Non-Nifty 50 firms’ profit engine fires up, eclipses index giants in Q2

Non-Nifty 50 companies have recorded a sharp recovery in earnings over the past three quarters, outpacing their Nifty 50 counterparts.

- KRISHNA KANT

The combined net profit of non-Nifty 50 companies rose 22.5 per cent year-on-year in Q2FY26, marking the fastest expansion in seven quarters.

These non-benchmark index companies also reported a mild revival in revenue growth during the July-September 2025 quarter, reversing a six-quarter slowdown. Combined net sales (gross interest income for banks and non-bank lenders) increased 8 per cent year-on-year, the strongest in five quarters. Their net sales had grown 6.6 per cent year-on-year in Q1FY26 and 6.7 per cent in Q2FY25.

The combined net profit (adjusted for exceptional gains and losses) of the 2,600 non-Nifty 50 companies in the Business Standard sample reached a record ₹1.81 trillion in Q2FY26, up from around ₹1.48 trillion in Q2FY25 and ₹1.74 trillion in Q1FY26. These firms accounted for 50 per cent of the combined net profit of all listed companies in Q2FY26, against 45.2 per cent in Q2FY25 and 46.3 per cent Q1FY26. The five-year low was 39.5 per cent in Q3FY23.

Combined net sales (or gross interest income) of non-Nifty 50 firms rose to ₹20.69 trillion in Q2FY26, versus ₹19.17 trillion a year earlier and ₹20.37 trillion in Q1FY26.