Altman Z″
Needs withheld for this sector: Loss-making growth platforms sit in the distress zone by construction..
A plain-language read of the business, how it actually earns, where the edge is, and the economics of every reported segment — taken from the annual report and investor presentation, not a one-line industry label.
How to read this: Price shows the closing price with its 50-day (amber) and 200-day (grey) averages; bars at the bottom are daily volume, green on up days and red on down days; dashed lines mark the 52-week high and low. vs Nifty 50 starts both at 100 so you can see which did better over the period. P/E shows what the market paid for each rupee of profit, inside the band it usually trades in. Drawdown shows how far below its best price the share has been. Hover anywhere for the numbers on that day.
The three to six things that actually matter about this company, each with the exact filing and note it came from — never a fact without the context that makes it meaningful.
What the numbers mean when read together — computed from the filings, not a score.
Borrowings rose 32% over two years while the company also carries ₹571 cr in investments. Why borrow at interest while parking money elsewhere is a fair question.
Why this reading: Noted with caution — worth watching, but not yet conclusive on its own. Business has ups and downs; one soft reading is not a verdict.
Borrowings moved to ₹3,097 cr from ₹2,343 cr. Simultaneous large investments can be legitimate treasury management, or a sign that reported cash is not freely available.
Operating cash is 333% of trailing profit — the earnings are converting to real cash, not just accruals.
Why this reading: A positive signal: cash conversion at or above ~0.9 means reported profit is showing up as actual cash.
Operating cash ₹1,670 cr against trailing net profit ₹501 cr. Consistent conversion near or above 1.0 is a hallmark of genuine earnings.
Debt rose over 3 years, and most of it (123%) has turned into fixed assets and projects under construction — the borrowing is building the business.
Why this reading: A positive signal: leverage taken on is visibly becoming productive capacity, not disappearing.
New borrowing ₹2,163 cr largely matched by an asset build of ₹2,651 cr. Debt that funds capacity is a different thing from debt that funds nothing.
Both revenue and profit grew over the last year (37.1% and 81%) — growth is translating to the bottom line.
Why this reading: A positive signal in the numbers, shown for balance alongside the concerns.
Trailing revenue ₹9,634 cr, trailing profit ₹668 cr. Profit growing at least as fast as revenue indicates operating leverage or pricing power.
Free cash flow swings between positive and negative across the cycle.
Why this reading: Surfaced for context, not as a concern — it only becomes meaningful if it persists or pairs with other signals.
Latest ₹846 cr, negative in 4 of 7 years.
Every score below is calculated here from the reported numbers — none of it is asserted. Open the notebook at the foot of the section to see each formula with this company's figures in it.
Needs withheld for this sector: Loss-making growth platforms sit in the distress zone by construction..
Needs withheld for this sector: Rewards current profitability the model has not reached yet..
Needs trade receivables, current assets, other expenses.
Accruals are -9.5% of assets. Free cash flow negative in 4 of 7 years.
DuPont decomposition — Devised inside the DuPont Corporation in the 1920s and still the standard way to read a return on equity.
Splits return on equity into its three sources, so the same headline number can be traced to very different businesses.
How to read itA 20% ROE built on margin and turnover is a different proposition from a 20% ROE built on 3× leverage. The first survives a downturn; the second amplifies it.
Where it failsA single year. Negative equity makes it meaningless. Leverage is structural for lenders, so the third term carries no signal there.
Revenue grew faster than the capital behind it, which is what operating leverage looks like: the existing asset base is working harder.
