Jindal Steel Limited

Basic Materials — Steel · NSE

₹1,045.20+₹15.20 (+1.48%)

DalalBaazaar Score

39 / 100

🔴 Weak

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Low

Driven by negative free cash flow, falling profits.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, though profits are falling even as sales grow. Cash generation is currently the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 7:01 pm

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Jindal Steel Limited manufactures steel in India and internationally.

IndustrySteel

SectorBasic Materials

Employees5,796

Annual revenue₹43,561 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹43,561 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹8 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹23 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 5,796 employees supports ₹7.52 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

Revenue / employee₹7.52 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TATA STEEL LIMITED, JSW STEEL LIMITED, STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA. 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 7.5% 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 ROE10.8%

What is the outlook?

27 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 17.9% and earnings to grow about 51.7% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+17.9%

Est. earnings growth+51.7%

Analysts27

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved -34% while net margin moved +29% 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-34%

Margin effect+29%

DalalBaazaar Score

39/ 100

Weak

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 13.1% a year
✗ Profit has declined at 5.4% a year
✗ Profit fell 43.7% in the latest year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

36/ 100

Weak

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

Valuation

34/ 100

Expensive

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

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

39.1x

3Y Median

29.5x

40 monthly readings · mean 27.7x · range 13.4x–44.7x

Sector Median

16.5x

median of 3 sector peers

⚠️Current valuation is approximately 33% above its 3y median of 29.5x. 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 137% above the peer median of 16.5x.

vs. its own history

Expensive

29.5x median over 40 months · +33%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

16.5x median of 3 peers · +137%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

EV/EBITDA

13.0x

PEG

—

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well2

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 14.8% to 22.6% over 3 years.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Return on equity is falling
ROE has dropped from 10.3% to 6.6% — each rupee of shareholder capital earns less than it did.
Return on capital is falling
ROCE has declined from 10.8% to 7.5% — often a sign of competition or overexpansion.

Red Flags

5 items require attention · 4 high · 1 watch

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 73% over 3 years, from ₹13,046 Cr to ₹22,610 Cr.
🔴Profit up while operating cash flow fallsFinancial
Reported profit rose but cash generated by operations declined — worth checking whether earnings are being supported by non-cash items or working capital.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 77% against revenue up -34% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.
🔴Inventory building faster than salesFinancial
Inventory up 36% against revenue up -34% — stock may not be moving.
🟡Free cash flow is negativeFinancial
Free cash flow was -₹2,370 Cr in the latest year.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 14.8% to 22.6%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
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?

Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 77% against revenue up -34%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
The price already assumes success
The stock trades 33% 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 10.3% to 6.6%. 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.
Several serious flags at once
4 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 21%✓ 22.6%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✗ 2.3x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹2,370 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✓ 3.8x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 8%✗ 7.5%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

6 / 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

4 good · 3 neutral · 4 weak

Market Cap

₹1.06 L Cr

Large Cap

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

P/E (Trailing)

39.1x

Fair

Fairly valued against the generic band

P/B Ratio

2.09x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹26.72

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

6.6%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

7.5%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

0.44x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

25.9%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

-43.7%

Falling

Profits are shrinking

Dividend Yield

0.19%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

-₹2,370 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

P/E (Forward)

12.0x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

11.2%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

4.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.25

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.69

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

21%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

1090.7 / 1115.7

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

22.0

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹66,320 Cr	₹41,923 Cr	₹41,283 Cr	₹43,561 Cr	-13.1%
EBITDA	₹9,809 Cr	₹10,281 Cr	₹9,590 Cr	₹9,836 Cr	+0.1%
EBITDA Margin	14.8%	24.5%	23.2%	22.6%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹3,974 Cr	₹5,938 Cr	₹2,812 Cr	₹3,367 Cr	-5.4%
EPS	₹31.54	₹59.15	₹27.83	₹33.12	+1.6%
ROE	10.3%	13.4%	6.0%	6.6%	—
ROCE	10.8%	12.0%	8.3%	7.5%	—
Total Debt	₹13,046 Cr	₹16,472 Cr	₹18,406 Cr	₹22,610 Cr	+20.1%
Free Cash Flow	₹899 Cr	-₹2,509 Cr	₹217 Cr	-₹2,370 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 13.1% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA has been broadly flat over 3 years (0.1% a year).

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 14.8% to 22.6% over 3 years (+7.8 pts).

🔴 PAT (Net Profit) has shrunk at 5.4% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EPS has been broadly flat over 3 years (1.6% a year).

🔴 ROE has fallen from 10.3% to 6.6% over 3 years (-3.7 pts).

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 10.8% to 7.5% over 3 years (-3.2 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 20.1% a year over 3 years.

🔴 Free Cash Flow has turned negative, from ₹899 Cr to -₹2,370 Cr.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹97,762 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹45,921 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹1,044 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹7,204 Cr

Capex

-₹9,574 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

23.2%

Insider Holding

63.9%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

28 Oct 2026

Dividend Rate

₹2

Ex-Dividend Date

21 Aug 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

22 Buy · 4 Hold · 4 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹1,222.91

+17.0% vs CMP

Target Range

₹590 – ₹1,410

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TATA STEEL LIMITED	19.8x	10.8%
JSW STEEL LIMITED	12.0x	24.7%
STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA	16.5x	7.1%

Recent News

2 mixed4 general

Jindal Steel & Power Share Price - Live NSE: JINDALSTEL Stock Price & Chart

Upstox, 16 Oct

JINDALSTEL Outlook for the Week

Equitypandit, 09 Oct

Jindal Steel Commissions 12.5 MTPA Paradip Terminal

HDFC Sky, 16 OctCapacity

🟡Mixed / dependsCapacity additions can raise revenue over two to three years, but the capital spend usually pressures free cash flow first. Worth checking whether the capex is funded from operations or from borrowing.

Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel share price targets: 3 metal stocks to buy

Business Today, 18 Aug

The Steel Capacity Growth Funding Test: What the Steel Volumes Test Really Reveals

Kalkine India, 16 Oct

Jindal Steel (BSE:532286) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 09 OctAnalyst view

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

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in oversold territory — could mean either a bargain or a stock still falling for good reason. Check the 'why' before assuming reversal.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

StrongRisk

MiddlingFinancial Health

WeakBusiness Quality · Growth · Profitability · Valuation

Points for each in the Score ↑

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 4 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

3 of 5 tripwires tripped — Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x; Free cash flow remains positive; ROCE stays above 8% · see Key things to watch ↑