Shares of Physicswallah Limited shot up to a day high of Rs 108.44 on NSE on Thursday, 4 June, jumping 16% after the edtech firm announced it was walking back its plan to run its own student lending business. Instead, the company said it would hand that role over to established third-party NBFCs.

The reversal is a big deal. Just weeks ago, PW had announced it would pump around Rs 120 crore into its own lending arm, FinZ Finance, to offer education loans directly to students. 

Investors appeared concerned about the proposal. Thursday’s surge suggests the market is relieved it has been shelved. PW said it received feedback from partners that its real strength lies in education and community-building, not running a lending book. 

The company told exchanges it would now act purely as a technology connector, linking students to a curated set of regulated lenders rather than issuing loans itself. 

The goal of making courses more affordable stays the same. The method is just far less risky. FinZ Finance is not being shut down. Its future direction, PW said, will be decided later subject to board and regulatory approvals.

The timing of this pivot also matters. PW just reported its strongest financial year. Revenue from operations jumped 35% to Rs 3,899.54 crore in FY26, while net losses narrowed sharply to Rs 24.17 crore from Rs 243.26 crore the year before. 

Offline centres grew 78% to 353 locations. The student base closed the year at 14.2 crore. With the business finally gaining ground, pulling back from a risky lending experiment looks like the sensible call.

Co-founder Prateek Maheshwari said the decision reflects the company’s commitment to prudent capital allocation and shareholder value.

At 12:08 pm, shares of Physicswallah were trading at Rs 106.92 on NSE, up 16.17% from the previous close of Rs 92.04.

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