Navigating economic perils

During the first quarter of this fiscal year (July-September 2024), corporate profit fell 14 per cent compared to the last year if you measure it in terms of profits earned by the 95 top-performing companies that make up 99pc of the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s 100-index market capitalisation. And that is a very appropriate measure. This finding of a Topline Securities research has already made headlines in major newspapers across the country. But, for the optimist, there is a heartening aspect: the cumulative profits of the top 95 companies earned during July-September 2024 are 16pc higher than the profits earned in April-June. What does this mean?