Container Corporation of India Limited

Industrials — Railroads · NSE

₹447.95+₹1.45 (+0.32%)

DalalBaazaar Score

58 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Moderate

Driven by high debt relative to equity.

In simple words: Reasonable but unspectacular business quality, with modest growth. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:58 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Container Corporation of India Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Container Corporation of India Limited engages in handling, transportation, and warehousing activities in India.

IndustryRailroads

SectorIndustrials

Employees1,238

Annual revenue₹8,394 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹8,394 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹15 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹28 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,238 employees supports ₹6.78 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹6.78 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD., SIEMENS LTD, ABB INDIA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

Compared side by side in Peers ↓

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 12.4% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

Peer median ROE15.2%

What is the outlook?

14 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 14.2% and earnings to grow about 17.4% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+14.2%

Est. earnings growth+17.4%

Analysts14

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 +13% while net margin moved -6% 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+13%

Margin effect-6%

DalalBaazaar Score

58/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 4.1% — barely ahead of inflation
✗ Profit CAGR of only 1.9%

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

57/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

67/ 100

Fair

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

A reasonable business at a reasonable price — neither the quality nor the valuation stands out in either direction.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

27.3x

3Y Median

37.1x

40 monthly readings · mean 41.8x · range 25.1x–69.8x

Sector Median

88.8x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 26% below its 3y median of 37.1x. 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 trades 69% below the peer median of 88.8x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

37.1x median over 40 months · -26%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

88.8x median of 3 peers · -69%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

EV/EBITDA

14.7x

PEG

14.47

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 29.6% to 27.9% over 3 years.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 7.39x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 125% against revenue up 13% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🟡Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 40% against revenue up 13% — stock may not be moving.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 26% below its own median multiple. If the business performs as it has and simply re-rates back to normal, that gap is return on its own.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 69% below the sector median. Either the market sees a problem the numbers do not show, or the discount closes.
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 29.6% to 27.9%. If the trend continues, profit falls even on flat sales — and margin decline rarely reverses quickly.
Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 7.39x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 125% against revenue up 13%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 4.1% a year is close to the rate prices rise, so the business is gaining little ground in real terms. That leaves the share price dependent on a re-rating rather than on earnings growth.
Several serious flags at once
2 high-severity checks triggered. Individually each has an explanation; together they raise the chance that something structural is wrong rather than a one-off.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 26%✓ 27.9%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✓ 4.1% CAGR
Latest reported year was 0.3%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹333 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.4x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 9%✓ 12.4%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

8 / 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

2 good · 8 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹34,117 Cr

Mid Cap

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

P/E (Trailing)

27.3x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

2.64x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹16.38

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

9.6%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

12.4%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

7.39x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

0.3%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

0.6%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

1.92%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹333 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

21.0x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

13.6%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

13.7%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

3.92

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.25

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

20%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

453.5 / 487.1

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

39.9

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹7,449 Cr	₹7,965 Cr	₹8,212 Cr	₹8,394 Cr	+4.1%
EBITDA	₹2,202 Cr	₹2,359 Cr	₹2,398 Cr	₹2,343 Cr	+2.1%
EBITDA Margin	29.6%	29.6%	29.2%	27.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1,174 Cr	₹1,247 Cr	₹1,290 Cr	₹1,242 Cr	+1.9%
EPS	₹15.41	₹16.37	₹16.94	₹16.31	+1.9%
ROE	10.5%	10.5%	10.4%	9.6%	—
ROCE	13.5%	13.6%	13.5%	12.4%	—
Total Debt	₹774 Cr	₹914 Cr	₹837 Cr	₹940 Cr	+6.7%
Free Cash Flow	₹751 Cr	₹589 Cr	₹811 Cr	₹333 Cr	-23.7%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 4.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 2.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EBITDA Margin has fallen from 29.6% to 27.9% over 3 years (-1.6 pts).

🟡 PAT (Net Profit) has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.9% a year).

🟡 EPS has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.9% a year).

🟡 ROE has held roughly flat at 9.6% over 3 years.

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 13.5% to 12.4% over 3 years (-1.1 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 6.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has shrunk at 23.7% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹15,176 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹2,123 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹654 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,482 Cr

Capex

-₹1,149 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

42.2%

Insider Holding

57.4%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

23 Oct 2026

Dividend Rate

₹8.6

Ex-Dividend Date

21 Sept 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

9 Buy · 2 Hold · 3 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹557

+24.3% vs CMP

Target Range

₹435 – ₹667

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
LARSEN & TOUBRO LTD.	30.1x	15.2%
SIEMENS LTD	88.8x	10.5%
ABB INDIA LIMITED	92.6x	19.1%

Recent News

1 mixed5 general

CONCOR Outlook for the Week

Equitypandit, 16 Oct

Container Corporation Of India Ltd Share/Stock Price Live Today | The HinduBusinessLine

BusinessLine, 14 Oct

Is Container Corporation of India the Best Stock in Its Sector? A Look at the Numbers

Univest, 16 Oct

Container Corporation of India (NSEI:CONCOR) Stock Price

Simply Wall Street, 12 Oct

Container Corporation Of India Ltd is Rated Sell

MarketsMojo, 14 Oct

CONCOR Shares Edge Lower 1.32% to ₹441.6 as Logistics Major Hovers Below Resistance - Smart Beta Flow

siam.in, 01 OctPrice 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.

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health

MiddlingProfitability · Valuation · Risk

WeakGrowth

Points for each in the Score ↑

Unremarkable in both directions

A reasonable business at a reasonable price. Nothing here is alarming and nothing is compelling, which usually means the decision rests on things this data cannot see — the industry's direction, management's intent, and what else is available to you. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