01 Oct 2025, 01:55 PM IST i According to Kamath, the impact of these measures began in October 2024, with the effect becoming clear in the June 2025 quarter. Brokerage revenues were down about 40% compared with the same period last year. Kamath cautioned that the options business “might be at further risk, with the regulators evaluating whether to stop weekly options completely.” He added, “If this were to happen, we would be forced to start charging brokerage for equity delivery trades to make the business tenable. Most of our competitors already charge for delivery trades.” Such a shift would mark the end of Zerodha’s most recognisable differentiator. While rival brokers have long levied fees for delivery trades, Zerodha’s zero-cost offering has set it apart and helped it capture a large share of India’s retail investor base. Kamath has frequently sounded warnings about the fragility of models overly dependent on speculative trading. “If you look at all my updates from the last few years, I have generally been pessimistic about the industry’s future,” he wrote. Despite the earnings slide, Kamath highlighted that Zerodha remained on firm financial ground. “Our net worth is a little over Rs 13,000 crores,” he said, pointing out that this represents more than 50% of client funds handled on any given day. He added that the company remains debt-free and that customer assets on its platform now make up roughly 10% of all retail and high-net-worth assets under management in India. ALSO READ