Quarterly Result Analysis: 7 Numbers to Check in Any Q2 Earnings Report

Q2 earnings season has arrived, which means dozens of results landing every evening. A headline like “profit up 10%” gets you started, but it seldom tells you what really happened. Solid quarterly result analysis comes down to checking a short list of numbers, in the same order, every single time.

Here are seven of them. We explain how to read each one and then run a real Q2 FY27 result through the same steps.

In this article

1. Quarterly result analysis: where to find the numbers
2. How the results PDF is laid out
3. Number 1: Revenue from operations
4. Number 2: Operating profit (EBITDA) and margin
5. Number 3: Net profit (PAT), and what’s inside it
6. Number 4: Earnings per share (EPS)
7. Number 5: Sector-specific metrics
8. Number 6: Balance sheet health (every half-year)
9. Number 7: Cash flow from operations
10. A real example: Can Fin Homes Q2 FY27
11. Red flags to watch for
12. Compare with expectations, not just last year
13. A 10-minute checklist for any result
14. Common mistakes in quarterly result analysis
15. Consolidated vs standalone: which to use?
16. Learn more
17. Frequently asked questions
18. Key takeaways

Quarterly result analysis: where to find the numbers

Listed companies file their results with the stock exchanges. You’ll find them on the BSE results page, in the NSE corporate filings section, or on the company’s own investor relations page.

There are three documents to look for:

• The results PDF: the official profit and loss statement, with the balance sheet and cash flow added every half-year.
• The press release: management’s own summary, usually with the key ratios.
• The investor presentation: segment detail, guidance and operating metrics.

Open the results PDF first, always. A press release shows you what management would like you to notice.

How the results PDF is laid out

Most results PDFs run in roughly the same order. The statement of profit and loss comes first, with columns for the quarter, the previous quarter, the same quarter last year and the year to date. Segment results come next, followed (every half-year) by the balance sheet and cash flow statement. After that are the notes to accounts, and the auditor’s limited review report closes the document. Once you know this layout, each of the seven numbers takes a couple of minutes to find.

Number 1: Revenue from operations

Revenue is the top line, the money the core business brings in. Look at:

• Year-on-year (YoY) growth: put Q2 FY27 next to Q2 FY26. That takes seasonality out of the picture.
• Quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) growth: compare with Q1 FY27 to see the latest direction.
• Volume vs price: did the company sell more, or just charge more? The presentation usually says.

Keep “other income” apart from operating revenue. A sharp rise in other income, treasury gains for instance, can make profit look better while the business itself hasn’t improved at all.

Number 2: Operating profit (EBITDA) and margin

EBITDA is what the core business earns before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. Its margin, EBITDA divided by revenue, is very often the number the stock reacts to.

Did the margin widen or shrink, and why? The usual culprits are raw material prices, employee costs and pricing power. Our explainer on what EBITDA is and how it’s calculated goes through the formula in detail.

Revenue tells you whether customers are buying. Margin tells you whether the company is getting paid properly for it.

Number 3: Net profit (PAT), and what’s inside it

Net profit is the bottom line. Before you get excited about a big jump, look for:

• Exceptional items: one-time gains like an asset sale, or one-time losses like a write-off.
• Tax rate changes: a lower tax rate can push profit up with no operating improvement behind it.
• Share of associates or joint ventures: profit from businesses the company doesn’t fully control.

Analysts often work out an “adjusted PAT” with the one-offs stripped out, which makes comparisons cleaner.

Number 4: Earnings per share (EPS)

EPS is net profit divided by the number of shares. It matters because valuation ratios like P/E are built on it.

If the company has issued new shares, EPS can grow slower than net profit. If it has bought shares back, EPS can grow faster. So check both, every time.

Number 5: Sector-specific metrics

Each industry has a handful of numbers that count for more than the rest:

Sector	Key metrics
Banks and NBFCs	Net interest income (NII), net interest margin (NIM), gross and net NPA, loan growth, credit cost
IT services	Constant-currency revenue growth, deal wins, attrition, headcount
FMCG	Volume growth, gross margin, rural vs urban demand
Auto	Volumes, average realisation per vehicle, EBITDA per unit
Cement and metals	Volume, realisation per tonne, cost per tonne
Retail	Same-store sales growth, revenue per square foot, store additions

EBITDA doesn’t tell you much about lenders, since interest is the business itself. Look at NII, NIM and asset quality instead.

Number 6: Balance sheet health (every half-year)

Q2 results carry a half-year balance sheet. Check:

• Debt: have borrowings gone up or down?
• Cash: how much cash and liquid investments is the company sitting on?
• Working capital: are receivables or inventory growing much faster than revenue? If so, cash may be getting stuck.

