IST Ltd

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

IST Ltd trades at ₹638, in a downtrend and 35 weeks into that stage. That is −12.0% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 18% of a 52-week range of ₹577 to ₹908. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (6 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 35 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹638 it trades −12.0% versus its 200-day average and sits at 18% of its 52-week range (₹577–₹908).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.3 years the stock moved +80% while the NIFTY 500 moved +263% — behind the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (6 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-06-19) — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: the P/E sits at the 21st percentile of its own range.

Valuation P/E is the price of ₹1 of annual profit: how many rupees the market pays for each rupee the company earns in a year.

IST Ltd trades at 4.6× P/E, near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 21% of the time. Its long-run median P/E is 6.4×, measured across 10.3 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.

Today's P/E of 4.6× is near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 21% of the time, against a long-run median of 6.4× measured over 10.3 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.

Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved +9.7% against a −31.0% price move — earnings outran the price, pushing the multiple DOWN its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +2.1%/yr price move, ~+10.0%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−7.9 pp from the multiple (compressing); over 10y, of the +7.0%/yr price move, ~+10.4%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−3.4 pp from the multiple (compressing). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.

Put together: the multiple is low against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.

Stage: Mixed Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

IST Ltd reads as mixed on its fundamental arc. Mixed — revenue growth is rising at +22.0% (single-quarter readings) while profit growth is falling at −156.6% (single-quarter readings) — the curves disagree, so the per-curve reads carry the story. The read is built from 10 quarters across 3 curves, on partial evidence.

Why it matters: when the curves disagree, the per-curve reads above matter more than any single verdict.

One or more growth curves carry a base-effect spike — a large year-on-year move off a near-zero or loss-making comparable quarter. Those spikes are capped before the classifier reads the trajectory, and shown pinned on the chart, so a single distorted quarter does not drive the stage call.

Return readings here are annual, not quarterly — read as level and direction only; they can confirm the growth curves but never drive the stage on their own.

A partial read: at least one curve is short, or the returns curve is not the computed quarterly series — hold the stage word a little more loosely.

→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.

4-Factor Sector Score

42.8/100 — rank 4 of 4 in Auto Ancillaries - Spare Parts Accessories · 76% evidence confidence

IST Ltd scores 42.8 out of 100 against the 4 companies it is compared with in Auto Ancillaries - Spare Parts Accessories, ranking 4. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 13.5 + 16.4 + 12.2 + 0.7 = 42.8. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.

What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

IST Ltd reported ₹34.4 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +22.0% year on year. That is the 2nd straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 4.9% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹126 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹126 Cr.

IST Ltd reported ₹34.4 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +22.0% year on year. That is the 2nd straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 4.9% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹126 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹126 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹126 Cr (+9.6% on the year), capping 10 years at 4.9% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹34.4 Cr, +22.0% year on year — the 2nd consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +10.2% growth against the decade's 4.9% — the current year is running faster than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +9.7% over the last 4 quarters against +7.3%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit +9.7% vs +10.4%/yr — stabilising.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 37.1% this quarter (−33.1 pp YoY).

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every ₹100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

IST Ltd's operating margin is 37.1% in the Mar 26 quarter, −33.1 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 59.0% to 79.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

IST Ltd's operating margin is 37.1% in the Mar 26 quarter, −33.1 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 59.0% to 79.0%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 37.1%, −33.1 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 59.0%–79.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −33.1 pp year on year while gross margin went −6.0 pp — the loss came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.

→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit −156.6% in the latest quarter.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

IST Ltd posted a net loss of ₹9.5 Cr in the Mar 26 quarter. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹154 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 8.2%. That loss is 27.6% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹16.8 Cr. 1 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

IST Ltd posted a net loss of ₹9.5 Cr in the Mar 26 quarter. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹154 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 8.2%. That loss is 27.6% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹16.8 Cr. 1 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

Mar 26 profit was ₹−9.5 Cr, −156.6% year on year. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹154 Cr (+10.0%), and the 10-year compound rate is 8.2%.

