This edition asks a question we keep circling back to in meetings: Is India Inc doing enough capex? For a decade, the government carried the investment cycle while corporate India repaired balance sheets and sat on cash. We analyzed capex and cash flow estimates for BSE500 companies to see that is the capex cycle turning? Which sectors are driving the capex? Where is the cash going?
BSE500 companies are set to spend ₹25.9 lakh cr over FY27–29E against ₹20.2 lakh cr over FY24–26. Free cash flow generation is expected to touch ₹30.0 lakh cr over the next 3 years. Let’s dive deeper into our topic to “follow the money” and see whether the spending is broad, or whether a few promoters are doing all of it and are we doing enough spending or not.