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Today's prices ask more of Adani Ports than of Larsen & Toubro.
At current prices, buyers of Adani Ports are assuming about 24% growth against 25% in its own record; for Larsen & Toubro it is 6% against 16%. That shows which share needs more to go right — not which is cheaper. How far each trades from its estimated fair value is in the full valuations.
- Valuation method: Adani Ports on discounted cash flow; Larsen & Toubro on estimate withheld.
- Size: the two are worth roughly the same on the stock market.
- Record: Adani Ports has grown revenue faster: Adani Ports compounded at about 17% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Larsen & Toubro at about 11% (FY2018–FY2026).
- What to watch: cargo volumes at Adani Ports; order inflow and backlog at Larsen & Toubro.
| Adani Ports | Larsen & Toubro | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹1,903 | ₹4,144 |
| Market cap | ₹4.39L Cr | ₹5.70L Cr |
| P/E | 38.0 | 31.9 |
| P/B | 4.56 | 5.22 |
| Fair value 🔒 sign in | ₹0,000 | ₹0,000 |
| Upside 🔒 sign in | +00% | +00% |
| Valued on | Discounted cash flow | Estimate withheld |
01Two businesses
Ports, logistics and an economic zone
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) is India's largest private port operator. Mundra in Gujarat is its flagship, and it runs ports and terminals along both coasts and overseas — including Haifa in Israel and a terminal in Colombo. It also owns the special economic zone at Mundra, with land for industry.
Engineer, builder, IT house and lender
Larsen & Toubro is India's largest engineering and construction company. Its core business wins and delivers large projects — roads, metros, airports, water systems, power transmission, and oil and gas facilities in India and the Middle East. Its hi-tech manufacturing arm makes heavy equipment and defence systems.
02The records side by side
Adani Ports has grown revenue faster: Adani Ports compounded at about 17% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Larsen & Toubro at about 11% (FY2018–FY2026). By revenue, Larsen & Toubro is about 7.4 times the size of Adani Ports. Adani Ports kept 33.0% of revenue as net profit in FY2026; Larsen & Toubro kept 6.6% of revenue as net profit in FY2026 — a sign of very different business models.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: Adani Ports · Larsen & Toubro.
03What each price assumes
Work backwards from each share price and you can see what buyers are taking for granted — the rate each company must sustain to justify what it costs, against what its own record supports.
04What decides each one's value
- Cargo volumesVolume growth above India's trade growth — from new ports, new berths and market share — is the core of the valuation.
- AcquisitionsBought ports add cargo immediately but only add value if the price paid earns more than the cost of capital.
- Order inflow and backlogMost of L&T's revenue for the next few years is already in its order book. The size and margin of new orders set future earnings.
- Execution marginsConstruction margins are thin, so cost overruns or commodity swings move profit by much more than they move revenue.
05What could go wrong
- Group-level eventsNews about the wider Adani group can move the share price and funding costs even when the ports are unaffected.
- Global trade and geopoliticsA trade slowdown, or conflict near overseas assets such as Haifa, would hit volumes.
- A slowdown in public capexGovernment infrastructure spending is the biggest single source of domestic orders.
- Working capitalDelayed client payments tie up cash and can strain the balance sheet.
06Which is better value?
Sign in free to see which trades further below its worth
- ✓Both fair values per share — each on the method that fits the business
- ✓Every step of both workings — growth, margins and cost of capital, with sources
- ✓Bull, base and bear cases — for each company
- ✓Downloadable reports — the full write-up for each, yours to keep
08Questions people ask
Is Adani Ports or Larsen & Toubro better value?
That turns on how far each share trades from its estimated fair value. Both figures, with every step of the working, are in the full valuations, free to view once you sign in. On the public numbers, Adani Ports trades at 38.0 times earnings and 4.56 times book value, and Larsen & Toubro at 31.9 times earnings and 5.22 times book value — but multiples alone mislead when two businesses work differently, which is why each is valued on the method that fits it.
What is the difference between Adani Ports and Larsen & Toubro?
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) is India's largest private port operator. Larsen & Toubro is India's largest engineering and construction company.
Are Adani Ports and Larsen & Toubro valued the same way?
No. Adani Ports is valued on discounted cash flow and Larsen & Toubro on estimate withheld, because forcing one model onto both would misstate at least one of them.
What does today's price assume for Adani Ports and Larsen & Toubro?
Worked backwards from the share price, Adani Ports needs about 24% growth and Larsen & Toubro about 6% growth, against 25% and 16% in their own records.