Indus Towers Limited

Communication Services — Telecom Services · NSE

₹383.30+₹1.70 (+0.45%)

DalalBaazaar Score

77 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

No individual risk factor stands out on this snapshot.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with modest growth. Nothing obvious stands out as stretched — the usual checks on business quality and management still apply.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:08 pm

Constructive picture on fundamentals. Profitability, leverage and growth metrics are broadly healthy on this snapshot. That said, valuation should still be checked against direct sector peers (not just the generic P/E bands used here) before treating this as a buy signal.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Indus Towers Limited, a telecom infrastructure company, engages in the operation and maintenance of wireless communication towers and related infrastructures for telecommunication service providers in India, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia.

IndustryTelecom Services

SectorCommunication Services

Employees3,783

Annual revenue₹32,493 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹32,493 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹22 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹56 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 3,783 employees supports ₹8.59 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin56.0%

Net margin22.0%

Revenue / employee₹8.59 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED, VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITEDP/E 39.8x · ROE 20.2%

VODAFONE IDEA LIMITEDP/E 3.6x · ROE —

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 18.4% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE18.4%

ROE18.9%

Peer median ROE20.2%

What is the outlook?

22 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 5.3% and earnings to grow about 8.8% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+5.3%

Est. earnings growth+8.8%

Analysts22

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved +14% while net margin moved +206% 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+14%

Margin effect+206%

DalalBaazaar Score

77/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue CAGR of only 4.6% — barely ahead of inflation
✓ Profit CAGR of 51.9% is above 15%

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

79/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

79/ 100

Cheap

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

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework is built to look for.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

14.2x

3Y Median

15.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 20.2x · range 9.1x–57.2x

Sector Median

21.7x

median of 2 sector peers

🟡Currently trading close to its 3y median of 15.5x — the market is paying about what it usually pays for this company.

🟢Against its sector it trades 35% below the peer median of 21.7x.

vs. its own history

Fair

15.5x median over 40 months · -8%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

21.7x median of 2 peers · -35%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

P/E (Trailing)

14.2x

P/B

2.44x

EV/EBITDA

6.7x

PEG

0.27

Dividend Yield

3.65%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well5

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 35.6% to 56.0% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 65% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 9.7% to 18.0%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 11.5% to 18.4%.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention0

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

Red Flags

No automated checks triggered

None of the automated financial checks below were triggered on the years of data available. That is not the same as a clean bill of health — see what could not be checked.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 18.4% means each rupee reinvested earns well above what capital costs. If the company can keep deploying at this rate, growth creates value rather than just consuming cash.
Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 35.6% to 56.0%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Cheaper than its peers
It trades 35% 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?

Growth barely outpaces inflation
Revenue compounding at 4.6% 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.
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.

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

1EBITDA margin holds above 54%✓ 56.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Revenue growth stays above 4% a year✓ 4.6% CAGR
Latest reported year was 4.6%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹7,058 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.2x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 15%✓ 18.4%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

11 / 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

8 good · 3 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹1.01 L Cr

Large Cap

Large, widely-covered business — typically the steadiest of the bands

P/E (Trailing)

14.2x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

2.44x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹27

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

18.9%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

18.4%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.52x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

4.6%

Modest

Modest growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

0.6%

Modest

Slow profit growth

Dividend Yield

3.65%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹3,777 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹383.3

P/E (Forward)

12.5x

Improving

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

ROA

9.7%

Good

Assets are working hard

Operating Margin

31.2%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

21.8%

Good

Strong bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.84

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.18

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

29%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

377.8 / 377.9

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

55.1

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹28,382 Cr	₹28,601 Cr	₹30,123 Cr	₹32,493 Cr	+4.6%
EBITDA	₹10,096 Cr	₹15,810 Cr	₹21,138 Cr	₹18,206 Cr	+21.7%
EBITDA Margin	35.6%	55.3%	70.2%	56.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹2,040 Cr	₹6,036 Cr	₹9,932 Cr	₹7,145 Cr	+51.9%
EPS	₹7.57	₹22.4	₹37.31	₹27.09	+53.0%
ROE	9.7%	22.3%	30.6%	18.0%	—
ROCE	11.5%	21.7%	28.1%	18.4%	—
Total Debt	₹19,185 Cr	₹20,531 Cr	₹21,156 Cr	₹21,127 Cr	+3.3%
Free Cash Flow	₹4,282 Cr	₹2,629 Cr	₹12,861 Cr	₹7,058 Cr	+18.1%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 4.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 21.7% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 35.6% to 56.0% over 3 years (+20.5 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 51.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 53.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 9.7% to 18.0% over 3 years (+8.4 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 11.5% to 18.4% over 3 years (+6.9 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 3.3% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 18.1% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹71,316 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹31,671 Cr

Total Debt

₹21,127 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹47 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹15,684 Cr

Capex

-₹8,626 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

33.8%

Insider Holding

51.3%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

27 Oct 2026

Dividend Rate

₹14

Ex-Dividend Date

10 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

11 Buy · 7 Hold · 6 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹435.96

+13.7% vs CMP

Target Range

₹345 – ₹565

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
BHARTI AIRTEL LIMITED	39.8x	20.2%
VODAFONE IDEA LIMITED	3.6x	—

Recent News

1 positive2 mixed3 general

Is Indus Towers the Best Stock in Its Sector? A Look at the Numbers

Univest, 13 Oct

Jio Platforms IPO: What does listing of Reliance Industries' company mean for Airtel, Vodafone, Indus Towers shares?

Livemint, 10 Oct

Indus Towers Ltd Share Price Target, Forecast for Long Term Equity.

HDFC Sky, 07 AugAnalyst view

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

Why You Might Be Interested In Indus Towers Limited (NSE:INDUSTOWER) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Simply Wall Street, 06 AugCapital return

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

Five Stocks To Buy Today: Lal PathLabs, Indus Towers, Cyient And More | October 5

NDTV Profit, 05 Oct

Indus Towers shares gain 3% after Nomura reiterates 'Buy'; sees 30% upside

Business Standard, 09 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.

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong17.1/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong16.6/20

🟢GrowthStrong13.1/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong12.6/15

🟢ValuationAttractive10.7/15

🟢RiskLow6.6/10

Attractive on both counts

A good business currently available at an undemanding price — the combination this framework exists to look for. The work left is qualitative: whether the advantage the numbers imply is one you can identify and expect to last.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 54%56.0%
✓Revenue growth stays above 4% a year4.6% CAGR
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹7,058 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.2x
✓ROCE stays above 15%18.4%