Paytm Lifts Marketing Spend 59% to ₹194 Crore as Q2 Revenue Grows 28.5% to ₹2,648 Crore

Paytm parent One 97 Communications spent ₹194 crore on marketing and promotion in the September quarter, up 59% from ₹122 crore a year earlier, as revenue from operations rose 28.5% to ₹2,648 crore, according to results announced on 26 October 2026.

Marketing rose to about 7.3% of revenue from 5.9% a year ago, and grew 14.8% from ₹169 crore in the June quarter, BestMediaInfo reported from the company's results and investor datapack.

The quarter in numbers

• Revenue from operations: ₹2,648 crore, up 28.5% from ₹2,061 crore, and up 8.2% from ₹2,448 crore in the June quarter.
• EBITDA: ₹270 crore, up 90% from ₹142 crore, a margin of about 10%, Paytm's first in double digits.
• Net profit: ₹225 crore, from ₹21 crore a year earlier.
• Merchant payments value: ₹7.1 lakh crore, up 26%.

The tenfold jump in net profit flatters the underlying change. Profit before exceptional items rose to ₹229 crore from ₹211 crore, about 9%; the difference comes from a ₹190 crore exceptional loss a year ago that shrank to ₹4 crore this quarter, Business Standard and others reported.

Why Paytm is spending more

Growth came from payments, financial-services distribution and Paytm's marketing services business, along with more merchant activity and Soundbox subscriptions. The higher marketing budget comes on top of that growth, as a share of revenue as well as in rupees.

Two costs could weigh on later quarters: default loss guarantees on loans Paytm distributes, and a proposed fee on UPI merchant payments that has not been finalised. NPCI deferred a 0.4% merchant fee until after Diwali.

Paytm joins other consumer companies raising ad budgets this season, including Nestlé India, up 46%, and Swiggy, up 25%.