Value of SA’s top companies doubles in less than a decade
It has never been harder for a company to make it onto the InDaily South Australian Business Index, as the value of the 100 companies combined hits a record high.
The total value of the InDaily South Australian Business Index is at a record high of $75.4 billion – around double that of 2017’s $37.5 billion valuation.
And it has never been harder for a company to be featured on the Index, with the 100th business this year valued at $47.7 million, up from $9.7 million in 2020.
Growth in the total value was largely driven by a handful of companies that have long been featured on the list.
This, of course, includes the perennial leader of the Index: Santos. Since 2017, the oil and gas giant’s valuation has increased by $15.6 billion, or 41 per cent.
Read more: SA’s top 100 companies: The full list for 2026
Codan – the new number two on the Index – has added more than $7 billion to its valuation since 2017. As of June 30, the defence technology company has a market capitalisation of $8.03 billion.
Between the two giants, Santos and Codan account for 61 per cent of the Index’s growth since 2017.
You might like
But the two got to this position differently. Santos grew via acquisitions, buying Quadrant Energy in 2018 and the 2021 merger with Oil Search in 2021. It’s largely a tale of a wheeling-and-dealing giant.
Codan, however, grew organically. More recent acquisitions propelled it to the number two spot this year.
And while currently miles off Santos’ valuation, nothing is impossible: Codan is now worth more than Santos was in 2017 (about $7.83 billion).
And the Index’s overall growth has been achieved despite some giants falling along the way. SA lost Adelaide Brighton after it was acquired by Irish building materials giant CRH in 2024, OZ Minerals was swallowed up by mining behemoth BHP in 2023 and Peregrine’s OTR was swept up into petrol station conglomerate Viva Energy in 2023.
High highs and low lows
It is not just Codan reaching a new pinnacle; six companies previously listed in the Index will be celebrating their highest placement yet this year.
Stay informed, daily
This includes Thomas Foods International at fourth, People First Bank at fifth, Leader Computers at 14th, McMahon Services at 20th, Havilah Resources at 41st and Korvest at 47th.
On the flip side, there are four notable falls. Oil and gas player Beach Energy has shrunk to its lowest ranking since 2017. At $1.96 billion, its valuation is about a third of its 2019 peak of $5.63 billion.
Investment firm Argo Investments finds itself out of the top two for the first time since 2022 – albeit clinging to third place in 2026.
Mayne Pharma has plummeted from seventh in 2017 and 2018 to 43rd this year, while Terramin has collapsed from 22nd in 2017 to 97th this year.
METHODOLOGY
The South Australian Business Index is based on an estimated ‘market capitalisation’, which values each constituent within the Index to enable ranking. For listed entities, given these companies have securities that trade on the ASX, this is readily identifiable using market observation.
All listed entities have been valued as at 30 June 2026.
For unlisted entities, HLB Mann Judd has used their professional judgement to estimate a market capitalisation using the market valuation approach.
This approach involves:
- Estimating profit: Assuming available, HLB Mann Judd has adopted the constituent’s profit figure. If only revenue data is made available, a profit margin has been estimated using publicly available statistics of the industry in which the entity operates.
- Determining an earnings multiple: An appropriate earnings multiple is determined based on the nature of the entity, the industry the entity operates, and listed comparable company and transaction multiples. The selected multiple is then discounted to account for the illiquidity of unlisted entity securities.
- Calculating market capitalisation: The estimated profit is multiplied by the determined earnings multiple.
- Where applicable, valuations are modified to incorporate the value of property/infrastructure that would otherwise not be captured using the above valuation methodology.
Further, assuming data has been provided to InDaily for unlisted entities, HLB Mann Judd has endeavoured to use publicly available data to determine a reasonable market capitalisation estimate.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
