01 — At a Glance
The EdTech Dark Horse That Nobody Was Watching (Until Now)
- 52-Week High / Low₹388 / ₹192
- Q3 FY26 Revenue₹279 Cr
- Q3 FY26 PAT₹50.5 Cr
- Q3 FY26 EPS (₹)2.85
- Annualised EPS (Q3×4)₹11.40
- Book Value₹34.3
- Price to Book6.19x
- Dividend Yield3.77%
- Debt / Equity0.00x
- Recent Interim Div₹8/share
Auditor’s Opening Note: Crizac closed Q3 FY26 with ₹279 crore quarterly revenue (+28% YoY), ₹50.5 crore PAT, 48% ROCE, and just declared an ₹8/share interim dividend in February 2026. The stock hammered -36.8% in six months despite 60% revenue growth over three years, two simultaneous acquisitions in Latin America and Australia, and the most boring balance sheet since they forgot to pay interest on anything. Meanwhile, the company claims it’s sending 10 million applications to universities globally. Do the math yourself.
02 — Introduction
The Placement Agency That Became a Startup (And Then Started Acquiring Startups)
You know how your parents convinced you that studying abroad would make you rich and successful? Well, there’s a company making money every single time a kid like you actually goes through with it.
Crizac is a B2B education platform. Think of it as a tech-enabled matchmaking service — except instead of finding you a suitable bride, it finds you a suitable University of Birmingham. Students apply through registered agents. Those agents are on Crizac’s platform. Universities are also on the platform. Crizac earns a commission on every accepted and enrolled student. Rinse, repeat, expand to 75+ countries.
Founded in 2011 (so technically older than WhatsApp, just not mentioned in YouTube acquisition stories). Listed on BSE and NSE on July 9, 2024 at ₹1,000 crore IPO. Since then, stock has gone from ₹180 to ₹388 (peak) to ₹212 (today). Directors still own 79.9% of the company. No debt. ROCE touching 48%. But the stock says “thank you for your money, goodbye.” Welcome to being early in the education export game.
Q3 FY26 brought the seasonally strongest quarter — because that’s when universities around the world admit students. Revenue hit ₹279 crore. PAT at ₹50.5 crore. The company declared an interim dividend of ₹8/share. And then made a move that shocked literally nobody in the EdTech world: it bought a chunk of Global Tree Careers in Australia and Studies Planet in Latin America. Crizac decided that being a unicorn wasn’t fast enough. Time to become a serial acquirer of EdTech platforms.
Concall Highlight (Jan 2026): “Q3 is our strongest quarter due to admission cycles.” — Management. Followed by “we’ve acquired Global Tree Careers in Australia and Studies Planet in Latin America.” Followed by “we expect adjacent services to take 2-3 years to become substantial.” In other words: we’re growing, we’re expanding, we’re doing M&A, and patience, investors, patience.
03 — Business Model: WTF Do They Even Do?
They Connect the Mummy-Papa “Beta Beta Padhai Karo” To British Universities. That’s It. (For Now.)
Okay, here’s the simple version. The platform has ~14,000 registered agents globally (up from ~7,900 in Sept 2024). These agents include educational consultants, recruitment agencies, and middlemen who recommend universities to students. Universities (14,000+ in the network) pay Crizac a fee when a student enrolls. This fee is typically a percentage of the first-year tuition. Crizac handles the tech. The agents handle the recruitment.
Management revealed in the concall that their platform processed ~10 million applications across 80+ countries. India is still the largest source at ~50% of volumes. UK is the dominant destination at ~90% of revenue. But here’s where it gets interesting: the concentration used to be worse. Five years ago, all the revenue was from UK, all the students were from India. Now they have agents in 25+ countries and sending students to Canada, Australia, Ireland, and the US.
The model is dead-simple and beautifully asset-light. No physical classrooms. No teachers. No loan originators. Just a software platform, 350+ employees on UK/India payroll, and a network of 14,000 agents doing the actual hustle. The company gets a percentage of the pie. Conversion rates hover around 10% (meaning 90% of applications don’t get accepted—but that’s not Crizac’s problem). If 10 million applications processed, and 10% get accepted, and each fee is, say, ₹2-5 lakhs equivalent, you can see why the PAT is ₹195 crore annually.
