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Explore other editions Nykaa's strong Q2 show; Cost of UPI convenience Want this newsletter delivered to your inbox?I agree to receive newsletters and marketing communications via e-mail Thank you for subscribing to Daily Top 5We'll soon meet in your inbox. Nykaa delivered a stellar second quarter as its two primary businesses grew amid festive demand. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.Also in the letter:■ Tiger-less Ather■ Pine Labs IPO Day 1■ Headcount ≠ GrowthNykaa Q2 profit rises 153% to Rs 33 crore as fashion engine fires Falguni Nayar, founder, NykaaOmnichannel lifestyle retailer Nykaa clocked a sharp rise in net profit for the quarter ended September, lifted by a strong revival in its fashion business and steady growth in beauty. Financials:Operating revenue: Up 25% to Rs 2,346 croreExpenses: Up 24% to Rs 2,298 croreEbitda: Up 53% year-on-year to Rs 159 croreEbitda margin: Widened 6.8% in Q2 FY2026 vs 5.5% a year agoNet profit: Up 153% to Rs 33 croreGrowth driver: Nykaa's fashion business was a standout performer this quarter. Gross merchandise value (GMV) rose 37% year-on-year, far outpacing the 10% growth seen in the same period last year. Profitability improved sharply, with Ebitda loss margin narrowing to 3.5% from 9%. Also Read: Nykaa eyes Rs 6,000 crore GMV from in-house brands by FY30, ramps up fashion and AI betsStaying strong: The company's flagship beauty segment continued to perform, with GMV growing 28% year-on-year to Rs 3,551 crore. The growth was driven by strong demand across ecommerce, physical retail, and owned brands under the House of Nykaa umbrella.The beauty business has consistently delivered over 25% GMV growth in the past few quarters, Nykaa CEO Faguni Nayar said.Also Read: Quick commerce is not creating new demand: Nykaa Beauty CEO Anchit NayarAs credit cards gain traction on UPI, merchants grapple with new charges Mid-sized merchants accepting UPI payments are increasingly facing a growing list of charges on their transactions.Major charges: While basic UPI payments remain free, additional features and services come with fees:Soundbox retail: These devices, which confirm transactions audibly, typically come with a monthly subscription. As firms pack more features into them, prices are climbing.Credit-linked payments: Merchants who opt for working capital credit via UPI must repay daily through their settlement accounts.Value-added services: Software tools bundled with UPI – such as inventory, billing, or CRM – are sold separately.MDR on credit cards: The merchant discount rate (MDR) applies when a customer uses RuPay credit cards or credit lines linked to UPI.Also Read: NPCI eyes EMI payments on UPI in fresh credit play pushRegulator's stance: The Reserve Bank of India and NPCI have mandated full disclosure of such charges. While there has been no significant spike in merchant-side declines yet, industry insiders told us that payment firms are planning awareness campaigns on UPI-linked credit and card payments.Also Read: Smaller UPI players nibble at veterans' transactions shareBigger picture: Multiple industry insiders say prolonged “free” UPI usage has made businesses wary of any new fees. But as the model matures, merchants are being reintroduced to pricing, this time via credit instruments (credit cards), not debit or plain UPI transfers (free).Also Read: Prepaid cards carving out their own niche in the new age of UPITiger Global exits Ather Energy, selling entire stake for Rs 1,204 crore Tarun Mehta, founder, Ather EnergyInvestment firm Tiger Global has sold its entire 5% stake in electric scooter maker Ather Energy, cashing out just days after the post-listing lock-in for pre-IPO investors ended.Sale details:NSE: One crore shares at an average price of Rs 623 per share.BSE: 93 lakh shares sold at an average price of Rs 620 per share.Total proceeds: Rs 1,204 crore.The exit comes just days ahead of Ather's Q2 FY26 results, due November 10. The company listed on May 6.What else? Earlier this year, Tiger Global also trimmed its stake in Ola Electric—another major player in the EV space—from 3.45% in March to 3.24% by June.Also Read: How IPO-bound Ather Energy stacks up against Ola Electric, Bajaj Auto, Hero Moto, TVS MotorRobotics startup Miko raises $10.5 million from iHeartMedia, to integrate US firm's audio content in devices Sneh Vaswani, CEO, MikoMumbai-based robotics startup Miko has secured $10.5 million (Rs 93.5 crore) from US audio media giant iHeartMedia.Yes, and? The two companies will partner to stream iHeart’s content on Miko’s smart robotic devices.Miko is also expanding retail distribution in North America, recently launching with Costco.Pine Labs IPO off to a slow start on Day 1 Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine LabsDigital payment solutions firm Pine Labs opened its initial public offering (IPO) to a slow start on Day 1, with just 13% of the total issue subscribed. Retail investors showed up, but institutional and HNI participation remained thin.Subscription snapshot:Institutional buyers: 2%High-net worth individuals: 7%Retail portion: 54%Employees reserved: 2.96 timesGrey market whispers suggest modest listing gains, with shares trading at a 2.26% premium to the issue's upper price band. The Rs 3,900-crore IPO values Pine Labs at $2.9 billion, a markdown from earlier expectations.Also Read | Our scale & financials justify an IPO: Pine Labs CEO Amrish RauAnchor book: Ahead of the IPO, Pine Labs raised Rs 1,753 crore from 12 domestic mutual funds and several marquee global investors. Shares were allotted at Rs 221 apiece, the top of the IPO range.Domestic funds: SBI Mutual Fund, HSBC, Mirae Asset, Axis Mutual Fund.Global investors: Integrated Core Strategies (Singapore), Custody Bank of Japan, MIT Retirement Plan Trust.Also Read: Pine Labs rakes in money, but profitability a concernLenskart IPO GMP crashes 70% from peak days before listing Peyush Bansal, CEO, LenskartSeparately, investor sentiment around Lenskart is cooling. The eyewear retailer's grey market premium has plunged 70% — from Rs 108 to just Rs 15 per share — suggesting a tepid 8% upside on listing. The sharp drop signals caution ahead of the debut, even as public-market interest in consumer tech remains strong. Also Read | Lenskart IPO: We need to win credibility with new set of investors as we go public: Peyush BansalGroww IPO subscribed 17x on Day 3 (L-R) Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, Lalit Keshre, Ishan Bansal, founders, GrowwThe initial public offering of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent company of trading platform Groww, was subscribed 17.6 times on the final day, with institutional buyers driving demand.QIB portion: 22.02 timesNII portion: 14.20 timesRetail portion: 9.43 timesThe shares of Groww will likely debut on the exchanges on November 12.Also Read | Groww IPO: We make so much money, we could keep it all — but that’s not how you build a 100-year-old company: CEO Lalit KeshreIT midcaps pull away from delivery model linked to headcount Mid-sized Indian IT firms are rewriting the old delivery playbook. A new report by consultancy HFS shows that revenue growth at players like Persistent Systems, Coforge, and Mphasis is no longer tightly bound to workforce expansion.In numbers:Persistent, Coforge, and Mphasis grew revenue by 10–31%, while adding just 1.1–2.5% to headcount.Larger peers, including Infosys and Wipro, posted slower revenue growth (2-11%) with headcount rising 2–4%.TCS was an outlier, with revenue gains despite steep job cuts.Changing paradigm: Delinking growth from headcount is now “finally possible,” wrote HFS president Saurabh Gupta, pointing to more AI-led sales, platform evolution, and productivity gains.Big IT isn't far behind, but scale slows change. The real challenge, according to industry veteran Vineet Nayar, is running legacy operations and new digital engines in parallel—and making both hum. 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