New Delhi, July 28 -- When UltraTech Cement Ltd and the Adani Group announced ambitious entries into India's electrical cable market this year, investors immediately hit the sell button on Polycab India. The knee-jerk reaction was understandable-fresh memories of Asian Paints' brutal margin compression at the hands of Birla Opus suggested a template for how deep-pocketed conglomerates could systematically dismantle established market leaders.

quarter earnings present a more nuanced picture. Rather than showing signs of defensive positioning ahead of competitive threats, the company's strong performance suggests the situation may be more complex than the paint industry analogy implies.

When conglomerates circle

The market disruption fea...