cumulative operating cash flow ÷ cumulative net profit
₹3,094 cr ÷ ₹657 cr, over 7 years
4.71×
Above 1.0 means cash exceeds reported profit — the healthier reading.(net profit − operating cash flow) ÷ average total assets
(₹501 − ₹1,670) cr ÷ average assets
-9.5%
Negative means cash exceeded profit — the healthier reading. Positive above ~10% is where accruals start to dominate earnings.net margin × asset turnover × leverage
5.7% × 0.62 × 1.63
5.7%
Splits ROE into whether returns come from operations or from borrowing.EBIT ÷ finance cost
₹858 cr ÷ ₹178 cr
4.82×
How many times operating profit covers the interest bill.borrowings ÷ net worth
₹3,097 cr ÷ ₹8,738 cr
0.35×
Read against the sector — infrastructure carries more than software.growth in fixed assets + CWIP, against growth in revenue
capital +51% vs revenue +133%, FY2023 to FY2026
-82pp gap
Money going in far faster than revenue coming out. For an incubator this is expected — the test is whether it eventually converts.Needs more balance-sheet detail (only 3 of 6 flags testable).
NOPAT over equity plus debt less cash, at a notional 25% tax. Incremental ROIC is the return on money put in since then — the number that decides whether growth creates value or consumes it.
Return on invested capital, and incremental ROIC — Standard in corporate finance; the incremental form was popularised by Michael Mauboussin as the test of whether growth creates value.
ROIC measures what the business earns on all the capital it employs — equity plus debt, less cash. Incremental ROIC asks a sharper question: what has it earned on the money put in since a chosen year?
How to read itROIC comfortably above the cost of capital — call it 11–13% in India — means growth compounds. Below it, growth consumes. Incremental below headline means recent investment is earning less than the legacy business.
Where it failsDistorted in the year of a large acquisition. Understated for companies mid-build, where capital is deployed but capacity has not yet been commissioned — an incubator will look poor until it does not.
Read downward. Cash can cover EBITDA and still not survive capex — the third rung is where a capital-hungry business shows itself.
The earnings quality ladder — Not a named model — the standard sequence an analyst walks when testing whether reported profit is real.
Three ratios read in order, each stricter than the last.
How to read itRead downward. Each rung failing where the one above passed tells you exactly where the cash is going.
Where it failsA single year of heavy capex depresses the third rung legitimately. Judge it across a cycle.
The growth rate that makes today's market value equal the discounted cash flows, at a 11.5% discount rate and 4.0% terminal growth. Not a forecast — the arithmetic of what is already in the price. Compare it with what the business has actually delivered.
Reverse DCF — the growth already in the price — A standard inversion of discounted cash flow, used to avoid the forecasting problem entirely.
Instead of forecasting cash flows and deriving a value, it takes today's market value as given and solves for the growth rate that would justify it. The output is not a view — it is the arithmetic of what the market is currently assuming.
How to read itCompare it with what the business has actually delivered. A price implying 30% a year against a decade of 15% is a demanding assumption; the reverse is a modest one.
Where it failsUseless when free cash flow is negative or unusually depressed, which is common mid-capex. Highly sensitive to the discount rate — a point either way moves the answer materially.
Against a policy rate near 6%, most sound Indian corporates borrow between 7% and 10%.
Cost of debt — Interest expense over average borrowings — the effective rate the company actually pays.
What the lenders charge, which is a market verdict on credit quality that no rating agency delay affects.
How to read itAgainst a policy rate near 6%, most sound Indian corporates borrow between 7% and 10%. Read the direction over years as much as the level.
Where it failsUnderstated where a large share of interest is capitalised into projects under construction. Not meaningful for lenders, where interest is cost of goods.
Some figures appear twice on this page with different values. That is not an error — they sit on different bases. The live feed reports a rolling twelve months; everything computed here comes from the last audited statements. Both are shown so you can see which is which.
Where the two disagree, every model, screen and ratio computed on this page uses the filed figure, because the rest of the page is on that basis.
Models that need these lines are withheld rather than estimated: net worth, current assets, current liabilities, trade receivables, inventory, net block. Nothing on this page is back-solved from a figure the company did not publish.
Each framework below is a set of stated, mechanical criteria from published work, run against this company's own filed numbers. Passing or failing a screen is not a verdict — different frameworks disagree by design, and that disagreement is itself informative.
Benjamin Graham's stated criteria for a defensive stock, applied to the filed numbers. A company failing several is not disqualified — Graham designed these to be deliberately strict.
