1. At a Glance – The Boss of the Indian Coast 🛳️
Adani Ports & SEZ (APSEZ) is what happens when one company decides that India’s coastline is too fragmented and needs a single landlord. With a market cap of ₹3.52 lakh crore, a Q3 FY26 PAT of ₹3,043 Cr (+24.9% YoY), and EBITDA margins flirting with 60%, this is not just infrastructure — this is infrastructure with swagger.
At a current price of ₹1,531, the stock trades at 27.9x P/E, not cheap, not crazy — just confidently expensive. In the last 1 year, the stock is up 41%, reminding investors that boring ports can still beat adrenaline stocks. Debt? Yes. Cash flows? Even bigger. Promoter holding? 68% and rising, with zero pledge — always a comforting sentence in Indian markets.
Q3 FY26 was clean, strong, and unapologetically dominant:
- Revenue: ₹9,705 Cr (+21.9% YoY)
- EBITDA: ₹5,786 Cr
- OPM: 60%
- EPS (Q3): ₹13.25
This quarter didn’t whisper performance. It announced it over a foghorn.
2. Introduction – This Is Not a Port Company, This Is a System ⚓
APSEZ is often introduced politely as a “port operator.” That’s like calling Mumbai “a railway station with ambitions.” This company doesn’t just handle cargo — it controls trade routes, dictates logistics economics, and increasingly exports its port playbook globally.
From Mundra (India’s largest commercial port) to Haifa (Israel), Colombo (Sri Lanka), and now Abbot Point (Australia), APSEZ has quietly built an India-plus-one global port empire. And unlike many infrastructure players who drown in debt before scale arrives, Adani Ports reached scale first — then optimized.
The story post-2023 has been simple but powerful:
- Consolidate India’s coastline
- Add logistics to ports (rail, warehousing, silos)
- Add marine services to logistics
- Export the model internationally
The result? 27% of India’s total cargo and 45.5% of container cargo moves through Adani ports.
At this point, customs officers probably recognize the Adani logo more than their own ID cards.
But scale alone doesn’t protect valuation. Cash flows do. And that’s where things get interesting.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do? (Spoiler: Everything)
A. Ports – The Cash Machine
APSEZ operates 15 domestic ports and 4 international ports, with a total capacity of 633 MMT. Mundra alone is a monster — India’s largest commercial port — while Dhamra, Krishnapatnam, Gangavaram, and Vizhinjam cover east and west with military precision.
Ports are long-life assets. Once built, they print money quietly while everyone else argues about GDP growth.
B. Marine – The Muscle Behind the Ports
This is the underrated business. APSEZ is India’s largest third-party marine services provider, with:
- 115 tugs & OSVs
- 28 dredgers
- Presence across major ports and even the Indian Navy
Marine services ensure ports don’t just exist — they function smoothly. This vertical improves asset uptime and boosts margins without massive incremental capex.
C. Logistics – The Flywheel
Ports without logistics are like airports without taxis.
APSEZ logistics includes:
- 12 Multi-Modal Logistics Parks
- 132 rakes
- 937 trucks
- 3.1 Mn sq. ft. warehousing
- 1.2 MMT agri silos (2.8 MMT under construction)
By FY29, this explodes:
- Rakes →
