Overview
- Morpheus Research published a short report alleging MakeMyTrip kept enforcing banned price‑parity rules after a 2022 Competition Commission of India fine of about $26 million, and it cited interviews suggesting a new, undisclosed CCI probe into cartel‑like pricing agreements.
- Morpheus said MakeMyTrip’s “adjusted” results diverge sharply from standard accounting, pointing to a $212 million gap versus IFRS since 2021 and a recent quarter where $7.2 million in profit turned into $51 million after adjustments that added back customer acquisition costs.
- The report flagged financial exposures that could hit earnings, including limited provisioning for the CCI penalty and interest that could reach roughly $34 million, a $20 million receivable from insolvent Go First only half written down, and zero‑coupon convertible notes that could require $1.4 billion in cash repurchase in 2028.
- The firm also alleged consumer harms, citing review analysis of 3,679 hotels that found about 10% with serious issues such as women’s safety complaints, plus examples of “dark patterns” like a large convenience fee appearing only at checkout, messages calling insurance mandatory, and add‑ons with restrictive fine print.
- Morpheus said the company is losing share to Booking.com and Agoda, noting Marriott wallet share falling to 31% from 38% since 2022, while MakeMyTrip declined to comment on the report, Hindenburg’s founder publicly praised Morpheus, and Benzinga reported the stock dipped slightly.