🚨 Why profit moved: revenue contributed +22.0% and the margin −33.1 pp — the quarter was revenue-led despite a thinner margin.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +1.9% vs revenue +10.2%. Profit is growing slower than sales — costs are eating the growth before it reaches the bottom line.

→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 31% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 3 fiscal years 31% of IST Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — a gap worth watching. In FY26 that was ₹85.0 Cr of operating cash against ₹154 Cr of profit. After ₹−32.0 Cr of capital spending, ₹117 Cr was left as free cash. Cash resolution here is annual, because quarterly cash statements are not published.

FY26: operating cash of ₹85.0 Cr against reported profit of ₹154 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹117 Cr after ₹−32.0 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 31% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

🚨 Why conversion sits at 31%: the cash cycle stretched 420 days between FY21 and FY26 — more of each rupee of profit waits inside the cycle before arriving. Less than 70% of profit arriving as cash is the thing to watch on this page.

Router verdict: conversion is below par and the cash cycle has stretched 420 days — the next section's job is to find where the cash is stuck.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: the 580-day cycle, in money terms.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

IST Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 580 days in FY26, up from 160 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹18.0 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹126 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹0.3 Cr, so roughly ₹200 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 24 days, inventory at 570 days — roughly 18.8 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of 580 days, looser than FY21's 160.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 570 days to sell; customers pay about 24 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 15 days — netting out to the 580-day cycle.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹126 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹0.3 Cr — so the 580-day loop keeps roughly ₹200 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹18.0 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹16.0 Cr of depreciation — building somewhat ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹0.0 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: the working-capital loop is the cash sink the router flagged — watch the cycle, not the P&L.

→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROCE is 13%.

Return on capital Return on capital employed (ROCE) is the profit the whole business earns on all the money in it — equity and debt together. It is the single best test of whether growth creates value or just size.

IST Ltd earns a ROCE of 13% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 10% in FY23. A return-on-invested-capital spread against the cost of capital is not computable from what is held here. The wiring behind it is 122.2% net margin on 0.07× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 13%, recovered from a FY23 trough of 10% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 122.2% net margin × 0.07× asset turns × 1.08× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 9.2% on equity. Margin is doing the heavy lifting; leverage is modest — this is an earned return, not a borrowed one.

→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 0.00.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings; interest cover says how many times operating profit pays the interest bill. Low and high, respectively, is the safe corner.

IST Ltd carries ₹4.0 Cr of borrowings against ₹1,692 Cr of equity in FY26, a debt-to-equity of 0.00. Operating profit covers the interest bill 25×. Over 5 years borrowings went from ₹5.0 Cr to ₹4.0 Cr. Capital spending ran ₹18.0 Cr across the last 3 of those years.

FY26: borrowings of ₹4.0 Cr against equity of ₹1,692 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.00. Operating profit covers the interest bill 25×. Over 5 years borrowings went from ₹5.0 Cr to ₹4.0 Cr while capital spending ran ₹18.0 Cr in just the last 3 — the build-out is being paid for out of cash, not debt.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: Domestic institutions added 1.1 points over 8 quarters.

Ownership Who owns the stock, quarter by quarter: promoters (the controlling owners), foreign and domestic institutions, and the public. Steady accumulation by people close to the numbers is a signal; a quiet register is also an answer.

Domestic institutions added 1.1 points of IST Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes domestic institutions to 1.1% of the company. Promoters moved +0.0 points over the same window, to 75.0%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Domestic institutions: +1.1 points over 8 quarters to 1.1%; Promoters: +0.0 points over 8 quarters to 75.0%.

Why the register moved: domestic institutions drove it (+1.1 points) — steady accumulation by institutions reading the same numbers this page reads.

→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

IST Ltd: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure. The debt, cash-flow and return sections above carry the balance-sheet evidence this page does hold, and each of them states its own reporting date.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score is not available for this stock, so we say so rather than invent one.

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