Q2 scorecard: Corporate bigwigs trail the pack

Nifty 50 companies’ profit growth at 12-qtr low; their sales uptick least in 17 qtrs

- KRISHNA KANT

The slowdown in corporate India’s growth and earnings cycle appears to have weighed more heavily on frontline and largecap companies than on their smaller peers. The combined net profit (adjusted for exceptional gains and losses) of Nifty 50 companies rose just 1.2 per cent in the September 2025 quarter, its weakest expansion in 12 quarters, even as the combined net profit of all listed companies climbed 10.8 per cent year-on-year in Q2FY26, the fastest pace in six quarters.

Similarly, Nifty 50 firms reported a 6.4 per cent year-on-year rise in combined net sales (gross interest income for banks and other lenders) in Q2FY26, the smallest increase in 17 quarters. By contrast, net sales for all listed companies expanded 7.2 per cent year-on-year in the same period, improving from 6.64 per cent in QuFY26 and 7 per cent in Q2FY25.