Kotak sees Just Dial turnaround as ₹6,000 crore cash pile matches market cap

Kotak Institutional Equities has reiterated its Buy call on Just Dial, citing paid-subscriber growth, new products, advertising and B2B merchant onboarding. The brokerage says the company’s ₹6,000 crore cash and investments could fund growth bets or shareholder returns.

— Source publishedFri, 28 Aug, 2026, 09:54 IST·First seen Fri, 28 Aug, 2026, 09:59 IST·Source CNBC-TV18 · Companies

What happened

Kotak reiterated Buy on Just Dial, citing a turnaround led by paid-subscriber growth, new products, advertising and B2B merchant onboarding. Its ₹6,000 crore

Key facts

  • 10%
  • ₹1,175
  • 56 million listings
  • 0.6 million monetised listings
  • 10% B2B merchant share
  • 1.6% FY26 collections growth
  • 14% Q1 FY27 collections growth
  • ₹6,000 crore cash and investments
  • over $3 billion in 11 days

Why this matters

Just Dial’s cash pile gives it capacity to pursue product acquisitions, merchant-service partnerships, or capital returns as it scales monetisation in local commerce.

What to watch

  • Quarterly collection growth progressing from 1.6% toward double digits.
  • Paid-subscriber net additions, churn and renewal-rate improvement.
  • Revenue per paid campaign and adoption of new advertising/B2B products.
  • Sales-and-marketing expense growth relative to incremental collections.
  • Any board action on buyback, special dividend, acquisition or other cash deployment.
  • Management guidance for FY27 collections, margins and product-investment intensity.
  • Increase merchant-sales hiring and incentives in higher-density local-service categories.
  • Bundle advertising, lead-management and B2B merchant tools to raise average revenue per paid subscriber.
  • Deploy part of the cash pile toward product development, selective acquisitions or merchant-financing/commerce partnerships.
  • Address capital allocation through a buyback, dividend increase or formal cash-deployment framework.
  • Emphasise collections, paid-subscriber net additions, renewal rates and merchant onboarding in quarterly disclosures.