Champions League

In a free market, the only thing that matters is profit. That’s what keeps businesses alive, that’s what makes the difference between good and bad managements and that is what makes investors better or worse off. To understand what drove the companies that outran the others over the past five years, we present The Outperformers, our anniversary edition.

The past few years have, by no stretch of the imagination, been easy for companies. Macro disruption apart, the change in global investment sentiment over the past few months has been a dampener with uncertainty about what the coming year holds politically.

Still, irrespective of the economic or political environment, companies have to give their best. The Outperformers is a list of companies that have put up a glorious performance over the past five years, but is not an indicator of how well they could fare in the future. But then the fact that they have been able to beat the benchmark is reason enough to take a close look at what drove this outperformance and see if there is a fundamental change which can keep them on that path.

Among the eclectic bunch of companies we have chosen to profile, HDFC Bank stands out for the agility it displays despite being the biggest bank in the country. The bank has always been known for its strong retail book and predictable growth but what makes it even more interesting at this juncture is the initiatives it is taking in terms of technology, which will only make it more efficient going ahead. Another interesting story is SpiceJet, where Ajay Singh pulled the airline back from the brink, and is now daring to fly even higher. Hope you enjoy reading all the stories in this edition.  

This special issue also has another notable change. On our 12^th Anniversary, we have a new logo. We still derive our first name from our mother brand and that heritage and association is something that we are very proud of. 

Over the past three years, we have taken huge strides in creating several new properties under the Outlook Business brand. Be it, women entrepreneurs, small and medium enterprises or leadership, the intent is to cater to the specific content needs of these communities. Meanwhile, our focus on delivering thorough and unbiased analysis of relevant business stories remains unchanged.