Order Book of a Company: Meaning and How to Read It
A company's order book is the work it has already won but not yet delivered. It tells you how much future sales are already in hand.
One company's order book
Company: Kaynes Technology. Order book from the company's investor presentations. Sales from its annual results.
The formula
This is the order book to sales ratio
Kaynes Technology: order book of ₹8,366 cr on 31 Mar 2026 ÷ FY26 sales of ₹3,626 cr = 2.3 years.
Is the order book growing?
Look at the order book every quarter. If it keeps growing while sales also grow, the company is winning new work faster than it delivers.
Kaynes Technology, order book in ₹ crore. Source: the company's investor presentations for Q4 FY26 (page 19) and Q1 FY27 (page 18).
New orders won (order inflow)
Companies do not always tell you how many new orders they won. You can work it out from three numbers.
New orders ÷ sales = about 1.5. This is the book-to-bill ratio. Above 1 means more new work came in than went out. In the June 2026 quarter, it was about 1.6.
Approximate: total sales may include some sales that were never in the order book.
Three ways an order book fools you
Order book of a company: common questions
What is the order book of a company?
It is the total value of orders the company has received from customers but not yet delivered. It is work in hand, waiting to become sales.
What is order inflow?
The value of new orders won during a period. Order book at the end = order book at the start + order inflow − sales made from orders.
What is the book-to-bill ratio?
New orders won ÷ sales made in the same period. Above 1 means the company won more new work than it delivered, so its order book grew.
What is the order book to sales ratio?
Order book ÷ yearly sales. It tells you roughly how many years of sales are already in hand. 2 means about two years of work.
Where can I find a company's order book?
In its investor presentation and earnings call, usually every quarter. It is not part of the audited results, and many companies do not publish it at all.