Newsletter
Fintech IPO brewing, cables still reign, and donuts undergo a shakeup.
🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️
Indian markets started the week on a strong note, extending their rally for the fourth straight session as Sensex and Nifty jumped by ~0.6%.
Nifty Bank helped keep the mood steady, largely driven by positive quarterly updates from private lenders like HDFC Bank..
Sectorally, the screen was mostly green. Realty led the pack, rising nearly 2%, followed by Consumer Durables at 1.5% and Auto at 1.3%.
On the flip side, Media was the weakest sector, falling 0.95%, followed by PSU Bank, down 0.9%, and IT, which slipped 0.6%.
💡 Spotlight: India’s car buyers shift gears amid rising fuel prices 🚗
Alternative-fuel vehicles, which include CNG, hybrid and electric cars, made up a record 40.35% of passenger vehicle retail sales in June, up from about 38% in May.
What changed: fuel prices went up four times in just ten days after the Iran war triggered a crude shock. This made buyers switch to cheaper and more reliable options.
Here are numbers backing it up:
Among passenger vehicles, CNG cars led the alternative-fuel pack with a 24.3% share. Hybrids made up 8.3%, while EVs accounted for 7.8%.
Maruti Suzuki, which dominates India’s CNG car market, said bookings for its CNG models jumped 40% after the fuel price hikes.
The two-wheeler market is seeing a similar shift. EVs made up 10.6% of overall two-wheeler sales, crossing the double-digit mark for the first time.
In an interesting insight 👀,
Radico Khaitan jumped over 5%, crossing ₹4,000/share for the first time ever after its flagship vodka brand, Magic Moments, delivered a blockbuster quarter.
The brand sold 3.25 million cases in Q1 FY27, up 43% from a year ago.
Magic Moments now commands around 60% of India’s vodka market, while flavoured vodka accounts for over 65% of all vodka sales in the country.
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big thing: Is Varun’s next big sip dairy? 🥛
We know Varun Beverages as the company behind Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Sting. But now, it’s adding something new to the fridge.
The company is buying the value-added dairy beverages, juices and packaged drinking water business of Devyani Food Industries Kenya for $32 million (around ₹305 crore).
Why it matters: the company already bottles and sells PepsiCo drinks in Kenya. This deal gives it a ready-to-use manufacturing plant in Nakuru, spread across 52 acres, along with an existing distribution network.
Also, Kenya isn’t a random pick. It has one of the largest dairy industries in sub-Saharan Africa, contributing 14-17% of the country’s agricultural GDP and supporting nearly 2 million farming households.
More than Pepsi: for years, Varun Beverages has been seen as the company that bottles and sells PepsiCo brands but in the last few months alone, it has expanded into snacks, partnered with Japan’s Asahi Group to bring Calpis to India, strengthened its beer distribution business in Africa.
Don’t miss: the timing is interesting. With a new manufacturing base in Kenya and recent expansion into new beverage categories, Varun is clearly positioning itself beyond carbonated drinks.
2. Strong start to FY27 for Nykaa 💪
Shares of beauty and fashion retailer Nykaa surged after the company projected around 30% year-on-year revenue growth for the June quarter.
Over the past month, Nykaa’s stock has already gained more than 20%, and this latest update has added to the optimism.
Key growth drivers: beauty continues to perform well, while fashion is finally finding its footing. Nykaa expects its GMV (the total value of products sold), net sales and revenue to all grow in the early 30% range during Q1 FY27.
Its beauty business has continued to grow steadily, helped by higher sales from existing stores and an expanding retail footprint. During the quarter, Nykaa increased its store count from 313 to 324.
Nykaa’s fashion business is expected to be the star performer this quarter, with net revenue projected to jump nearly 50%.
The company said growth was broad-based across women’s, men’s, kids’ and home categories, while its partnership with Nike has also delivered a strong start.
Looking ahead: by FY30, Nykaa aims to double or even triple its revenue, grow EBITDA by 4-5 times, and expand its beauty retail network to more than 600 stores.
It also plans to reach 10 crore beauty consumers and scale its House of Nykaa brands into a business generating over ₹5,000 crore in net sales value (NSV).
3. IPO frenzy on Dalal Street 💸
Fintech startup Navi is reportedly preparing to file draft papers for a ₹3,000 crore IPO in the March quarter of FY27.
Founded by Flipkart co-founder in 2018, Navi offers everything from personal and home loans to insurance, mutual funds and UPI payments, making it a one-stop financial app for millions of users.
Background: back in 2022, the company had planned a ₹3,350 crore IPO and even received SEBI’s approval. But it hit pause as tech stocks crashed and volatile markets made investors wary of new listings.
