NOIDA, Oct 8 Info Edge (India), the internet company behind Naukri.com, 99acres, Jeevansathi and Shiksha, reported standalone billings of ₹822.3 crore for the quarter ended September 2026, up 12.8% from ₹729 crore a year earlier, as strength in real estate and matchmaking offset a sharp decline in its education business.
The update, released ahead of full quarterly results, offers an early read on the health of India's white-collar hiring market, the property cycle and consumer internet spending. It also contains one of the most telling data points yet on how AI-powered search is changing traffic patterns for established internet platforms.
For the first half of the 2027 financial year, Info Edge's billings rose 13.5% to ₹1,559.3 crore, compared with ₹1,373.2 crore in the same period last year.
Key figures at a glance
• Total standalone billings: ₹822.3 crore, up 12.8% year on year (₹729 crore in Q2 FY26)
• Recruitment (Naukri): ₹613.8 crore, up 12.6% (about 14–15% excluding renewal timing)
• 99acres: ₹148.3 crore, up 21.2% (16.5% in the previous quarter)
• Jeevansathi: ₹39.7 crore, up 18.4%
• Aisle: billings up about 40%
• Combined matchmaking: up 23.1%
• Shiksha: ₹20.5 crore, down 27.2%
• H1 FY27 billings: ₹1,559.3 crore, up 13.5%
• Share price: about ₹1,205.5 on the morning of October 8; market capitalisation about ₹78,400 crore
Naukri: steady, with a timing drag
Recruitment, led by Naukri, remains Info Edge's largest business. Billings in the segment rose 12.6% to ₹613.8 crore from ₹545 crore a year earlier. The company said growth would have been about 14–15% if not for the timing of customer renewals, which it described as a temporary effect.
Naukri's performance is closely watched as a barometer of hiring in India's services economy, particularly in information technology, financial services and other white-collar sectors. Steady double-digit growth suggests that hiring demand has held up, even as large IT services companies have remained cautious about headcount amid uncertain global demand and the spread of AI tools.
Info Edge also highlighted progress in its business-to-business AI products, including AI-Rex and Talent Pulse, which it said are adding customers and revenue. Those tools, aimed at recruiters and HR teams, reflect a broader push by the company to use AI to deepen its relationships with employers rather than relying solely on job-listing subscriptions.
99acres: property momentum
The standout performer was 99acres, the real estate portal. Billings rose 21.2% to ₹148.3 crore from ₹122.4 crore, an acceleration from 16.5% growth in the previous quarter. The result points to continued activity in India's housing market, where developers have been launching new projects and spending on digital marketing to reach buyers.
Real estate portals benefit when developers have strong launch pipelines and when the resale and rental markets are active. 99acres' acceleration suggests that, despite high property prices in major cities, demand and marketing budgets remain robust.
Matchmaking gains
Jeevansathi, the company's matrimonial platform, grew billings 18.4% to ₹39.7 crore. Aisle, the dating app in which Info Edge holds a controlling stake, grew billings by about 40%, and the combined matchmaking segment rose 23.1% in the quarter.
The matchmaking business is smaller than recruitment or real estate, but its growth indicates that Info Edge's investments in product and marketing are paying off in a competitive market dominated by a handful of large players.
Shiksha and the AI search effect
The weak spot was Shiksha, the education discovery platform. Billings fell 27.2% to ₹20.5 crore. Info Edge attributed the decline to AI-powered search, which is reducing the number of users who click through from search engines to the platform.
This is a significant admission. Many internet businesses, particularly those built around content and listings, depend heavily on organic search traffic. As search engines increasingly provide AI-generated answers directly on the results page, fewer users visit the underlying websites. Shiksha, which helps students research colleges and courses, is especially exposed because many of its users begin their journey with a search query.
Info Edge said it is building new products to reduce Shiksha's dependence on search traffic. How quickly it can do so will be watched closely, not only by investors in Info Edge but by the wider internet industry, which faces similar pressures.
Investors will now look to the full quarterly results for detail on margins, cash generation and the performance of Info Edge's investment portfolio.
Why billings matter
Billings measure the value of contracts signed with customers during the quarter, regardless of when the revenue is recognised in the accounts. For subscription-based businesses like Naukri and 99acres, where customers often pay upfront for services delivered over several months, billings are a forward-looking indicator: strong billings today become reported revenue in coming quarters. That is why investors watch Info Edge's early billings update closely, often treating it as a better guide to momentum than the revenue figure that follows.
The hiring signal
Naukri's growth also offers a read on India's job market. Demand for technology talent has shifted from mass hiring by IT services companies towards specialised roles in AI, data, cloud and cybersecurity, as well as hiring by global capability centres that multinational companies have set up in Indian cities. Non-IT sectors, including banking, insurance, healthcare and manufacturing, have provided an increasing share of hiring demand.
Market reaction and outlook
Info Edge shares were trading at around ₹1,205.5 on the morning of October 8, giving the company a market capitalisation of about ₹78,400 crore. Beyond its operating businesses, Info Edge is also known for its early investments in companies including Zomato (now Eternal) and PB Fintech, which have made it one of India's most successful technology investors.
For investors, the quarter presents a mixed but broadly positive picture. The core recruitment business is growing steadily, real estate is accelerating and matchmaking is gaining momentum. The decline at Shiksha, while small in absolute terms, is a warning sign about how AI is reshaping digital distribution.
For India's internet sector more broadly, the Shiksha numbers raise a strategic question that every content- and listings-driven business must now answer: how to build direct relationships with users when search engines increasingly keep them on their own pages. Info Edge's response over the next few quarters may offer a template for the rest of the industry.
