Info Edge (India) Limited

Communication Services — Internet Content & Information · NSE

₹1,265.10+₹29.90 (+2.42%)

DalalBaazaar Score

67 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Low

Driven by a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, with both sales and profits growing well. Valuation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:03 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Info Edge (India) Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Info Edge (India) Limited operates as an online classifieds company in the areas of recruitment, matrimony, real estate, and education and related services in India and internationally. It operates through Recruitment Solutions, 99acres for Real Estate, and Other segments.

IndustryInternet Content & Information

SectorCommunication Services

Employees5,961

Annual revenue₹3,285 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹3,285 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹44 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹44 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 5,961 employees supports ₹55.1 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹55.1 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 4.7% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

Peer median ROE20.2%

What is the outlook?

16 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 15.2% and earnings to grow about 19.5% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+15.2%

Est. earnings growth+19.5%

Analysts16

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +40% while net margin moved -1064% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+40%

Margin effect-1064%

DalalBaazaar Score

67/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 51.3x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✓ P/E is 44% below its own historical median of 91.6x — cheap by its own standards

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

70/ 100

Good

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

45/ 100

Fair

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

51.3x

2Y Median

91.6x

28 monthly readings · mean 115.0x · range 54.5x–195.4x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 44% below its 2y median of 91.6x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

⚠️Against its sector it trades 136% above the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

91.6x median over 28 months · -44%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

21.7x median of 2 peers · +136%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

56.4x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 21.8% to 44.2% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 121% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from -0.8% to 3.8%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 1.0% to 4.7%.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 140% over 3 years, from ₹108 Cr to ₹259 Cr.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 21.8% to 44.2%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 44% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 136% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 9% a year✓ 11.9% CAGR
Latest reported year was 11.4%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 42%✓ 44.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹1,001 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 8%✗ 4.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

8 / 12 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✗ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

4 good · 4 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹81,945 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

51.3x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

2.16x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹24.66

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

3.8%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

4.7%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.64x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

11.4%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

50.7%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

1.14%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

₹1,001 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

53.8x

Flat

At or above the trailing multiple — no earnings uplift is being priced in

Operating Margin

34.8%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

47.4%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.47

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.32

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

70%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

1238.1 / 1284.8

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

51.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹2,346 Cr	₹2,536 Cr	₹2,850 Cr	₹3,285 Cr	+11.9%
EBITDA	₹512 Cr	₹826 Cr	₹1,086 Cr	₹1,451 Cr	+41.5%
EBITDA Margin	21.8%	32.6%	38.1%	44.2%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹107 Cr	₹575 Cr	₹962 Cr	₹1,450 Cr	—
EPS	₹-1.67	₹8.88	₹14.83	₹22.36	—
ROE	-0.8%	1.9%	2.8%	3.8%	—
ROCE	1.0%	2.6%	4.8%	4.7%	—
Total Debt	₹108 Cr	₹246 Cr	₹267 Cr	₹259 Cr	+33.9%
Free Cash Flow	₹454 Cr	₹673 Cr	₹793 Cr	₹1,001 Cr	+30.2%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 11.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 41.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 21.8% to 44.2% over 3 years (+22.4 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹107 Cr to ₹1,450 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-1.67 to ₹22.36.

🟢 ROE has risen from -0.8% to 3.8% over 3 years (+4.6 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 1.0% to 4.7% over 3 years (+3.7 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 33.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 30.2% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹47,559 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹7,190 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹365 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,076 Cr

Capex

-₹75 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

36.6%

Insider Holding

47.1%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

11 Nov 2026

Dividend Rate

₹14.4

Ex-Dividend Date

24 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

20 Buy · 2 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹1,484.09

+17.3% vs CMP

Target Range

₹1,166 – ₹1,850

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

1 positive3 mixed2 general

Info Edge Board Approves Rs 200 Cr Investment in Two Wholly-Owned Subsidiaries

HDFC Sky, 13 Oct

Earnings upgrades for Info Edge hinge on profitability gains at 99acres

Business Standard, 14 OctAnalyst view

🟢Potentially positiveAn analyst opinion changing, which moves the price without changing the business.

Info Edge Share Price falls again; streak extends to 5.28%

Univest, 01 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

Is Now The Time To Put Info Edge (India) (NSE:NAUKRI) On Your Watchlist?

Simply Wall Street, 21 May

Info Edge share price jumps 4%: Naukri parent reports strong Q2 business update

Zee Business, 09 OctPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Info Edge Schedules Analyst And Investor Meetings On September 25 And 28

Sahi, 22 SeptAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth · Profitability

MiddlingValuation · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Good business at a fair price

A sound business at a reasonable valuation. Suitable for a long-term holding, with the valuation and the direction of margins worth watching rather than the business itself. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

1 of 5 tripwires tripped — ROCE stays above 8% · see Key things to watch ↑