Altman Z″
Needs current assets and current liabilities.
This is a lending business. Cash-flow reads that suit a manufacturer do not apply: disbursing loans is an operating outflow, so negative operating cash is normal and not a warning sign. Leverage is the raw material of the model, not a red flag on its own. Reads that would mislead here have been withheld rather than shown with a caveat.
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.
Trading at 67.2x earnings against its own median of 47.0x: 0.4 standard deviations above its usual range. This compares the company with its own history, not with other companies.
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 150% over two years while the company also carries ₹2,949 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 ₹5 cr from ₹2 cr. Simultaneous large investments can be legitimate treasury management, or a sign that reported cash is not freely available.
Debt rose over 3 years, and most of it (4300%) 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 ₹3 cr largely matched by an asset build of ₹129 cr. Debt that funds capacity is a different thing from debt that funds nothing.
Both revenue and profit grew over the last year (110.3% and 136.3%) — growth is translating to the bottom line.
Why this reading: A positive signal in the numbers, shown for balance alongside the concerns.
Trailing revenue ₹2,631 cr, trailing profit ₹1,541 cr. Profit growing at least as fast as revenue indicates operating leverage or pricing power.
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 current assets and current liabilities.
Piotroski F-Score — fundamental momentum — Joseph Piotroski, University of Chicago, 2000, in a study of whether accounting signals could improve returns among cheap stocks.
Nine yes-or-no tests across profitability, leverage and operating efficiency. Each pass scores one. It asks a narrow question: is this business getting better or worse on its own terms, year over year?
How to read it7 or more suggests improving fundamentals; 3 or fewer suggests deterioration. It measures direction, not quality — a weak company improving can score higher than a strong one holding steady.
Where it failsA single year of comparison, so one unusual year distorts it. Says nothing about valuation, competitive position or management. Piotroski designed it to rank already-cheap stocks, not to judge a company in isolation.
Needs trade receivables, current assets, other expenses.
Accruals are -28.8% of assets.
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.
cumulative operating cash flow ÷ cumulative net profit
₹5,697 cr ÷ ₹3,350 cr, over 12 years
1.70×
Above 1.0 means cash exceeds reported profit — the healthier reading.(net profit − operating cash flow) ÷ average total assets
(₹1,332 − ₹3,035) cr ÷ average assets
-28.8%
Negative means cash exceeded profit — the healthier reading. Positive above ~10% is where accruals start to dominate earnings.net margin × asset turnover × leverage
57.9% × 0.31 × 2.63
46.8%
Splits ROE into whether returns come from operations or from borrowing.borrowings ÷ net worth
₹5 cr ÷ ₹2,848 cr
0.00×
Read against the sector — infrastructure carries more than software.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.
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.
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 (Financial 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.
FII rose from 19.00% to 29.85% across these quarters.
MF trimmed from 37.34% to 30.07% across these quarters.
Other trimmed from 43.66% to 40.08% across these quarters.
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income from Operations (₹ crore) | 799.66 | 702 | 374.23 |
| Total Income (₹ crore) | 851.28 | 751.79 | 400.79 |
| Total Core SGF Balance (₹ crore) | 1,472 | — | — |
| MCX Core SGF Contribution (₹ crore) | 336.56 | — | — |
| MCXCCL Core SGF Contribution (₹ crore) | 785.77 | — | — |
| C&S Charges and Product License Fees (₹ crore) | 44.42 | 39.68 | 18.78 |
From the quarterly results and the earnings call, read by FinMinutes. Latest quarter, read in full.
Read using the AMCs and capital market intermediaries framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/E against AUM growth and yield.
Read more closely in this sector: Treasury and float income inside profit · F&O share of revenue against regulatory change.
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 | 391 | 367 | 514 | 684 | 1,113 | 2,302 |
| Other income | 104 | 46 | 68 | 75 | 98 | 127 |
| Depreciation | 22 | 23 | 22 | 36 | 64 | 78 |
| Finance cost | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Profit before tax | 267 | 184 | 191 | 102 | 699 | 1,690 |
| Net profit (owners) | 225 | 143 | 149 | 83 | 560 | 1,332 |
| EPS (₹) | 8.83 | 5.63 | 5.84 | 3.26 | 21.96 | 52.22 |
Exceptional items, total income and EBITDA are read from the filed statements.
