Q2 early-bird results show an uptick in corporate revenue, earnings growth

Recovery in revenue and profit growth led by companies in cyclical sectors

Early-bird results for the September 2025 quarter (Q2FY26) indicate an uptick in corporate revenue and earnings growth, after a sharp deceleration in the June quarter. 

The recovery has been led by companies in cyclical sectors such as Reliance Industries, JSW Steel, UltraTech Cement, and HDFC Bank. Overall top-line growth was also boosted by food delivery and quick-commerce player Eternal, which more than doubled its revenues following the acquisition of Blinkit. 

Companies in the information technology (IT) services sector, including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech, reported another quarter of single-digit growth in both revenue and earnings. Early bird companies also benefited from a favourable base effect, as corporate revenue and earnings had dipped sharply in Q2FY25. 

The combined net profit (adjusted for exceptional gains and losses) of 240 early bird companies in the Business Standard sample rose 9.5 per cent year-on-year to around ₹1.36 trillion in Q2FY26, up from ₹1.24 trillion a year ago and ₹1.32 trillion in Q1FY26. By comparison, the same companies had posted a 7.1 per cent year-on-year increase in Q2FY25 and 10.5 per cent in Q1FY26. 

Excluding banking, financial services, and insurance & stockbroking (BFSI) companies, the combined net profit of early bird companies rose 13.5 per cent year-on-year to around ₹65,400 crore in Q2FY26, from ₹56,612 crore a year earlier and ₹65,348 crore in Q1FY26.

 

In Q2FY25, these companies’ net profit had fallen 1.2 per cent year-on-year, while in Q1FY26 it had risen 14.7 per cent. 

Early-bird companies outside the BFSI and oil & gas (including Reliance Industries) sectors reported 11.6 per cent year-on-year growth in combined adjusted net profit in Q2FY26, up from 4.5 per cent in Q2FY25 and 10.2 per cent in Q1FY26. Their combined adjusted net profit rose to ₹46,607 crore from ₹41,746 crore a year ago and ₹45,996 crore in the previous quarter. 

The combined quarterly adjusted net profit of early bird companies ex-BFSI has shown little meaningful growth in recent years, remaining in a narrow range of ₹60,000-65,000 crore since the March 2023 quarter (Q4FY23). 

However, top-line growth has picked up. Net sales growth of ex-BFSI companies moved into double digits in Q2FY26 after 10 consecutive quarters of single-digit growth since Q4FY23. 

The combined net sales (gross interest income in the case of banks and non-banking lenders) of 240 early bird companies rose 8.4 per cent year-on-year to around ₹10.82 trillion in Q2FY26, up from ₹9.98 trillion a year earlier and ₹10.35 trillion in Q1FY26. For comparison, net sales had grown 8.3 per cent year-on-year in Q2FY25 and 6.4 per cent in Q1FY26. 

Excluding BFSI firms, combined net sales rose 10.7 per cent year-on-year to ₹6.93 trillion in the September 2025 quarter, marking the fastest growth in 11 quarters. By comparison, these companies had grown 5 per cent in Q2FY25 and 5.6 per cent in Q1FY26. 

Meanwhile, combined net sales of early bird companies outside BFSI and oil & gas rose 11.7 per cent year-on-year to ₹4.16 trillion, the fastest pace since the March 2023 quarter, when growth had been 13.5 per cent. 

The early-bird results largely reflect trends in banks, IT services companies, and Reliance Industries, which together account for 81.3 per cent of combined adjusted net profit and 73.4 per cent of net sales in the period under review. Banks are the largest component, representing 43 per cent of combined net profit and 29 per cent of net sales. 

Among individual companies, Reliance Industries was the largest contributor, accounting for 27.6 per cent of incremental growth in combined net sales in Q2FY26 on a year-on-year basis. It was followed by Eternal at 10.5 per cent and JSW Steel at 6.5 per cent. 

HDFC Bank, by contrast, was the biggest contributor to earnings, responsible for 15.4 per cent of incremental growth in overall net profit. It was followed by IDBI Bank at 15.2 per cent and Reliance Industries at 13.6 per cent. 

At the other end of the spectrum, Mangalore Refineries & Petrochemicals, IndusInd Bank and Jindal Saw lagged in revenue growth, while Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and Jindal Saw reported sharp declines in net profit, weighing on the overall early bird numbers.