Aster DM Healthcare 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.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd trades at ₹820, in a confirmed uptrend and 19 weeks into that stage. That is +19.9% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 100% of a 52-week range of ₹555 to ₹820. On relative strength it has been ahead of the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 27 straight weeks.

Today the stock is in a confirmed uptrend — week 19 of stage 2, confirmed. At ₹820 it trades +19.9% versus its 200-day average and sits at 100% of its 52-week range (₹555–₹820).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 8.4 years the stock moved +375% while the NIFTY 500 moved +161% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock has been ahead for 27 straight weeks — 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 100th 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.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd trades at 168.0× P/E, about the priciest it has ever traded. Its long-run median P/E is 40.8×, measured across 8.0 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 168.0× is about the priciest it has ever traded, against a long-run median of 40.8× measured over 8.0 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 −93.0% against a +37.9% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +38.7%/yr price move, ~+21.7%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+17.0 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: Deteriorating 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).

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd reads as deteriorating on its fundamental arc. Deteriorating — profit and EPS growth are shrinking (profit growth −92.1% latest against +2450.9% at its 12-quarter best), ROCE holding at 10.8%. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.

🚨 Why it matters: falling curves mean every cheap-looking ratio below needs a discount for direction.

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

4-Factor Sector Score

38.7/100 — rank 16 of 19 in Hospitals · 96% evidence confidence

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd scores 38.7 out of 100 against the 19 companies it is compared with in Hospitals, ranking 16. Price leads the evidence: RS versus the benchmark is 21.4%, but earnings trajectory is weak. Wait for revenue and profit confirmation.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 12.6 + 9.8 + 1.9 + 14.4 = 38.7. 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.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd reported ₹1,182 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +18.2% year on year. That is the 9th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at −1.2% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹4,643 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹4,643 Cr.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd reported ₹1,182 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +18.2% year on year. That is the 9th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at −1.2% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹4,643 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹4,643 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹4,643 Cr (+12.2% on the year), capping 10 years at −1.2% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹1,182 Cr, +18.2% year on year — the 9th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +12.3% growth against the decade's −1.2% — the current year is running faster than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +12.2% over the last 4 quarters against +12.0%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit −92.1% vs +42.1%/yr — rolling over.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 19.0% this quarter (+1.0 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.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd's operating margin is 19.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, +1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. That is the widest this company has ever printed on a full-year basis. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 6.0% to 19.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd's operating margin is 19.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, +1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. That is the widest this company has ever printed on a full-year basis. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 6.0% to 19.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 19.0%, +1.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 6.0%–19.0%, and FY26's 19.0% is the top of that band — a record year.

Why the margin moved: operating margin went +0.8 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.3 pp — the gain came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.

Worth repeating from the valuation section: cheap against its own history on record margins is not the same thing as cheap — a record margin flatters every ratio built on top of it.

→ Margins held — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit +79.1% 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.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd earned ₹154 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +79.1% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹427 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 48.8%. That is 13.0% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹86.0 Cr. 2 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd earned ₹154 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +79.1% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹427 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 48.8%. That is 13.0% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹86.0 Cr. 2 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

Mar 26 profit was ₹154 Cr, +79.1% year on year. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹427 Cr (−92.1%), and the 10-year compound rate is 48.8%.

Why profit moved: revenue contributed +18.2% and the margin +1.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led, with the margin roughly flat.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit −3.2% vs revenue +12.3%. 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: 20% 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 20% of Aster DM Healthcare Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — a gap worth watching. In FY26 that was ₹656 Cr of operating cash against ₹427 Cr of profit. After ₹713 Cr of capital spending, ₹−57.0 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹656 Cr against reported profit of ₹427 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹−57.0 Cr after ₹713 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 20% 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 20%: the cash cycle tightened 29 days between FY21 and FY26 — cash that used to wait in the cycle now reaches the bank sooner. Less than 70% of profit arriving as cash is the thing to watch on this page.

Router verdict: no single sink dominates — the next section checks both the working-capital cycle and the capital spending.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: a −112-day cycle and ₹−3,936 Cr of building.

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).

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs −112 days in FY26, down from −83 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹−3,936 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹4,643 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹12.7 Cr, so roughly ₹−1,425 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 24 days, inventory at 32 days — roughly 1.1 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of −112 days, tighter than FY21's −83.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 32 days to sell; customers pay about 24 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 168 days — netting out to the −112-day cycle.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹4,643 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹12.7 Cr — so the −112-day loop keeps roughly ₹−1,425 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹−3,936 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹733 Cr of depreciation — spending at or below maintenance level. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹413 Cr (FY26) — capacity paid for but not yet earning.

The synthesis: neither the cycle nor the build-out is hoarding the cash — the machine is reasonably clean.

→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROCE is 11% and the ROIC − WACC spread is −3.6 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.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd earns a ROCE of 11% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 1% in FY17. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by −3.6 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses. The wiring behind it is 9.2% net margin on 0.57× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 11%, recovered from a FY17 trough of 1% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

🚨 Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 9.2% net margin × 0.57× asset turns × 1.77× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 9.3% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 8.4% − 12.0% = a −3.6 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 0.49.

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.

Aster DM Healthcare Ltd carries total debt of ₹2,220 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹4,834 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.46. On the annual view that ratio went from 1.10 in FY22 to 0.46 in FY26. Read the returns elsewhere on this page with that leverage in mind.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹2,220 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹4,834 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.46. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 1.10 (FY22) to 0.46 (FY26). Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: Foreign institutions cut 13.5 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.

Foreign institutions cut 13.5 points of Aster DM Healthcare Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes foreign institutions to 10.3% of the company. Promoters moved +11.8 points over the same window, to 53.7%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Foreign institutions: −13.5 points over 8 quarters to 10.3%; Promoters: +11.8 points over 8 quarters to 53.7%; Domestic institutions: −4.4 points over 8 quarters to 16.5%.

🚨 Why the register moved: foreign institutions drove it (−13.5 points), absorbed on the other side by promoters (+11.8 points) — distribution into the market’s bid.

→ 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.

Aster DM Healthcare 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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