| Metric | Sep 2023 | Dec 2023 | Mar 2024 | Jun 2024 | Sep 2024 | Dec 2024 | Mar 2025 | Jun 2025 | Sep 2025 | Dec 2025 | Mar 2026 | Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 165 | 192 | 181 | 234 | 286 | 301 | 291 | 373 | 374 | 666 | 889 | 702 |
| Other Income | 19 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 26 | 24 | 30 | 33 | 27 | 31 | 36 | 50 |
| Expenses | 195 | 212 | 79 | 102 | 106 | 108 | 131 | 132 | 132 | 172 | 224 | 208 |
| Depreciation | 7 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 22 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 21 |
| Finance cost | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Profit before tax | -17 | -14 | 108 | 138 | 191 | 202 | 168 | 256 | 249 | 503 | 682 | 523 |
| Net Profit | -19 | -5 | 88 | 111 | 154 | 160 | 135 | 203 | 197 | 401 | 530 | 413 |
| EPS | -0.75 | -0.21 | 3.45 | 4.35 | 6.02 | 6.28 | 5.31 | 7.97 | 7.74 | 15.73 | 20.78 | 16.21 |
| Item | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equity Capital | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 51 |
| Reserves | 1,367 | 1,367 | 1,428 | 1,327 | 1,833 | 2,797 |
| Borrowings | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Net block | 159 | 156 | 150 | 379 | 412 | 417 |
| CWIP | 26 | 95 | 169 | 16 | 18 | 31 |
| Investments | 1,205 | 1,157 | 1,047 | 914 | 1,401 | 2,949 |
| Total Assets | 2,503 | 2,801 | 3,023 | 3,409 | 4,325 | 7,501 |
| Line | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | -184 | 391 | 141 | 442 | 950 | 3,035 |
| Cash from investing | -39 | -142 | -8 | -346 | -751 | -2,399 |
| Cash from financing | -154 | -142 | -89 | -98 | -40 | -154 |
| Free cash flow | -206 | 310 | 70 | 299 | 854 | 2,962 |
| Net change in cash | -377 | 107 | 44 | -2 | 159 | 481 |
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.
The same read, applied to the companies this one competes with.
Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. reported revenue of ₹800 cr for July to September 2026, +113.7% on the year and +13.9% on the quarter. That is faster than this quarter has grown in recent years (+52.1% on average), so the year-on-year number is not just the season. Over the last four quarters revenue comes to ₹3,057 cr, +128.2% on the four before.
Operating profit (EBITDA) was ₹611 cr, a margin of 76.4%, +1,134 bps on the year and +607 bps on the quarter. It is the widest margin of the last 8 quarters (range 55.0% to 76.4%). Operating costs grew +44.3% against revenue growth of +113.7%, so more of each rupee of sales reached operating profit.
Net profit was ₹455 cr, +130.2% on the year and +9.9% on the quarter, with earnings per share of ₹17.83. Profit before other income, one-offs and tax grew faster, at +164.3%; other income, one-offs or tax held the headline back. The tax rate was 29% against an average of 21% over the previous 8 quarters, which weighed on profit this quarter. Profit over the last four quarters totals ₹1,799 cr, +158.7% on the four before.
Of the 8 companies in AMCs and capital market intermediaries that have reported Q2 FY27 so far, Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. ranks 1st on revenue growth; the sector median is +32.2%. Its margin moved +1,134 bps on the year against a sector median of +222 bps.
Asset managers and brokers earn fees on assets and activity, so revenue follows market levels and flows; treasury income can lift other income in a good market quarter.
On earnings per share of ₹70.55 over the last four quarters, the stock at ₹3,545.00 trades at 50.2 times trailing earnings.
Less than half the profit turned into operating cash. Working capital, or something else?
Source: Cash flow statement
Core profit grew faster than reported profit: one-offs held the headline down.
Source: Results filing
Could not run on this quarter: Exceptional items that recur, Inventory against sales, Borrowing while holding cash, IPO money used as stated, 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 | ₹65.1 cr | ₹64.0 cr | ▲ 1.8% |
| Cash | ₹450 cr | ₹820 cr | ▼ 45.1% |
| Bank balances | ₹2,759 cr | ₹1,717 cr | ▲ 60.7% |
| Trade payables | ₹200 cr | ₹193 cr | ▲ 3.7% |
| Net block | ₹297 cr | ₹233 cr | ▲ 27.8% |
| Capital work in progress | ₹22.7 cr | ₹28.0 cr | ▼ 18.8% |
| Equity | ₹3,512 cr | ₹2,848 cr | ▲ 23.3% |
| Total assets | ₹7,787 cr | ₹7,501 cr | ▲ 3.8% |
| Cash flow, year to date | This year | Last year |
|---|---|---|
| Operating cash flow | ₹306 cr | ₹1,016 cr |
| Capital expenditure | −₹113 cr | −₹39.5 cr |
| Investing cash flow | −₹470 cr | −₹607 cr |
| Financing cash flow | −₹205 cr | −₹153 cr |
| Dividends paid | −₹204 cr | −₹153 cr |
Operating cash flow was 0.35× profit. Receivables at 8 days of sales (−2 days against the last year end).
