Indian Oil Corporation Limited

Energy — Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing · NSE

₹130.38+₹1.55 (+1.20%)

DalalBaazaar Score

65 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

Driven by short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets.

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, with both sales and profits growing well. Short-term liquidity is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 8:27 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Indian Oil Corporation Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the oil, gas, petrochemicals, and alternative energy source businesses in India and internationally. It operates through Sale of Petroleum Products; Sale of Petrochemicals; Sale of Gas; and Other segments.

IndustryOil & Gas Refining & Marketing

SectorEnergy

Employees29,650

Annual revenue₹7.74 L Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹7.74 L Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹5 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹11 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 29,650 employees supports ₹26.10 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹26.10 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LTD, OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORP., BHARAT PETROLEUM CORP LT. 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 20.5% 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 ROE11.7%

What is the outlook?

17 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to shrink about 3.9% and earnings to grow about 66.9% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth-3.9%

Est. earnings growth+66.9%

Analysts17

What has been driving growth?

Profit has moved mainly because margins changed, not because the business sold much more. Over 3 years revenue moved -6% while net margin moved +360% 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-6%

Margin effect+360%

DalalBaazaar Score

65/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 2.2% a year
✓ Profit CAGR of 62.6% is above 15%

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

62/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

87/ 100

Cheap

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

5.3x

3Y Median

13.8x

40 monthly readings · mean 12.4x · range 3.7x–25.6x

Sector Median

7.3x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 61% below its 3y median of 13.8x. 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 27% below the peer median of 7.3x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

13.8x median over 40 months · -61%

vs. sector peers

Cheap

7.3x median of 3 peers · -27%

vs. generic bands

Cheap

Below 15x

EV/EBITDA

3.7x

PEG

0.09

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well7

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 4.4% to 11.0% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 12% 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 7.0% to 19.2%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 9.2% to 20.5%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 20.5% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
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

1 item require attention · 1 watch

🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.74 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Capital compounds at a high rate
ROCE of 20.5% 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 4.4% to 11.0%. 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 61% 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 27% 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?

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 9%✓ 11.0%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹47,779 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
3Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.6x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
4ROCE stays above 18%✓ 20.5%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.
5Valuation vs its own median of 13.8x✓ 5.3x today
A re-rating above its own history needs a reason; without one it is just a higher price.

Investment Checklist

9 / 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

11 good · 0 neutral · 0 weak

Market Cap

₹1.84 L Cr

Large Cap

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

P/E (Trailing)

5.3x

Cheap

Cheap against the generic band

P/B Ratio

0.82x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹24.44

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

19.2%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

20.5%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.58x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

38.5%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

209.6%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

2.49%

Healthy

Meaningful cash return while you hold the stock

Free Cash Flow

₹47,779 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

6.9x

Flat

At or above the trailing multiple — no earnings uplift is being priced in

Operating Margin

-0.1%

Weak

Thin margins leave little room for error

Net Margin

3.9%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

0.74

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.82

Market-like

Moves roughly in line with the market

52W Range Position

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

131.8 / 135.3

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

39.4

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹8.28 L Cr	₹7.73 L Cr	₹7.55 L Cr	₹7.74 L Cr	-2.2%
EBITDA	₹36,052 Cr	₹80,834 Cr	₹40,642 Cr	₹84,940 Cr	+33.1%
EBITDA Margin	4.4%	10.5%	5.4%	11.0%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹9,792 Cr	₹41,730 Cr	₹13,598 Cr	₹42,096 Cr	+62.6%
EPS	₹7.11	₹30.3	₹9.87	₹30.57	+62.6%
ROE	7.0%	22.8%	7.3%	19.2%	—
ROCE	9.2%	24.4%	9.2%	20.5%	—
Total Debt	₹1.49 L Cr	₹1.33 L Cr	₹1.52 L Cr	₹1.32 L Cr	-4.0%
Free Cash Flow	-₹3,206 Cr	₹33,971 Cr	-₹515 Cr	₹47,779 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 2.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 33.1% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 4.4% to 11.0% over 3 years (+6.6 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 62.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 62.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 7.0% to 19.2% over 3 years (+12.2 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 9.2% to 20.5% over 3 years (+11.3 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 4.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has turned positive, from -₹3,206 Cr to ₹47,779 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹5.29 L Cr

Total Liabilities

₹3.03 L Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1,833 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹76,142 Cr

Capex

-₹28,363 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

14.2%

Insider Holding

73.4%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

30 Oct 2026

Dividend Rate

₹3.25

Ex-Dividend Date

14 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

17 Buy · 7 Hold · 7 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹158.84

+21.8% vs CMP

Target Range

₹105 – ₹230

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LTD	21.9x	8.3%
OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORP.	6.4x	11.7%
BHARAT PETROLEUM CORP LT	7.3x	17.1%

Recent News

2 positive1 mixed3 general

IOC Share Price hits fresh 52-week low: price, valuation

Univest, 13 Oct

PSU Dividend Delight: THIS Maharatna PSU Fixes Record Date For 12% Dividend | Do You Own?

Goodreturns, 12 OctCapital return

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

The Refining Margin Story Beyond Pump Prices: What the Refining Throughput Test Really Reveals

Kalkine India, 16 Oct

Crude oil prices above $100 a barrel: Why HPCL, IOCL and BPCL could face earnings pressure, experts decode

Livemint, 14 OctResults

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

IOCL profit recovery forecast: what it means for Indian Oil Corporation stock

ad-hoc-news.de, 14 Oct

IOC shares jump 3% after Q4 net profit rises 78% YoY. Here's what Motilal Oswal says

The Economic Times, 19 MayResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

Watch Items

Trading very close to its 52-week low — worth checking whether this reflects a temporary setback or a structural problem.
Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongFinancial Health · Profitability · Valuation

MiddlingBusiness Quality · Growth · Risk

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.

All 5 tripwires holding · see Key things to watch ↑