Shares of Adani Enterprises (AEL) have gained 41% so far in 2026 to ₹3,169 apiece. Yet, further gains may be harder to justify at current valuations.
Last week, Motilal Oswal Financial Services initiated coverage on AEL with a sum-of-the-parts (SoTP)-based target price of ₹3,880, implying 22% upside from the current price. A couple of months ago, Morgan Stanley also initiated coverage with a target price of ₹3,638. Bloomberg consensus is about 20% above the current stock price.
The catch is that both brokerages are already assigning rich valuations to AEL’s key businesses.
Motilal, for instance, values Adani Airport Holdings (AAHL), which accounts for 48% of its SoTP, at 35x enterprise value to Ebitda (EV/Ebitda) based on September 2028 estimates. That is more than double the 15x multiple assigned to GMR Airports based on FY29 estimates. Similarly, Motilal values Adani New Industries (ANIL), AEL’s new-energy business and 19% of its SoTP, at 20x EV/Ebitda, a substantial premium to 8x for Waaree Energies, a solar equipment maker, and 12x for Suzlon Energy, a wind equipment maker. AdaniConnex, the data-centre business that contributes 13% of SoTP, is valued at 30x EV/Ebitda based on September 2028 estimates, versus 14-18x for large global peers.
That leaves little room for further valuation multiple expansion. Moreover, all of AEL’s businesses are currently unlisted, meaning there is no holding company discount factored into the valuation. But AEL plans to list its key businesses between 2027 and 2031, starting with AAHL. Brokerages could therefore introduce a holding-company discount once these businesses begin to be spun out, as has happened with Reliance Industries (RIL), whose telecom business is expected to be listed soon.
Motilal has started factoring in a 25% holding-company discount for Jio Platforms (telecom vertical) in RIL's SoTP valuation following the June-quarter results.
Earnings, not multiples
For AEL’s valuation to expand, earnings growth will need to do more of the work.
For AAHL, one potential growth lever is non-aero revenue, which includes shopping, food and beverage sales and advertising, among others. Non-aero revenue per passenger is far below global peers, offering large scope for monetization. Meanwhile, aero revenue comprising landing, parking and user fees is determined for by keeping 14-15% internal rate of return (IRR) on regulatory-asset-base for a five-year period, ensuring stable cashflows.
ANIL is India’s leading integrated renewable-energy equipment maker. In solar, it spans the value chain from polysilicon to solar panels and is targeting 10GW of capacity by FY27, up from 4GW currently. Its wind-turbine capacity is expected to reach 4GW by FY27 from 2.25GW now. It has also commissioned India’s first off-grid 5MW green-hydrogen pilot plant. If green hydrogen commercialization gains momentum, it could materially boost ANIL’s earnings and give it a first-mover advantage.
AEL owns 50% of AdaniConnex, a joint venture with EdgeConneX, with a current operating capacity of 65MW across four data centres. The plan is to ramp up capacity to 3,000MW by 2030, potentially requiring about ₹2 trillion of capex.
AEL is clearly a strong play on India’s infrastructure-growth story. But the breadth of its portfolio also brings execution risks, particularly in newer businesses such as copper smelting. It already has six business verticals. For investors seeking a focused play on a particular segment, especially airports, waiting for the separate listings of these businesses may therefore make more sense.