Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd trades at ₹29.4, in a downtrend and 91 weeks into that stage. That is −21.5% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 3% of a 52-week range of ₹29 to ₹55. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (8 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 91 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹29.4 it trades −21.5% versus its 200-day average and sits at 3% of its 52-week range (₹29–₹55).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.4 years the stock moved −32% while the NIFTY 500 moved +276% — behind the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (8 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-06-19) — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

Valuation P/E is the price of ₹1 of annual profit: how many rupees the market pays for each rupee the company earns in a year.

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd trades at 129.9× P/E, mid-range by its own standards (53rd percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 125.8×, measured across 10.3 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.

Today's P/E of 129.9× is mid-range by its own standards (53rd percentile), against a long-run median of 125.8× measured over 10.3 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the −10.0%/yr price move, ~−5.0%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−5.0 pp from the multiple (compressing); over 10y, of the −3.5%/yr price move, ~−1.5%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−2.0 pp from the multiple (compressing). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.

Put together: the multiple is unremarkable against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

A quarterly PEG curve, which only the second data source carries, is not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 232% on reported income across 15 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

Stage: No read Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd reads as no read on its fundamental arc. Under eight usable quarters on the growth trio — not enough history for an honest trajectory read. The read is built from 8 quarters across 2 curves, on partial evidence.

Why it matters: with too little history, an honest page says so instead of guessing a trajectory.

One or more growth curves carry a base-effect spike — a large year-on-year move off a near-zero or loss-making comparable quarter. Those spikes are capped before the classifier reads the trajectory, and shown pinned on the chart, so a single distorted quarter does not drive the stage call.

Return readings here are annual, not quarterly — read as level and direction only; they can confirm the growth curves but never drive the stage on their own.

Fewer than eight usable quarters on the growth curves — this page will not guess a trajectory from a stub of history.

4-Factor Sector Score

38.5/100 — rank 17 of 25 in Entertainment & Media · 66% evidence confidence

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd scores 38.5 out of 100 against the 25 companies it is compared with in Entertainment & Media, ranking 17. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 18.7 + 5.8 + 10 + 4 = 38.5. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.

What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd reported ₹516 Cr of revenue in the Jun 26 quarter, +10.3% year on year. That is the 2nd straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 3.3% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹2,121 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹2,169 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹2,121 Cr (−69.2% on the year), capping 10 years at 3.3% compound. The latest quarter (Jun 26) printed ₹516 Cr, +10.3% year on year — the 2nd consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged −28.3% growth against the decade's 3.3% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew −48.5% over the last 4 quarters against −51.4%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising.

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every ₹100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd's operating margin is 1.4% in the Jun 26 quarter, +0.5 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged −10.0% to 18.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 1.4%, +0.5 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged −10.0%–18.0%.

Why the margin moved: operating margin went +0.6 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.0 pp — the gain came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd posted a net loss of ₹38.0 Cr in the Jun 26 quarter. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹155 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 4.9%. That loss is 7.4% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹149 Cr. 10 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

Jun 26 profit was ₹−38.0 Cr, −125.5% year on year. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹155 Cr (null), and the 10-year compound rate is 4.9%.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 3 fiscal years 127% of Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was ₹−28.0 Cr of operating cash against ₹155 Cr of profit. After ₹99.0 Cr of capital spending, ₹−127 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹−28.0 Cr against reported profit of ₹155 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹−127 Cr after ₹99.0 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 127% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

Why conversion sits at 127%: the cash cycle stretched 20 days between FY21 and FY26 — more of each rupee of profit waits inside the cycle before arriving.

Router verdict: no single sink dominates — the next section checks both the working-capital cycle and the capital spending.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 119 days in FY26, up from 99 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹−1,651 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹2,121 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹5.8 Cr, so roughly ₹692 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 119 days (an asset-light business — no inventory to speak of) — for a full cycle of 119 days, looser than FY21's 99.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹2,121 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹5.8 Cr — so the 119-day loop keeps roughly ₹692 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹−1,651 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹566 Cr of depreciation — spending at or below maintenance level. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹0.0 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: neither the cycle nor the build-out is hoarding the cash — the machine is reasonably clean.

Return on capital Return on capital employed (ROCE) is the profit the whole business earns on all the money in it — equity and debt together. It is the single best test of whether growth creates value or just size.

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd earns a ROCE of 3% in FY26. That is up from a trough of −4% in FY15. A return-on-invested-capital spread against the cost of capital is not computable from what is held here. The wiring behind it is 7.3% net margin on 0.24× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 3%, recovered from a FY15 trough of −4% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 7.3% net margin × 0.24× asset turns × 1.83× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 3.2% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The quarterly return curves and the return-on-invested-capital overlay, which only the second data source carries, are not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 232% on reported income across 15 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings; interest cover says how many times operating profit pays the interest bill. Low and high, respectively, is the safe corner.

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd carries ₹3,288 Cr of borrowings against ₹4,918 Cr of equity in FY26, a debt-to-equity of 0.67. Operating profit covers the interest bill 0×. Over 5 years borrowings went from ₹2,554 Cr to ₹3,288 Cr. Capital spending ran ₹−1,651 Cr across the last 3 of those years.

FY26: borrowings of ₹3,288 Cr against equity of ₹4,918 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.67. Operating profit covers the interest bill 0×. Over 5 years borrowings went from ₹2,554 Cr to ₹3,288 Cr while capital spending ran ₹−1,651 Cr in just the last 3 — part of the build-out is riding on borrowed money.

The total-debt and debt-to-equity series, which only the second data source carries, are not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 232% on reported income across 15 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

Ownership Who owns the stock, quarter by quarter: promoters (the controlling owners), foreign and domestic institutions, and the public. Steady accumulation by people close to the numbers is a signal; a quiet register is also an answer.

Promoters cut 18.1 points of Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes promoters to 56.9% of the company. Foreign institutions moved +0.8 points over the same window, to 4.3%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Promoters: −18.1 points over 8 quarters to 56.9%; Foreign institutions: +0.8 points over 8 quarters to 4.3%; Domestic institutions: +0.1 points over 8 quarters to 0.1%.

🚨 Why the register moved: promoters drove it (−18.1 points), absorbed on the other side by foreign institutions (+0.8 points) — distribution into the market’s bid.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

Network 18 Media & Investments Ltd: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure. The debt, cash-flow and return sections above carry the balance-sheet evidence this page does hold, and each of them states its own reporting date.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one.

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