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  1. 049A table shows segment revenue for two years: A Rs 400 crore to Rs 460 crore, B Rs 250 crore to Rs 240 crore, C Rs 350 crore to Rs 420 crore. Which segment's share of total revenue rose the most, and by how many percentage points?Percentages and averagesCoreBarclaysNew York · 2026

    Try it first

    Which segment gained the most share?

    Show the worked solution

    Segment C, up 2.5 percentage points, from 35.0% to 37.5%. Total revenue rises from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,120 crore, 12% growth. C grew 20%, and 420 of 1,120 is 37.5%. A grew 15% but its 460 of 1,120 is 41.1%, only 1.1 points above 40.0%. B shrank 4% and lost 3.6 points, falling to 21.4%.

    Why is growth not the same as gaining share?

    Think of a household where every earner got a raise this year. Whose share of the family income went up most? Not the one with the biggest raise in rupees, and not necessarily the one with a big raise at all, but the one whose raise beat the household's overall rise by the widest margin. A segment gains share only by growing faster than the total, so the first number to compute is total growth, here 12%. A grew 15%, three points faster than the total; C grew 20%, eight points faster; B shrank.

    Shares are computed on the new total; growth faster than 12% is what gains shareSegmentYear 1ShareYear 2ShareGrowthChangeSegment A40040.0%46041.1%+15%+1.1 ptsSegment B25025.0%24021.4%-4%-3.6 ptsSegment C35035.0%42037.5%+20%+2.5 ptsTotal1,0001,120+12%Rs crore. Shares of each year's own total.A grew 15%but gained only1.1 points:the total grew12%, so A beatit by only 3C grew 20%,8 points faster,and gained 2.5
    Total revenue grows 12% from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1,120 crore, so segment C, growing 20%, lifts its share from 35.0% to 37.5%, while A grows 15% but gains only 1.1 points and B loses 3.6 points.
    The relationship
    Δs=s0×g−G1+GC:0.35×0.20−0.121.12=2.5 pts\Delta s = s_0 \times \frac{g - G}{1 + G} \qquad C: 0.35 \times \frac{0.20 - 0.12}{1.12} = 2.5\text{ pts}
    s0the segment's share in year one
    gthe segment's own growth
    Ggrowth of the total, 12%
    What it says in wordsThe change in share is the old share times how far the segment outgrew the total, scaled down by the total's growth.

    How do you answer this fast in a timed test?

    Sum each column first: 1,000 and 1,120. Compare every segment's growth with 12%, and only A and C can have gained. Then use the formula on those two: C is 0.35 x 8/112, which is 2.5 points; A is 0.40 x 3/112, about 1.07. Shares always add to 100%, so the gains and losses must net to zero, which gives a free check: 2.50 + 1.07 - 3.57 = 0. Watch the units in the answer options: C's share rose 2.5 percentage points, which is a 7.1% rise in its share. Timed numerical tests often offer both, and only one matches the question's wording.

    Where candidates lose it

    The trap is picking A because it added Rs 60 crore on the largest base, or because 15% sounds strong. Share depends on growth relative to the total, and A beat the total by only three points.

    The second loss is mixing percentage points and per cent. A share moving from 35.0% to 37.5% is up 2.5 points or about 7.1%. Read which one the question asks for before you choose.

    What the interviewer asks next

    • What growth would segment B have needed to hold its 25% share?
    • If total revenue had grown 20%, which segments would have gained share?
    • Why might a segment that loses share still be the most valuable one?

    Asked at Barclays, Investment Banking, New York, 2026 (Wall Street Oasis): The numerical section involved interpreting tables and charts quickly