Info Edge share drops 7% in 3 sessions: Is Zomato, PB Fintech behind the fall?

Shares of Info Edge, the parent company of Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com, 99Acres.com, and Shiksha.com, extended its losing streak for the third straight session on Tuesday, falling over 3% intraday, in sync with the broader market. Today's fall in Info Edge shares came amid reports that the value of its investments in PB Fintech and Zomato have declined by ₹17,000 crore from its peak, following a recent correction in these two new-age tech stocks. The share price of Policybazaar parent PB Fintech dropped 8.7% during intraday trade, while that of food delivery major Zomato slumped by up to 6%.

According to data from the exchanges, Info Edge holds a 19% stake in PB Fintech and 13% in Zomato. At the current level, both stocks are down nearly 30% from their 52-week highs, erasing Info Edge’s investment value in the two firms by ₹17,000 crore from its peak. The Naukri parent is a technology company that invests in and operates internet-based businesses. 

Continuing its downtrend for the third straight session, the Info Edge stock ended 3.13% lower at ₹7,540.55 on the BSE on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Zomato shares closed 5.2% lower at ₹215.25, and PB Fintech settled 7.5% down at ₹1,537.90 apiece on the BSE. The BSE Sensex and and the NSE Nifty 50 ended 1.3% lower today amid broad-based selling across indices.  

In the past three sessions, Info Edge shares have fallen more than 7%, while Zomato and PB Fintech shares saw corrections of 8% and 11%, respectively.

Last week, Info Edge announced its first-ever stock split in the ratio of 1:5, which means that one share of the company, having a face value of ₹10 apiece, will be split into five shares of the face value of ₹2 each. The stock split is expected to improve the liquidity of the company's shares and encourage retail participation at an affordable rate.

Apart from the share split, Info Edge also released its December quarter earnings report on February 5, posting a net profit of ₹242.59 crore in Q3FY25, up 60.6% from ₹151.09 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations rose 15.2% YoY to ₹722.39 crore, compared to ₹627.12 crore in the corresponding period last year, driven by robust performance across its key verticals, particularly its recruitment business. Operating profit jumped 34% YoY to ₹271.5 crore, while its margin expanded by 530 basis points YoY to 37.6%.

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