Quest Laboratories (NSE:QUESTLAB) Owner Earnings per Share (TTM): -6.51 (As of Mar. 2026)


NSE:QUESTLAB Quest Laboratories Ltd NSE:QUESTLAB
44 GF Score
Price ₹97.95
! 8 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Quest Laboratories Owner Earnings per Share (TTM)?

Quest Laboratories NSE:QUESTLAB -0.10% 44 Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is -6.51 as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus rates NSE:QUESTLAB with a GF Score™ of 44/100. The stock has 8 warning signs investors should review. Among 472 Drug Manufacturers companies, Quest Laboratories ranks worse than 211864.19% on this metric.

In 1986 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter, Warren Buffett defined owner earnings as follows:

"These represent (a) reported earnings plus (b) depreciation, depletion, amortization, and certain other non-cash charges...less (c) the average annual amount of capitalized expenditures for plant and equipment, etc. that the business requires to fully maintain its long-term competitive position and its unit volume (If the business requires additional working capital to maintain its competitive position and unit volume, the increment also should be included in (c))...Our owner-earnings equation does not yield the deceptively precise figures provided by GAAP, since (c) must be a guess - and one sometimes very difficult to make. Despite this problem, we consider the owner earnings figure, not the GAAP figure, to be the relevant item for valuation purposes - both for investors in buying stocks and for managers in buying entire businesses...All of this points up the absurdity of the 'cash flow' numbers that are often set forth in Wall Street reports. These numbers routinely include (a) plus (b) - but do not subtract (c)."

Quest Laboratories's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹-6.51. It's Price-to-Owner-Earnings ratio for today is 0.


The historical rank and industry rank for Quest Laboratories's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) or its related term are showing as below:



NSE:QUESTLAB's Price-to-Owner-Earnings is not ranked *
in the Drug Manufacturers industry.
Industry Median: 22.985
* Ranked among companies with meaningful Price-to-Owner-Earnings only.

Quest Laboratories's Earnings per Share (Diluted) for the three months ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹1.74. Its Earnings per Share (Diluted) for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹4.19. It's PE Ratio (TTM) ratio for today is 23.38.

Quest Laboratories's EPS without NRI for the three months ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹1.74. Its EPS without NRI for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹4.19. It's PE Ratio without NRI ratio for today is 23.38.


Be Aware

Assumption: Companies usually do not report maintenance capital expenditures and growth capital expenditures separately. Here we use estimated numbers and average them over 5 years. The method to estimate maintenance capital expenditures can be found in above part 4.

Note: GuruFocus' Change In Working Capital is provided by Morningstar. It is calculated by adding the items under "Change in operating assets and liabilities" (may refer to a different name for different company) section in Cash Flow Statement from original financial report. And it includes non-current parts of assets and liabilities.


Quest Laboratories Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Related Terms


Quest Laboratories Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Quest Laboratories's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Quest Laboratories Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Chart

Quest Laboratories Annual Data
Trend Mar21 Mar22 Mar23 Mar24 Mar25 Mar26
Owner Earnings per Share (TTM)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial 0.00 0.00 0.00 -13.78 -6.51

Quest Laboratories Quarterly Data
Mar21 Mar22 Mar23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Sep24 Mar25 Sep25 Mar26
Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 0.00 0.00 -13.78 0.00 -6.51

NSE:QUESTLAB vs LLY, JNJ, ABBV: Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Comparison

For the Drug Manufacturers - General subindustry, Quest Laboratories's Price-to-Owner-Earnings, along with its competitors' market caps and Price-to-Owner-Earnings data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Quest Laboratories Price-to-Owner-Earnings vs Drug Manufacturers Industry

For the Drug Manufacturers industry and Healthcare sector, Quest Laboratories's Price-to-Owner-Earnings distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Quest Laboratories's Price-to-Owner-Earnings falls into.


NSE:QUESTLAB
44GF Score
Quest Laboratories Ltd NSE:QUESTLAB
Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Quest Laboratories Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Calculation

In 1986 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter, Warren Buffett defined owner earnings as follows:

"These represent (a) reported earnings plus (b) depreciation, depletion, amortization, and certain other non-cash charges...less (c) the average annual amount of capitalized expenditures for plant and equipment, etc. that the business requires to fully maintain its long-term competitive position and its unit volume. (If the business requires additional working capital to maintain its competitive position and unit volume, the increment also should be included in (c))...Our owner-earnings equation does not yield the deceptively precise figures provided by GAAP, since (c) must be a guess - and one sometimes very difficult to make. Despite this problem, we consider the owner earnings figure, not the GAAP figure, to be the relevant item for valuation purposes - both for investors in buying stocks and for managers in buying entire businesses...All of this points up the absurdity of the 'cash flow' numbers that are often set forth in Wall Street reports. These numbers routinely include (a) plus (b) - but do not subtract (c)."

To make it simple, then you will have:

Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) = (Net Income + Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization + Change In Deferred Tax - 5Y Average of Maintenance Capital Expenditure + Change In Working Capital) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)

Quest Laboratories's Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) Calculation:

Last Year Average of Last 5 Years
Net Income 150.2
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization 8.2
Change In Deferred Tax 0.0
5Y Average of Maintenance Capital Expenditure 21.4
Change In Working Capital -243.8
Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) 16.4

1. Start with "Net Income" from income statement. Quest Laboratories's Net Income for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹150.2 Mil.

