Patanjali Foods 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.

Patanjali Foods Ltd trades at ₹338, in a downtrend and 33 weeks into that stage. That is −31.0% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 0% of a 52-week range of ₹338 to ₹609. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (46 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 33 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹338 it trades −31.0% versus its 200-day average and sits at 0% of its 52-week range (₹338–₹609).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.3 years the stock moved +3,493% 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 (46 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2025-10-10) — 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 3rd 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.

Patanjali Foods Ltd trades at 18.4× P/E, near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 3% of the time. Its long-run median P/E is 30.3×, 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 18.4× is near the bottom of its own range — cheaper only 3% of the time, against a long-run median of 30.3× 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 +39.3% against a −47.8% price move — earnings outran the price, pushing the multiple DOWN its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 10y, of the +46.1%/yr price move, ~+47.9%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−1.8 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: No read 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).

Patanjali Foods Ltd reads as no read on its fundamental arc. Under eight usable quarters on the growth trio — not enough history for an honest trajectory read. The read is built from 8 quarters across 1 curve, on partial evidence.

Why it matters: with too little history, an honest page says so instead of guessing a trajectory.

Fewer than eight usable quarters on the growth curves — this page will not guess a trajectory from a stub of history.

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

4-Factor Sector Score

43.8/100 — rank 5 of 6 in FMCG - Foods · 96% evidence confidence

Patanjali Foods Ltd scores 43.8 out of 100 against the 6 companies it is compared with in FMCG - Foods, ranking 5. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 18.1 + 9.1 + 16.6 + 0 = 43.8. 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.

Patanjali Foods Ltd reported ₹11,156 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +15.1% year on year. That is the 4th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 15 years it has compounded at 5.4% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹40,170 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹40,183 Cr.

Patanjali Foods Ltd reported ₹11,156 Cr of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +15.1% year on year. That is the 4th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 15 years it has compounded at 5.4% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹40,170 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹40,183 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹40,170 Cr (+17.6% on the year), capping 15 years at 5.4% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed ₹11,156 Cr, +15.1% year on year — the 4th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +18.6% growth against the decade's 5.4% — the current year is running faster than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +18.3% over the last 4 quarters against +76.9%/yr over the last 8 — rolling over.

→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 4.0% 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.

Patanjali Foods Ltd's operating margin is 4.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged −42.0% to 6.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

Patanjali Foods Ltd's operating margin is 4.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged −42.0% to 6.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 4.0%, −1.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged −42.0%–6.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −1.3 pp year on year while gross margin went −4.5 pp — the loss came mostly from the gross line: input costs and pricing.

→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit +46.0% 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.

Patanjali Foods Ltd earned ₹524 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +46.0% year on year. It is the 3rd consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹1,814 Cr. The 15-year compound rate is 14.6%. That is 4.7% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹359 Cr.

Patanjali Foods Ltd earned ₹524 Cr of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +46.0% year on year. It is the 3rd consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹1,814 Cr. The 15-year compound rate is 14.6%. That is 4.7% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹359 Cr.

Mar 26 profit was ₹524 Cr, +46.0% year on year — the 3rd consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹1,814 Cr (+39.4%), and the 15-year compound rate is 14.6%.

Why profit moved: revenue contributed +15.1% and the margin −1.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led, with the margin roughly flat.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +35.4% vs revenue +18.6%. Profit is growing faster than sales — fixed costs are being spread over a bigger base, and each extra rupee of revenue drops more to the bottom line.

→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: −13% 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 −13% of Patanjali Foods Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — a gap worth watching. In FY26 that was ₹−333 Cr of operating cash against ₹1,814 Cr of profit. After ₹17.0 Cr of capital spending, ₹−350 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹−333 Cr against reported profit of ₹1,814 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹−350 Cr after ₹17.0 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is −13% 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 −13%: the cash cycle stretched 41 days between FY16 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 41 days — the next section's job is to find where the cash is stuck.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: the 74-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).

Patanjali Foods Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 74 days in FY26, up from 33 days in FY16. Capital spending ran ₹0.0 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹40,170 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹110 Cr, so roughly ₹8,144 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 22 days, inventory at 76 days — roughly 2.5 months of stock waiting to sell; that is where the cash sits while it waits — for a full cycle of 74 days, looser than FY16's 33.

The full loop: cash goes out to suppliers and production on day 0; stock waits 76 days to sell; customers pay about 22 days after that; and suppliers themselves are paid at 24 days — netting out to the 74-day cycle.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹40,170 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹110 Cr — so the 74-day loop keeps roughly ₹8,144 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹0.0 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹529 Cr of depreciation — spending at or below maintenance level. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹51.0 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 12% and the ROIC − WACC spread is −1.3 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.

Patanjali Foods Ltd earns a ROCE of 12% in FY26. That is up from a trough of −106% in FY18. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by −1.3 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses. The wiring behind it is 4.5% net margin on 2.14× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 12%, recovered from a FY18 trough of −106% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

🚨 Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 4.5% net margin × 2.14× asset turns × 1.44× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 13.9% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is modest — this is an earned return, not a borrowed one.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 10.7% − 12.0% = a −1.3 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 0.21.

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.

Patanjali Foods Ltd carries total debt of ₹2,789 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹13,096 Cr as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.21 — effectively unlevered. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.60 in FY22 to 0.21 in FY26. The returns elsewhere on this page are therefore earned rather than borrowed.

Mar 26: total debt of ₹2,789 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹13,096 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.21. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.60 (FY22) to 0.21 (FY26). The returns on this page are earned, not borrowed.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: Domestic institutions added 8.0 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 8.0 points of Patanjali Foods Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes domestic institutions to 11.1% of the company. Promoters moved −4.6 points over the same window, to 68.3%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Domestic institutions: +8.0 points over 8 quarters to 11.1%; Promoters: −4.6 points over 8 quarters to 68.3%; Foreign institutions: −1.8 points over 8 quarters to 8.5%.

Why the register moved: rotation — foreign institutions −1.8 points against domestic institutions +8.0 points over 8 quarters, with promoters −4.6 points — 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.

Patanjali Foods 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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