Some numbers: in FY25, Navi reported ₹2,689 crore in revenue, slightly lower than the previous year. At the same time, its expenses increased, while its cash reserves also declined.
Even so, Navi remains a major player in India’s digital payments space. It is currently the fourth-largest UPI app, with a 3.5% market share, behind PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm.
There is one more chapter to this story.
In October 2024, the RBI temporarily stopped Navi from issuing new loans after raising concerns over loan pricing, hidden charges and lending practices.
Just two months later, the restrictions were lifted after the company revamped its systems and committed to following the regulator’s guidelines.
While we are on IPOs 🚀,
SK Hynix, one of the world’s biggest memory chip makers, is launching a $28 billion listing in the US.
What’s brewing: as demand for AI infrastructure has exploded, the chipmaker has raced ahead of rivals Samsung Electronics and Micron, becoming one of the industry’s biggest success stories.
If completed as planned, the deal will become the second-largest share sale in history, behind SpaceX’s record $85.7 billion offering last month.
4. Could this become Prestige’s biggest Mumbai bet? 🏙️
Advent Hotels jumped 8% after Prestige Estates bought a 50% stake in its subsidiary, Advent Convention and Hotels International, for up to ₹504 crore.
The deets: this isn’t a hotel acquisition. Prestige is buying into a company developing a massive commercial project in Sahar, Andheri East. The project will span 1.5 million sq. ft. of leasable office space and has an estimated gross development value (GDV) of around ₹4,500 crore.
Why Sahar matters: Andheri East has become one of Mumbai’s biggest office hubs, home to multinational companies, GCCs, IT firms, banks and aviation-related businesses.
With strong demand for premium office spaces and limited land available, projects in this micro-market typically command high rentals and valuations.
While we are on acquisitions 🤝,
India’s Graviss Group, which operates US-based Baskin Robbins in the country, is reportedly looking to bring US coffee-and-donut chain Dunkin’ under its umbrella.
It is in talks with Dunkin’s global parent, US-based Inspire Brands, to acquire the India franchise rights.
What’s going on: Dunkin’ is looking for a new partner after Jubilant FoodWorks handed back its India franchise rights earlier this year.
Inspire had then clarified that it wasn’t exiting India and would instead appoint a new franchise operator.
5. How did abusive ads slip through Instagram? 🤯
India has ordered Meta to immediately remove Instagram ads and content that promote or facilitate child sexual abuse material, while giving the company seven days to explain how such advertisements were approved.
The action follows a BBC investigation that found paid Instagram ads directing users to Telegram channels allegedly selling such material.
The case is significant because it is not about user-generated posts. It is about paid advertisements that reportedly passed through Meta’s ad review system.
That has raised fresh questions about whether AI-powered moderation and advertiser verification are enough to stop illegal content before it reaches users.
6. India’s beauty bill is rising 🚀
Beauty budgets aren’t the same across India. Some states spend nearly 8x more than others.
Here's a deep dive into where women spend the most on beauty.
7. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
🚰 Shakti Pumps gained over 4% after it secured a ₹354 crore order from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL).
👔 Raymond shares surged more than 2% after appointing former BEL CEO as its defence vertical’s CEO.
💻 Dixon Tech jumped 7% as Investec says strong earnings growth is expected from H2FY27.
📈 Diamond Power Infrastructure shares hit the 10% upper circuit after it secured a ₹435.7 crore order to supply power cables for five data centre projects of 310 MW in Hyderabad, Telangana.
What went down ⬇️
🏦 Kotak Mahindra Bank slipped 4% after slower growth in loans and deposits disappointed investors.
🛡️ Apollo Micro Systems shares fell 6% amid profit booking ahead of a board meeting to consider a fund raise.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
✈️ India launch: Riyadh Air will begin daily direct flights between Riyadh and Mumbai from August 4, marking the airline’s entry into the Indian market.
🛡️ Defence investment: Adani Defence will invest ₹2,500 crore to build a missile manufacturing ecosystem in Madhya Pradesh, integrating missile production with key explosive and propellant manufacturing.
🚗 IPO plans: German auto supplier Webasto is targeting a $500 million India IPO at a $2 billion valuation, alongside expanding its local sunroof manufacturing capacity.
💧Water projects: Enviro Infra Engineers secured ₹256.92 crore worth of Namami Gange water infrastructure projects in Uttar Pradesh, expanding its Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) portfolio to five projects.
⚡IPO pricing: Laser Power and Infra fixed its IPO price band at ₹203-214 per share for its ₹742 crore public issue, valuing the company at up to ₹3,003.8 crore.
👩🏻💻 Pink slips: Microsoft will cut about 4,800 jobs, or 2.1% of its workforce, as it ramps up AI spending and improves efficiency.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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