Number 7: Cash flow from operations

Profit is an accounting number. Cash is what actually pays the bills. The half-year cash flow statement shows whether profit is turning into cash or not.

When a company reports rising profit alongside weak or negative operating cash flow, it’s worth a closer look.

When profit and cash flow tell different stories, believe the cash flow until you understand why.

A real example: Can Fin Homes Q2 FY27

Let’s run a result from this week through the framework. Can Fin Homes is a housing finance company, so the lender metrics are the ones that apply. These figures are as reported by The Economic Times:

• Net profit: Rs 275 crore, up 10% from Rs 251 crore.
• NII: Rs 431 crore, against Rs 404 crore, up 7%.
• NIM: 3.89%, down from 4.02%.
• Cost-to-income ratio: 19.59%, up from 18.55%.
• Gross NPAs: Rs 392 crore, against Rs 373 crore.
• EPS: Rs 20.62, against Rs 18.88.
• Loan book: Rs 43,539 crore, up 10%.

Reading it step by step

1. Growth: the loan book and profit each grew around 10%. Steady.
2. Core earnings: NII rose 7%, a bit slower than profit.
3. Margin: NIM dropped 13 basis points, so every rupee lent earned slightly less.
4. Efficiency: cost-to-income went up, meaning expenses grew faster than income.
5. Asset quality: gross NPAs rose in absolute terms, though more slowly than the loan book.
6. Per share: EPS grew in line with profit.

Put together, it’s decent growth with some margin and cost pressure worth keeping an eye on. ET reported the stock rallied as much as 5% on the day, which suggests the market had braced for weaker numbers.

Red flags to watch for

A few patterns call for extra digging whenever they turn up in a result:

• Receivables growing far faster than revenue: customers may be paying late, or sales may have been pulled into the quarter.
• “Exceptional” items that keep coming back: a one-off charge that shows up every quarter isn’t really a one-off.
• Debt rising while profit stays flat: borrowing more without earning more piles up future interest costs.
• Big changes in accounting policy: read the notes to accounts for changes in depreciation or revenue recognition.
• Auditor qualifications or emphasis of matter: the auditor’s limited review report is at the end of the results PDF. Any qualification there deserves a careful read.
• Promoter pledges: not part of the results as such, but a rising number of pledged shares (visible in shareholding filings) can add risk.

None of these means trouble on its own. Each one is a reason to dig deeper before you invest.

Compare with expectations, not just last year

Share prices react to results measured against what the market expected. A company can report 20% profit growth and still fall if analysts were looking for 30%.

Brokerage previews and consensus estimates, often quoted in the financial press, give you that benchmark. Listen to what management says about the outlook as well. A change in guidance frequently matters more than the quarter that’s just been reported.

A 10-minute checklist for any result

1. Revenue growth YoY and QoQ
2. EBITDA margin trend (or NIM for lenders)
3. Net profit, excluding one-offs
4. EPS
5. Two or three sector-specific metrics
6. Debt and cash (half-yearly)
7. Operating cash flow (half-yearly)
8. Management guidance and commentary
9. How the stock reacted compared with the numbers

Common mistakes in quarterly result analysis

• Stopping at the headline: “profit up” can hide a drop in operating profit that other income papered over.
• Comparing QoQ in seasonal businesses: festive or monsoon effects throw sequential comparisons off.
• Mixing consolidated and standalone numbers: choose one, usually consolidated, and stay with it.
• Forgetting the share count: dilution changes EPS.
• Reading too much into one quarter: look at the trend across four to eight quarters.

Consolidated vs standalone: which to use?

Companies with subsidiaries report two sets of numbers. Standalone is the parent company alone, while consolidated brings in the subsidiaries too. For most groups, consolidated gives the more honest view of the whole business. Some analysts still prefer standalone where the parent holds the main operations.

Learn more

If you’d like a structured course on financial statements, Zerodha Varsity’s fundamental analysis module takes you through the P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statement chapter by chapter. Our pillar guide on how to analyse quarterly results of a company goes deeper into each section.

Frequently asked questions

When do Indian companies announce Q2 results?

Q2 covers July to September, and results usually come in from mid-October to mid-November. The exchanges’ board-meeting announcements give exact dates, or you can check our Q2 results this week list.

Why did a stock fall despite good results?

The numbers may have fallen short of expectations, guidance may have been cautious, or the stock may already have run up before the results.

Should I buy a stock right after strong results?

Not by default. One good quarter is just one data point. Look at valuation and the trend over several quarters first.

Key takeaways

• Check seven numbers: revenue, margin, net profit, EPS, sector metrics, balance sheet and cash flow.
• Compare year-on-year first, then quarter-on-quarter.
• Take out one-offs and other income to see the core business clearly.
• Judge results against expectations and guidance, not only against last year.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not investment advice.