Inve Blog · Topic
29 articles on ratios.
What is EBITDA margin, and why does it flatter asset-heavy firms? See the depreciation, interest and tax it hides on real Indian numbers — and how to read it.
Asset turnover ratio for Indian investors: the formula, its DuPont link to ROE, and how to tell a genuine efficiency gain from a hopeful asset-light story.
Capacity utilisation signals a capex cycle before management announces it. Learn to read this manufacturing KPI from Indian concalls, with a real HEG example.
A safe debt-to-equity ratio depends on the sector, not one rule. See realistic D/E benchmarks for Indian industries and why interest coverage matters more.
Dividend vs buyback in India: how each is taxed in FY25, the signal each sends, and why a buyback can lift EPS and ROE without the business improving at all.
EV/EBITDA vs P/E ratio for Indian investors — P/E hides debt, EV/EBITDA exposes it. See when each multiple wins and the one place EBITDA misleads you.
Gross margin vs operating margin, with formulas and a real example: two brands share a 59% gross margin but half the operating margin. See what the gap reveals.
Build a stock screen in India that actually narrows the list — quality, value and delivery filters, with worked examples and the signal no ratio catches.
Reported profit is the last number to move. See which operating KPIs — order book, utilisation, SSSG — lead Indian results early, with real concall examples.
Book-to-bill ratio and order book explained for Indian investors: what a good ratio is, why a record backlog can hide an execution gap, and how to spot it.
P/E ratio explained for Indian investors — not a price tag but an embedded forecast. See why a low P/E lied about HEG, and how to test the bet inside it.
PEG ratio explained for Indian investors — the formula, what a good PEG ratio is, and why the growth "G" borrowed from management guidance quietly misleads.
When the P/B ratio works and when it lies — how to use price-to-book for banks, cyclicals and asset-heavy Indian firms, and why a low P/B is often a warning.
Same-store sales growth (SSSG) shows if a retailer is really selling more or just opening stores. Learn to read it, split price from volume, spot a gamed SSSG.
Asset turnover shows how many rupees of sales a business earns per rupee of assets. See why a thin-margin retailer like DMart can out-earn Tata Steel.
Debt-to-equity shows how much a company borrowed versus owners money. How much is healthy, why it varies by industry, and how to read it with interest coverage.
The dividend payout ratio shows how much of a year's profit a company pays out — the real test of whether a dividend is funded by earnings or quietly borrowed.
Earnings yield (1/PE) versus the 10-year G-Sec is a 30-second check on whether a stock is cheap or dear next to a fixed deposit. Sun Pharma, worked through.
Why professionals price a company on EV/EBITDA, not just the P/E ratio — and the capex blind spot the multiple hides. A plain walk-through using Adani Ports.
Free cash flow is operating cash minus capex — the cash owners actually keep. Why it's harder to fake than profit, shown on ITC and Power Grid FY25 figures.
A fat, steady operating margin means a company can raise prices and keep customers. Learn to read margins for pricing power, with real Indian examples.
Interest coverage ratio = operating profit ÷ interest: how many times earnings cover a company's lender bill. Read on a real high-debt Indian steel stock.
Operating margin shows if the core business works. Net margin is what's left after interest, depreciation and one-offs. Why the gap matters, via Tata Motors.
Why a P/E of 85 can be cheaper than a P/E of 9. The PEG ratio prices a stock against how fast it grows — worked through step by step on a real Indian grower.
The price-to-sales ratio values fast-growing firms that barely earn yet — and hides the danger of sales without profit. How to use it, with an Indian example.
The P/E ratio is the years of profit you pay upfront for a business. Learn what it measures, how to calculate it on a real Indian stock, and the cyclical trap.
A high dividend yield sounds safe — but it often signals a falling price or an unsustainable payout. Here's how to tell the difference before it costs you.
When ROE and ROCE diverge, it usually means one thing — leverage is doing the heavy lifting, not the business. Here's how to read the gap.
A 20% ROE sounds impressive — until you discover it's built on debt, not profit. Learn how DuPont analysis separates real earners from leveraged mirages.