Two ratios only: what the business earns on its capital, and what you pay for those earnings. Designed to be ranked across a universe rather than read in isolation.
The fundamental half of William O'Neil's framework. The market and leadership components are judgement calls and are not scored here.
The characteristics long-term holders commonly look for: cash-backed earnings, high returns on capital, and debt that never forces a decision.
Median of the companies we hold in the same sector (Consumer Services). Every figure on both sides is the live feed's trailing twelve months, so the two are measured the same way whatever depth of extraction this company has had. A number only means something next to something else — expensive against the market and cheap against peers are different facts.
Bars are revenue; the line is net margin. Revenue rising while the line falls is the shape worth noticing.
Operating cash first, then what the business spent and raised.
One year is a snapshot. These are the two lines that matter across a cycle.
Rising debtor or inventory days against flat sales is the earliest visible sign of stress.
Set your own assumptions and watch the numbers move. A scenario calculator — the outputs are the arithmetic of your inputs.
One canonical set of figures — the same numbers used everywhere else on this page and on the screener.
How the register has moved over recent quarters — the direction matters more than the level.
Promoter held steady from 17.57% to 17.52% across these quarters.
FII rose from 3.86% to 18.26% across these quarters.
MF rose from 5.56% to 15.91% across these quarters.
Other trimmed from 73.01% to 48.31% across these quarters.
Where cash gets stuck. A rising inventory or debtor line against flat sales is the earliest sign of trouble in the numbers.
| Measure | FY2020 | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debtor days
How long customers take to pay | 73 | 13 | 21 | 27 | 23 | 7 | 7 |
| Inventory days
How long stock sits before it sells | 109 | 233 | 141 | 163 | 148 | 198 | 150 |
| Payable days
How long the company takes to pay suppliers | 94 | 136 | 109 | 154 | 111 | 135 | 138 |
| Cash conversion cycle
Debtor + inventory − payable days | 88 | 110 | 53 | 36 | 60 | 69 | 19 |
| Working capital days | 169 | 352 | 115 | 57 | 11 | -5 | 53 |
| ROCE %
Return on capital employed | — | 2.0% | -3.0% | 0.0% | 2.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% |
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contribution margin | 70% | 70.3% | 69.2% |
| Adjusted EBITDA (₹ cr) | 392 | 361 | 237 |
| ESOP cost (₹ cr) | 9.06 | — | — |
| Customers or MTU (lakh) | 57.6 | 56.4 | 48.2 |
| Cash and equivalents (₹ cr) | 3,855 | — | — |
| Quarterly cash burn (₹ cr) | 388 | — | — |
From the quarterly results and the earnings call, read by FinMinutes. Latest quarter, read in full.
Read using the New-age and platform framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: EV/Sales and contribution margin; no earnings measure.
Read more closely in this sector: ESOP cost against adjusted EBITDA · Cash runway at the current burn · Related-party revenue · Contribution margin trend.
The shape of the business over time (annual) — read the direction, not the single print.
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue from operations | 905 | 1,503 | 3,788 | 5,428 | 6,653 | 8,814 |
| Other income | 127 | 116 | 140 | 175 | 351 | 153 |
| Depreciation | 39 | 85 | 418 | 672 | 797 | 1,048 |
| Finance cost | 7 | 23 | 83 | 124 | 146 | 178 |
| Profit before tax | 33 | -108 | -97 | 59 | 385 | 680 |
| Net profit (owners) | 29 | -102 | -64 | -10 | 297 | 501 |
| EPS (₹) | 0.38 | -1.34 | -0.83 | -0.23 | 3.83 | 2.84 |
Exceptional items, total income and EBITDA are read from the filed statements.