Revenue Split~90%From UK
Source Mix~50%From India
Agent Network14,000+Globally
Applications10M+Processed
Expansion Playbook Note: Management’s stated plan is to reduce UK revenue to 50% of total over the next 5 years. This is being done through organic additions (US market now live) AND inorganic growth (acquisitions in Latin America and Australia). If they pull this off, you’re looking at a much less concentrated, much higher-growth profile. Currently at 28% revenue growth. Try maintaining that mix shift.
💬 Your kid just got accepted to a UK university. Did you know Crizac earned commission on that application? Drop a comment if this blew your mind.
04 — Financials Overview
Q3 FY26: The Numbers That Made Wall Street Sleep
Result type: Quarterly Results | Q3 FY26 EPS: ₹2.85 | Annualised EPS (Q3×4): ₹11.40 | Full-year FY25 EPS: ₹8.74
| Metric (₹ Cr) |
Q3 FY26
Dec 2025 |
Q3 FY25
Dec 2024 |
Q2 FY26
Sep 2025 |
YoY % |
QoQ % |
| Revenue | 279 | 218 | 162 | +28.0% | +72.2% |
| Operating Profit | 66 | 63 | 63 | +4.8% | +4.8% |
| OPM % | 24% | 29% | 39% | -500 bps | -1500 bps |
| PAT | 50.5 | 43 | 48 | +17.4% | +5.2% |
| EPS (₹) | 2.85 | 2.47 | 2.76 | +15.4% | +3.3% |
The OPM Dip & Why Analysts Panicked: Operating margin fell from 29% (Q3 FY25) to 24% (Q3 FY26). Management explained: acquisitions in Latin America (Studies Planet, acquired 51% in October 2025) and Australia (Global Tree, acquired 51% in January 2026) created elevated professional fees, legal due diligence, and IT security audit costs. These are described as “one-time.” Excluding these bumps, normalized EBITDA margin sits at 23–25%. PAT still grew 17.4% YoY because tax was lower, and absolute EBITDA was higher in volume terms. Revenue growth is real. Margin compression is temporary. Story remains intact.
05 — Valuation: Fair Value Range
What’s This EdTech Platform Actually Worth?
Method 1: P/E Based
Annualised EPS (Q3 FY26 × 4) = ₹11.40. Full-year FY25 EPS = ₹8.74. Conservative use FY25 EPS. Sector median P/E for consumer services / B2B platforms = ~20.3x. Crizac commands premium for platform scale + ROCE + growth trajectory: justified 1.1x–1.4x sector. Fair P/E band: 22x–28x.
Range: ₹192 – ₹244
Method 2: EV/EBITDA Based
TTM EBITDA (annualised) = ~₹255 Cr. Current EV = ₹3,671 Cr → EV/EBITDA = 14.4x. Sector comps (Info Edge, IndiaMART, Just Dial) trade at 7x–47x depending on growth profile. Crizac growth (28% revenue YoY) justifies 12x–16x.
EV range (12x–16x): ₹3,060 Cr – ₹4,080 Cr → Per share:
Range: ₹174 – ₹232
Method 3: DCF Based
Base FCF: ~₹187 Cr (CY25 from cash flow). Growth: 20–25% for 5 years, then 3% terminal. WACC: 10.5% (low leverage, high equity base).
→ PV of 5-year FCFs at 10.5%: ~₹1,350 Cr
→ Terminal Value (3% growth / 7.5% cap rate): ~₹3,900 Cr
→ Total EV: ~₹5,250 Cr
Range: ₹238 – ₹299
Fair Min: ₹174
CMP: ₹212
Fair Max: ₹299
CMP ₹212
⚠️ EduInvesting Fair Value Range: ₹174 – ₹299. CMP ₹212 sits in the lower-middle of the range. This fair value range is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice. Please consult a SEBI-registered investment advisor before making any financial decision.
06 — What’s Cooking: News, Triggers & Drama
M&A In 9 Months. Dividends. Expansion Plans. The Pace is Turning Up.
