In late October 2025, Indian eyewear-giant Lenskart Solutions (hereafter “Lenskart”) opened its much-anticipated initial public offering (IPO), targeting a total raise of about ₹7,278 crore (roughly US $821 million) at a post-issue valuation near ₹70,000 crore (≈US $7.9 billion). While this caps a remarkable growth trajectory for the company, it also raises fresh questions about the valuation discipline of Indian startups and whether the exuberance of the new-age listing wave may be building in some risks.
In this article we examine Lenskart’s IPO in depth — its background, the valuation on offer, the bullish case, the sceptical counterarguments and what this means for the broader Indian startup ecosystem.
Background: From Start-up to IPO
Founded in 2010 and based in Gurugram, India, Lenskart has grown from an online eyewear retailer into a large omnichannel business — designing, manufacturing, and retailing prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses. By FY25 the company reported revenues in the range of ₹6,600-7,000 crore and achieved profit after years of investment.
The IPO filing disclosed that the fresh-issue component would be about ₹2,150 crore, with the balance of the ₹7,278 crore coming via offer-for-sale (OFS) by existing shareholders. The price band was fixed at ₹382-₹402 per share, and the listing was pegged for early November 2025.
Several big-ticket global investors — such as SoftBank Group, Temasek, and others — had backed Lenskart in earlier rounds, adding bullish investor whisper to the listing story.
In short: Lenskart has arrived at the public markets at what many would describe as a “blockbuster” scale for an Indian consumer-tech company.
The Valuation: Eye-Popping Numbers
The key headline: a near US $8 billion valuation. Reuters reported that Lenskart was seeking a valuation of about ₹695 billion (US $7.91 billion) via the IPO. Industry commentary noted that this translated into roughly 500-plus times its normalised earnings — an extremely high multiple for even high-growth firms.
From the nuts-and-bolts:
- Price band: ₹382-₹402 per share.
- Issue size: ~₹7,278 crore (~US $821 million) combining fresh issue + OFS.
- Post-money valuation: roughly ₹69,000-72,000 crore (~US $7.9 billion) at the upper end of the band.
Thus: Investors are being asked to buy into a company with a large valuation relative to its size and history.
The Bullish Case
Supporters of the IPO point to a number of strengths in Lenskart’s business model and market environment:
- Large addressable market: The eyewear/vision care market in India is still under-penetrated, and as awareness, healthcare access and organised retail expand, Lenskart is well-positioned to capture growth.
- Omnichannel strength: Unlike pure online models only, Lenskart operates both physical stores and online sales, giving it an advantage in the curated eyewear/optical business.
- Branding and scale: With backing from marquee investors, strong manufacturing units (including in Rajasthan), and international presence, the company has aspirations to become a global eyewear brand from India.
- Profitability achieved: After years of losses, Lenskart has turned profitable (in FY25) and improved margins, which lends credibility to the prospect of further scaling.
In that sense, the argument goes: if you believe in the long-run narrative of organised retail + India growth + global brand ambition, then Lenskart represents a rare public-listing opportunity in that bucket.
The Skeptic’s View: Why the Valuation Worries
Despite the bullish case, many analysts and market watchers are waving caution flags — and not lightly. Key concerns:
- Extremely high valuation multiple: Some reports point to price-earnings (P/E) ratios well into 200× plus, and enterprise value to sales (EV/Sales) near 10×. In a market like India, even for high-growth firms, such multiples demand near-perfect execution.
- Margin pressure & input costs: While profitability is reached, margins remain relatively thin given the nature of physical retail, inventory, store leases and logistics costs. A marginal shift in cost structure could hurt profitability significantly.
- Growth moderation risk: Revenue growth has slowed from very high growth in earlier years to ‘only’ modest double-digit growth (~17%) according to one analyst — which suggests that the biggest growth leap may already be passing.
- Exit by existing shareholders: The large OFS portion (i.e., existing investors/promoters selling shares) raises questions about how much fresh cash is going into growth, versus how much is enabling earlier backers to exit.
- Higher expectation risk: When a company is priced at premium multiples, even slight under-performance (growth slower than expected or margin worse than expected) could produce sharp downside risk. One analyst bluntly said Lenskart was asking investors to pay ~535× its normalised earnings.
In summary: the valuation appears very “growth-premium heavy” and leaves little margin for error.
Implications for Indian Startup Valuations
Beyond Lenskart itself, this IPO has broader significance for how we understand Indian startup valuations and the public-market transition. A few take-aways:
- Benchmark setter: The near US $8 billion valuation becomes a de facto benchmark for other consumer-tech/new-age IPOs in India. When one company comes to market at such valuation, it may embolden others, raising the question: are valuations getting decoupled from demonstrable fundamentals?
- Exit window pressure: Many investors and funds have been waiting for traditional exit opportunities (IPOs, large M&A) in India. A blockbuster IPO like this can relieve some pressure, but also triggers critique — are we pushing earlier-stage rounds to higher valuations in expectation of similar IPO multiples?
- Valuation discipline risk: If companies list at stretched valuations and then fail to meet expectations, investor sentiment could sour — which affects the entire IPO pipeline and startup ecosystem.
- Liquidity vs. performance trade-off: In the rush to list and deliver exits, companies may prioritize scale and valuation over sustainable profitability — a trade-off that needs managing carefully in public markets.
- Investor caution returns: If the listing disappoints or shows volatility, public investors may demand greater transparency and discipline from the next wave of startups. That could lead to a more tempered IPO market ahead.
What Should Investors and Founders Consider?
For investors considering buying into the IPO (or secondary market later), and for founders/startups looking ahead, here are some practical considerations:
- Do the math: Check what multiples you are paying for. If a company is valued at 500× earnings or 10× sales, ask: what growth rate and margin expansion assumptions justify that? What happens if one of those assumptions falls short?
- Understand the business model risk: Even strong growth businesses can be vulnerable if margins are thin or capital intensive. For retail + manufacturing + omni-channel like Lenskart, cost control, inventory risk, and store roll-out risk matter.
- Long-term vs short-term horizon: Public markets tend to reward visible near-term growth and clear profitability path. If the story is very long-term, public valuations may not behave purely on potential but on nearer term triggers.
- Exit strategy for founders: From a founder’s perspective, listing at a high valuation is attractive, but the ongoing pressure of being a public company (regulation, quarterly results, disclosure, shareholder expectations) must be weighed.
- Valuation discipline for startups: For founders raising venture rounds, benchmarks set by large IPOs can be both opportunity and trap. One must balance fundraising ambitions with realistic growth and path to profitability — overshooting expectations may lead to future disappointment.
Will Lenskart’s Listing Be a Success?
Time will tell, but here are some scenarios:
- Best case: Lenskart delivers strong post-listing performance — sustained double-digit growth, margin improvement, international expansion, smooth listing debut. In this case, the high valuation may be justified, and it can serve as a flagship success for Indian consumer-tech.
- Moderate case: Lenskart delivers decent but not spectacular growth; margins hit modest headwinds; initial listing gains may happen but longer-term returns moderate. Here investors may be wary of the upside being compressed at such valuations.
- Downside case: If growth slows materially, or if margins shrink, or if competitive intensity increases (offline retail, global players enter), the stock may trade back toward more normal multiples, causing investor disappointment.
Given the stretched valuation, the downside risk appears higher in the moderate and downside scenarios. Investors should therefore calibrate their expectations accordingly.
