Lenskart's Muted Listing, Early-Investor Gains and Market Caution Over Lofty Valuations Despite the company boasting a strong market presence, with technology-backed manufacturing and fulfillment facilities in full swing, the muted company listing did not come as a surprise for many market experts, who had earlier expressed concerns over over-valuation and leaving little room for listing gains.

The much-awaited Lenskart IPO seems to have disappointed investors looking to cash in on the IPO, as the eyewear company's shares listed at INR 395 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and INR 390 on the BSE, both below the IPO issue price of INR 402.

Despite the company boasting a strong market presence, with technology-backed manufacturing and fulfillment facilities in full swing, the muted company listing did not come as a surprise for many market experts, who had earlier expressed concerns over over-valuation and leaving little room for listing gains. The IPO was INR 382-402 per share.

Amid expert concerns over valuation and existing investors expressing optimism, Peyush Basnal, founder of Lenskart, said just before the listing, "At first, the goal was to give vision to India, but do it with global standards. The dream evolved. (It is now) giving vision to India, and from India to the world."

Ronnie Screwwala, co-founder of UpGrad and an early investor in Lenskart, had earlier said that with the current listing price at USD 8 billion, he would "eat his hat" if the company's valuation didn't reach USD 15 billion within the next year.

Addressing the listing ceremony remotely, he said, "I would say the total addressable market for this (eyewear), just in India, is humongous. But if you add the markets that Lensard is dominating now in many parts of Southeast Asia, a little bit in Japan, a lot in the Middle East, and now with the entries into Europe."

Anant Gupta, Partner at Kedaara Capital, also noted Lenskart's growth in revenue to almost a billion dollars. Other major venture capital heads, such as Sudhir Sethi, said that Lenskart is India's largest multi-country new economy consumer brand.

Lenskart's IPO closed with the issue getting subscribed 28x overall, with qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) subscription standing at 40x, garnering a total of 1.13 lakh subscriptions.

The largest shareholder in the IPO, Softbank's SVF II Lightbulb, sold close to 2.5 crore shares via the offer for sale (OFS) component, and will bag INR 1,025 crore, marking a 5.4x return on investment (ROI). Softbank's investment vessel invested USD 46 million into the eyewear company in 2020.

Pl Opportunities' Fund II is set to rake in INR 349.7 crore by its sale of 87 lakh shares, marking a 16.6x return. London-based Schroders Capital, which offloaded close to 1.9 Cr shares, will bag INR 763.8 Cr with an ROI of 9.8X.

Company co-founder, CEO, and MD Peyush Bansal offloaded his 2 crore share and bagged INR 832 crore, while Neha Basnal will earn INR 40.6 crore by selling her 10.1 lakh shares. Co-founders Sumeet Kapahi and Amit Chaudhary will also rake in INR 115.3 crore by selling their 28.7 lakh shares.

Market analysts also noted that the muted debut may reflect the ongoing shift in investor sentiment toward profitability and sustainable growth rather than pure scale and brand presence. Despite Lenskart's impressive international expansion and nearly decade-long dominance in the Indian eyewear market, investors appear to be reassessing high-growth consumer tech stories in light of global market corrections.

Analysts suggested that while the initial listing was underwhelming, Lenskart's fundamentals, strong revenue trajectory, and global retail footprint could drive long-term value creation once the valuation stabilizes.

The company's next few quarters will likely determine whether it can justify its premium and sustain investor confidence.

Guarav Deepak - Avendus Capital noted that the IPO had strong retail and high-net-worth individual subscription (HNI) subscriptions, with "Extremely strong" institutional support from both India and abroad.

Lenskart's shares traded at INR 403 on BSE and INR 404.55 on NSE, up by 2.42 per cent at the time of this report. It is also the 2892nd company to get listed on NSE.