India’s broking industry has become one of the most interesting businesses in the financial-services space, reflecting Indian brokers revenue and profit.
Millions of new investors have entered the markets. Discount brokers have transformed industry, and technology has made opening a demat account easier, reflecting Indian brokers revenue and profit.
But revenue alone doesn’t tell the full story.
The more interesting question is:
How much revenue are these brokers converting into actual net profit?
Here’s a look at some of the major Indian brokers based on FY25 numbers:
Zerodha
Revenue: ~₹8,500 Cr
Net income: ~₹4,200 Cr
Net margin: ~49%
Angel One
Revenue: ~₹5,248 Cr
Net income: ~₹1,172 Cr
Net margin: ~22%
Groww
Revenue: ~₹3,902 Cr
Net income: ~₹1,824 Cr
Net margin: ~47%
IIFL Capital
Revenue: ~₹2,405 Cr
Net income: ~₹713 Cr
Net margin: ~30%
Anand Rathi Wealth
Revenue: ~₹846 Cr
Net income: ~₹104 Cr
Net margin: ~12%
Geojit Financial Services
Revenue: ~₹748 Cr
Net income: ~₹173 Cr
Net margin: ~23%
Figures are approximate and company reporting structures are not perfectly comparable.
The real story is profitability
Zerodha stands out because of its extraordinary ability to convert revenue into profit.
With a relatively technology-driven and lean operating model, a large portion of every additional rupee of revenue can flow through to the bottom line.
Groww is another fascinating case.
Its rapid expansion in customers and assets has helped it scale quickly, while its profitability has also improved significantly. The company has gone from being primarily associated with mutual funds and investing to becoming a major player across equities and other financial products.
Angel One, meanwhile, has built a very large retail customer base and has benefited from strong trading activity. But its business is also more sensitive to changes in retail participation and derivatives volumes.
But there is a catch
The extraordinary profitability of Indian brokers has been closely linked to the huge growth in retail trading — particularly derivatives.
Regulatory changes, higher trading costs, declining activity among casual traders, and normalization of F&O volumes could change the economics of the industry.
That means the next phase of competition may not simply be about:
“Who has the most customers?”
It could be about:
“Who can retain customers and generate multiple revenue streams without depending too heavily on trading activity?”
Brokers are therefore expanding beyond traditional equity trading into mutual funds, wealth management, lending, insurance, IPOs, bonds, and other financial products.
India’s broking industry has already demonstrated that scale + technology can create extremely profitable businesses.
But the next 5 years could look very different from the last 5.
The winners may ultimately be the platforms that can turn their massive customer bases into long-term financial relationships, rather than relying primarily on frequent trading.
Revenue gets attention.
Profitability creates value.
But sustainable revenue is what builds the long-term business.
