Honasa Consumer Limited

Consumer Defensive — Household & Personal Products · NSE

₹452.95+₹5.05 (+1.13%)

DalalBaazaar Score

67 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings, 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. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:00 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Honasa Consumer Limited operates as a digital beauty and personal care company in India and internationally. The company provides baby care, skin and hair care, color cosmetics, other related personal care products, as well as beauty salon and hair styling services.

IndustryHousehold & Personal Products

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees936

Annual revenue₹2,392 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹2,392 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹8 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹13 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 936 employees supports ₹2.56 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹2.56 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD., DABUR INDIA LTD, ITC LTD, BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD. 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?Some evidence

ROCE of 17.7% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

Peer median ROE27.4%

What is the outlook?

14 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 15.7% and earnings to grow about 19.8% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+15.7%

Est. earnings growth+19.8%

Analysts14

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +60% while net margin moved -187% 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+60%

Margin effect-187%

DalalBaazaar Score

67/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✓ Beta of 0.65 — historically steadier than the index
✗ Small Cap: thinner liquidity and sharper drawdowns are normal
✗ High leverage magnifies any downturn in earnings
✗ Profits have swung sharply from year to year — earnings are hard to forecast

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

75/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

42/ 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

59.4x

2Y Median

123.9x

28 monthly readings · mean 111.3x · range 60.7x–205.3x

Sector Median

38.6x

median of 4 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 52% below its 2y median of 123.9x. 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 54% above the peer median of 38.6x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

123.9x median over 28 months · -52%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

38.6x median of 4 peers · +54%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

49.0x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from -6.8% to 12.6% over 3 years.
Cash flow has turned positive
Free cash flow moved from negative to positive over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from -23.6% to 14.2%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from -19.6% to 17.7%.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

Nothing stands out as clearly deteriorating on the years of data available.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 1 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 9.59x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🟡Debt is increasingFinancial
Total debt is up 47% over 3 years.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from -6.8% to 12.6%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 52% 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.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

Leverage amplifies any setback
Debt/Equity of 9.59x. Interest is payable whether or not the business has a good year.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 54% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.
Size brings its own risk
Small Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.

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

1Revenue growth stays above 13% a year✓ 17.0% CAGR
Latest reported year was 27.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 11%✓ 12.6%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹134 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 15%✓ 17.7%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

5 good · 3 neutral · 3 weak

Market Cap

₹14,767 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

59.4x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

10.42x

Rich

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

EPS (TTM)

₹7.62

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

14.2%

Moderate

Moderate capital efficiency

ROCE

17.7%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

9.59x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

27.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

119.0%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.66%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹134 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

42.9x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

13.2%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

9.7%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.69

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.65

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

78%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

462.3 / 470.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

45.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹1,493 Cr	₹1,920 Cr	₹2,067 Cr	₹2,392 Cr	+17.0%
EBITDA	-₹101 Cr	₹166 Cr	₹129 Cr	₹302 Cr	—
EBITDA Margin	-6.8%	8.6%	6.2%	12.6%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹143 Cr	₹112 Cr	₹73 Cr	₹200 Cr	—
EPS	₹-4.44	₹3.55	₹2.23	₹6.12	—
ROE	-23.6%	10.2%	6.2%	14.2%	—
ROCE	-19.6%	12.8%	7.8%	17.7%	—
Total Debt	₹92 Cr	₹131 Cr	₹136 Cr	₹135 Cr	+13.7%
Free Cash Flow	-₹63 Cr	₹224 Cr	₹82 Cr	₹134 Cr	—

🟢 Revenue has grown at 17.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has turned positive, from -₹101 Cr to ₹302 Cr.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from -6.8% to 12.6% over 3 years (+19.4 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹143 Cr to ₹200 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-4.44 to ₹6.12.

🟢 ROE has risen from -23.6% to 14.2% over 3 years (+37.7 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from -19.6% to 17.7% over 3 years (+37.3 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 13.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹63 Cr to ₹134 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹2,092 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹681 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹119 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹141 Cr

Capex

-₹7 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

44.5%

Insider Holding

38.7%

Corporate Actions

Dividend Rate

₹3

Ex-Dividend Date

28 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

11 Buy · 3 Hold · 2 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹558.63

+23.3% vs CMP

Target Range

₹390 – ₹720

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD.	42.5x	21.5%
DABUR INDIA LTD	34.7x	17.2%
ITC LTD	16.6x	27.4%
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD	44.1x	51.0%

Recent News

5 mixed1 general

Honasa Consumer (HONASA) Share/Stock Price Live, NSE

TechGraph, 08 Oct

Honasa Consumer Share Price Rises 5.38% Today

Univest, 06 OctPrice 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.

Honasa Consumer soars 10% on strong Q2 biz update; stock nears 52-week high

Business Standard, 06 OctResults

🟡Mixed / dependsA results event. The figures on this page update once the new statements reach the data feed, which usually lags the announcement.

Honasa Consumer share price up 60% in 6 months - What's behind the rally in shares of Mamaearth parent? What lies ahead?

Livemint, 06 OctPrice 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.

Why Honasa Consumer Share Price is Falling

Equitymaster, 29 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.

Honasa Consumer shares jump 7% as Q2 operating update points to strong growth

The Economic Times, 06 OctPrice 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.

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongBusiness Quality · Financial Health · Growth

MiddlingProfitability

WeakValuation · Risk

Points for each in the Score ↑

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.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