Shadowfax Q1: consolidated PAT ₹65 Cr on +65% YoY revenue, margins keep widening

Shadowfax Technologies' first full quarter as a listed company was a clean profitable-growth print. Consolidated revenue from operations rose to ₹1,358.12 Cr, up ~64.9% YoY (from ₹823.54 Cr) and ~9.8% sequentially, while net profit came in at ₹65.40 Cr versus just ₹8.02 Cr a year ago (+715% YoY) and ₹55.83 Cr last quarter (+17.1% QoQ). Net margin expanded to 4.82% from 0.97% a year ago and 4.51% in Q4, and operating margin (EBITDA-basis) firmed to ~6.8% from ~3.1% YoY — margin expansion is the real story here, driven by operating leverage as topline scaled faster than the cost base. One caveat on the YoY figures: the Q1 FY26 comparative was board-approved but not auditor-reviewed, so the base is soft.

Against management's own guidance the print runs well ahead: on the Q4 concall the company guided to 27-30% FY27 revenue growth and 100-120 bps of annual adjusted-EBITDA margin improvement through FY28; Q1 revenue growth of ~65% YoY (standalone ~66%) and visible margin lift are comfortably above that pace, though a soft year-ago base flatters the growth rate and the annual guide is what matters. A key structural point behind the earnings quality: tax expense was NIL (both current and deferred zero), so PBT of ₹65.40 Cr converts almost fully to PAT — accumulated losses are still shielding the P&L, which means reported PAT growth will look outsized until the company turns cash-tax-paying. No exceptional items sit on either side, so reported and adjusted growth are the same.

The stock went into the print at ₹232.01, up 0.7% over the past month of trading.

Standalone and consolidated tell the same story — standalone PAT ₹66.20 Cr on revenue ₹1,323.85 Cr, growth within ~1-2 points of consolidated — so no divergence to flag; consolidated now fully absorbs Criticalog, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary this quarter after Shadowfax bought the residual 10.42% stake for ₹7.61 Cr. The quarter also carried heavy ownership churn around the stock rather than in it: Flipkart cut its stake to 5.77% (sold 3.37 Cr shares), Eight Roads sold down, while ICICI Prudential MF added 3.41% — early-investor exit meeting domestic-institution accumulation. Separately, CPO Nitesh Lohiya resigned effective Aug 7, 2026. No formal Q1-specific street consensus is on record for this Jan-2026 IPO (coverage is thin; JM Financial carried a 'Buy' after Q4), so a beat/miss against the Street can't be scored cleanly — but the print confirms the confident, optimistic tone management struck on the last call rather than contradicting it.