2. "Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization" is from cashflow statement. Quest Laboratories's Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹8.2 Mil. This needs to be added back because company does not actually need to pay cash for it. It is a non-cash item.

3. Other non-cash charges usually include "Stock Based Compensation" and "Change In Deferred Tax":
However, to be conservative, GuruFocus will not add Stock Based Compensation back to net income. Quest Laboratories's Change In Deferred Tax for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹0.0 Mil.

4. Average maintenance capital expenditure over a business/industry cycle: 5-Year Average Maintenance Capital Expenditure = ₹21.4 Mil

It is usually best to take a long-term average of maintenance capital expenditure. Ideally this would be as long as 10 years and include at least one economic downturn. However, since many companies do not have as long as 10-year history, here GuruFocus uses the latest 5 years data to do the calculation. To smooth out unusual years but reflect recent developments, we take an average of the 5 year maintenance capital expenditure.

The following shows how to get maintenance capital expenditure.

First, calculate the revenue change regarding to the previous year. If the revenue decreased from the previous year, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
Second, if the revenue increased from the previous year, then calculate the percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue.
Growth Capital Expenditure = Percentage of Property, Plant and Equipment as of corresponding Revenue * Revenue Increase
Third, calculate Capital Expenditure (positive) - Growth Capital Expenditure.
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - Growth Capital Expenditure] was negative, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - Growth Capital Expenditure] was positive, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive) - Growth Capital Expenditure.
Fourth, get the average of the 5 years maintenance capital expenditure.

Quest Laboratories's 5-Year Average Maintenance Capital Expenditure = ₹21.4 Mil

5. "Change In Working Capital" is from cashflow statement. Quest Laboratories's Change In Working Capital for the trailing twelve months (TTM) ended in Mar. 2026 was ₹-243.8 Mil.
Note: GuruFocus' Change in Working Capital is provided by Morningstar. It is calculated by adding the items under "Change in operating assets and liabilities" (may refer to a different name for different company) section in Cash Flow Statement from original financial report. And sometimes it includes non-current parts of assets and liabilities.

6. Quest Laboratories's Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) for the months ended in Mar. 2026 was 16.395 Mil.

Quest Laboratories's Onwer Earnings Per Share for Mar. 2026 is calculated as:

Owner Earnings per Share (TTM)
=( Net Income+Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization+Change In Deferred Tax
=( 150.174 +8.245+0
-5Y Avg of Maintenance CAPEX+Change In Working Capital )/Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
-21.382+-243.826)/16.395
=-6.51

Price-to-Owner-Earnings=Current Price/Owner Earnings per Share (TTM)
=97.95/-6.51
=0

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

What does a Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) of -6.51 mean?
Quest Laboratories (NSE:QUESTLAB) has a Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) of -6.51 as of Mar. 2026. Warren Buffett defined owner earnings as reported earnings plus depreciation less average maintenance capital expenditure. View historical data on Quest Laboratories. According to the industry distribution chart, Quest Laboratories ranks #999999 out of 472 companies in the Drug Manufacturers industry.
Is Quest Laboratories' Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) too high?
Quest Laboratories' current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is -6.51. Based on the distribution chart, Quest Laboratories ranks #999999 out of 472 companies in the Drug Manufacturers industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Quest Laboratories has a GF Score™ of 44/100, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Quest Laboratories' Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) compare to LLY and JNJ?
According to the Drug Manufacturers industry distribution chart, Quest Laboratories ranks #999999 out of 472 companies for Owner Earnings per Share (TTM). This places Quest Laboratories in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 22.99. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) for a Drug Manufacturers company?
The median Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) among Drug Manufacturers companies is 22.99, based on 472 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) mean?
A high Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Warren Buffett defined owner earnings as reported earnings plus depreciation less average maintenance capital expenditure. View historical data on Quest Laboratories. For the Drug Manufacturers industry, the median Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is 22.99 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Quest Laboratories's current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is -6.51. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Quest Laboratories stock overvalued right now?
Quest Laboratories (NSE:QUESTLAB) has a current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) of -6.51. The current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is -6.51. Quest Laboratories' overall GF Score™ is 44/100 with 8 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) calculated?
Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Quest Laboratories (NSE:QUESTLAB), the current Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is -6.51 as of Mar. 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Quest Laboratories Business Description

Address Sector III, Plot No. 45, Pithampur Industrial Area, Opposite Kissan Pipe Unit 4, District Dhar, Pithampur, Dhar, MP, IND, 454775
Quest Laboratories Ltd is engaged in the business of manufacturing pharmaceutical formulations across a broad spectrum, including antibiotics, antimalarials, antispasmodics, anti-inflammatories, antiemetics, respiratory medications, diabetes treatments, antidepressants, and more. It produces various products, comprising ethical drugs, generic drugs, and over-the-counter drugs, and is also available in various forms such as tablets, liquid orals, oral dry powders, oral powders (ORS), ointments, and external liquids, among others. The company operates in a single segment of Drugs and Chemicals.
44GF Score

Get the complete analysis for NSE:QUESTLAB

Owner Earnings per Share (TTM) is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

₹97.95
Price