Max Estates Limited

Real Estate — Real Estate - Development · NSE

₹521.10−₹14.70 (−2.74%)

DalalBaazaar Score

42 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

High

Driven by negative free cash flow, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings, a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, but sales are shrinking. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 8:27 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Max Estates Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Max Estates Limited engages in Construction and development of residential and commercial properties. The company also offers investment, facility management, managed office, and shared services.

IndustryReal Estate - Development

SectorReal Estate

Employees309

Annual revenue₹199 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹199 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹6 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹50 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 309 employees supports ₹64.5 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Revenue / employee₹64.5 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are DLF LIMITED, GODREJ PROPERTIES LTD, OBEROI REALTY LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 1.1% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

Peer median ROE10.3%

What is the outlook?

4 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 826.6% and earnings to grow about 5578.3% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+826.6%

Est. earnings growth+5578.3%

Analysts4

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +86% while net margin moved -65% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+86%

Margin effect-65%

DalalBaazaar Score

42/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 0.5% is weak

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

44/ 100

Weak

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

26/ 100

Expensive

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

713.8x

3Y Median

285.1x

38 monthly readings · mean 332.0x · range 181.6x–605.3x

Sector Median

30.2x

median of 3 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 150% above its 3y median of 285.1x. Paying more than usual needs a reason — faster growth, a better balance sheet, or a re-rating you believe in.

⚠️Against its sector it trades 2266% above the peer median of 30.2x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

285.1x median over 38 months · +150%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

30.2x median of 3 peers · +2266%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

107.7x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 39.5% to 49.9% over 3 years.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

6 items require attention · 4 high · 2 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 180% over 3 years, from ₹862 Cr to ₹2,412 Cr.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.4x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 4 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 1680% against revenue up 86% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 34% over 3 years.
🟡Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 112% against revenue up 86% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 39.5% to 49.9%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 24.2x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 112% against revenue up 86%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 150% above its own median multiple. At this level the business has to deliver just to stand still, and a stumble is repriced twice — lower earnings on a lower multiple.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.
Size brings its own risk
Small Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 17% a year✓ 22.9% CAGR
Latest reported year was -0.1%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 48%✓ 49.9%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 24.2x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹697 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
5Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.4x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.

Investment Checklist

5 / 12 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✗ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✗ Revenue growing year-over-year
✗ Profit growing year-over-year
✗ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✓ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

1 good · 4 neutral · 6 weak

Market Cap

₹8,524 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

713.8x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

3.52x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹0.73

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

0.5%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

1.1%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.76x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

-0.1%

Shrinking

Sales are contracting

Profit Growth (YoY)

-31.1%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

-₹697 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

16.5x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

35.1%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

3.0%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.78

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

1.13

Market-like

Moves roughly in line with the market

52W Range Position

62%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

566.0 / 531.0

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

25.7

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹107 Cr	₹93 Cr	₹160 Cr	₹199 Cr	+22.9%
EBITDA	₹42 Cr	₹35 Cr	₹109 Cr	₹100 Cr	+33.0%
EBITDA Margin	39.5%	38.0%	68.2%	49.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹19 Cr	-₹42 Cr	₹41 Cr	₹13 Cr	-13.0%
EPS	₹1.29	₹-2.87	₹1.7	₹0.97	-9.1%
ROE	1.6%	-3.6%	1.8%	0.5%	—
ROCE	1.9%	-1.0%	1.9%	1.1%	—
Total Debt	₹862 Cr	₹999 Cr	₹1,656 Cr	₹2,412 Cr	+40.9%
Free Cash Flow	-₹979 Cr	-₹50 Cr	-₹452 Cr	-₹697 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 22.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 33.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 39.5% to 49.9% over 3 years (+10.5 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 13.0% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 9.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 1.6% to 0.5% over 3 years (-1.1 pts).

🟡 ROCE has held roughly flat at 1.1% over 3 years.

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 40.9% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹12,437 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹9,276 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹205 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹616 Cr

Capex

-₹81 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

10.6%

Insider Holding

70.0%

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

5 Buy · 0 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹649.8

+24.7% vs CMP

Target Range

₹545 – ₹800

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
DLF LIMITED	36.6x	10.3%
GODREJ PROPERTIES LTD	30.2x	8.4%
OBEROI REALTY LIMITED	23.5x	14.7%

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

Max Estates (MAXESTATES) Share/Stock Price Live, NSE

TechGraph, 08 Oct

Max Estates Ltd. Share Price: Fresh 52-Week High Analysis

Univest, 19 Aug

Max Estates shares hit 52-week high on ₹3,000-cr Ghaziabad development deal

Moneycontrol.com, 24 Sept

Max Estates Shares Gain 6% on Rs 3,000 Crore Development Deal

Equitypandit, 24 SeptPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

Max Estates to acquire 84.71-acre land parcels in Delhi via ₹420 crore share swap

ET Realty, 29 AugM&A

🟡Mixed / dependsAcquisitions change the balance sheet before they change the earnings. Look at what was paid, how it was funded, and whether debt rose.

Max Estates Acquires 84.71-Acre Delhi Land Bank Via ₹420.23 Crore Share Swap

Sahi, 29 Aug

Watch Items

Revenue growth is negative (-0.1%) on the latest reported period — check if this is one-off or a trend.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Financial Health

WeakGrowth · Profitability · Valuation · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 4 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x; Free cash flow remains positive; Interest cover stays above 3x · see Key things to watch ↑