Bajaj Finance reported a decent double-digit rise in profit and interest income year-on-year. Jio Financial, on the other hand, reported a single-digit sequential rise in profit and interest income.

Jio Financial debuted on bourses in August last year, so its Q4 numbers were not comparable year-on-year.

Bajaj Finance reported its March quarter earnings on Thursday, April 25. Its share price plunged 7.73 per cent to ₹6,729.85 the following day.

Also Read: Why Bajaj Finance shares have tanked 8% despite double-digit YoY growth in PAT, NII in Q4?

Jio Financial reported its Q4 earnings on Friday, April 19. In the subsequent sessions on April 22 and 23, the stock rose 3.54 per cent and 1.27 per cent. However, it witnessed profit booking thereafter and closed in the red in the next three days. Still, for the week, Jio Financial share price climbed over 3 per cent.

Also Read: Jio Financial Services stock gains by over 73% in 6 months; what’s driving the rally?

Q4 result: Key numbers of Jio Financial and Bajaj Finance

Jio Financial Services reported a 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) jump in Q4 consolidated net profit to ₹310.6 crore. The revenue from operations increased 1 per cent QoQ to ₹418.1 crore from ₹413.6 crore in Q3FY24.

Its net interest income (NII) rose 4.5 per cent QoQ from ₹269 crore in Q3FY24 to ₹281 crore in Q4FY24.

Pre-provisioning operating profit for the quarter under review inched up to ₹317 crore against ₹315 crore QoQ.

Also Read: Jio Financial Services Q4 results: Net profit jumps 6% QoQ to ₹310.6 crore, net interest income at ₹280.7 crore

Bajaj Finance reported a 21 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in consolidated net profit to ₹3,825 crore in Q4FY24.

Its net interest income (NII) for Q4FY24 saw a 28 per cent YoY rise to ₹8,013 crore against ₹6,254 crore in Q4 of FY23.

However, the lender’s net interest margin (NIM) shrunk 21 basis points (bps) in Q4 over Q3.

Also Read: Bajaj Finance Q4 hit by rural loan losses, RBI restrictions

Which stock should you buy?

Jio Financial and Bajaj Finance have their own strengths and weaknesses. While Jio Financial has strong promoter backing, Bajaj Finance has an impressive performance history.

Jio Financial has aggressive growth plans. Recently, the company signed an agreement with BlackRock Inc and BlackRock Advisors Singapore Pte Ltd to form a 50/50 joint venture for setting up wealth management and broking businesses in India.

Experts find both stocks attractive for the long term and suggest one should pick between them according to their risk appetite.

Amit Goel, Co-Founder and Chief Global Strategist at Pace 360, prefers Jio Financial to Bajaj Finance, considering its strong growth potential.

“Choosing between Bajaj Finance and Jio Financial depends on an investor’s risk appetite and investment goal. Jio Financial, backed by Reliance Industries, is a rising star with ambitious plans to dominate the Indian financial landscape. Jio Financial presents a riskier yet potentially faster growth opportunity. We would recommend Jio Financial Services between these two,” said Goel.

Jignesh Shial, the director of research and the head of the BFSI sector at InCred Capital underscored that Jio Financial Services is at an initial stage, and it is early to predict about the stock.

“Jio Financial enjoys a strong brand name and promoter backing though there is intense competition in all segments,” Shial pointed out.

Bajaj Finance is Shial’s preferred pick given the resilient growth metrics, management track record of dealing with roadblocks and consistency in performance.

“We have an add rating on Bajaj Finance with a target price of ₹9,000 as we continue to bet on the NBFC’s aggressive customer acquisition and flawless diversity into new business,” said Shial.

Also Read: TCS vs HCL Tech vs Wipro vs Infosys: Which stock to buy after Q4 results 2024?

Some technical analysts point out that technical charts also favour Bajaj Finance at this juncture.

Riyank Arora, a technical analyst at Mehta Equities, pointed out that Jio Finance is trading in uncharted territory and near its all-time highs. A pullback towards the ₹300-310 zone should offer an excellent long-term buying opportunity for the stock.

However, the technical indicators and chart structure of Bajaj Finance show more stability, and any move towards the ₹6,000 to ₹6,200 zone should be an excellent long-term buy for the stock, Arora observed.

“At current levels, if we compare the technical chart structure of both stocks, then on any 8-10 per cent downside from the current levels, one can look to accumulate Bajaj Finance with a long-term vision for targets of ₹10,000 and above,” said Arora.

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Disclaimer: The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts, experts and broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.

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Published: 28 Apr 2024, 10:00 AM IST

All social expenditures in Ukraine will be fully financed this year thanks to financial support from partners.

The founder of behavioral finance, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman, recently passed away. His work has made a huge difference in helping me understand how emotions can interfere with more rational decisionmaking.

It hasn’t stopped me from, at times, making nonsensical financial decisions of my own, but it has helped me pause so I can minimize them. Here are some behaviors or biases we all probably share:

• We have said to ourselves, “When this investment gets back to even, I am going to sell it.” This is silly. The investment doesn’t care what we paid for it. We should objectively be looking at each investment on its own merits regardless of what we paid for it. But it is psychologically hard to take a loss and rewarding to grab a gain, so we have held on to bad investments and crossed our fingers that we will eventually save face. Importantly, this applies to individual stocks, not asset classes (small or large stocks, international stocks). In time, asset classes should mean revert, but stocks (and currencies) don’t. With asset classes, peel from your winners and give to your losers. With stocks, let your winners run and trim from them when they are too much of your portfolio, then invest in something that you think has potential.
• We have sometimes said no to something that we don’t want to do today, but said yes to it if presented as a future endeavor. When the event eventually shows up on our calendars, we regret it. This is discounting the future. Before saying yes to something, try to picture yourself preparing for it and decide if it is something you really want to do.
• We have gone out of our way to save $5 on a $50 item but not to save $5 on a $500 purchase. Why? The ignored numbers are even larger on big purchases. We often look at the percentage of the transaction rather than actual dollars we are saving.
• In his book “Thinking Fast and Slow,” Kahneman wrote, “When people believe a conclusion is true, they are also very likely to believe arguments that appear to support it, even when those arguments are unsound.” Good we’ve never done that, right? Right.

We are never going to eliminate our biases, so the key is to slow down and better manage our choices when we recognize we are making a high-stakes decision.

Spend your life wisely.

Ross Levin is the founder of Accredited Investors Wealth Management in Edina. He can be reached at ross@accredited.com.