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Subex Ltd Q3 FY26: ₹70.8 Cr Revenue, 12.7% OPM… But Growth Still Missing Like India in FIFA Finals


1. At a Glance – The Curious Case of “Almost There” Tech Company

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Subex — the company that claims to power 75% of the world’s top telecom operators… yet struggles to grow its own revenue.

Let that sink in.

A firm serving global telecom giants, talking about AI, GenAI, fraud detection, analytics… and still doing ₹277 Cr annual revenue with declining growth. It’s like being the fitness trainer of Virat Kohli but still having a beer belly yourself.

Now here’s the spicy part:

  • Sales declining at -7.4% YoY
  • 5-year sales CAGR: -4.79%
  • ROE: -11.3%
  • Promoter holding: 0% (!!)
  • Yet trading at P/E of 140

And suddenly in Q3 FY26… boom:

  • PAT jumps
  • Margins improve
  • Management starts talking about “recovery”
  • AI becomes the new buzzword (because obviously)

But wait…

The concall quietly admits:

“Growth still eludes us a little bit.”

So the real story is not about profitability…
It’s about whether this company can actually grow again.

Because right now, Subex looks like:

  • A comeback story… or
  • A glorified PowerPoint startup with listed equity

So here’s the real question:

Is Subex finally turning around… or just dressing up the same old problems in AI clothing?


2. Introduction – Telecom AI Wizard… Without Magic Revenue

Subex has been around since 1992.

That’s older than most startup founders who now talk about AI like it’s a religion.

The company’s pitch is simple:

  • Help telecom companies stop revenue leakage
  • Detect fraud
  • Improve operations
  • Add AI to everything

Basically, they are the “internal auditor” of telecom companies.

And globally, they’re not small:

  • 150+ customers
  • Presence in 100+ countries
  • 300+ installations

Sounds impressive, right?

Then why does revenue look like it’s stuck in a Mumbai traffic jam since 2018?

Let’s break the irony:

  • Subex helps telecom companies maximize revenue
  • But its own revenue has declined for 5 years straight

This is like:

  • A dietician who can’t lose weight
  • A CA who can’t file their own GST return

Now management claims:

  • “Strategic groundwork done”
  • “Execution in full swing”
  • “Recovery visible”

But investors on concall asked the only real question:

“Where is the growth?”

And management said:

“Growth still eludes us.”

At least they’re honest.


3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?

Let’s simplify Subex’s business for normal humans.

Core Idea:

They sell software + services to telecom companies.

What kind of software?

  • Fraud detection (SIM fraud, handset fraud, etc.)
  • Revenue assurance (making sure telecom companies don’t lose money)
  • Analytics (AI dashboards, insights)
  • Managed services (they run systems for clients)

Key Products:

  • HyperSense (AI platform)
  • FraudZap (new AI product)
  • Managed Services
  • Consulting

Revenue Mix:

  • Subcontracting services: ~70%
  • Managed services: ~11%
  • Others small

So basically:

👉 This is NOT a SaaS company
👉 This is mostly a services company pretending to be SaaS

And that matters a lot.

Because:

  • Services = slow growth, low margins
  • SaaS = scalable, high margins

Now here’s the twist from concall:

  • Old products → revenue comes after 3 quarters
  • New AI products (FraudZap) → revenue faster

So management is trying to:
Shift from slow revenue to fast revenue model

Question for you:

Can a 30-year-old services company suddenly become an AI SaaS rocket?

Or is this just a rebranding exercise?


4. Financials Overview – The “Finally Some Green” Quarter

(Quarterly Results detected → EPS annualised)

Financial Table (₹ Crores)

MetricQ3 FY26Q3 FY25Q2 FY26YoY %QoQ %
Revenue70.7972.6968.91-2.6%+2.7%
EBITDA9.042.506.28+261%+44%
PAT2.93-3.252.86Turnaround+2.4%
EPS (₹)0.05-0.060.05TurnaroundFlat

Annualised EPS:

= 0.05 × 4 = ₹0.20

P/E Calculation:

Price = ₹8.19
EPS = ₹0.20

👉 P/E ≈ 41

Eduinvesting Team

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