New Delhi, Feb. 16 -- Manappuram Finance started as a small-time pawnbroker in 1949. Today, it's India's second-largest non-banking financial company (NBFC) in the gold loan segment, with over 5,000 branches and 57 tonnes of pledged gold.

But Manappuram is no longer just about gold. Since 2014, the company has aggressively expanded into other lending segments. Non-gold loans now make up 45% of its book-half of which comes from microfinance.

That shift has created a stark disconnect between gold prices and the company's performance. Gold has surged 38% in the past year. Manappuram's stock? Down 6%. In fact, while gold price had appreciated by 1.4% in Q3FY25, Manappuram's stock corrected by as much as 13% on Friday eafter its Q3 earnings ...