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Learn to read Indian companies

The terms, filings and traps you meet when you look at a company listed on NSE or BSE, in plain English. Every term shows the same number for real companies on Cityfort, from their own filings.

  • 29terms explained
  • 4filing walk-throughs
  • 8traps explained
  • 5real cases
  • 18companies as live examples

Learning paths

A few pages in a set order, each one building on the last. Your progress is kept in this browser only.

Start here

How a Cityfort stock page works, part by part.

Terms explained, with real companies

Each term in plain English, then the same number for every company on Cityfort that reports it, from its filings.

Basics

Shares, listing, the Indian financial year and where company information comes from.

Reading results

Revenue, profit, margins and growth: the numbers in every results filing.

Cash flow and debt

Where cash comes from and goes, and what a company owes.

Banks and lenders

How banks and NBFCs earn, and the ratios they report.

Ownership

Who owns a company: promoters, institutions, the public, and pledges.

Governance

Auditors, related parties, credit ratings and other signals in filings.

How to read a filing

Real Indian filings, walked through part by part, with notes on what each line means.

Traps first-time investors meet

India-specific things that catch new investors out, explained from SEBI and exchange rules.

Real cases, told from the filings

One real, dated event at a listed company: what was disclosed, where, and what was filed next. Facts from the filings, no verdicts.

All terms, A–Z

  • ARPU (average revenue per user) (Average revenue per user, Average revenue per customer, Mobile ARPU, Customer ARPU)
  • Attrition (IT services) (Attrition rate, Employee attrition, Voluntary attrition, LTM attrition, Staff turnover)
  • AUM (assets under management) for lenders (AUM, Assets under management, Loan book, Assets under finance)
  • Bonus issue and stock split (Bonus shares, Bonus issue, Stock split, Share split, Sub-division of shares, Face value split)
  • Capital expenditure (capex) (Capex, Capital spending, Purchase of property, plant and equipment, Fixed asset additions)
  • CASA ratio (Current and savings account ratio, CASA deposits, Low-cost deposits)
  • Consolidated vs standalone results (Consolidated financial statements, Standalone results, Consolidated results, Group accounts)
  • Credit rating (Credit rating meaning, AAA rating, Rating outlook, CRISIL rating, CARE rating, ICRA rating)
  • Customer concentration (Major customers, Top 5 customers, Top 10 clients, Client concentration, Largest customer)
  • Dividend payout ratio (Payout ratio, Dividend per share, DPS, Interim dividend, Final dividend, Dividend distribution policy)
  • EBITDA (Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, Operating profit, PBDIT, Operating EBITDA)
  • FII and DII holding (FII holding, FPI holding, DII holding, Institutional holding, Foreign portfolio investors, Domestic institutional investors)
  • Free cash flow (FCF, Cash from operations, Operating cash flow, Cash flow statement)
  • Gross and net NPA (NPA, Non-performing asset, GNPA, NNPA, Bad loans)
  • Gross margin (Gross profit margin, Gross profit, Material margin)
  • Net debt (Net cash, Debt, Borrowings, Total debt, Debt-to-equity, Interest coverage)
  • Net interest margin (NIM) (NIM, Net interest income, NII, Interest spread)
  • Net profit (Profit after tax, PAT, Bottom line, Exceptional items, Net profit margin, Earnings per share)
  • Operating margin (EBITDA margin, Operating profit margin, Net profit margin)
  • Order book (Order backlog, Unexecuted order book, Order inflow, Total contract value, TCV)
  • Promoter holding (Promoter shareholding, Promoter stake, Promoter and promoter group, Promoter group holding)
  • Provision coverage ratio (PCR) (PCR, Provision coverage, Loan loss provisions)
  • Public shareholding (Minimum public shareholding, MPS, Public float, Free float, Retail shareholding, Non-promoter holding)
  • Return on capital employed (ROCE) (ROCE, Capital employed, Return on capital)
  • Return on equity (ROE) (ROE, Return on net worth, RoNW, Net worth, Shareholders' equity)
  • Revenue from operations (Revenue, Sales, Top line, Turnover, Revenue growth)
  • Segment revenue (Segment reporting, Operating segments, Business segments, Geographical revenue, Revenue by region)
  • Share buyback (Buyback, Buy-back of shares, Tender offer buyback, Share repurchase)
  • Working capital (Net working capital, Current assets, Current liabilities, Operating cycle, Receivables, Inventory)