IDFC First Bank Limited

Financial Services — Banks - Regional · NSE

₹78.08−₹0.99 (−1.25%)

DalalBaazaar Score

60 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Low

No individual risk factor stands out on this snapshot.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, with both sales and profits growing well. Nothing on this snapshot stands out as an immediate concern — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:09 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 IDFC First Bank Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

IDFC First Bank Limited provides various banking and financial services in India. It operates through the Treasury, Corporate and Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and Other Banking Business segments.

IndustryBanks - Regional

SectorFinancial Services

Employees43,059

Annual revenue₹29,446 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹29,446 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹5 reaches shareholders as profit. Each of its 43,059 employees supports ₹68.4 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

Net margin5.5%

Revenue / employee₹68.4 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are HDFC BANK LTD, ICICI BANK LTD., KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LTD, AXIS BANK LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

HDFC BANK LTDP/E 15.9x · ROE 13.8%

ICICI BANK LTD.P/E 18.1x · ROE 16.5%

KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LTDP/E 21.9x · ROE 11.2%

AXIS BANK LIMITEDP/E 14.5x · ROE 13.4%

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.

ROE5.3%

Peer median ROE13.8%

What is the outlook?

20 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 20.9% and earnings to grow about 42.1% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+20.9%

Est. earnings growth+42.1%

Analysts20

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +71% while net margin moved -62% 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+71%

Margin effect-62%

DalalBaazaar Score

60/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 5.3% is weak
✗ ROE has fallen by 6.2 points over the period

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

60/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

38/ 100

Expensive

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

30.1x

3Y Median

21.7x

40 monthly readings · mean 26.5x · range 13.0x–45.7x

Sector Median

17.0x

median of 4 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 39% above its 3y median of 21.7x. Paying more than usual needs a reason — faster growth, a better balance sheet, or a re-rating you believe in.

⚠️Against its sector it trades 77% above the peer median of 17.0x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

21.7x median over 40 months · +39%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

17.0x median of 4 peers · +77%

vs. generic bands

Fair

15x–35x

P/E (Trailing)

30.1x

P/B

1.38x

EV/EBITDA

—

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

0.32%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well1

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

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 9.6% to 3.4% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Valuation above its historical average
At 30.1x the stock trades 39% above its own median of 21.7x.

Red Flags

2 items require attention · 2 watch

🟡Profit is decliningFinancial
Net profit is down 35% over 3 years.
🟡Shareholders have been dilutedOwnership
Shares outstanding are up 30% over 3 years — each existing share owns a smaller slice of the company.

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?

The price already assumes success
The stock trades 39% above its own median multiple. At this level the business has to deliver just to stand still, and a stumble is repriced twice — lower earnings on a lower multiple.
Returns on shareholder capital are falling
ROE has dropped from 9.6% to 3.4%. Each rupee of equity earns less than it did, so profit growth increasingly depends on raising more capital rather than on the existing base working harder.

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

1Revenue growth stays above 15% a year✓ 19.6% CAGR
Latest reported year was 29.8%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2Return on equity stays above 8%✗ 5.3%
For a lender this is the cleanest single read on whether the book is being grown profitably.
3Valuation vs its own median of 21.7x✗ 30.1x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

7 / 10 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✓ Generates positive free cash flow
✓ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 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 · 5 neutral · 1 weak

Market Cap

₹67,332 Cr

Mid Cap

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

P/E (Trailing)

30.1x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

1.38x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹2.59

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

5.3%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

Not meaningful

N/A for lenders

Banks and NBFCs don't report capital employed the way other businesses do

Debt/Equity

0.77x

Moderate

Moderate leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

29.8%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

116.4%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.32%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹6,039 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹78.08

P/E (Forward)

11.4x

Improving

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

ROA

0.6%

Weak

Assets generate little profit

Operating Margin

20.8%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

9.1%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.58

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

63%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

81.5 / 83.9

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

32.3

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹17,193 Cr	₹22,480 Cr	₹26,402 Cr	₹29,446 Cr	+19.6%
PAT (Net Profit)	₹2,485 Cr	₹2,942 Cr	₹1,490 Cr	₹1,611 Cr	-13.5%
EPS	₹3.92	₹4.23	₹2.03	₹1.88	-21.7%
ROE	9.6%	9.1%	3.9%	3.4%	—
Total Debt	₹57,212 Cr	₹43,936 Cr	₹33,124 Cr	₹36,633 Cr	-13.8%
Free Cash Flow	₹2,375 Cr	₹10,169 Cr	₹13,546 Cr	₹6,039 Cr	+36.5%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 19.6% a year over 3 years.

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 13.5% a year over 3 years.

🔴 EPS has shrunk at 21.7% a year over 3 years.

🔴 ROE has fallen from 9.6% to 3.4% over 3 years (-6.2 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 13.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 36.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹4.00 L Cr

Total Liabilities

₹3.52 L Cr

Total Debt

₹36,633 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹12,767 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹6,817 Cr

Capex

-₹777 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

45.5%

Insider Holding

12.9%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

24 Oct 2026

Dividend Rate

₹0.25

Ex-Dividend Date

07 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

16 Buy · 6 Hold · 1 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹91.23

+16.8% vs CMP

Target Range

₹62 – ₹115

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
HDFC BANK LTD	15.9x	13.8%
ICICI BANK LTD.	18.1x	16.5%
KOTAK MAHINDRA BANK LTD	21.9x	11.2%
AXIS BANK LIMITED	14.5x	13.4%

Recent News

2 positive2 mixed2 general

IDFC First Bank share: 30% rally in 6 months! Experts see more upside after Q2FY27 business update | Target, stop-loss

Livemint, 07 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.

KMB, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank shares gain up to 4%, IDFC First Bank falls 3%; here's why

Business Today, 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.

IDFC First Bank Share Price Gains Over 3% After Motilal Oswal Upgrades Rating To 'Buy'

NDTV Profit, 23 SeptAnalyst view

🟢Potentially positiveAn analyst opinion changing, which moves the price without changing the business.

S&P assigns investment-grade rating to IDFC FIRST Bank. Can it lift the stock?

The Economic Times, 14 Aug

IDFC First Bank Share Price and valuation after 2.17% rise

Univest, 05 Oct

IDFC First Bank shares jump to 52-week high after Motilal Oswal upgrade; Here's what it likes

CNBC TV18, 23 SeptAnalyst view

🟢Potentially positiveAn analyst opinion changing, which moves the price without changing 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.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong13/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong17/20

🟡GrowthModest9.3/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak5.8/15

🟡ValuationFair7.5/15

🟢RiskLow7.2/10

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.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 15% a year19.6% CAGR
✗Return on equity stays above 8%5.3%
✗Valuation vs its own median of 21.7x30.1x today