Brands
Bajaj Holdings profit soars to Rs 2,181 crore in Q2
MUMBAI: Bajaj Holdings is cruising in the fast lane of profits. The investment arm of the Bajaj Group reported a standalone profit after tax of Rs 2,180.76 crore for the quarter ended 30 September 2025, driven by robust dividend income and gains from its stake sale in Bajaj Finserv.
The company’s total income jumped to Rs 2,514.07 crore in Q2 FY26, up sharply from Rs 1,142.67 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 2,501.15 crore, powered by a whopping Rs 2,204.95 crore in dividend income and Rs 143.95 crore in fair value gains.
A key highlight of the quarter was an exceptional gain of Rs 1,982.99 crore from the sale of equity shares in Bajaj Finserv, which significantly lifted earnings.
Expenses remained modest at Rs 50.38 crore, ensuring a hefty profit before tax of Rs 2,463.69 crore.
For the half year ended September 2025, Bajaj Holdings posted a total income of Rs 2,821.75 crore and a net profit of Rs 4,216.50 crore, compared with Rs 1,117.12 crore in the same period last year.
The company’s earnings per share stood at Rs 195.9 for the quarter, nearly double the Rs 94.4 reported a year ago.
With dividend income flowing strong and strategic investments paying off, Bajaj Holdings seems to be living up to its name, holding firm and cashing in big.
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.
