Larsen & Toubro 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.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd trades at ₹3,815, in a confirmed uptrend and 8 weeks into that stage. That is −2.5% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 40% of a 52-week range of ₹3,435 to ₹4,381. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (3 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a confirmed uptrend — week 8 of stage 2, confirmed. At ₹3,815 it trades −2.5% versus its 200-day average and sits at 40% of its 52-week range (₹3,435–₹4,381).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.4 years the stock moved +415% while the NIFTY 500 moved +280% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (3 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-07-01) — 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 69th 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.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd trades at 31.7× P/E, mid-range by its own standards (69th percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 28.8×, 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 31.7× is mid-range by its own standards (69th percentile), against a long-run median of 28.8× 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 +6.9% against a +10.1% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +18.7%/yr price move, ~+3.8%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+14.9 pp from the multiple (expanding); over 10y, of the +13.7%/yr price move, ~+14.5%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−0.8 pp from the multiple (roughly flat). 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.

The PEG ratio and its quarterly curve, which only the second data source carries, are not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 2.4% on reported income across 14 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

→ 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).

Larsen & Toubro Ltd reads as mixed on its fundamental arc. Mixed — no clean majority across the growth curves, ROCE lifting at 15.0% — 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.

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

49.9/100 — rank 6 of 17 in Infra - Construction & Contracting · 83% evidence confidence

Larsen & Toubro Ltd scores 49.9 out of 100 against the 17 companies it is compared with in Infra - Construction & Contracting, ranking 6. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 20.5 + 13.3 + 8 + 8.1 = 49.9. 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.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd reported ₹82,762 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +11.3% year on year. That is the 10th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 11.0% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹2,85,874 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹2,85,875 Cr.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd reported ₹82,762 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +11.3% year on year. That is the 10th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 11.0% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹2,85,874 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹2,85,875 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹2,85,874 Cr (+11.8% on the year), capping 10 years at 11.0% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹82,762 Cr, +11.3% year on year — the 10th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +11.9% growth against the decade's 11.0% — the current year is running in line with its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +11.8% over the last 4 quarters against +13.7%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit +7.2% vs +10.4%/yr — rolling over.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 13.0% this quarter (+0.0 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.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd's operating margin is 13.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, +0.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 12.0% to 17.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd's operating margin is 13.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, +0.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 12.0% to 17.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 13.0%, +0.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 12.0%–17.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −0.7 pp year on year while gross margin went +4.6 pp — the loss came mostly from the gross line: input costs and pricing.

→ Margins held — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit −0.4% 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.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd earned ₹6,133 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −0.4% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹18,954 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 15.2%. That is 7.4% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹6,156 Cr.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd earned ₹6,133 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, −0.4% year on year. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹18,954 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 15.2%. That is 7.4% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹6,156 Cr.

Mar 26 profit was ₹6,133 Cr, −0.4% year on year. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹18,954 Cr (+7.2%), and the 10-year compound rate is 15.2%.

🚨 Why profit moved: revenue contributed +11.3% and the margin +0.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led, with the margin roughly flat.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +8.8% vs revenue +11.9%. 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: 85% 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 85% of Larsen & Toubro Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was ₹16,741 Cr of operating cash against ₹18,954 Cr of profit. After ₹−8,101 Cr of capital spending, ₹24,842 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹16,741 Cr against reported profit of ₹18,954 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹24,842 Cr after ₹−8,101 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 85% 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 85%: the cash cycle stretched 85 days between FY21 and FY26 — more of each rupee of profit waits inside the cycle before arriving.

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 −151-day cycle and ₹639 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).

Larsen & Toubro Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs −151 days in FY26, up from −236 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹639 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹2,85,874 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹783 Cr, so roughly ₹−1,18,266 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 77 days, inventory at 36 days — roughly 1.2 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of −151 days, looser than FY21's −236.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 36 days to sell; customers pay about 77 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 265 days — netting out to the −151-day cycle.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹2,85,874 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹783 Cr — so the −151-day loop keeps roughly ₹−1,18,266 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹639 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹12,168 Cr of depreciation — spending at or below maintenance level. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹3,311 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 15%.

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.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd earns a ROCE of 15% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 10% in FY15. A return-on-invested-capital spread against the cost of capital is not computable from what is held here. The wiring behind it is 6.6% net margin on 0.63× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 15%, recovered from a FY15 trough of 10% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 6.6% net margin × 0.63× asset turns × 4.14× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 17.2% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The quarterly return curves and the return-on-invested-capital overlay, which only the second data source carries, are not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 2.4% on reported income across 14 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 1.15.

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.

Larsen & Toubro Ltd carries ₹1,25,497 Cr of borrowings against ₹1,09,290 Cr of equity in FY26, a debt-to-equity of 1.15. Operating profit covers the interest bill 4×. Over 5 years borrowings went from ₹1,34,629 Cr to ₹1,25,497 Cr. Capital spending ran ₹639 Cr across the last 3 of those years.

FY26: borrowings of ₹1,25,497 Cr against equity of ₹1,09,290 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 1.15. Operating profit covers the interest bill 4×. Over 5 years borrowings went from ₹1,34,629 Cr to ₹1,25,497 Cr while capital spending ran ₹639 Cr in just the last 3 — the build-out is being paid for out of cash, not debt.

The total-debt and debt-to-equity series, which only the second data source carries, are not drawn on this page: its two data sources disagree by up to 2.4% on reported income across 14 comparable periods. A figure two sources cannot agree on is not drawn — the gap is a decision, not missing data.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: Domestic institutions added 4.1 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 4.1 points of Larsen & Toubro Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes domestic institutions to 43.0% of the company. Foreign institutions moved −3.7 points over the same window, to 19.1%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Domestic institutions: +4.1 points over 8 quarters to 43.0%; Foreign institutions: −3.7 points over 8 quarters to 19.1%.

Why the register moved: rotation — foreign institutions −3.7 points against domestic institutions +4.1 points over 8 quarters — one class of institutions handing the register to the other, not a verdict change by the people closest to the numbers.

→ 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.

Larsen & Toubro 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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