Newsletter
Long-lost art revived, Battery dreams get a boost, and Nykaa delivers flawless numbers.
🗓️ Morning, folks! ☀️
If the onset of winter has you nostalgic for the good old days then you are not alone.
Old-school creativity is being revived in the most bizarre manner.
Brands like Apple, Levi’s, e.l.f. Beauty and Prada are increasingly turning to claymation, puppets, hand-drawn animation and other handmade techniques to make their ads stand out.
Studios specialising in these crafts are seeing a surge in demand, with some even turning down projects.
The reason? When everything can be made with AI, a little human effort becomes the ultimate flex.
Meanwhile, Indian markets extended their winning streak to a fifth session, with the Sensex and Nifty both recording their highest closes in two months.
Broader markets also outperformed. Among sectors, Media led the rally with a 5% jump, followed by Metals and Realty, while IT stocks were the biggest laggards, falling 1.5%.
Falling crude oil prices also offered some relief, while the rupee strengthened slightly to ₹94.64 against the dollar.
💡 Spotlight: America votes blue 🇺🇲
US President Donald Trump has said he will accept the results of the US midterm elections. His Republican Party, however, suffered a major setback, with Democrats gaining control of both chambers of Congress.
But what even are midterm elections: think of the US Congress as India’s Parliament.
It has two houses: the House of Representatives (like the Lok Sabha) and the Senate (like the Rajya Sabha). All House seats and roughly one-third of Senate seats come up for election every two years.
When these elections fall halfway through the president’s four-year term, they’re called midterms.
This time, all 435 House seats and around a third of Senate seats were up for grabs. The results reflect growing dissatisfaction with Trump’s leadership, with living costs and his tariff policies among the key concerns.
Why should India care: the results could affect India-US trade, immigration and defence ties.
Democrats may push for greater scrutiny of Trump’s tariffs, which affect Indian exporters. They could also challenge his immigration measures, including the $100,000 fee on new H-1B applications.
However, policy changes aren’t guaranteed. Trump still has significant executive powers, especially over foreign affairs.
Let’s hit it! 💪🏻
1 Big Thing: Batteries, minerals and billions 💸
The Union Cabinet approved two schemes to strengthen India’s energy storage capacity and domestic critical mineral processing.
Let’s break it down: a ₹14,500 crore Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme will support the development of 92 GWh of grid-scale energy storage capacity.
Running from FY27 to FY31, it will support 60 GWh of pumped storage, 30 GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and 2 GWh through emerging storage technologies. The projects are expected to attract ₹97,600 crore in investment.
Why it matters: the scheme will help integrate renewable energy into the grid, improve stability and support reliable, affordable power around the clock. It will also help India meet its projected storage requirement of 411 GWh by FY32.
The minerals push: separately, the Cabinet approved a ₹2,814 crore capital expenditure support scheme to promote critical mineral processing, also running from FY27 to FY31.
Lithium, nickel and cobalt are key inputs for batteries that power smartphones and electric vehicles. Critical minerals also support clean energy, electronics and advanced manufacturing.
Why India needs it: India remains entirely dependent on imports for lithium, cobalt and nickel, despite substantial domestic mineral resources.
Expanding domestic production and processing, alongside securing overseas supplies, could reduce India’s exposure to global supply disruptions and dependence on dominant suppliers.
2. Another solid quarter for Nykaa 💄
Nykaa’s Q2 earnings beat street estimates, with net profit more than tripling as its beauty business became more profitable and fashion losses narrowed.
The key numbers 📊:
- Net profit: ₹101.2 cr vs ₹33 cr (YoY)
- Revenue: up 28.1% to ₹3,006 cr vs ₹2,346 cr (YoY)
- EBITDA: up 65.4% at ₹263 cr vs ₹159 cr (YoY)
- EBITDA margin: at 8.7% vs 6.8% (YoY)
Revenue from Nykaa’s beauty segment rose 26.6% YoY to ₹2,699.7 crore, while profit before exceptional items increased to ₹180.2 crore from ₹105.4 crore.
The growth comes as Indian consumers spend more on beauty, with premium products emerging as a potential driver of the industry’s expansion.
Fashion catches up: sales rose 42.9% from a year earlier to ₹287.2 crore, while losses, excluding one-off items, fell to ₹7.7 crore from ₹21.4 crore.
Another brand in the bag: Nykaa’s board also approved the acquisition of an 82% stake in premium makeup brand Simply Nam Beauty for up to ₹33 crore in cash.
3. Green signal for Razorpay 🟢
Razorpay has received approval from SEBI for its much-awaited IPO, through which the company is looking to raise ₹5,500-6,500 crore.
The Y Combinator- and Peak XV-backed fintech unicorn is also targeting a valuation of around $5 billion.
What’s brewing: the listing is expected between January and March 2027, at a valuation below the $7.5 billion it commanded in 2021.
Remember, the company confidentially filed its draft papers with SEBI in June 2026, after shifting its parent company’s domicile from the United States to India in May 2025.
By the numbers: Razorpay’s consolidated revenue increased 65% YoY to ₹3,783 crore in FY25, compared with ₹2,296 crore in FY24.
The big picture: its competitors include Prosus-backed PayU, Cashfree Payments, Pine Labs, PhonePe and Paytm, among others. PayU also has plans to list on the Indian markets, while Pine Labs and Paytm are already listed.
4. How did Solar Industries go from mining to missiles? ☀️
A company that once made explosives for coal mines is now supplying rockets, grenades and military drones to the Indian Army.
Meet Nagpur-based Solar Industries, whose defence revenue nearly doubled to ₹1,002 crore last quarter. Defence contracts now account for 87% of its ₹20,178 crore order book.
But the journey wasn’t quick. Solar entered defence manufacturing in 2010 and spent years developing military products before landing major contracts.
5. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
What went up ⬆️
⚡️ NLC India rose over 7% after Q2 consolidated net profit more than doubled to ₹1,381 crore from ₹665 crore.
💊 Alembic Pharma surged 12% after Q2 consolidated net profit rose 81% YoY to ₹335 crore and 94% sequentially.
💪 Redington, Indo Count, HEG, Fractal Analytics and Emcure Pharmaceuticals gained between 9% and 14% after reporting their Q2 results.
📈 Bharat Electronics went up over 4% after Motilal Oswal raised its target and Elara Capital upgraded it to Buy.
💰Titan Company and Kalyan Jewellers jumped over 4% each as Dhanteras buying interest and rising gold prices boosted sentiment.
What went down ⬇️
🤒 Indian IT stocks tumbled tracking global tech losses after Democrats won congressional control, with TCS, Infosys and Wipro among laggards.
👎🏻 V2 Retail fell nearly 10% after cutting its same-store sales growth guidance to 5% from the earlier 8-10% range.
☹️ Thangamayil Jewellery slumped over 5% after it reported Q2 results, with its EBITDA margin falling to 5% from 6%.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
🫣 Pink slips: Canva announced layoffs, role changes and relocations affecting 1,271 employees, or 22% of its workforce, as the company’s growth slowed.
💸 Deep pockets: EloElo raised $80 million in Series C funding to expand original content, take Story TV global and develop Dolphin AI.
🥳 Fleet expansion: IndiGo is reportedly in talks to buy 100 Embraer regional jets, with an option to purchase around 50 more aircraft.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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Disclaimer: this newsletter is for informational and research purposes only. Nothing here should be considered financial, investment, legal, or professional advice.
