HomeNewsBusinessMarketsWho’ll win the next round—large-caps or mid- and small-caps?

Who’ll win the next round—large-caps or mid- and small-caps?

Prices of mid- and small-caps have risen, but they are not entirely driven by rise in earnings

August 20, 2024 / 14:05 IST
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Mid-cap and small-cap stocks have seen the greatest valuation expansion with the lowest earnings growth. If Q1 FY25 earnings fail to justify these valuations, a correction may be seen.
Mid-cap and small-cap stocks have seen the greatest valuation expansion with the lowest earnings growth. If Q1 FY25 earnings fail to justify these valuations, a correction may be seen.

Large-cap stocks have shown the strongest alignment between price gains and earnings growth over the past year, while mid and small-cap indices, despite recent strong returns, have relied heavily on PE re-ratings rather than actual earnings improvements.

This divergence has raised concerns about potential corrections in mid and small-caps, making large-caps a safer bet for investors.

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The Nifty Microcap 250, Midcap 150, NIFTY 100, and Smallcap 250 indices all posted positive returns in the last one month, with the microcap index leading at 6 percent. This strong performance among mid and small-cap stocks occurred despite minimal upgrades in aggregate earnings.

Fisdom Research highlighted that about 70 percent of the returns in these indices over the past year stemmed from PE re-rating rather than actual earnings growth.