| Metric | Sep 2024 | Dec 2024 | Mar 2025 | Jun 2025 | Sep 2025 | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 | Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 1,736 | 1,669 | 1,728 | 1,894 | 2,096 | 2,308 | 2,516 | 2,714 |
| Other Income | 70 | 32 | 212 | 42 | 33 | 35 | 49 | 69 |
| Expenses | 1,449 | 1,459 | 1,436 | 1,558 | 1,683 | 1,845 | 1,979 | 2,126 |
| Depreciation | 196 | 199 | 215 | 237 | 253 | 270 | 288 | 305 |
| Finance cost | 26 | 34 | 48 | 41 | 45 | 49 | 44 | 53 |
| Profit before tax | 134 | 8 | 241 | 100 | 148 | 178 | 254 | 300 |
| Net Profit | 86 | 2 | 220 | 61 | 103 | 133 | 204 | 228 |
| EPS | 11.08 | 0.02 | 2.84 | 0.78 | 1.24 | 0.76 | 1.15 | 1.28 |
| Item | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity Capital | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 154 | 347 |
| Reserves | 2,363 | 2,918 | 5,441 | 5,467 | 5,777 | 8,391 |
| Borrowings | 30 | 34 | 934 | 2,343 | 2,740 | 3,097 |
| Net block | 337 | 649 | 5,067 | 5,501 | 6,231 | 7,740 |
| CWIP | 5 | 133 | 134 | 71 | 107 | 112 |
| Investments | 841 | 1,048 | 787 | 1,003 | 1,038 | 571 |
| Total Assets | 2,802 | 3,700 | 9,462 | 9,487 | 10,390 | 14,245 |
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | -117 | -183 | 95 | 487 | 1,231 | 1,670 |
| Cash from investing | 115 | -421 | -2,586 | 163 | -262 | -2,551 |
| Cash from financing | -16 | 604 | 2,777 | -722 | -535 | 1,201 |
| Free cash flow | -227 | -430 | -318 | 55 | 805 | 846 |
| Net change in cash | -18 | 0 | 285 | -72 | 434 | 319 |
Cash from operations is the number profit has to answer to. Free cash flow is what remains after the business pays for its own growth.
The part no one reads: the auditor's opinion, the contingent liabilities buried in the notes, the covenants, and the claims in the deck placed beside the figures that test them.
Where analysts pressed management on the earnings call, and exactly how management answered — the questions that were hardest to answer are usually the ones that matter.
These are coverage counts, not ratings. Each one asks a fixed set of questions of the filings and reports how many the company answered. A company that discloses nothing counts nothing here — that is a statement about the disclosure, not about the business.
The same read, applied to the companies this one competes with.
Lenskart Solutions Ltd. reported revenue of ₹2,845 cr for July to September 2026, +35.7% on the year and +4.8% on the quarter. It is the highest quarterly revenue in the last 9 quarters on record. Over the last four quarters revenue comes to ₹10,383 cr, +40.6% on the four before.
Operating profit (EBITDA) was ₹622 cr, a margin of 21.9%, +209 bps on the year and +18 bps on the quarter. It is the widest margin of the last 8 quarters (range 12.6% to 21.9%). Operating costs grew +32.2% against revenue growth of +35.7%, so more of each rupee of sales reached operating profit.
Net profit was ₹232 cr, +124.7% on the year and +1.8% on the quarter, with earnings per share of ₹1.31. Profit before other income, one-offs and tax grew 117.9%, so 7 points of the headline growth came from outside the core business. The tax rate of 24% is in line with its recent average. Profit over the last four quarters totals ₹798 cr, +106.5% on the four before.
Of the 3 companies in New-age and platform that have reported Q2 FY27 so far, Lenskart Solutions Ltd. ranks 1st on revenue growth; the sector median is +23.2%. Its margin moved +209 bps on the year against a sector median of +347 bps.
For platform businesses the line that matters is how fast losses narrow as revenue scales; contribution margin and customer metrics carry the story the statements only hint at.
On earnings per share of ₹4.50 over the last four quarters, the stock at ₹718.80 trades at 159.7 times trailing earnings.
No check fired. That is a statement about the checks below, not a verdict on the company.
Profit is backed by cash: operating cash flow exceeded profit.
Source: Cash flow statement
Could not run on this quarter: Exceptional items that recur, Related-party transactions, Promoter pledges and allotments, Earlier promises against delivery. The filing did not carry these lines.
