Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone 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.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd trades at ₹1,837, in a confirmed uptrend and 61 weeks into that stage. That is +15.5% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 93% of a 52-week range of ₹1,308 to ₹1,874. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (2 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a confirmed uptrend — week 61 of stage 2, confirmed. At ₹1,837 it trades +15.5% versus its 200-day average and sits at 93% of its 52-week range (₹1,308–₹1,874).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.3 years the stock moved +695% while the NIFTY 500 moved +274% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (2 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-07-03) — 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 84th 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.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd trades at 31.4× P/E, at the pricey end of its own range (84th percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 23.8×, measured across 10.4 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 31.4× is at the pricey end of its own range (84th percentile), against a long-run median of 23.8× measured over 10.4 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 +8.2% against a +27.3% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +21.7%/yr price move, ~+18.1%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+3.6 pp from the multiple (expanding); over 10y, of the +23.6%/yr price move, ~+14.3%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+9.3 pp from the multiple (expanding). 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 full 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).

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd reads as mixed on its fundamental arc. Mixed — the growth curves are steadily positive, but ROCE at 13.7% is below the 15% bar this page requires to call it Consistent. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.

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

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

4-Factor Sector Score

58.7/100 — rank 3 of 3 in Marine Port & Services · 93% evidence confidence

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd scores 58.7 out of 100 against the 3 companies it is compared with in Marine Port & Services, ranking 3. Price leads the evidence: RS versus the benchmark is 19.6%, but earnings trajectory is weak. Wait for revenue and profit confirmation.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 16 + 16.4 + 9.3 + 17 = 58.7. 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.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd reported ₹10,738 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +26.5% year on year. That is the 12th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 18.5% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹38,736 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹38,736 Cr.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd reported ₹10,738 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +26.5% year on year. That is the 12th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 18.5% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹38,736 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹38,736 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹38,736 Cr (+27.1% on the year), capping 10 years at 18.5% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹10,738 Cr, +26.5% year on year — the 12th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +24.7% growth against the decade's 18.5% — the current year is running faster than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +24.6% over the last 4 quarters against +20.4%/yr over the last 8 — accelerating; TTM profit +15.6% vs +25.6%/yr — rolling over.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 56.0% this quarter (−3.0 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.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd's operating margin is 56.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −3.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 50.0% to 69.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd's operating margin is 56.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −3.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 50.0% to 69.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 56.0%, −3.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 50.0%–69.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −2.9 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.0 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 +9.4% 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.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd earned ₹3,308 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +9.4% year on year. It is the 12th consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹12,782 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 16.2%. That is 30.8% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹3,023 Cr.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd earned ₹3,308 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +9.4% year on year. It is the 12th consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹12,782 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 16.2%. That is 30.8% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹3,023 Cr.

Mar 26 profit was ₹3,308 Cr, +9.4% year on year — the 12th consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹12,782 Cr (+15.6%), and the 10-year compound rate is 16.2%.

Why profit moved: revenue contributed +26.5% and the margin −3.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led despite a thinner margin.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +16.5% vs revenue +24.7%. 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: 165% 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 165% of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was ₹20,356 Cr of operating cash against ₹12,782 Cr of profit. After ₹48,536 Cr of capital spending, ₹−28,180 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹20,356 Cr against reported profit of ₹12,782 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹−28,180 Cr after ₹48,536 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 165% 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 165%: the cash cycle tightened 25 days between FY21 and FY26 — cash that used to wait in the cycle now reaches the bank sooner.

Router verdict: the bigger cash user is investment — capital spending ran 5.8× depreciation over three years, so the next section's job is to check what that build-out is buying.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: ₹79,264 Cr of building over 3 years.

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).

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 60 days in FY26, down from 85 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹79,264 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹38,736 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹106 Cr, so roughly ₹6,368 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 60 days (an asset-light business — no inventory to speak of) — for a full cycle of 60 days, tighter than FY21's 85.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹38,736 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹106 Cr — so the 60-day loop keeps roughly ₹6,368 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹79,264 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹13,784 Cr of depreciation — the company is building well ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹12,689 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: the cash is going into capacity, not disappearing into the cycle — the question becomes whether the new capacity earns.

→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROCE is 14% and the ROIC − WACC spread is −1.0 pp.

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.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd earns a ROCE of 14% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 10% in FY23. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by −1.0 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses.

FY26 ROCE is 14%, 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): 33.0% net margin × 0.21× asset turns × 1.91× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 13.2% on equity. Margin is doing the heavy lifting; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 11.0% − 12.0% = a −1.0 pp spread. The 12.0% is a standing assumption for the cost of capital in India, not a per-stock estimate — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. Negative — growth at these returns destroys value until the returns recover.

→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 0.66.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd carries total debt of ₹63,399 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹98,981 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.64. On the annual view that ratio went from 1.13 in FY22 to 0.64 in FY26. Read the returns elsewhere on this page with that leverage in mind.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹63,399 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹98,981 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.64. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 1.13 (FY22) to 0.64 (FY26). Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind.

→ 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 Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes domestic institutions to 13.6% of the company. Foreign institutions moved +0.4 points over the same window, to 15.6%. 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 13.6%; Foreign institutions: +0.4 points over 8 quarters to 15.6%; Promoters: +0.1 points over 8 quarters to 66.0%.

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.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd: the Z-score reads 3.19. A Z-score above roughly 3 reads as safe and below roughly 1.8 as the distress zone, so this sits well clear of distress. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure.

Why it matters: a Z-score of 3.19 sits well clear of the distress zone — the balance sheet is not the risk here.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score reads 3.19.

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