Eight of India’s top ten business conglomerates delivered positive shareholder returns in 2025, reflecting resilient corporate performance despite market volatility. Reliance Industries, Bharti Group and Aditya Birla Group emerged as the biggest gainers, while Tata Group and ITC Group were among the laggards during the year.
Leaders of 2025: Reliance, Bharti, Aditya Birla
- Reliance Group topped the charts, supported by steady performance in energy, retail and digital businesses, along with renewed investor confidence in its long-term growth strategy.
- Bharti Group benefited from strong momentum in telecom, driven by higher ARPU, tariff discipline and continued 5G expansion.
- Aditya Birla Group posted healthy gains on the back of strength in financial services, metals and cement, aided by improving margins and balance sheet stability.
Other Conglomerates Post Gains
Several other diversified groups also ended 2025 in positive territory, helped by domestic demand, capex recovery and selective sectoral tailwinds. Banking, infrastructure-linked businesses and consumption-focused companies contributed meaningfully to overall returns.
Underperformers: Tata Group and ITC
- Tata Group underperformed relative to peers, weighed down by pressure in IT services and automobiles amid global slowdown concerns and margin headwinds.
- ITC Group saw muted returns as defensive stocks lost favour and FMCG growth remained moderate, limiting upside despite stable fundamentals.
Big Picture
The performance divergence highlights how sector exposure and earnings visibility shaped returns in 2025. Conglomerates aligned with telecom, financial services and domestic consumption outperformed, while defensives and export-heavy segments lagged.
Keywords: Indian conglomerates returns 2025, Reliance Group performance, Bharti Group stocks, Aditya Birla Group returns, Tata Group performance, ITC stock performance, top Indian business groups 2025
