous year, while narrowing losses by 37% to Rs 1,494 crore. However, Flipkart Internet’s 14% growth in FY25 was slower than the 21% rise in operating revenue recorded in FY24, which itself marked the second consecutive year of more than 20% growth. In calendar year 2025, Flipkart clocked $30 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV), double the $15 billion it recorded in 2020.