In fact, the Nifty 50 firms’ share in the combined adjusted net profit of all listed companies declined to 47.1 per cent in the March quarter of 2025-26 (Q4FY26), from 51.8 per cent a year earlier and 49.8 per cent in Q3FY26. This is their lowest share in at least 21 quarters. At their peak in the December 2022 quarter (Q3FY23), the Nifty 50 firms accounted for 58.3 per cent of the combined adjusted earnings of all listed companies in the country.

The combined net profit (adjusted for exceptional gains and losses) of Nifty 50 companies was up just 4.5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in Q4FY26, marking an eighth consecutive quarter of single-digit growth.

The trend is worrying, given that the 4.5 per cent growth comes off a very low base of 2.9 per cent growth recorded in the March 2025 quarter. After a slight pickup in Q3FY26, there were hopes the income-tax rate cuts in February 2025 and GST rate cuts in September 2025 would improve things.

In comparison, the combined adjusted net profit of all 3,081 listed companies (excluding their listed subsidiaries) in the Business Standard sample grew by 15.1 per cent Y-o-Y in Q4FY26, picking up from 9.2 per cent Y-o-Y growth in Q4FY25 (see the adjoining charts).

The combined adjusted net profit of Nifty 50 companies inched up to ₹2.23 trillion in Q4FY26, from ₹2.14 trillion a year ago and ₹2.04 trillion in Q3FY26. The combined adjusted net profit of all listed companies in the sample grew to around ₹4.74 trillion in Q4FY26 from around ₹4.12 trillion a year ago and around ₹4.09 trillion in Q3FY26.

The Nifty 50 companies’ reported net profit grew even more slowly at 0.9 per cent Y-o-Y in Q4FY26, lower than the 13.5 per cent Y-o-Y growth recorded in the year-ago period, though it showed some improvement from the 0.3 per cent Y-o-Y decline in Q3FY26.

The combined adjusted net profit of Nifty 50 companies, excluding banks, financial services and insurance (BFSI) as well as oil and gas companies, was up just 2.7 per cent Y-o-Y in Q4FY26, slowing from 7.4 per cent Y-o-Y growth in Q4FY25 and 5.7 per cent Y-o-Y growth in Q3FY26.

The index companies, however, improved their performance in terms of revenue growth. The combined net sales (gross interest income for banks and non-bank lenders) growth of Nifty 50 companies was at a 12-quarter high of 11.4 per cent Y-o-Y, in line with the 11.4 per cent Y-o-Y growth in the combined net sales of all listed companies during the recently concluded quarter. The combined net sales of Nifty 50 companies grew to around ₹20.1 trillion in Q4FY26, from ₹18.04 trillion a year ago and ₹18.5 trillion in Q3FY26.

The combined net sales of all listed companies in the sample grew to ₹45.65 trillion in Q4FY26, from ₹40.99 trillion a year ago and ₹42.07 trillion in Q3FY26. Over the past five years, Nifty 50 companies’ revenues have grown at a faster pace than overall corporate revenues, leading to a steady rise in the index companies’ share of total revenues.

Nifty 50 companies accounted for 44 per cent of the combined net sales of all listed companies in Q4FY26, up from 42.1 per cent five years ago in the March 2021 quarter.

Analysts attribute the Nifty 50 companies’ poor earnings growth in recent quarters to the slowdown in key sectors such as BFSI, FMCG and IT services.

“BFSI, consumer goods including FMCG, and IT services together have a 60 per cent weightage in the Nifty 50, and all three are struggling with low single-digit earnings growth, adversely affecting the index’s overall earnings,” says Dhananjay Sinha, co-head, research and equity strategy, Systematix Institutional Equity.

The dichotomy between the index companies’ revenue and earnings growth in Q4FY26 can be attributed to margin contraction on account of higher raw material prices. The Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin of Nifty 50 companies declined by nearly 220 basis points year-on-year to 29.3 per cent of total income in Q4FY26, compared with 31.5 per cent in Q4FY25. In contrast, the Ebitda margin for all listed companies declined by just 50 basis points Y-o-Y in Q4FY26.

Nearly a third of the incremental Y-o-Y growth in overall earnings in Q4FY26 was contributed by just five companies, led by Indian Oil Corporation (10.2 per cent), Life Insurance Corporation (7.1 per cent), ONGC (5.9 per cent), NTPC (4.6 per cent) and IndusInd Bank (4.4 per cent). Among these, only two companies — ONGC and NTPC — are part of the Nifty 50 index.