According to The Financial Express, some businesses achieve negative working capital cycles where they collect money from customers faster than they pay suppliers, creating a powerful cash generation advantage. This phenomenon allows growth to be funded through operating cash flows rather than requiring additional capital investment. The analysis focused on companies with working capital days below zero but above -300 days, maintaining negative cycles over three-year periods, and having market capitalizations above ₹5,000 crore with positive net profits and ROCE above 15%.
As reported by The Financial Express, WeWork India Management Ltd. operates flexible workspaces across India with 79 centres across eight cities and 1,33,600 desks as of Q1FY27. The company achieved working capital days of -189 in FY26, down from -207 in FY24, while revenue surged from ₹1,315 crore in FY23 to ₹2,440 crore in FY26. Operating cash flow increased from ₹942 crore to ₹1,734 crore over the same period, with free cash flow reaching ₹1,137 crore in FY26. The company's portfolio occupancy improved to 84.9% in Q1FY27 from 76.5% a year earlier, with management expecting to reach 10.3 million sq. ft. operational space by March 2027.
According to The Financial Express, Bharti Hexacom Ltd. maintains a negative working capital cycle with -171 days in FY26, down from -281 days in FY24. The company serves 29 million mobile customers with ₹259 ARPU and added 2,10,000 net customers during Q1FY27. Total revenue grew 10.9% YoY to ₹2,510 crore in Q1FY27, with profit increasing 23.2% to ₹482 crore. The company deployed 399 towers for 5G densification and added 75,000 homes customers during the quarter, with management focusing on fiber deployment and selective FWA expansion.
As reported by The Financial Express, TBO Tek Ltd. operates online travel platforms with working capital days of -134 in FY26, maintaining a negative cycle despite high debtor days of 724 days due to travel distribution business accounting. The company reported GTV growth of 37% YoY to ₹11,154 crore in Q1FY27, with revenue from operations rising 81% to ₹926 crore. Europe delivered 24% YoY growth despite disruptions, while the company is expanding its North America operations through the Classic Vacations acquisition. Management expects the Classic Vacations integration to complete by end-2026, providing cross-selling opportunities between platforms.
According to The Financial Express, the three companies show varying valuation metrics with WeWork India trading at 105.7x P/E ratio, significantly above the industry median of 18.5x. Bharti Hexacom trades at 40.9x P/E, near the industry median, while TBO Tek trades at 69.5x P/E compared to the industry median of 41.6x. The analysis emphasizes that negative working capital alone does not guarantee stock attractiveness, with investors needing to assess whether cash-cycle advantages can persist as businesses scale and whether valuations reflect strong growth expectations.
