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India’s equity market is undergoing a quiet but meaningful structural shift, where market leadership is steadily widening beyond traditional heavyweight conglomerates. While large business groups continue to dominate in absolute terms, their grip on overall market capitalization is loosening as gains spread across sectors, mid-sized firms and new-age businesses.
A Mint analysis of 10 leading business groups by market capitalization shows their combined share in India’s total market value has steadily declined over the past few years—from 31.4% in FY22 to 25.3% in FY25 and further to 24% in FY26. The share has slipped marginally to 23.94% in FY27 so far, after the West Asia war sparked a selloff, according to ACE Equity data. Their combined market capitalization currently stands at ₹107.5 trillion, compared with ₹449.1 trillion for all shares listed on the BSE as of 13 April.
However, the dilution does not imply underperformance. While the Sensex’s market capitalization rose about 7%, the top 10 conglomerates together have grown faster at around 9% so far this fiscal year that started on 1 April.
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“India is moving into a more structural broad-basing of market leadership, but not into a market where large conglomerates stop mattering. The macro and flow backdrop is now deep enough to support wider earnings participation,” said Karthick Jonagadla, founder and CEO of Quantace Research.
“But this isn’t a simple shift away from conglomerates: focused capital allocators are gaining faster in this environment. With mid- and small-cap valuations still elevated, leadership can revert to large, well-capitalized groups during risk-off phases,” he added.
The divergence is most visible among India’s largest business houses, with performance varying sharply across groups.
The Adani Group has emerged as a clear standout performer. After a steep 22% year-on-year fall in market capitalization in FY25, the group stabilized with a modest 2% gain in FY26 amid heightened uncertainty, including geopolitical tensions. It has since rebounded strongly, rising 18% in FY27 so far.
The recovery has been broad-based across key companies. Adani Power, which contributes over 23% to the group’s market capitalization, has surged nearly 21% so far this fiscal. Adani Green (12% share) has jumped over 35%, Adani Energy (9%) is up 26%, and Adani Ports (22.5%) has gained about 11.5%. Adani Total Gas has also advanced over 12%.
“The West Asia conflict created a direct tailwind. Adani Total Gas saw a sharp jump in just five days after the government prioritized domestic PNG and CNG supply in response to LNG disruptions. What hurt broader markets actually improved the regulatory environment for parts of the Adani portfolio,” said Tanvi Kanchan, associate director at Anand Rathi Share & Stock Brokers.
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In contrast, Reliance Industries has seen relatively muted performance. After a 16.5% decline in FY25, the group posted a modest 4.5% gain in FY26 but has slipped again, falling about 1.5% in FY27 so far. Reliance Industries, which accounts for over 91% of the group’s market capitalization, has declined around 2% in the current fiscal.
The divergence extends beyond the largest groups and becomes sharper across the broader conglomerate universe, particularly among consumption- and financial-led groups.
The Godrej group emerged as the biggest laggard, with market capitalization declining 23.1% in FY26 before staging a recovery of about 11.4% in FY27 so far. Godrej Consumer Products, which accounts for over half of the group’s market cap, has gained more than 7% in the current fiscal.
The Tata group also saw a sharp correction, with market capitalization falling 17.5% in FY26, after witnessing an 8% decline in FY25. It has since recovered around 9% in FY27 so far, supported in part by Tata Consultancy Services, which contributes about 37% to the group’s value and has risen roughly 5%.
The Bajaj group, with significant exposure to consumption and financials, fell 12.7% in FY26 after a steep decline earlier and has recovered about 12% in the year so far. Bajaj Finance, which makes up over 40% of the group’s market capitalization, has been a key contributor to this rebound.
In contrast, market value of infrastructure and capital goods-linked conglomerates has held up relatively better through the volatility.
The L&T group reported only a marginal 0.7% decline in FY26, after a sharper fall earlier, and has rebounded 12.4% so far in FY27. Larsen & Toubro, which accounts for nearly 70% of the group’s market capitalisation, has gained around 13% during this period.
Other diversified groups such as Murugappa and JSW also saw declines of 6.5% and 3.1%, respectively, in FY26, despite strong gains earlier. Both have since recovered in the year so far. Meanwhile, groups like Mahindra and Aditya Birla delivered moderate gains of around 7.5% in FY26 and have extended their gains into the current fiscal.
“India's listed universe has expanded dramatically—over 580 companies now exceed $1 billion in market cap, nearly three times the 2015 count. Groups losing share simply reflects the denominator expanding faster,” Kanchan said.
Mayur Bhalerao is a markets reporter at Mint with around 12 years of experience across finance and media. His coverage focuses on Indian equities, IPOs and broader market trends, tracking developments across large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap stocks as well as shifts in investor behaviour among retail investors, mutual funds and foreign portfolio investors.Mayur’s reporting emphasises data-driven analysis of market movements, valuations and sectoral trends. He uses shareholding disclosures, financial filings and market data to explain developments on Dalal Street and examine how global events and domestic policy changes—including geopolitical tensions, crude oil prices and regulatory decisions—shape Indian equities and investor sentiment.He regularly uses financial databases such as the Bloomberg terminal and Capitaline to produce data-intensive stories, analysing company disclosures, ownership patterns and sectoral trends across both Indian and global markets. He also supports colleagues in the newsroom by providing database-driven insights and market data analysis that help strengthen broader market coverage.Before joining Mint, Mayur worked at Informist Media Pvt Ltd., a leading financial newswire, where he developed his expertise in financial journalism in a specialised markets newsroom.