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If you thought IPO season was all about fintechs, EVs and quick commerce, here’s a curveball.
This week, an IVF chain walked into Dalal Street.
Gaudium IVF and Women Health opened its ₹165 crore IPO on February 20, 2026. It is one of the first pure play fertility services companies in India to list on the stock exchanges. That alone makes it interesting.
Because until now, India’s IVF industry has largely operated behind glass doors. High emotion. High margins. Low public visibility. Most clinics are either standalone setups or privately funded chains. Gaudium stepping into the public markets changes that. It puts an intensely private business under very public scrutiny.
And that’s happening at a time when fertility is no longer just a medical issue but a demographic shift.
India’s fertility rate has fallen to 2 children per woman. For a population to remain stable, that number needs to be about 2.1. That difference may look small, but over time it means fewer babies are being born than needed to replace the current generation.
This is happening because many urban couples are getting married later. Careers, financial goals and lifestyle choices are taking priority. Some couples simply want fewer children. And in many cases, couples who do want children are finding it harder to conceive due to stress, health issues and changing lifestyles.
Globally, the IVF market was valued at around $27 billion in 2024 and is projected to touch $54 billion by 2034. India’s IVF market is smaller, estimated at roughly $1 billion today, but is expected to quadruple over the next decade. That’s the macro wave Gaudium is trying to ride.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in New Delhi, Gaudium IVF operates a hub and spoke model. It runs 7 major hubs across cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana, Srinagar, Patna and Bengaluru, supported by 28 spoke centres. The hubs handle advanced procedures. The spokes focus on consultations, diagnostics and basic treatments, referring complex cases to hubs.
This structure allows Gaudium to expand into smaller markets without building full scale hospitals everywhere. It also positions itself as asset light compared ttraditional hospital chains.
Now let’s talk about what IVF clinics actually do, because this is where the economics start making sense.
IVF is usually used when a couple is unable to conceive naturally even after trying for a significant period of time. It isn’t just one procedure done in a single visit. It happens in stages.
First, doctors give hormones to stimulate the ovaries so they produce multiple eggs. Then the eggs are carefully retrieved. These eggs are fertilised with sperm in a lab to form embryos. After a few days of monitoring, one or more embryos are transferred into the uterus. Then comes the waiting period to see if pregnancy occurs.
Each step involves different medicines, equipment and specialist time, so the costs and profits vary at every stage.
And IVF is just one part of the business. Clinics also offer IUI, ICSI, treatments to help with ovulation, male infertility procedures and related surgeries.
For Gaudium, fertility treatments contribute around 79% of operating revenue. Pharmacy services add another 16%. Hospital services, mainly from its 15 bed facility in Janakpuri, contribute about 5%.
Financially, the company has shown strong growth. Operating revenue stood at about ₹70 crore in FY25, growing at a 26.5% CAGR over two years. Profit after tax increased from ₹13 crore in FY23 to ₹19 crore in FY25. EBITDA margins have been robust, in the 40-45% range.
But the margin story has not been perfectly smooth.
PAT margin was 30% in FY23, fell to 21% in FY24 and then recovered to 26 percent in FY25. Why the dip? Because the revenue mix shifted. Oocyte pick up cycles, which involve higher medication and consumable costs, increased from 1,167 in FY23 to 1,563 in FY25. Meanwhile, embryo transfer cycles, which usually bring higher realisation, fell from 2,345 to 1,913.
Average revenue per person dropped sharply from ₹3.44 lakh in FY23 to ₹1.89 lakh in FY24 before rebounding to ₹3.55 lakh in FY25. Total expenses as a percentage of revenue rose from 58% to 64% during the same period.
In other words, the company earned more from lower margin stages for a while.
At the upper price band of ₹79, Gaudium trades at around 25.3 times annualised FY25 earnings. There are no direct listed peers in India. Indira IVF, one of the biggest names in the space, is unlisted. Globally, IVF players trade around mid twenties P E multiples. So Gaudium is roughly in line with global benchmarks.
Now let’s examine where the IPO money is going.
Out of the ₹90 crore fresh issue, ₹50 crore will be used to set up 19 new IVF centres. That works out to roughly ₹2.6 crore per centre on average. ₹20 crore will go towards repayment or prepayment of certain loans. The rest will be used for general corporate purposes.
Expansion sounds exciting. But it also raises questions.
Gaudium highlights its asset light hub and spoke model as a competitive advantage. Yet it is now planning to open 19 new centres. Scaling clinics requires doctors, nurses and embryologists. The company has reported elevated employee attrition of around 63%. It also relies on a limited pool of key embryologists. In a specialised medical business, talent is not easily replaceable.
There are also regulatory risks. India’s Assisted Reproductive Technology and surrogacy laws have tightened significantly. Commercial surrogacy is banned. Only married women who already have at least one biological child and are relatives of the intended parents can act as surrogates. Embryo trading and sex selection are prohibited.
While stricter regulation could benefit organised, compliant chains like Gaudium in the long run, it also increases compliance costs and legal scrutiny. IVF clinics operate in a highly sensitive space. Any adverse clinical outcome, procedural complication or regulatory non compliance can hurt reputation and patient inflow.
Gaudium claims a success rate of around 58%. Some competitors report success rates above 70%. In fertility treatment, outcomes drive referrals. Even a small perceived gap can influence patient choice.
Then there is a financial overhang that investors cannot ignore. The company has contingent liabilities of about ₹44 crore related to direct tax proceedings. As of September 2025, its net worth stood at roughly ₹58 crore. That means the contingent liability is nearly 76%of net worth.
The promoter has undertaken that if this liability crystallises and the company cannot meet it, they will infuse funds through unsecured debt or equity. That provides some reassurance. But until the matter is resolved, it remains a risk.
The subscription pattern adds another layer to the story. Retail and small NII investors have shown strong appetite. Big institutions have largely stayed away. That could change post listing, but for now it signals caution at the institutional level.
So where does that leave us?
On the positive side, Gaudium operates in a structurally growing healthcare segment. Social acceptance of IVF is rising. India offers a strong cost advantage compared to Western countries, where an IVF cycle can cost $15,000 to $20,000 versus $3,000 to $4,000 in India.
The company has demonstrated revenue growth of over 26% CAGR and maintains high EBITDA margins. It plans to expand into new markets and reduce debt.
On the negative side, there are contingent liabilities that are large relative to net worth. Employee attrition is high. Success rates trail some peers. Institutional participation has been weak. Part of the IPO is promoter exit. Regulatory compliance risk is real and ongoing.
At 25 times earnings, this is not a bargain basement IPO. It is a priced for growth story.
For investors, the question is simple. Are you comfortable paying a mid twenties earnings multiple for a niche healthcare chain with high margins, visible growth, but tangible execution risks?
The IPO closes on February 24. Allotment is expected on February 25. Listing is slated for February 27.
The fertility industry is betting on science to create life. The stock market is betting on Gaudium to create value.
