SBI Q2 FY27: Consol PAT +20% YoY to ₹25,741 Cr, but Adjusted Growth Just ~6-7%

State Bank of India's consolidated net profit for Q2 FY27 (quarter ended September 30, 2026) rose 19.7% YoY to ₹25,741 Cr (₹25,361 Cr after minority interest; EPS ₹27.47 vs ₹22.81 a year ago) from ₹21,504 Cr, and was up 4.7% QoQ from ₹24,579 Cr. Consolidated revenue (interest earned) grew a steadier 10.2% YoY and 3.5% QoQ to ₹1,41,073 Cr. Standalone PAT was ₹23,038 Cr, up 14.3% YoY — the two bases move in the same direction but the quantum differs because the divestment gain sits at different scale relative to each base; consolidated is the primary figure for the group story. The headline jump is largely a one-off effect, not organic improvement. Q2 FY27 carries a ₹6,879 Cr (consolidated; ₹7,288 Cr standalone) pre-tax exceptional gain from the Bank divesting its 6.30% stake in SBI Funds Management via a pre-IPO sale and OFS. But the year-ago quarter also carried an exceptional gain — ₹3,027 Cr consolidated (₹4,593 Cr standalone) from selling SBI's 13.18% stake in Yes Bank — so a raw YoY comparison overstates underlying growth. Stripping both one-offs out, tax-effected at each period's own effective rate (~23.3% now, ~25.0% a year ago), cuts consolidated PAT growth to roughly 6.4%, a much steadier pace than the 20% headline. On margins, net profit margin (PAT/total income) expanded to 13.71% from 12.23% YoY — flattered by the exceptional gain — while operating margin (operating profit/interest earned, before provisions and exceptional items) compressed to 22.39% from 25.08% YoY and from ~28.4% in Q1 FY27, as opex — especially the insurance-business cost line (+8.2% YoY, +26.7% QoQ) and other operating expenses (+15.5% YoY, +40.4% QoQ) — grew faster than interest income. Against our pre-result preview, which pegged expected net profit at ₹21,500-22,500 Cr and flagged credit growth of 13-15% and a gross NPA ratio of 1.7-1.8% as watch items, SBI beat on every metric this statement can verify: consolidated PAT cleared the range comfortably, advances grew ~18% YoY (consolidated ₹52.6 lakh Cr vs ₹44.6 lakh Cr), well ahead of both the preview's band and management's own FY27 guidance of 13-15% credit growth (14-15% for corporate), and the gross NPA ratio improved to 1.39% (from 1.47% in Q1 FY27 and 1.73% a year ago) — inside the 1.7-1.8% watch band on the better side, with net NPA at 0.36% and PCR at 74.43% (91.83% including AUCA). Domestic NIM, the other guidance checkpoint management flagged last quarter ("above 3%"), is not disclosed in this statement and cannot be verified here. Deposits grew a slower ~12.3% YoY to ₹63.5 lakh Cr against ~18% credit growth — the deposit-repricing pressure the preview flagged going in. Separately, the Bank booked post-tax gains of ₹2,410 Cr (NSE stake sale via IPO) and ₹81 Cr (ARCIL IPO) that bypassed the P&L entirely under revised RBI investment-portfolio rules. None of the quarter's other flagged developments — the October 21 dark-web customer data exposure, the trading-window closure, or the Deputy MD's retirement — carry a disclosed financial impact in this statement. Going into Q3 FY27, the key question is whether core profit growth — running at roughly 6-7% once one-off gains are stripped from both the current and year-ago base — holds up as the exceptional-item tailwind fades from the comparison, and whether the operating-margin compression seen this quarter reverses or persists.