BHEL and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) both work in power-related engineering, but they are not equivalent businesses. BHEL is more concentrated in power and industrial engineering and manufacturing; L&T is a much broader engineering and infrastructure group. L&T reported substantially higher FY 2025–26 revenue and a larger order book, but the headline figures use different reporting bases, and neither revenue growth nor orders alone show which company is more profitable, financially resilient or attractive as an investment.
How BHEL and L&T differ as businesses
BHEL: power and industrial engineering
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is an engineering and manufacturing company centered on power and industrial sectors. In its April 17, 2026 release covering FY 2025–26, BHEL reported around ₹59,000 crore in power-sector orders and around ₹16,000 crore in industrial-segment orders. The industrial work spans areas including transportation, transmission, defence, process industries and industrial equipment. BHEL also reported commissioning or synchronizing around 8.9 GW of power capacity during the year.
That profile makes BHEL particularly exposed to the timing and economics of large infrastructure and industrial projects. Power-sector activity is important, but the company’s reported industrial orders show that its work is not limited to power generation.
L&T: a wider project and manufacturing group
L&T operates across a broader portfolio. Its FY 2025–26 financial review describes infrastructure as its largest order-book segment, alongside power transmission and distribution, renewables, hydrocarbons and CarbonLite Solutions. Infrastructure represented 57% of L&T’s consolidated order book at March 31, 2026, and 46% of the year’s overall order inflow.
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The companies overlap in power-related work, but their business mixes are different: BHEL is more concentrated in power and industrial engineering, while L&T spans a wider range of engineering and infrastructure activities. That distinction matters when interpreting company-wide growth, order books and risks.
FY 2025–26 financial and order-book comparison
The figures below are company-reported for FY 2025–26, the year ended March 31, 2026. BHEL’s turnover figure comes from a release that explicitly calls it provisional and unaudited; L&T’s revenue figure is consolidated. The cited BHEL release does not establish a like-for-like consolidated basis for its turnover figure, so the revenue amounts should not be treated as a strict accounting comparison.
| Measure | BHEL | L&T | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2025–26 turnover or revenue | Approximately ₹32,350 crore, up approximately 18% year over year; provisional and unaudited in BHEL’s April 17, 2026 release. | ₹2,85,874 crore consolidated revenue, up 11.8% year over year, in L&T’s FY 2025–26 financial review. | The figures use different stated reporting bases; growth rates do not establish comparative profit margins. |
| FY 2025–26 order inflows | Approximately ₹75,000 crore, as reported in BHEL’s April 17, 2026 release. | The cited FY 2025–26 financial review does not state a total group order-inflow figure here; it reports infrastructure’s share of the year’s overall inflow. | Order inflow measures new work secured during a period, not work completed or cash collected. |
| Outstanding orders at year-end | Approximately ₹2.4 lakh crore, as reported in BHEL’s April 17, 2026 release. | ₹7,40,327 crore at March 31, 2026, up 27.8% year over year, in L&T’s FY 2025–26 financial review. | These are large pools of contracted work, but they do not reveal the timing, margin or cash-conversion quality of that work. |
| Reported geographic mix | A comparable international revenue or order-book share is not stated in BHEL’s April 17, 2026 release. | International work was 52% of the order book at March 31, 2026; international revenue was 54% of group revenue in FY 2025–26, according to L&T’s financial review. | L&T provides quantified international exposure in this report; the absence of a comparable BHEL percentage is not evidence that its exposure is zero or lower. |
| Reported business mix | Around ₹59,000 crore in power-sector orders and around ₹16,000 crore in industrial-segment orders during FY 2025–26, per BHEL’s April 17, 2026 release. | Infrastructure was 57% of the consolidated order book at year-end and 46% of FY 2025–26 overall order inflow, per L&T’s financial review. | BHEL’s values are order amounts by sector; L&T’s are segment shares of its order book and inflow. They are not the same measure. |
What the numbers do—and do not—show
Revenue is not profit
Revenue indicates the value of activity recognized during a period; it does not show what remains after project costs, employee expenses, interest, taxes or other charges. The headline disclosures above do not provide a matched comparison of operating profit, net profit, cash flow, leverage or working capital. BHEL’s cited release labels its turnover provisional and unaudited, while L&T’s cited amount is consolidated revenue. A sound profitability comparison needs audited statements on consistent consolidated or standalone bases, for the same period.
