Analysis · Commerce & Consumer Brands

Short-seller report slams MakeMyTrip stock

By Startup Enthusiast · 5 April 2026

What they do

MakeMyTrip is India's largest online travel agency with nearly 100 million users

Short-seller Morpheus Research published a report accusing MakeMyTrip of inflating profit metrics and defying antitrust orders

The stock fell 71% from its 12-month high to $32.67, its lowest in a year

Short-seller Morpheus Research published a report targeting MakeMyTrip, causing its stock to drop.
The stock fell to $32.67 on the report day, its lowest in a year, down 71% from a 12-month high of $113.85.
Morpheus claims MakeMyTrip defied orders from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), uses dark patterns, locks hotels with upfront deposits, and inflates its profit metric.
In 2022, the CCI fined MakeMyTrip about ₹223 crore ($23 million) and ordered it to stop enforcing price parity clauses; an appeal is pending.
Two weeks before the short report, MakeMyTrip disclosed it is evaluating a potential listing of MakeMyTrip India on Indian stock exchanges.
MakeMyTrip merged RedBus India into MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt Ltd to consolidate brands under a single Indian entity for an IPO.
In early March 2026, MakeMyTrip announced a majority stake in Flamingo Transworld, a 30-year-old regional tour operator.

The short report raises questions about MakeMyTrip's adjusted margin, a non-IFRS measure it discloses in its US SEC filing.
MakeMyTrip defines adjusted margin as revenue plus customer discounts and cashbacks minus cost of hotel or package procurement.
Over four financial years, the total add-back of discounts and cashbacks was $899 million.
In FY23, MakeMyTrip reported $147.8 million actual flight revenue; after adding back $135.3 million in cashbacks (91% of revenue), the adjusted margin was $280 million.
The actual commission retained per flight booking is about 4% of gross bookings, while the adjusted metric implies a 6.4% take rate.

MakeMyTrip is India's largest online travel agency (OTA).
It has nearly 100 million users.
The company collects revenue from flight and hotel bookings, and adds back discounts and cashbacks to calculate adjusted margin.
MakeMyTrip has acquired Goibibo, redBus, Simplotel, BookMyForex, Savaari, Happay, a minority stake in Atlys, and QuestToTravel.
In FY25, MakeMyTrip collected $978 million in actual revenue and added back $302 million in discounts and cashbacks.
The company reports financials under IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) and files a 20-F with the US SEC.

MakeMyTrip is evaluating a potential listing of MakeMyTrip India on Indian stock exchanges.
The company merged RedBus India into MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt Ltd to consolidate brands for an IPO.