Brands
Money talks as Jio Financial’s Q3 ledger rings up sharper gains
MUMBAI: When money starts doing the talking, the numbers tend to speak loudly and Jio Financial Services’ December quarter had plenty to say. The company reported a solid performance for Q3 FY26, with total income rising to Rs 901 crore, underpinned by strong growth in interest income, fee-based services and fair value gains, even as expenses moved up in tandem.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, revenue from operations stood at Rs 900.9 crore, more than double the Rs 438.4 crore recorded a year ago. Interest income surged to Rs 504.1 crore, compared with Rs 210.1 crore in Q3 FY25, while fees, commission and other services jumped nearly five-fold to Rs 182.2 crore. Net gains on fair value changes added a further Rs 214.5 crore, reflecting improved portfolio performance.
The stronger topline translated into healthier profitability. Profit before tax came in at Rs 371.1 crore, broadly steady year-on-year, while profit after tax stood at Rs 269 crore, compared with Rs 294.8 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, Jio Financial posted a profit after tax of Rs 1,288.7 crore, marginally lower than Rs 1,296.5 crore in the same period last year, even as total income climbed sharply to Rs 2,522.9 crore from Rs 1,560.6 crore.
Expenses rose alongside expansion. Total expenses for the quarter increased to Rs 565.9 crore, driven by higher finance costs of Rs 212.4 crore, employee expenses of Rs 100 crore, and other operating expenses of Rs 227.5 crore. Impairment on financial instruments remained contained at Rs 18.6 crore.
The standout, however, came below the profit line. Other comprehensive income surged to Rs 14,601 crore for the quarter, led by gains on equity instruments routed through OCI and the group’s share of OCI from associates and joint ventures. This lifted total comprehensive income to Rs 14,869.9 crore in Q3, sharply reversing the loss recorded in the year-ago period. For the nine-month period, total comprehensive income stood at Rs 22,476.4 crore.
On a per-share basis, earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter were Rs 0.42, unchanged year-on-year. The company’s paid-up equity share capital remained at Rs 6,353.1 crore, with other equity excluding revaluation reserves at Rs 1,17,143.4 crore as of December 31, 2025.
Taken together, the numbers underline a business still in investment mode but steadily building scale across lending, fees and investment income streams. With income growth accelerating faster than profits for now, Jio Financial’s latest scorecard suggests the real compounding story may still be warming up, one quarter at a time.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
