“Would you like to buy a piece of India’s hottest food-delivery and oldest quick-commerce giant at a discount?” That was the pitch some brokers made to high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) in mid-2024 as Swiggy prepared for its big stock-market debut. Sure, a discount is great. But a discount to what?

By December 2024, a month after listing, the foodtech’s valuation had soared past $16 billion. A sure bet, right? Well, today, Swiggy’s market cap is just $8.8 billion (as on 18 February), down more than 30% from its $12.7 billion listing valuation and nearly 50% off its peak.

As it turns out, not all tech IPOs are money-printing machines anymore.

Take the share unlocks, for instance. In the weeks after listing, several tranches of Swiggy shares were freed up. First, 2.9 million shares on 29 January. Then 300,000 more on 31 January. Another 100,000 on 19 February. And there was also the big one: 65 million anchor investor shares on 10 February. While there have been no noticeable bulk transactions, Swiggy’s stock price continued its downward trend from 3 February to 12 February, reaching an all-time low of Rs 326.

That’s… not the kind of discount investors had in mind.

“I thought I was getting a good deal at a discounted price,” said an investor in Swiggy, who’s also a vice president at a Bengaluru-based unicorn. He shared his regret over purchasing Rs 1.5 crore ($175,000) worth of the company’s stock while explaining how he sold off some of his SIPs and even his Zomato shares. “In hindsight, even a fixed deposit would have been a better choice.”

It’s not that only Swiggy feels the sting. Five out of the 12 tech stocks listed in the past two years are trading below their IPO price, including D2C beauty brand Mamaearth, EV manufacturer Ola Electric, and baby-care retailer Firstcry. 

Explore more infographics like this in The Ken -
Visual Stories
Infographic
See more visual stories