Central Depository Services (India) Limited

Financial Services — Capital Markets · NSE

₹1,286.90−₹6.10 (−0.47%)

DalalBaazaar Score

72 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Valuation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:08 pm

Mixed / neutral. No major red flags jump out, but nothing here screams "obviously cheap" either. This is a name that needs a peer comparison and a view on near-term earnings triggers before sizing a position.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Central Depository Services (India) Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Central Depository Services (India) Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides depository services in India. It operates through Depository; Data Entry and Storage; and Repository segments.

IndustryCapital Markets

SectorFinancial Services

Employees494

Annual revenue₹1,145 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,145 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹40 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹55 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 494 employees supports ₹2.32 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin55.4%

Net margin39.8%

Revenue / employee₹2.32 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BAJAJ FINANCE LIMITED, HDFC LIFE INS CO LTD, SBI LIFE INSURANCE CO LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

BAJAJ FINANCE LIMITEDP/E 30.2x · ROE 17.8%

HDFC LIFE INS CO LTDP/E 58.4x · ROE 11.3%

SBI LIFE INSURANCE CO LTDP/E 63.9x · ROE 13.7%

What is its competitive advantage?Not assessable from these ratios

For a lender, returns on capital are shaped by leverage and funding cost rather than by pricing power, so the usual financial signature of an advantage does not apply. Judge this one on deposit franchise, cost of funds and asset quality — none of which are in this data.

ROCE29.7%

ROE23.3%

Peer median ROE13.7%

What is the outlook?

15 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 16.1% and earnings to grow about 20.0% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+16.1%

Est. earnings growth+20.0%

Analysts15

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +106% while net margin moved -20% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect+106%

Margin effect-20%

DalalBaazaar Score

72/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 57.1x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
• P/E is close to its own historical median of 64.3x
✗ P/B of 13.72x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

80/ 100

Excellent

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

40/ 100

Expensive

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

A good business, but the price already reflects that. The quality is real; the question is whether you are overpaying for it today.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

57.1x

3Y Median

64.3x

40 monthly readings · mean 65.2x · range 43.1x–94.7x

Sector Median

58.4x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 11% below its 3y median of 64.3x. Cheaper than its own history, which is worth a reason too: the market may be pricing in something the backward-looking numbers do not show.

🟡Against its sector it is priced broadly in line with the peer median of 58.4x.

vs. its own history

Fair

64.3x median over 40 months · -11%

vs. sector peers

Fair

58.4x median of 3 peers · -2%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

57.1x

P/B

13.72x

EV/EBITDA

42.4x

PEG

3.13

Dividend Yield

0.99%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Margins are compressing
EBITDA margin has slipped from 63.7% to 55.4% over 3 years.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴Significant margin compressionFinancial
EBITDA margin has fallen 8.4 points, from 63.7% to 55.4%.
🟡Low reported insider holdingOwnership
Reported insider holding is 0.0%. For Indian companies this field is an unreliable proxy — check the official promoter shareholding in the exchange filing.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Earnings have proved durable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years. Consistency lowers the risk that any single bad year is structural rather than cyclical.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Margins are being competed away
EBITDA margin has fallen from 63.7% to 55.4%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1Revenue growth stays above 20% a year✓ 27.3% CAGR
Latest reported year was 15.4%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 53%✓ 55.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Return on equity stays above 21%✓ 23.3%
For a lender this is the cleanest single read on whether the book is being grown profitably.
4Valuation vs its own median of 64.3x✓ 57.1x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

10 / 12 checks passed

✓ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✓ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✓ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✗ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Analyst consensus isn't majority-sell
✗ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

7 good · 2 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹26,896 Cr

Mid Cap

Mid-sized — more growth headroom, but sharper swings than large caps

P/E (Trailing)

57.1x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

13.72x

Rich

Steep premium to book — needs high, durable returns to justify

EPS (TTM)

₹22.55

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

23.3%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

29.7%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.11x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