Net profit a year ago, each driver's change, and net profit now. Blue added profit, red took it away.
| Balance sheet | Sep '26 | Last year end | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade receivables | ₹211 cr | ₹175 cr | ▲ 20.9% |
| Inventory | ₹1,488 cr | ₹1,037 cr | ▲ 43.5% |
| Cash | ₹1,261 cr | ₹973 cr | ▲ 29.6% |
| Bank balances | ₹255 cr | ₹570 cr | ▼ 55.4% |
| Long-term borrowings | ₹105 cr | ₹134 cr | ▼ 21.1% |
| Short-term borrowings | ₹79.3 cr | ₹86.0 cr | ▼ 7.8% |
| Trade payables | ₹1,293 cr | ₹952 cr | ▲ 35.8% |
| Net block | ₹1,933 cr | ₹1,849 cr | ▲ 4.5% |
| Capital work in progress | ₹245 cr | ₹112 cr | ▲ 118.9% |
| Equity | ₹9,322 cr | ₹8,739 cr | ▲ 6.7% |
| Total assets | ₹15,677 cr | ₹14,413 cr | ▲ 8.8% |
| Cash flow, year to date | This year | Last year |
|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | ₹848 cr | ₹661 cr |
| Capital expenditure | −₹484 cr | −₹306 cr |
| Investing cash flow | −₹99.1 cr | −₹171 cr |
| Financing cash flow | −₹477 cr | −₹400 cr |
Operating cash flow was 1.84× profit. Receivables at 7 days of sales (−0 days against the last year end). Inventory at 49 days of sales (+6 days).
Other matter 1: “”The accompanying Statement includes the unaudited interim financial results and other financial information, in respect of: 14 subsidiaries, whose unaudited interim financial results include total assets of Rs. 5,519.49 crore as at September 30, 2026, total revenues of Rs 1,231.27… Read in full
The accompanying Statement includes the unaudited interim financial results and other financial information, in respect of: 14 subsidiaries, whose unaudited interim financial results include total assets of Rs. 5,519.49 crore as at September 30, 2026, total revenues of Rs 1,231.27 crore and Rs 2,519.21 crore, total net profit after tax of Rs. 73.87 crore and Rs. 147.53 crore, total comprehensive income of Rs. 48.33 crore and Rs. 131.15 crore, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 and the period ended on that date respectively, and net cash inflows of Rs. 196.13 crore for the period from April 01, 2026 to September 30, 2026, as considered in the Statement which have been reviewed by their respective independent auditors.
Other matter 2: “”The accompanying Statement includes unaudited interim financial results and other unaudited financial information in respect of: 09 subsidiaries, whose interim financial results and other financial information reflect total assets of Rs 76.44 crore as at September 30, 2026, and total… Read in full
The accompanying Statement includes unaudited interim financial results and other unaudited financial information in respect of: 09 subsidiaries, whose interim financial results and other financial information reflect total assets of Rs 76.44 crore as at September 30, 2026, and total revenues of Rs 6.14 crore and Rs 12.22 crore, total net profit after tax of Rs. 1.65 crore and Rs. 2.20 crore, total comprehensive income of Rs. 1.65 crore and Rs. 2.20 crore, for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 and the period ended on that date respectively and net cash outflows of Rs. 1.54 crore for the period from April 01, 2026 to September 30, 2026.
Filing p. limited review report
₹1,620 cr still unused. “Out of ₹2,150.00 crore raised through IPO Fresh Issue, ₹529.71 crore utilised up to September 30, 2026 towards stated objects, leaving ₹1,620.29 crore unutilised and temporarily invested in fixed deposits and bank balances with nil deviation.”
