ZEEL

Simple verdict: Company is in repair mode. Old TV business is weak, new digital business is improving.

Simple verdict: Company is in repair mode. Old TV business is weak, new digital business is improving. Stock is cheap on assets but earnings are falling. High risk, turnaround-type story, not a clean buy. Stock snapshot Price around ₹98 (as of 3 August). Market cap ₹11,003 crore. 52-week range ₹68 to ₹124. P/E about 40, P/B 0.95, dividend yield 1.75%. Trading below book value. FY26 financials (year ended March 2026) Revenue: ₹8,099 crore, down 2% from ₹8,294 crore. Net profit: ₹271 crore, down 60% from ₹680 crore in FY25. Big fall. Q4 FY26 was a loss of ₹104 crore against ₹188 crore profit last year. Part of that loss was one-time: a ₹302 crore charge on revaluing its movie library. Where the problem is TV advertising is shrinking: ad revenue fell to ₹3,224 crore in FY26 from ₹3,591 crore. This is still Zee's biggest engine and it is slowing. Elara Capital has a Sell rating, Motilal Oswal is Neutral. Reasons: weak ad demand, rising digital competition. Where the hope is ZEE5 is finally working: FY26 revenue up 53% to ₹1,489 crore, break-even achieved, profitable two quarters in a row. Subscription revenue growing: ₹4,080 crore vs ₹3,926 crore. Balance sheet fine: cash around ₹2,760 crore, dividend of ₹2 per share declared. Big new bet on sports: FIFA rights in India for 8 years, Bundesliga on Zee5 from the 2026-27 season, new Unite8 Sports channels in Hindi and English. Raising ₹2,300 crore via equity and convertibles to fund this. EGM was held 31 July. Note: this means dilution for existing shareholders.