Adani stocks slide up to 14% on US SEC summons move

What triggered the latest fall in Adani group shares

Shares of several Adani Group companies came under pressure across multiple sessions as fresh developments emerged from a US regulatory case involving senior group executives. In Friday’s trade, Adani Green Energy Ltd, Adani Power Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) and Adani Energy Solutions Ltd fell as much as 5% in early deals before some stocks pared losses as the session progressed. The moves came even as Adani Energy said Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani consented to the entry of a final judgment in a US civil case, without admitting or denying the allegations in the civil complaint. The same disclosure also mentioned civil penalties of $1 million and $12 million, respectively, to be paid by Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani.

Friday trade: early drop, then partial recovery

Adani Green Energy declined 2.28% to Rs 1,382 before recovering to Rs 1,409.10, down 0.4% at the time cited. The stock’s intraday recovery stood out because it had rallied sharply in the preceding sessions, rising 3.53% on Thursday and 4.49% on Wednesday. Over the past one month, Adani Green Energy was up 26% at the time referenced. Adani Power declined 4.72% to Rs 213.95, while its one-month gain stood at 18.46%. AEL was trading 1.05% lower at Rs 2,684.50 after rising 25.19% over the past month. Adani Energy Solutions fell 1.37% to Rs 1,301 in the same session.

Company clarification: Adani Green says it is not a party

Adani Green Energy said it is not a party to the US proceeding and that no charges have been brought against it. The company added that the final judgment of the US Eastern District NY Court is awaited. It also pointed out that the stock was trading around the same level as in November 2024. The company’s comments referred to civil complaint number 24-CV-08080 filed before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York by the US SEC against Gautam S. Adani and Sagar R. Adani.

Background: the November 2024 indictment and complaint

In a November 2024 filing to stock exchanges, Adani Green Energy said the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US SEC had issued a criminal indictment and filed a civil complaint, respectively, in the same New York court against its directors, Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. That filing also stated the US DOJ had named another director, Vneet Jaain, in the criminal indictment. These references have remained a key overhang for investor sentiment because they link a listed entity’s leadership to overseas legal proceedings, even when the company itself says it is not a party to the specific proceeding.

January 23 sell-off: SEC seeks court approval to email summons

The sharper leg of volatility came on January 23, when Adani Group shares fell as much as 14% amid reports that the US SEC had asked a US court for permission to personally email summons to Gautam Adani and Sagar Adani. Reuters reported on January 22 that the SEC had been trying to send summons since last year. In its response to the New York court, the SEC said it “does not expect service to be completed” through the current route and sought approval for email service. On January 23, Adani Enterprises shares closed nearly 11% lower at Rs 1,861, described as its lowest level since May 19, 2023, while Adani Green Energy fell over 14% to Rs 775. Adani Ports closed 7% lower at Rs 1,310, and Adani Energy Solutions fell 10% to Rs 832, described as its biggest single-day percentage fall since November 21, 2024.

Financial and market context: weak benchmarks and earnings updates

The sell-off also coincided with broader market weakness in some sessions. In one such risk-off move, the BSE Sensex dropped 1,456.04 points and the NSE Nifty fell 436.30 points, marking the fourth straight day of losses for the benchmarks, with analysts citing rising crude oil prices, a weak rupee and continued foreign investor selling. In another session referenced, the Sensex fell 769.67 points to close at 81,537.70 and the Nifty dropped 241.25 points to 25,048.65. Adani Green Energy also faced scrutiny after it reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 5 crore for the December quarter of 2025, a 99% year-on-year fall from Rs 474 crore a year earlier. Adani Energy Solutions reported an over 8% decline in quarterly net profit to Rs 574.06 crore, largely due to higher tax expenses, and the stock fell 10.57% to Rs 827.20 and hit a lower circuit in that sell-off.

Key price moves mentioned across sessions

Other moving parts: stake sale talk and portfolio reshaping

Investor focus on the group has also been influenced by capital and ownership related headlines. Adani Green Energy fell over 1% to Rs 1,018.6 on November 24 after a report said TotalEnergies plans to sell up to a 6% stake in the company. The report said TotalEnergies looked to book gains after its $1.5 billion investment in 2021 rose in value to about $1 billion. TotalEnergies was reported to hold almost 19% in Adani Green through two subsidiaries, 15.58% and 3.41%. At Adani Green’s market capitalisation of Rs 1.69 lakh crore, a 6% stake sale was estimated in the report to fetch around Rs 10,200 crore (about $1.14 billion). Separately, Adani Enterprises announced an exit from the FMCG joint venture Adani Wilmar by selling its entire stake to the Singaporean partner and in the open market for an estimated over USD 2 billion.

Market impact and why the legal overhang matters

The data points across sessions show that legal-process headlines can drive larger one-day moves in Adani stocks than typical market volatility, especially when combined with weak benchmarks. On January 23, reports said the combined market capitalisation of all 10 listed Adani entities fell by Rs 1.4 lakh crore to Rs 12.45 lakh crore during the day. Reuters also reported an estimated $12.5 billion in market capitalisation being wiped out in the sell-off it described. Market participants highlighted that the timing of the SEC filing unsettled investors because it introduced uncertainty around process and timelines. In the same set of reports, the Adani group denied allegations, and a group spokesperson said the allegations by the US DOJ and the US SEC against directors of Adani Green are baseless and denied, while stating the conglomerate is compliant with applicable laws.

Conclusion

Adani Group stocks have swung sharply as US legal-process updates, quarterly profit prints, and broader market risk-off cues converged. Friday’s intraday declines moderated in some counters after a strong one-month rally, while January 23 saw a steeper fall after reports on the SEC seeking court approval to serve summons by email. The next key datapoint highlighted by the company is the awaited final judgment from the US Eastern District NY Court in the referenced civil matter, alongside any further court directions on summons service in the SEC case.