Jagran Prakashan Q1 FY26 – Newspapers, Radio, Family Drama, and an 8% Dividend Yield
1. At a Glance
Jagran Prakashan Ltd (JPL), the granddaddy of Hindi print media, trades at just ₹71.6 a share with a market cap of ₹1,556 Cr. At this price, you get India’s largest-read Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, Urdu’s leading daily Inquilab, plus 39 Radio City stations, and a bunch of digital portals — all bundled for less than the cost of one good unicorn pitch deck. FY25 revenue was ₹1,904 Cr with PAT of ₹157 Cr, meaning an EPS of ₹7.21 and P/E of ~10x. ROE? Just 6.2%. But the catch: an 8.4% dividend yield that makes it look less like a stock and more like an FD with extra masala. And yes, the stock is trading at 0.8x book. Which begs the question: bargain, or value trap?
2. Introduction
Once upon a time, newspapers decided what India should think every morning. Then came WhatsApp University. Today, Jagran is caught between printing paper for your dadi and chasing your cousin on Instagram with memes.
Founded in 1975, JPL expanded into print, digital, radio, and outdoor advertising. On paper (pun intended), it’s a diversified media house. In reality, print still drives 80% of revenue, radio bleeds money, and digital is trying hard to matter. Dainik Jagran is still India’s most-read daily with ~84 million readers — more than Netflix India subscribers — but ad revenues are sluggish, and younger audiences don’t exactly wake up with ink on their hands anymore.
The company has 33 printing facilities, 39 FM stations, and 19 digital properties. But the most interesting part isn’t the media empire — it’s the family soap opera. The Gupta family feud over shareholding control is being played out in NCLT like a Star Plus serial. Add GST show-cause notices, radio business losses, and a weak ROE, and you get a company that gives analysts headaches but still bribes investors with fat dividends.
Question: Would you prefer a slow-growing company that pays you 8% yield, or a growth stock that burns cash but promises the moon?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
JPL is like a buffet — everything is there, but you still only eat two items.
300+ editions across 13 states. Print is cash cow, but declining industry.
Radio (12%)
Radio City with 39 stations. Tagline: “Rag Rag Mein Daude City.” Unfortunately, rag rag mein daud raha hai loss bhi. Fixed costs high, ads not growing.
Digital (8%)
Jagran.com, Jagran Josh (education), Vishvas.News (fact-check), HerZindagi (women), Mid-Day online, Jagran TV, etc. They claim “top 10 in news/info digital media.” Reality check: ad revenue here won’t replace print decline anytime soon.
Others (Outdoor + Events)
Billboards, event activations, promotions. Small but diversified.
Essentially: print milks money, radio drains money, digital experiments with hope, outdoor adds spice.
