Beyond the runway: Emkay sees up to 25% upside in GMR Airports

Emkay Global has initiated coverage on GMR Airports with a Buy rating and a target price of Rs 120, implying 25% upside from the current price of Rs 96. The brokerage sees scope for further value creation as GMR expands into higher-margin businesses beyond its core regulated aviation revenues.

GMR Airports is India’s largest private airport operator by passenger traffic, with a 27.3% market share in FY26. Its portfolio comprises nine airport assets, including six in India.

Aeronautical revenue, which includes passenger charges, landing fees and parking fees, is regulated and subject to revenue-sharing obligations. Consequently, Emkay believes GMR’s non-aeronautical and adjacent businesses will be the key drivers of incremental profitability.


These businesses, including duty-free retail, food and beverages, cargo, advertising, parking and airport-linked commercial developments, accounted for 67% of GMR Airports’ revenue in FY26.

The company is shifting from a landlord and concession-based model towards directly owning and operating more of these businesses. It has consolidated duty-free operations at Delhi and Hyderabad airports and cargo operations at Delhi under its standalone airport platform.

GMR’s adjacency revenue jumped 127% in FY26 and contributed about 25% of total revenue. Emkay expects the segment to register a 14% compound annual growth rate between FY26 and FY29 as the company scales operations across its airport portfolio.

The brokerage expects GMR Airports’ consolidated revenue to grow at a CAGR of 13.7% to nearly Rs 21,800 crore by FY29. EBITDA and operating cash flow are projected to increase at CAGRs of 16.5% and 17.9%, respectively, to about Rs 9,100 crore and Rs 8,000 crore.

Its EBITDA margin is expected to improve from 38.9% in FY26 to 41.8% by FY29.

Stronger earnings and operating cash flows are expected to help GMR reduce its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio from 6.7 times in FY26 to 4.9 times by FY29, even as absolute debt remains elevated.

Emkay also sees GMR’s airport land portfolio as an important source of recurring income and asset value.

The company has received development rights over about 3,003 acres across its Indian airports. Of this, 552 acres have been monetised, leaving approximately 2,451 acres available for future development.

The monetised land generated lease income of around Rs 980 crore in FY26, largely from Delhi Airport. GMR is now moving beyond land leasing toward self-developing commercial properties.

GMR Airports Q1 Results

GMR Airports reported a 23% year-on-year increase in consolidated total income to Rs 4,085 crore in the June quarter of FY27, compared with Rs 3,321 crore a year earlier. EBITDA rose 22% to Rs 1,568 crore, while profit after tax stood at Rs 148 crore, marking the company’s fourth consecutive quarter of profitability.

Over the past year, however, the stock rose 12.37% on NSE, slightly outperforming the benchmark’s 11.08% return. It has traded between a 52-week low of Rs 84.11 and a high of Rs 115.64.

Disclaimer: This article has been written by Somanjali Das, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Somanjali Das and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The EconomicTimes Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here