An order book is visibility, not a guarantee
An order book can help indicate future work, but it is not future revenue on a guaranteed schedule. Projects may take years to execute, and the amount ultimately recognized depends on progress, contractual terms and project economics. A large order book does not by itself establish that a company will earn attractive margins, collect cash promptly or avoid cost overruns.
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BHEL’s reported approximately ₹75,000 crore of FY 2025–26 order inflows and approximately ₹2.4 lakh crore outstanding orders use distinct measures: one describes new orders received during the year; the other describes outstanding work at year-end. L&T’s ₹7,40,327 crore figure is its order book at March 31, 2026. These figures indicate scale and potential work ahead, not directly comparable earnings or shareholder returns.
Use later audited disclosures for a final scorecard
BHEL’s official results index lists audited FY 2025–26 results published May 4, 2026, and its annual-reports index lists the FY 2025–26 annual report published July 10, 2026. Those are the appropriate places to verify final revenue and examine profit, cash flow, debt and working-capital details. Compare them with L&T’s corresponding audited financial statements using the same consolidation basis and fiscal period; do not mix BHEL standalone figures with L&T consolidated figures.
Which risks should investors compare?
The available headline disclosures do not support a definitive ranking of BHEL and L&T by risk-adjusted returns. They do point to the questions a careful comparison should answer:
- Execution and timing: How fast does new work convert into completed projects and recognized revenue? Delays in delivery, construction or commissioning can shift the timing of results. BHEL reported capacity commissioning or synchronization; L&T’s review identifies execution progress as a revenue driver.
- Order quality and margins: What margins are built into contracts? Check how contracts handle changes in input costs, price escalation, delays, scope changes and cancellation. Headline order values do not supply those details.
- Working capital and collections: Review receivables, contract assets, inventory and cash flow from operations. A project business can report revenue while cash remains tied up in work in progress or unpaid bills; the cited headline figures do not establish how effectively either company converts accounting activity into cash.
- Customer and sector exposure: Identify which customers fund the work and how much business depends on particular sectors or public spending. L&T’s FY 2025–26 review provides international mix figures, but a comparable BHEL breakdown is not stated in the cited release. Consult both companies’ full reports before drawing a relative-concentration conclusion.
- Geographic exposure: L&T’s reported international shares make foreign markets a material part of its mix. Assess the implications of project execution, payment, regulatory and currency conditions in relevant markets rather than treating international work as inherently safer or riskier.
- Valuation: Business size and order growth do not show whether a share is attractively priced. A valuation comparison needs dated share prices, share counts, debt and cash-flow measures, and consistent valuation multiples; the figures presented here do not establish those inputs.
How to make a fair comparison
- Align the accounting basis. Compare consolidated with consolidated or standalone with standalone, and use audited full-year figures for the same fiscal period.
- Look beyond revenue. Check operating and net profit, cash flow, debt, working capital and the explanations in each company’s financial statement notes.
- Test order conversion. Compare orders received, cancellations where disclosed, execution progress and revenue recognized. Read contract and segment disclosures for margin and cost risks instead of assuming that all orders are equally profitable.
- Account for different portfolios. L&T’s wider group mix and international exposure are not directly comparable with BHEL’s reported power and industrial order amounts. Use segment-level information where available.
- Separate company quality from share valuation. Even a business with strong revenue or orders can be a poor investment at an unsuitable price; decide valuation only with current market data and an explicit date.
What can be concluded from the FY 2025–26 disclosures?
L&T reported the larger revenue base and order book, while BHEL reported substantial power and industrial orders and year-over-year turnover growth. Those facts describe scale, business mix and activity—not comparative profitability, financial resilience or investment merit. To judge which company has stronger financials or lower risk, a reader needs audited, basis-matched results and a closer look at execution, margins, cash conversion, customer exposure and valuation.
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