01 — At a Glance
₹1 Lakh Crore Market Cap. Negative Book Value. Normal Things.
- 52-Week High / Low₹110 / ₹70.5
- Q3 FY26 Revenue₹3,994 Cr
- Q3 FY26 Operating Profit₹1,701 Cr
- Q3 FY26 PAT₹174 Cr
- Q3 FY26 EPS (₹)₹0.12
- Book Value Per Share₹-2.59
- Total Debt₹41,465 Cr
- Interest Coverage1.03x
- Promoter Holding66.24%
- Pledged %15.5%
Opening Note: GMR Airports is the largest private airport operator in India, the largest in Asia, and the second-largest globally. It runs Delhi and Hyderabad airports — together handling ~27.5% of India’s passenger traffic. Q3 FY26 delivered ₹3,994 crore in revenue (+50.5% YoY), ₹1,701 crore in operating profit (+70% YoY), and a 43% OPM — all records. PAT came in at ₹174 crore, which is technically positive, but sits on a ₹41,465 crore debt pile. The stock has returned 30.5% in one year. Investors are clearly paying for the runway, not the profits.
02 — Introduction
The Airport That Swallowed a Balance Sheet
Let’s set the scene. You land at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The terminal is gleaming, the signage is crisp, the duty-free smells aggressively of Dior. You walk past the F&B outlets — all of which are now earning money for the same holding company — and emerge blinking into the Arrivals hall. You have just contributed to the quarterly revenue of GMR Airports Limited, a company currently valued at over ₹1 lakh crore despite having negative net worth, a ₹41,465 crore debt burden, and interest coverage of barely 1x.
This is the GMR airports story. It’s not a bad story. In fact, it’s a genuinely remarkable infrastructure thesis that has been playing out for two decades. Delhi airport handled 20.8 million passengers in Q3 FY26 — a record. Hyderabad expanded from 12 to 34 million capacity. Bhogapuram in Visakhapatnam is 95.8% physically complete. Crete is 65% done. Groupe ADP — the same entity that runs Charles de Gaulle — holds 32.3% and has board-level representation. The infrastructure is real. The growth is real.
The catch? Every rupee of growth has been funded by a debt machine that now stands at ₹41,465 crore at the consolidated level (Sep 2025). Management calls FY26 “peak debt.” They’ve said it with the same calm confidence that someone says “I’ll definitely hit the gym from Monday.” The Feb 2026 concall, however, gave investors a lot more than promises — they got a detailed deleveraging roadmap, record EBITDA, and a dividend trigger framework. So the story is evolving. Whether the stock price already reflects the dream — that’s the question that will keep your CA up at night.
Concall (Feb 2026) Quote: “EBITDA continues to break previous records achieving new highs each quarter.” — GMR Management. If only the same were true for net profit. We’re working on it, apparently.
03 — Business Model: WTF Do They Even Do?
They Built the Airports You’re Stuck In. Now They’re Monetising Every Inch.
GMR Airports operates, develops, and monetises airport infrastructure. Their crown jewels are Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) — together handling over 100 million passengers annually. They also run Mopa (North Goa) airport and have assets in Medan, Indonesia. Bhogapuram (Visakhapatnam) and Crete are under development, with Nagpur concession recently signed.
Revenue comes from two buckets. Aero revenue (74% of Q2 FY26) — landing fees, passenger service fees, and regulated charges tied to a tariff order. The Delhi tariff was massively revised upward, effective this year, with aero revenue jumping 173% YoY in Q3. Non-aero (26%) — this is where the real value creation is happening: duty-free retail (they took full control of Delhi Duty Free in Dec 2025, now owning 66.93%), F&B, cargo, car parking, and retail concessions. Non-aero at Hyderabad grew 24% YoY in Q3 FY26. Delhi cargo hit its highest-ever monthly tonnage in December 2025.
The business model is essentially a regulated utility (aero) layered on top of a consumer retail platform (non-aero), sitting inside an infrastructure holding company (GAL) that borrows heavily to fund capex and then waits for cash flows to cover it. The patience required to model this would age most analysts by a decade. Management’s stated goal: reach 3.0–3.5x net debt/EBITDA before starting dividend payments to shareholders. Current level: ~9.5x. They have a plan. God bless them.
Delhi Pax Cap.100 MnExpanded Jul 2024
Hyd. Pax Cap.34 MnExpanded Jul 2024
India Mkt Share27.5%FY25 Pax Traffic
Global Rank#2Private Operator
Revenue mix note: Aero business = 74%, Non-Aero = 26% as of Q2 FY26. Management’s entire investment thesis for the next 3–5 years rests on the non-aero slice growing faster than the aero slice — because non-aero has no regulatory ceiling. Every duty-free transaction at Delhi airport is, in a sense, a PE multiple expansion event.
💬 Have you ever impulse-bought something at Delhi or Hyderabad airport duty-free? You’ve just contributed to GMR’s non-aero per-pax yield. Tell us what you bought in the comments.
04 — Financials Overview
Q3 FY26: The Numbers (Quarterly Results)
Result type: Quarterly Results | Q3 FY26 EPS: ₹0.12 | Note: Annualised EPS not applied — company has negative full-year earnings track; per-quarter profitability is recent and fragile.
| Metric (₹ Cr) |
Q3 FY26
Dec 2025 |
Q3 FY25
Dec 2024 |
Q2 FY26
Sep 2025 |
YoY % |
QoQ % |
| Revenue (Sales) | 3,994 | 2,653 | 3,670 | +50.5% | +8.8% |
| Operating Profit | 1,701 | 992 | 1,447 | +71.5% | +17.6% |
| OPM % | 43% | 37% | 39% | +600 bps | +400 bps |
| PAT | 174 | 202 | 35 | -13.9% | +397% |
| EPS (₹) | 0.12 | 0.25 | -0.04 | -52% | Turnaround |
P/E Note: The stock has no meaningful P/E ratio because the company runs full-year losses (FY25 PAT: -₹817 Cr, TTM PAT: -₹181 Cr). Q3 FY26 is the first quarter of genuine profitability at the consolidated level excluding exceptional items. Management called it the “first positive and highest profit seen since de-merger.” On a TTM basis, the EV/EBITDA stands at 24.1x — the market is pricing in aggressive margin expansion and debt reduction, not current earnings. PAT declined YoY because Q3 FY25 had a one-time other income boost; operational trajectory is actually improving.
05 — Valuation: Fair Value Range
Valuing a Company That Doesn’t Earn Profit Yet
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