Other matter 1: “”We did not review the interim financial results of 1 wholly owned subsidiary company in India included in consolidated unaudited financial results, whose interim financial results reflects, total asset of Rs. 7,787.04 crore as at September 30,2026, total revenues of… Read in full
We did not review the interim financial results of 1 wholly owned subsidiary company in India included in consolidated unaudited financial results, whose interim financial results reflects, total asset of Rs. 7,787.04 crore as at September 30,2026, total revenues of Rs. 851.27 crore and 1603.07 crore for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026, total net profit/ (loss) after tax of Rs. 454.55 crore and 868.01 crore for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026 and total comprehensive income of Rs. 455.97 crore and 867.96 crore for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026 as considered in the consolidated unaudited interim financial statements/financial information/financial results of the entities included in the Group. These interim financial results have been reviewed by other auditor whose report have been furnished to us by the Management and our conclusion on the Statement, in so far as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of these subsidiaries is based on the reports of the other auditor and the procedure performed by us as stated in paragraph 3 above.
Other matter 2: “”The Statement includes results of 2 associates, which have not been reviewed by us, whose interim financial results reflect share in profit/ (loss) of Rs. (0.68) crore and (0.46) crore for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026… Read in full
The Statement includes results of 2 associates, which have not been reviewed by us, whose interim financial results reflect share in profit/ (loss) of Rs. (0.68) crore and (0.46) crore for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026 and share of other comprehensive income of Rs. 0.91 crore and 0.77 crore for the quarter and half year ended September 30, 2026 These financial results have been reviewed by other auditors whose reports have been furnished to us by Management and our conclusion on the Statement, in so far as it relates to the amounts and disclosures included in respect of these associates is based solely on the reports of the other auditors and the procedures performed by us as stated in paragraph 3 above.
Filing p. limited review report p.1-2
Holding Company infused an additional capital of ₹51.50 crores in its wholly owned subsidiary MCX Coal Exchange of India Limited during Q2 FY27. (p. consolidated note 4)
SEBI Circular dated August 12, 2026 prescribed revised norms for Core SGF balance; Group is not required to make any contribution during Q2 FY27. (p. consolidated note 3)
Tax: Consolidated tax expense of ₹184.67 crore (current tax ₹181.16 crore, deferred tax ₹3.51 crore) on Profit before tax of ₹639.24 crore
| Metric | Q2 FY27 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income from Operations (₹ crore) | 799.66 | 702 | 374.23 |
| Total Income (₹ crore) | 851.28 | 751.79 | 400.79 |
| Total Core SGF Balance (₹ crore) | 1,472 | — | — |
| MCX Core SGF Contribution (₹ crore) | 336.56 | — | — |
| MCXCCL Core SGF Contribution (₹ crore) | 785.77 | — | — |
| C&S Charges and Product License Fees (₹ crore) | 44.42 | 39.68 | 18.78 |
Read using the AMCs and capital market intermediaries framework (named in the filing read). Primary valuation lens: P/E against AUM growth and yield.
Read more closely in this sector: Treasury and float income inside profit · F&O share of revenue against regulatory change.
| Segment | Revenue | YoY | Result | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commodity Exchange | ₹800 cr | ▲ 113.7% | ₹640 cr | ▲ 155.6% |
| Q3 FY24 | Q4 FY24 | Q1 FY25 | Q2 FY25 | Q3 FY25 | Q4 FY25 | Q1 FY26 | Q2 FY26 | Q3 FY26 | Q4 FY26 | Q1 FY27 | Q2 FY27 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹192 cr | ₹181 cr | ₹234 cr | ₹286 cr | ₹301 cr | ₹291 cr | ₹373 cr | ₹374 cr | ₹666 cr | ₹889 cr | ₹702 cr | ₹800 cr |
| YoY | — | — | +60% | +73% | +57% | +61% | +59% | +31% | +121% | +205% | +88% | +114% |
| EBITDA margin | −10.9% | 56.4% | 56.8% | 62.6% | 64.1% | 55.0% | 64.6% | 65.1% | 74.2% | 74.8% | 70.4% | 76.4% |
| Other income, % of PBT | — | 19% | 14% | 14% | 12% | 18% | 13% | 11% | 6% | 5% | 10% | 8% |
| Exceptional items | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tax rate | — | 19% | 20% | 20% | 21% | 20% | 21% | 21% | 20% | 22% | 21% | 29% |
| Net profit | −₹5.0 cr | ₹88.0 cr | ₹111 cr | ₹154 cr | ₹160 cr | ₹135 cr | ₹203 cr | ₹197 cr | ₹401 cr | ₹530 cr | ₹413 cr | ₹455 cr |
| YoY | — | — | +455% | — | — | +53% | +83% | +28% | +151% | +293% | +104% | +130% |
| Core profit YoY | — | — | +2,280% | — | — | +57% | +87% | +35% | +165% | +368% | +112% | +164% |
| EPS | −₹0.21 | ₹3.45 | ₹4.35 | ₹6.02 | ₹6.28 | ₹5.31 | ₹7.97 | ₹7.74 | ₹15.73 | ₹20.78 | ₹16.21 | ₹17.83 |
| Flags | · | · | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 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.