Some Gain Some Pain

Select firms from defence, railways, metals, renewables and PSUs have seen remarkable upswings in their one-year average market valuation. But, the oil & gas and pharma sectors have bucked this trend

- RAHUL OBEROI

MORE THAN THREE decades after the first BT500 study—which ranks India’s largest companies in terms of market capitalisation (m-cap)— was published in 1992, much has changed in the country’s business landscape. Companies have evolved and grown much larger; they now serve varied markets; produce a range of goods and services; and go toe-to-toe with global peers. As a result, the stock market has also evolved substantially, reflected in the massive changes in the m-cap of many companies. For instance, the cumulative market value of the BT500 companies has surged nearly 259 times since the inaugural roster.

This year is no different. Thanks to the economic resilience, robust high-frequency indicators, and better-than-expected earnings of India Inc., the total m-cap of the BT500 companies has surged by over ₹10 lakh crore to ₹261.53 lakh crore during the study period between October 2022 and September 2023. Now it takes even higher market value to make it into our list of India’s Most Valuable Companies (see page 130 for the full list). This year’s 500th company, Engineers India, has an average m-cap of ₹5,586 crore, compared to the ₹4,893 crore m-cap of last year’s 500th ranked Infibeam Avenues. The list has also uncovered some surprising trends.