Network People Services Technologies Ltd (NPST) Q2FY26 – Fintech Ke Bhagwan or High-PE Hype Machine?

1.At a Glance

Move over Paytm and PhonePe — there’s a quiet fintech ninja from Thane making the banks run smoother than your chai supply chain.Network People Services Technologies Ltd (NPST), at a price of ₹1,619 and market cap of ₹3,135 crore, is India’s homegrownUPI infrastructure specialist— the invisible backend that powers your “successful transaction” screens.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna reminds Arjuna:“Do your duty, and don’t worry about the fruits.”NPST seems to have taken that too literally — because while they’re busy modernizing India’s digital payments backbone, the market’s still debating if the ₹300 crore preferential issue from Tata Mutual Fund is divine grace or just delayed gratification.

Despite Q2FY26 showing a 45.8% QoQ drop in profit (₹9.84 crore), the company flaunts a56% ROE,69.2% ROCE, and aP/E ratio of 111, enough to make even HDFC Tech teams sweat. It’s almost debt-free with ₹6.8 crore debt and ₹480 crore total assets. Over the past year, however, the stock has slipped ~46% — a reminder that even fintech gods aren’t immune to market tantrums.

2.Introduction

If Indian fintechs were Bollywood characters, Paytm would be Ranveer Singh (loud, everywhere, overacting), Razorpay would be Vicky Kaushal (solid, understated), and NPST? NPST would be Irrfan Khan — quietly genius, rarely noticed, but essential to the plot.

Founded in 2013, NPST isn’t a flashy app trying to lure customers with cashback. It’s thetech spine behind India’s banks, building digital infrastructure that makes IMPS, UPI, and mobile banking work seamlessly. When you pay your vendor with a QR code, there’s a decent chance NPST’s “EvoK” or “Qynx” systems are doing the real heavy lifting in the background.

Yet, the story has a twist: Q2FY26 wasn’t their best quarter. Sales dropped to ₹46.7 crore from ₹66.7 crore (QoQ -30.1%), and PAT slipped to ₹9.84 crore from ₹18.15 crore (-45.8%). But in fintech, one bad quarter doesn’t define you — especially when you’re baggingcontracts in Africaand signing withTata Mutual Fundfor ₹300 crore preferential infusion.

The company’s mantra seems to be:“We don’t chase hype; we build the pipes.”

3.Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?

So whatexactlydoes NPST do? Simple: it’s not the wallet, it’s the wire.

They operate intwo verticals— the holy duopoly of fintech:

1. Technology Service Provider (TSP):NPST acts as thedigital plumbing contractorfor banks. It provides IMPS/UPI engines, banking super apps, CBDC switches, and offline merchant platforms. Basically, if your bank app doesn’t crash during UPI payments, you might owe NPST a thank-you.
2. Payment Platform-as-a-Service (PPaaS):TheirEvokplatform offers APIs that banks, merchants, and fintechs plug into. Think of it as AWS for payments — scalable, secure, and subscription-friendly.

Their services stretch across online payments (via gateways and APIs) and offline payments (QR codes, sound boxes, and merchant lifecycle management).

They’ve even launched futuristic tools like:

• Instant Credit Line on UPI
• Risk Intelligence Decisioning Platform
• CBDC Switchfor central bank digital currency integration

So yes, while everyone’s busy selling credit cards and cashbacks, NPST’s out there building the fintech highway system — quietly charging tolls for every digital rupee that passes through.

4.Financials Overview

Annualized EPS = ₹5.07 × 4 = ₹20.28 → P/E = 1619 / 20.28 ≈79.8x(educational recalculation, not advice).

Commentary:Looks like the growth engine took a tea break this quarter. But considering fintech contract cycles are lumpy, the sequential improvement (QoQ) offers some caffeine. NPST’s margins still hover around 30%, which would make even software giants jealous.

5.Valuation Discussion – Fair Value Range