15.4%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

14.7%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.99%

Modest

Small cash return — most of the return has to come from the price

Free Cash Flow

₹346 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹1,286.9

P/E (Forward)

42.9x

Improving

Below the trailing multiple — the street expects earnings to grow into the price

Operating Margin

48.9%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

36.8%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

2.92

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.43

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

31%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

1293.7 / 1337.0

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

41.7

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹555 Cr	₹812 Cr	₹1,082 Cr	₹1,145 Cr	+27.3%
EBITDA	₹354 Cr	₹528 Cr	₹674 Cr	₹634 Cr	+21.5%
EBITDA Margin	63.7%	65.0%	62.3%	55.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹276 Cr	₹419 Cr	₹527 Cr	₹456 Cr	+18.2%
EPS	₹13.21	₹20.05	₹25.2	₹21.82	+18.2%
ROE	22.7%	28.6%	29.9%	23.3%	—
ROCE	28.7%	36.1%	37.7%	29.7%	—
Total Debt	₹2 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹3 Cr	₹2 Cr	-2.5%
Free Cash Flow	₹43 Cr	₹312 Cr	₹388 Cr	₹346 Cr	+100.0%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 27.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 21.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 63.7% to 55.4% over 3 years (-8.4 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 18.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 18.2% a year over 3 years.

🟡 ROE has held roughly flat at 23.3% over 3 years.

🟢 ROCE has risen from 28.7% to 29.7% over 3 years (+1.0 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 2.5% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 100.0% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹2,419 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹417 Cr

Total Debt

₹2 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹38 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹467 Cr

Capex

-₹121 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

15.9%

Insider Holding

0.0%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹12.75

Ex-Dividend Date

17 Jul 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

6 Buy · 4 Hold · 5 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹1,315.53

+2.2% vs CMP

Target Range

₹1,140 – ₹1,570

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BAJAJ FINANCE LIMITED	30.2x	17.8%
HDFC LIFE INS CO LTD	58.4x	11.3%
SBI LIFE INSURANCE CO LTD	63.9x	13.7%

Recent News

1 positive3 mixed2 general

CDSL’s Consol Income, Net Profit Grow 15% YoY

https://www.fintechbiznews.com/, 14 Oct

Should You Buy Central Depository Services (India) Limited (NSE:CDSL) For Its Upcoming Dividend?

Simply Wall Street, 13 JulCapital return

🟢Potentially positiveCash or shares returned to holders. A buyback is only good value if the shares were cheap when bought.

CDSL Share Price News: Today’s Decline and Sector Context

Univest, 28 SeptPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move rather than a change in the business. If the figures on this page have not moved, the fall is either an opportunity or news they have yet to catch up with.

National Securities Depository Ltd Share Price

Business Today, 16 Oct

CDSL Share Price Rallies Over 5% on ₹20 Crore Bullion Investment Announcement

India Infoline, 10 JulPrice move

🟡Mixed / dependsA price move, which is not by itself a change in the business. Worth finding the cause before reading it as either good or bad.

CDSL Forecast — Price Target — Prediction for 2027

TradingView, 25 JunAnalyst view

🟡Mixed / dependsBroker commentary — an opinion about the price rather than new information about the business.

Watch Items

This is a financial-sector business: borrowing is its raw material, not leverage in the usual sense. Debt/Equity and ROCE here aren't comparable to a manufacturer's — read them alongside NIM, GNPA and capital adequacy from the company's own disclosures.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
Reported insider holding is low — cross-check the official promoter shareholding % in the company's exchange filing.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong15.9/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong17/20

🟡GrowthModest12.9/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong14.1/15

🔴ValuationDemanding5.3/15

🟢RiskLow7.2/10

Good business, demanding price

The quality is real and the price already reflects it. Buying here is a bet that the business keeps compounding for long enough to grow into the multiple — which good businesses often do, but it removes the margin for error that a lower price would have given you. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 20% a year27.3% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 53%55.4%
✓Return on equity stays above 21%23.3%
✓Valuation vs its own median of 64.3x57.1x today