Shareholding pattern shifts often tell a story that quarterly numbers alone can’t. When domestic institutional investors keep adding a stock to their books quarter after quarter, it usually means someone’s doing their homework. This is exactly what’s been happening with a global ad-tech company that’s been compounding sales at a fast clip while staying almost entirely debt-free.
Shares of Affle 3i Ltd, with a market capitalization of around Rs.21,437 crore, closed at Rs.1,521.7, up nearly 0.31% from the previous close of Rs.1,517.05. It currently trades at a P/E ratio of 44.84.
DIIs Have Been Buying Non-Stop Since June 2025
Look at the shareholding pattern and one trend jumps out straightaway. Domestic Institutional Investors, or DIIs, held 13.82% of the company in the June 2025 quarter. Since then, they haven’t looked back. The number moved up to 14.68% in September 2025, then 16.36% in December 2025, further to 17.90% in March 2026, and now stands at 18.77% as of June 2026.
That’s four consecutive quarters of buying, taking DII ownership up by almost 5 percentage points in a year. Honestly, that kind of consistent accumulation isn’t something you see too often, and it’s usually a sign that domestic fund managers are getting more comfortable with the company’s growth story.
A Nearly Debt-Free Balance Sheet
This is the part that stands out for a lot of investors. As of June 30, 2026, Affle 3i‘s total borrowings were just ₹2.2 crore, against a total equity base of ₹4,057.6 crore. That’s about as close to debt-free as a listed company gets.
Cash and liquid investments alone stood at ₹2,058.7 crore, more than 900 times the total borrowings. Interest costs have also been shrinking, falling from ₹19 crore in FY2025 to just ₹5 crore in FY2026.
For a company operating in the digital advertising space, this kind of balance sheet gives it a lot of room to invest in growth without interest eating into profits.
Sales Growing Close To 40% Over Five Years
Sales have gone from ₹517 crore in FY2021 to ₹2,709 crore in FY2026, working out to a 5-year compounded sales growth of 39%. Even the 3-year number holds up well at 24%. Profit has kept pace too, with a 5-year compounded profit growth of 28%, taking net profit from ₹135 crore in FY2021 to ₹455 crore in FY2026, and further to ₹478 crore on a trailing 12-month basis. Operating margins have improved as well, moving from 20% in FY2022-23 to 22-23% in the last two years.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2026 specifically, revenue came in at ₹747.2 crore, up 20.4% year-on-year and up 3.1% sequentially. EBITDA grew 20% to ₹167.6 crore, and profit after tax rose 21.7% to ₹128.4 crore. Return on equity over the last 5 years stands at 16%, which is a decent number for a business that’s growing this fast without leaning on debt.
The core of this growth comes from what the company calls a Cost Per Converted User model, where clients pay based on actual user conversions instead of impressions or clicks. This made up 99.8% of revenue in the latest quarter, and conversions have grown from 107 million in Q1 FY2026 to 123.9 million in Q1 FY2027.
Zero Dividend Despite a Cash Pile and No Debt
This is another thing that stands out. The company has paid 0% dividend every single year going back to FY2018, right through FY2026, despite net profit growing from ₹28 crore to ₹455 crore over that period. It’s sitting on ₹2,058.7 crore in cash and liquid investments as of June 2026, against total borrowings of just ₹2.2 crore.
So this isn’t a cash-strapped company holding back on dividends out of necessity, it’s a deliberate choice to plough every rupee of profit back into growth instead of rewarding shareholders directly.
For a company that’s basically debt-free with this kind of cash pile, that’s an unusual capital allocation stance, and it tells you management is still treating this as a growth story, not a mature, cash-return one.
Bottom Line
Steady DII buying, a near debt-free balance sheet, and sales compounding close to 40% over five years make for a compelling combination on paper. That said, promoter holding has been trending down, and the stock pays no dividend, so all the profit is being ploughed back into growth.
Investors tracking this one should watch whether the DII buying trend holds up in coming quarters. As always, this isn’t investment advice, just a look at what the numbers are showing right now.
About the Company
Affle 3i Ltd is a global technology firm operating in digital advertising, working across connected devices to help brands acquire and re-engage users. It runs a consumer platform spanning e-commerce, fintech, gaming, healthtech and other sectors, with India and other emerging markets as its largest revenue contributor, followed by developed markets like the US and Europe.