Allotted 4,60,934 equity shares of face value ₹2 each upon exercise of vested stock options under Lenskart Employee Stock Option Plan 2021 on November 4, 2026. (p. outcome letter p.1)
Approved change in registered office address to 6 Worldmark, 8th Floor, Gateway District, Delhi Aerocity, New Delhi 110037 with effect from November 4, 2026. (p. outcome letter p.1)
Approved scheme of merger of wholly owned subsidiaries Dealskart Online Services Private Limited and Lenskart Eyetech Private Limited with Lenskart Solutions Limited; filed with NCLT on August 21, 2026. (p. consolidated note 9)
Tax: Consolidated tax expense of ₹72.03 crore (current tax ₹106.53 crore, deferred tax credit ₹34.50 crore) on Profit before tax of ₹304.48 crore
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contribution margin | 70% | 70.3% | 69.2% |
| Adjusted EBITDA (₹ cr) | 392 | 361 | 237 |
| ESOP cost (₹ cr) | 9.06 | — | — |
| Customers or MTU (lakh) | 57.6 | 56.4 | 48.2 |
| Cash and equivalents (₹ cr) | 3,855 | — | — |
| Quarterly cash burn (₹ cr) | 388 | — | — |
Share-based payment expense for 6M was ₹9.06 crore compared to Pre-IndAS Adjusted EBITDA of ₹753.00 crore (1.20% of Adjusted EBITDA).
ESOP expense is very low relative to cash earnings and operating profitability.
Company generated positive operating cash flow of ₹388.00 crore in H1 FY27 and holds ₹3,855.00 crore net cash excluding IPO payables.
Strong positive operating cash generation eliminates cash burn risk.
Inter-segment elimination is minimal (₹24.03 crore in Q2 FY27) and sales are directly to retail end-consumers across India and international regions.
No significant unarm's-length related party revenue dependency.
Product Margin % held strong at 70.00% in Q2 FY27 vs 69.20% in Q2 FY26 (India Product Margin expanded to 64.00% vs 63.40%, International to 77.10% vs 75.50%).
Product margins expanded YoY despite RMB appreciation against INR due to higher in-house manufacturing.
Read using the New-age and platform framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: EV/Sales and contribution margin; no earnings measure.
Read more closely in this sector: ESOP cost against adjusted EBITDA · Cash runway at the current burn · Related-party revenue · Contribution margin trend.
| Metric | Guidance | For | Against earlier guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyderabad Centralized Manufacturing Plant Capacity | 50.00 | 12 months away | unchanged or first given |
| India Eyewear Demand Curve | 100.00 | Long term | unchanged or first given |
Held for next quarter's said-then-did check.
| Segment | Revenue | YoY | Result | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | ₹1,668 cr | ▲ 35.5% | ₹208 cr | ▲ 65.3% |
| International | ₹1,201 cr | ▲ 36.5% | ₹97.2 cr | ▲ 212.7% |
| Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY27 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹1,736 cr | ₹1,669 cr | ₹1,728 cr | ₹1,894 cr | ₹2,096 cr | ₹2,308 cr | ₹2,516 cr | ₹2,714 cr | ₹2,845 cr |
| YoY | — | — | — | — | +21% | +38% | +46% | +43% | +36% |
| EBITDA margin | 16.5% | 12.6% | 16.9% | 17.7% | 19.8% | 20.0% | 21.3% | 21.7% | 21.9% |
| Other income, % of PBT | 52% | 400% | 88% | 42% | 22% | 20% | 19% | 23% | 18% |
| Exceptional items | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tax rate | 36% | 77% | 9% | 39% | 30% | 26% | 20% | 24% | 24% |
| Net profit | ₹86.0 cr | ₹2.0 cr | ₹220 cr | ₹61.0 cr | ₹103 cr | ₹133 cr | ₹204 cr | ₹228 cr | ₹232 cr |
| YoY | — | — | — | — | +20% | +6,550% | −7% | +274% | +125% |
| Core profit YoY | — | — | — | — | +79% | — | +607% | +299% | +118% |
| EPS | ₹11.08 | ₹0.02 | ₹2.84 | ₹0.78 | ₹0.61 | ₹0.76 | ₹1.15 | ₹1.28 | ₹1.31 |
| Flags | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Each quarter is read with the same rules. Balance-sheet and cash checks run on half-year and annual quarters; filing-read checks run where a read exists.