Losing streak: Vodafone Idea, PVR Inox, Paytm among 8 companies posting losses for five straight years

Over the past five years, several prominent companies have been posting sizeable net losses every fiscal year. Companies like Vodafone Idea, PVR Inox and Alok Industries have been posting losses amid heavy debt, pandemic disruption and the rise of OTT platforms.

Several new-age companies like Swiggy, Paytm, Ather Energy and Ola Electric are also facing heavy losses in the last five fiscal years amid rapid growth, high cash burn and intense competition, outweighing the short-term profitability. Despite weak financials, some of these companies have delivered upbeat returns due to rising investor optimism around the future business growth, business restructuring and improving fundamentals.

*Cumulative losses calculated based on FY21 to FY25

**YTD returns calculated based on IPO issue price

As seen in the table above, Vodafone Idea has posted a cumulative loss of ₹1.6 lakh crore in the last five fiscal years, yet it holds a strong ₹1.1 lakh crore in market cap and has gained 35.8% so far this year.

Most of the above-mentioned stocks are new-age companies that are focusing more on business growth even at the cost of short-term losses. Amongst these companies, Swiggy posted a ₹14,892 crore in total losses in the last five years, followed by Paytm, Ola Electric and others.

Another surprise in the above list is PVR Inox, which faced a loss of ₹1,887 crore in the last five years. Several factors like the Covid-19 pandemic, high operating costs, mergers and the rising dominance of OTT platforms have impacted PVR Inox’s profitability.

Vodafone Idea

Telecom service provider, Vodafone Idea has been posting losses for several years amid a high debt burden. The company has total debt of ₹2.02 lakh crore as of September 30, 2025, which includes adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, Spectrum charges and bank loans. Besides this, intense competition from Jio and Airtel, low 5G network investment has also impacted the company’s revenue and profitability.

Despite challenges, the company’s stock has gained over 35% so far this year, fuelled by rising optimism around potential relief in its AGR dues from the government after the Supreme Court said the government can consider granting both AGR and spectrum payment relief. Interestingly, the Central Government holds a 49% stake in the company.

Swiggy

Food delivery aggregator, Swiggy, has posted a total loss of ₹14,892 crore in the last five fiscal years. However, the company’s revenue has increased significantly from ₹2,547 crore in FY21 to ₹15,227 crore in FY25 during the same period. This indicates the company is focused more on business growth and reach despite facing short-term losses.

The company is also facing strong competition from Zomato in the food delivery business and from Blinkit, Zepto in the quick commerce segment. Higher operational costs, thin margins in the delivery business and continued investment in the quick commerce (Instamart) business have also impacted profitability.

One 97 Communications (Paytm)

Digital payment platform Paytm has been making losses for quite some time. In the last five fiscal years, total losses stood at ₹7,958 crore, while revenue has increased from ₹2,801 to ₹6,900 crore during the same period.

The company has faced regulatory challenges in the past, like RBI restrictions on Paytm Payments Bank, which impacted new user onboarding. The company’s core business, i.e digital payment, has a very low margin, while the company has to make heavy investments in technologies, servers and employees. The company has been aggressively investing in new business verticals like the loan business, insurance, stock broking and others, which are still at a nascent stage.

In the last two quarters, Paytm has posted a net profit of ₹122.5 crore in Q1FY26 and ₹21 crore in Q2FY26 amid double-digit growth in revenue from core operations and a cut down on expenses. As a result, Paytm stock hit a 52-week high of ₹1,353.80 apiece on NSE recently and has gained over 28% year-to-date.

Ola Electric and Ather Energy

Electric two-wheeler (E2W) makers, Ather Energy and Ola Electric Mobility, are yet to become profitable. In last five fiscal years, these companies have posted total net losses of ₹6,315 crore and ₹3,313 crore, respectively, while revenue has seen an exponential rise during the same period.

In terms of stock performance, Ather Energy shares have gained over 109% since their listing in May 2025. Investors turned their attention to Ather Energy as the company has consistently increased its revenue, narrowed its losses and gained market share. In October 2025, the company sold 26,713 units and secured 19.6% market share, surpassing its rival Ola Electric.

Meanwhile, Ola Electric Mobility's revenue is on a declining trend in the last few quarters, along with quarterly losses. As a result, the stock is down over 50% year-to-date.

The industry faces high upfront investments to set up factories and charging infrastructure as well as strong competition from traditional players like TVS Motors, Bajaj Auto and others.

Some of the above companies like Ather Energy, Paytm, Swiggy, Smartworks Coworking have shown contrasting trend of rising revenues but persistent losses which highlights how India’s evolving investors are rewarding scale, innovation and long-term business potential, even when near-term financials remain under pressure.