Reliance’s $50 billion loss highlights the impact of disappointing Q2 earnings

Reliance Industries Ltd. has seen its market value plummet to $50 billion from a peak in mid-July. The erosion in value comes from earnings deterioration and missed growth expectations amid a deepening economic slowdown. Underlying these ills is the underperformance of Reliance, as this company grapples with homegrown barriers and an economic slowdown. Reliance’s shares have languished this year behind the NSE Nifty 50 index, falling by the biggest margin in over a decade. The Indian market performed well and helped in the support of the stock of Reliance. However, it disguised the deeper maladies of the O2C business due to weak demand and continued earnings misses that kept coming. Q2 marked the sixth sequential earnings miss. This significantly drained the company’s market capitalization from its summer peak, implying a growth challenge. While India has shown largely good market performance, Reliance was not in a position to capitalize on this. The firm could not seek any upside in its core segments.