1. At a Glance – Blink and You’ll Miss the Margin
NIIT Ltd is trading at ₹74.7, down ~48% YoY, with a market cap of ~₹1,018 Cr. Revenues are back at ₹377 Cr (TTM) but operating margins are still negative (OPM ~-3.6%). The stock trades at ~35x P/E despite ROE ~4% and ROCE ~5.6%—yes, the valuation still thinks it’s 2007, the fundamentals know it’s 2025.
Q3 FY26 delivered ₹101.37 Cr revenue (+3.3% YoY) but PAT fell ~45% QoQ to ₹4.57 Cr, with EPS at ₹0.29. Other income continues to do the heavy lifting (₹15.2 Cr this quarter), while core operations are jogging, not sprinting. The company is almost debt-free (₹7 Cr), pays a dividend (~1.3% yield), and sits close to book value (P/B ~0.95).
The big twist? NIIT already demerged its cash-cow Corporate Learning business into NIIT Learning Systems in 2023. What’s left is the Skills & Careers engine—smaller, noisier, and still finding its margin mojo. Curious if this is a turnaround or a nostalgia trade? Read on.
2. Introduction – From IT Classrooms to AI Bootcamps
Founded in 1981, NIIT basically taught India how to code when floppy disks were cool. Fast-forward to today: the company is reinventing itself as a digital skills and BFSI talent factory. After the 2023 demerger, NIIT is no longer the bulky ed-services conglomerate—it’s a leaner, sharper (on paper) skills platform chasing GenAI, cybersecurity, and BFSI ops.
But reinvention is expensive. Headcount is down (959 → 735), operating margins are thin, and growth is steady rather than explosive. The strategy is clear: premium digital skilling,
partnerships with banks, and modular programs that can be sold repeatedly to corporates and professionals.
The market is skeptical—and rightly so. Education stocks are unforgiving when margins wobble. So the real question: can NIIT turn its brand and partnerships into operating leverage, or will other income keep saving the day?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do Now?
Think of NIIT as a skills supermarket with multiple aisles:
- NIIT Digital – Tech, GenAI, cybersecurity, modular programs
- IFBI – BFSI training (now 100% owned)
- StackRoute & RPS Consulting – Deep tech & enterprise skilling
- TPaaS & Sales & Service Excellence – Talent pipelines for corporates
Revenue comes from working professionals (52%) and early-career learners (48%). Program mix has shifted away from pure tech (64% vs 80% in FY23) toward BFSI & others (36%)—read: safer, stickier, but lower margin initially.
Geographically, India is 80%, RoW 20%. Over 200+ corporate partners, with 90% repeat customers—that’s the moat they keep advertising.
Explaining this to a lazy investor? NIIT sells job-ready skills, not degrees. Whether that becomes a high-margin
