Indus Towers 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.

Indus Towers Ltd trades at ₹384, in a downtrend and 2 weeks into that stage. That is −5.2% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 31% of a 52-week range of ₹343 to ₹474. On relative strength it is currently behind the NIFTY 500 on a trailing-13-week view (23 weeks and counting).

Today the stock is in a downtrend — week 2 of stage 4, confirmed. At ₹384 it trades −5.2% versus its 200-day average and sits at 31% of its 52-week range (₹343–₹474).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.5 years the stock moved +5% while the NIFTY 500 moved +284% — behind the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (23 weeks and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-04-10) — 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.

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.

Indus Towers Ltd trades at 14.2× P/E, mid-range by its own standards (39th percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 15.6×, measured across 10.5 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 14.2× is mid-range by its own standards (39th percentile), against a long-run median of 15.6× measured over 10.5 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 −28.1% against a +15.4% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.

The price move, decomposed: over 5y, of the +12.5%/yr price move, ~+8.6%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+3.9 pp from the multiple (expanding); over 10y, of the +0.5%/yr price move, ~+7.2%/yr came from earnings growth and ~−6.7 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 unremarkable against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

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).

Indus Towers Ltd reads as deteriorating on its fundamental arc. Deteriorating — profit and EPS growth are shrinking (profit growth −26.6% latest against +195.9% at its 12-quarter best), ROCE slipping at 18.6%. 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.

4-Factor Sector Score

51.2/100 — rank 7 of 18 in Telecom Services · 100% evidence confidence

Indus Towers Ltd scores 51.2 out of 100 against the 18 companies it is compared with in Telecom Services, ranking 7. Cheap but unconfirmed: require improving earnings before treating the valuation as an opportunity.

The four contributions add to the total exactly: 10 + 20.2 + 16.6 + 4.4 = 51.2. 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.

Indus Towers Ltd reported ₹8,431 Cr of revenue in the Jun 26 quarter, +4.6% year on year. That is the 11th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 10 years it has compounded at 19.3% a year. The last full year, FY26, came in at ₹32,493 Cr. The last four reported quarters add to ₹32,866 Cr.

FY26 revenue came in at ₹32,493 Cr (+7.9% on the year), capping 10 years at 19.3% compound. The latest quarter (Jun 26) printed ₹8,431 Cr, +4.6% year on year — the 11th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +6.8% growth against the decade's 19.3% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +6.7% over the last 4 quarters against +6.6%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising; TTM profit −26.6% vs +4.0%/yr — rolling over.

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.

Indus Towers Ltd's operating margin is 53.0% in the Jun 26 quarter, −1.0 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 34.0% to 69.0%. The current quarter sits inside that band.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 53.0%, −1.0 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 13 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 34.0%–69.0%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −1.4 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.2 pp — the loss came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.

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

Indus Towers Ltd earned ₹1,746 Cr of net profit in the Jun 26 quarter, +0.5% year on year. It is the 2nd consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY26 profit was ₹7,145 Cr. The 10-year compound rate is 12.3%. That is 20.7% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned ₹1,737 Cr.

Jun 26 profit was ₹1,746 Cr, +0.5% year on year — the 2nd consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY26 printed ₹7,145 Cr (−28.1%), and the 10-year compound rate is 12.3%.

Why profit moved: revenue contributed +4.6% and the margin −1.0 pp — the quarter was revenue-led, with the margin roughly flat.

Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit −17.9% vs revenue +6.8%. Profit is growing slower than sales — costs are eating the growth before it reaches the bottom line.

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 203% of Indus Towers Ltd's reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY26 that was ₹15,684 Cr of operating cash against ₹7,145 Cr of profit. After ₹12,338 Cr of capital spending, ₹3,346 Cr was left as free cash.

FY26: operating cash of ₹15,684 Cr against reported profit of ₹7,145 Cr, leaving free cash of ₹3,346 Cr after ₹12,338 Cr of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 203% 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 203%: the cash cycle tightened 45 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 1.9× depreciation over three years, so the next section's job is to check what that build-out is buying.

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).

Indus Towers Ltd's cash conversion cycle runs 55 days in FY26, down from 100 days in FY21. Capital spending ran ₹37,008 Cr over the last 3 years. At FY26 sales of ₹32,493 Cr each day of that cycle holds about ₹89.0 Cr, so roughly ₹4,896 Cr sits inside the business at any moment.

FY26: debtors at 55 days (an asset-light business — no inventory to speak of) — for a full cycle of 55 days, tighter than FY21's 100.

In money terms: at FY26 sales of ₹32,493 Cr, each day of the cycle holds about ₹89.0 Cr — so the 55-day loop keeps roughly ₹4,896 Cr sitting inside the business at any moment.

On the investment side: capital spending of ₹37,008 Cr over the last 3 fiscal years against ₹19,603 Cr of depreciation — the company is building well ahead of wear-and-tear. Capital work-in-progress stands at ₹630 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.

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.

Indus Towers Ltd earns a ROCE of 19% in FY26. That is up from a trough of 11% in FY23. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by +2.5 percentage points, so growth here adds value rather than only size. The wiring behind it is 22.0% net margin on 0.46× asset turns.

FY26 ROCE is 19%, recovered from a FY23 trough of 11% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.

Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY26): 22.0% net margin × 0.46× asset turns × 1.80× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 18.2% on equity. Margin is doing the heavy lifting; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 14.5% − 12.0% = a +2.5 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. Positive but thin — value creation with little room for error.

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.

Indus Towers Ltd carries total debt of ₹21,432 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹41,383 Cr as of Jun 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.52. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.89 in FY22 to 0.53 in FY26. Read the returns elsewhere on this page with that leverage in mind.

Jun 26: total debt of ₹21,432 Cr against shareholder equity of ₹41,383 Cr — a debt-to-equity of 0.52. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.89 (FY22) to 0.53 (FY26). Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind.

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 4.5 points of Indus Towers Ltd over 8 quarters, the biggest move on the register. That takes domestic institutions to 21.4% of the company. Promoters moved −0.8 points over the same window, to 51.3%. The register is read on the four disclosed classes only; nothing is inferred between filings.

The register over the last two years — Domestic institutions: +4.5 points over 8 quarters to 21.4%; Promoters: −0.8 points over 8 quarters to 51.3%; Foreign institutions: +0.1 points over 8 quarters to 23.2%.

Why the register moved: domestic institutions drove it (+4.5 points), absorbed on the other side by promoters (−0.8 points) — steady accumulation by institutions reading the same numbers this page reads.

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.

Indus Towers 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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