{
  "id": 10925375,
  "title": "The Wartime CEO: How Vijay Shekhar Sharma Drove Paytm To Record Profits",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/the-wartime-ceo-how-vijay-shekhar-sharma-drove-paytm-to-record-profits",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-30T10:24:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/focused-view/the-wartime-ceo-how-vijay-shekhar-sharma-drove-paytm-to-record-profits"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm, has transformed the company from one that faced major regulatory hurdles to a business recognized for record profitability. In the June quarter, Paytm reported a 28% year-on-year increase in operating revenue to ₹2,448 crore and a 79% rise in profit after tax to a record ₹220 crore. EBITDA more than doubled to ₹203 crore, marking the company's highest margin at 8%, up from 4% a year earlier. Analysts now discuss operating leverage, AI-driven efficiencies, and margin expansion, praising Paytm's strongest quarterly performance. Sharma emphasized the company's shift away from reckless spending and reiterated confidence in reaching a 15-20% EBITDA margin within two to three years, supported by operating leverage and artificial intelligence. The growth in merchant GMV and financial services revenue, driven by merchant loans and personal loans, contributed to the surge in profitability. AI has played a crucial role in cost discipline, optimizing various business functions. Sharma's combative tone on the earnings call reflected the company's resilience after the regulatory fight, signaling a new era of cash flow and aggression.",
  "summary": "Less than two years after Paytm navigated one of the biggest regulatory challenges in its history, Vijay Shekhar Sharma is leading a company being recognised for record profitability rather than resilience alone. The founder who built Paytm in peacetime has spent the past two years proving he can run it in wartime, and the June quarter suggests the fight is turning his way. The June quarter has…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}