Quest Capital Markets Ltd — the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group’s quiet money-spinner — just dropped Q2 FY26 results that are as lean as their employee count (literally three people). The stock, hovering around ₹300, is down over 42% in a year, but still flaunts a book value of ₹1,279 per share. Market cap stands at ₹300 crore, which is ironically less than the cash pile in some mutual fund schemes they probably advise on.
In this quarter (Sep 2025), revenue came in at ₹1.16 crore and PAT at ₹0.76 crore, marking a QoQ fall of 28% and YoY drop of 25%. But here’s the kicker — Operating Profit Margin is 87.9%. That’s not a typo. This NBFC-investment-banking hybrid runs like a government office on Diwali week: low sales, high margin, minimal effort. P/E sits comfortably at 15.2, Debt-to-Equity is 0.00, and the Return on Equity barely touches 1.7%.
So, should you be impressed by a company that generates ₹20 crore annual profit with 3 employees? Or concerned that it’s basically the investment equivalent of a silent WhatsApp group admin? Let’s unpack this strange beast.
2. Introduction
There are companies that build cars, some that build houses — and then there’s Quest Capital Markets, which seems to build spreadsheets. Born in 1986 as BNK Capital Markets, it reinvented itself under the RP-Sanjiv Goenka banner to do… well, everything from NBFC lending to advisory, to trading securities, to even collecting Aadhaar data (yes, that happened).
Fast-forward to FY26, and Quest feels less like a bustling investment bank and more like a billionaire’s family office with a corporate mask. With just 3 employees managing ₹173 crore of equity investments and ₹34 crore in loans, this company is the spiritual successor to the “Excel Guru” of Dalal Street.
But don’t underestimate this “micro NBFC.” It’s part of the same conglomerate that runs Phillips Carbon Black, Saregama, and Spencer’s. Think of it as RP-SG Group’s quiet holding arm — not glamorous, but deeply embedded in the financial bloodstream of the empire.
Its recent half-year results (H1 FY26) reveal a net profit of ₹2.3 crore but a comprehensive loss of ₹41.5 crore — the kind of accounting duality that makes you question if “comprehensive” is just code for “ouch.”
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Let’s decode Quest’s business model — it’s a buffet of financial activities with unclear portion sizes.
1. NBFC Operations: They lend, mostly to corporates (~₹34 crore) and a token 1% to related parties. No debt, no deposits, just their own capital chasing returns.
2. Investment Portfolio: They’ve parked ₹173 crore in equity shares, mutual funds, and bonds. Over 98% of this is in listed equities like CESC, RPSG Ventures, Saregama, and Spencer’s Retail. Basically, the company invests in its own group ecosystem — a self-funded family reunion.
3. Advisory and Capital Market Services: They provide financial advisory, investment banking, and capital market distribution. But given that sales from services barely contribute ₹3 crore annually, it’s like a side hustle that accidentally got listed on BSE.
4. Legacy Merchant Banking: Once upon a time, BNK Capital was a Category 1 Merchant Banker. Today, it’s more like a glorified fund house that occasionally files an offer document and then goes for tea.
In short — Quest Capital is an investment entity masquerading as an NBFC, owned by a real estate company (Lebnitze Real Estates Pvt Ltd), operating under a power group (RP-SG). A maze so confusing, even Sherlock Holmes would’ve asked for a chart.
4. Financials Overview
Let’s crunch some actual numbers for Q2 FY26 (ended Sep 2025).
That 15x PE quoted on screener? That’s based on TTM, inflated by one freaky March quarter where profits shot to ₹17 crore. Strip that out, and Quest’s regularised EPS resembles a small-town bank clerk’s bonus.
Commentary: With revenue dipping 25% YoY and profit halving QoQ, it’s clear this business doesn’t operate on growth adrenaline. Still, the 88% OPM ensures they earn almost everything they invoice — probably because expenses include three coffee cups and a Zoom subscription.
5. Valuation Discussion – Fair Value Range Only
Let’s approach this like calm analysts, not excitable traders.
(a) P/E Method
EPS (TTM): ₹19.7
Industry P/E: ~15x
Fair Value Range = ₹19.7 × (12–18) = ₹236 – ₹355
(b) EV/EBITDA Method
EV = ₹296 crore
EBITDA (TTM) = ₹25 crore
EV/EBITDA = 11.8x (already fair) Assuming fair range 10–12x → Implied EV = ₹250–₹300 crore Subtracting zero debt = ₹250–₹300 crore = ₹250–₹300 per share
(c) DCF (Simple Yield Model)
Given profit growth of -3% and FCF around ₹24 crore: Intrinsic Value ≈ ₹250–₹320 range depending on discount rate (9–11%).
📊 Fair Value Range: ₹240 – ₹350 per share
Disclaimer: This fair value range is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice.
6. What’s Cooking – News, Triggers, Drama
2025 has been unusually dramatic for a company that barely makes headlines:
CEO Shuffle: In August 2025, CEO Arun Mukherjee resigned, replaced by Tanuja Mantri. Fresh leadership, new PowerPoint templates.
