Financial services, banks or pharma: Which sector has shined the brightest in last 8 earning quarters?

Synopsis India Inc. witnessed a robust September quarter, with aggregate net profits for Nifty 500 companies surging 15% year-on-year, the fastest in five quarters. Refining, cement, and capital goods sectors led the charge, driven by factors like stable input costs and strong order inflows. Banks and NBFCs also showed positive performance. ET Wealth presents an 8-quarter earnings assessment report of various sectors. The yearon-year net profit growth for 18 sectors is presented in the table. The significant variations in the earnings growth highlight the importance of sector diversification for managing risks and returns. Source: ACE Equity. Numbers in brackets are the number of companies in each sector. Nifty 500 index companies considered. Sector classification as per ACE Equity. The 18 sectors listed in the table constitute 66% of the Nifty 500 index constituents. Refining, cement, capital goods lift September quarter earnings India Inc. posted strong earnings growth in the September 2025 quarter. Softer inflation, monetary policy rate cuts, and robust performances in refining, cement, and capital goods lifted Nifty 500 companies’ aggregate net profits by 15% year-on-year, the fastest pace in the last five quarters. Excluding these three sectors, profit growth moderates to 7.7%. The automobile industry had a weak quarter, weighed down by Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles. Stripping out the automobile sector, overall earnings growth improves to 16.9% year-on-year. The capital goods sector benefited from strong order inflows and efficient execution, while the cement industry saw profitability rise on the back of stable input costs. Oil refining and marketing companies also delivered strong results, supported by firm refining margins. Banks reported a steady quarter, aided by margin improvement and healthy credit growth. In contrast, NBFCs outperformed, driven by robust growth in gold loans. Motilal Oswal’s earnings review projects Nifty 50 earnings to grow 11% year-on-year in the second half of 2025-26, up from 5% in the first half. The brokerage has also raised its Nifty 50 EPS estimates by 1.2% for 2025-26 and 0.5% for 2026-27. Meanwhile, Nuvama’s preview flags an uncertain 2026 demand outlook, citing corporate capex cuts and fiscal consolidation. (Catch all the Personal Finance News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to ET Prime and read the ET ePaper online. ...more