Despite receiving a strong response for its mega IPO, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) made a muted Dalal Street debut on Thursday. NSE shares were listed at Rs 1,800 apiece on the BSE, a premium of just 0.84% to the issue price of Rs 1,785 per share.
The stock witnessed buying interest post-listing, with shares hitting a high of Rs 1,875 apiece as of 10.10 am, up more than 5% from the issue price. The country’s largest stock exchange commanded a market capitalisation of Rs 4.63 lakh crore.
The Rs 22,568.94-crore IPO of NSE, India’s second-largest public issue, was subscribed 5.71 times, thus becoming the most subscribed among the country’s five largest IPOs. The issue received bids for 50.58 crore shares against 8.86 crore shares on offer, according to exchange data.
Global brokerage Macquarie initiated coverage on the NSE with an ‘Outperform' rating and a target price of Rs 1,965 per share. Emkay Global Financial Services also gave a ‘Buy' rating and a September 2027 target price of Rs 2,050. The domestic brokerage forecasts NSE to deliver around 13% EPS CAGR over FY27-29E, on the back of strong 19% CAGR over FY22-26 as regulatory changes drive consolidation in market activities.
Demand for NSE’s initial share sale was led by Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) with their quota subscribed 12.68 times, followed by non-institutional investors (booked 6.55x). Retail investors showed minimal interest in having a stake in the country’s largest stock exchange as their allotted quota was booked just 1.39 times. The portion set for employees was booked 2.40 times.
The encouraging response is primarily attributed to NSE's dominant position in India’s capital markets, strong balance sheet, and ‘subscribe’ ratings from brokerage firms.
NSE’s revenue from operations stood at Rs 16,601.31 crore in FY26, down from Rs 17,140.68 crore in FY25 but higher than Rs 14,780.01 crore in FY24. Ebitda declined to Rs 11,097.90 crore from Rs 12,646.88 crore, while profit after tax fell to Rs 10,302.06 crore from Rs 12,187.69 crore in FY25, though both remained above FY24 levels. The fall in PAT is attributed to one-time settlement costs.
The IPO was an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 12.64 crore equity shares by existing shareholders, compared with the earlier planned 14.9 crore shares. The proceeds from the share sale will go entirely to the shareholders, not to the NSE.
Large IPOs, weak listing gain
India’s largest IPOs have failed to deliver healthy returns on debut as they are often blamed for pricing the issue at a premium, leaving little room for an upside when it hits the exchanges.
Hyundai (HMIL), which launched India’s largest IPO of Rs 27,589 crore, also made a weak debut on the exchanges on 22 October 2024 after listing at a 1.32% discount at Rs 1,934 against its IPO price of Rs 1960 on the NSE. The stock fell more than 7% on its first day of trading following a tepid subscription of its mega IPO.
Similarly, Life Insurance Corporation of India’s (LIC) Rs 20,557 crore IPO launched in May 2022 was listed at an 8% discount.
Paytm’s Rs 18,300 crore IPO in November 2021 debuted with a discount of over 9% and dropped more than 20% within the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares of Tata Capital, which launched a Rs 15,512 crore IPO in October 2025, listed at Rs 330 on the NSE, a modest premium of 1.23% over its IPO price.
