Smartworks Coworking Spaces Limited

Real Estate — Real Estate Services · NSE

₹465.10−₹3.95 (−0.84%)

DalalBaazaar Score

50 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, short-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, small-cap size, which brings sharper price swings.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, 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, 6:09 pm

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

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

What does this company do?

Smartworks Coworking Spaces Limited owns, operates, and leases co-working spaces in India. The company operates and maintains serviced office spaces, meeting and training rooms, virtual offices, and other ancillary services.

IndustryReal Estate Services

SectorReal Estate

Employees1,013

Annual revenue₹1,796 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹1,796 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹1 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹67 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 1,013 employees supports ₹1.77 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin67.2%

Net margin0.6%

Revenue / employee₹1.77 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are DLF LIMITED, GODREJ PROPERTIES LTD, OBEROI REALTY LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

DLF LIMITEDP/E 36.6x · ROE 10.3%

GODREJ PROPERTIES LTDP/E 30.2x · ROE 8.4%

OBEROI REALTY LIMITEDP/E 23.5x · ROE 14.7%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 7.4% 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.

ROCE7.4%

ROE2.0%

Peer median ROE10.3%

What is the outlook?

6 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 22.3% and earnings to grow about 109.1% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+22.3%

Est. earnings growth+109.1%

Analysts6

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved +152% while net margin moved -104% 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+152%

Margin effect-104%

DalalBaazaar Score

50/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 64.0x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✗ P/B of 10.05x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

59/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

35/ 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

64.0x

Sector Median

30.2x

median of 3 sector peers

⚠️Against its sector it trades 112% above the peer median of 30.2x.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Expensive

30.2x median of 3 peers · +112%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

64.0x

P/B

10.05x

EV/EBITDA

8.3x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 63.6% to 67.2% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 291% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from -321.1% to 2.0%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 2.6% to 7.4%.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Short-term liquidity is tight
Current ratio of 0.35 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Red Flags

3 items require attention · 2 high · 1 watch

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 9.00x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.0x — little room if earnings dip.
🟡Short-term liquidity is tightFinancial
Current ratio of 0.35 — near-term obligations exceed near-term assets.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from 63.6% to 67.2%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 4.0x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 112% 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.
Several serious flags at once
2 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

1Revenue growth stays above 27% a year✓ 36.2% CAGR
Latest reported year was 44.0%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 65%✓ 67.2%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 4.0x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.0x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹809 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.

Investment Checklist

5 / 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 · 2 neutral · 5 weak

Market Cap

₹5,320 Cr

Small Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

64.0x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

10.05x

Rich

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

EPS (TTM)

₹7.27

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

2.0%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

7.4%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

9.00x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

44.0%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

116.7%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

₹809 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹465.1

P/E (Forward)

37.6x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

18.4%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

1.4%

Weak

Very little revenue reaches the bottom line

Current Ratio

0.35

Tight

Tight short-term liquidity

52W Range Position

40%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

504.9 / 513.6

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

16.6

Oversold zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹711 Cr	₹1,039 Cr	₹1,374 Cr	₹1,796 Cr	+36.2%
EBITDA	₹453 Cr	₹707 Cr	₹894 Cr	₹1,207 Cr	+38.6%
EBITDA Margin	63.6%	68.0%	65.0%	67.2%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹101 Cr	-₹50 Cr	-₹63 Cr	₹11 Cr	—
EPS	₹-8.85	₹-4.38	₹-5.09	₹0.95	—
ROE	-321.1%	-99.9%	-58.6%	2.0%	—
ROCE	2.6%	8.2%	7.5%	7.4%	—
Total Debt	₹3,913 Cr	₹3,436 Cr	₹3,737 Cr	₹4,778 Cr	+6.9%
Free Cash Flow	₹207 Cr	₹477 Cr	₹637 Cr	₹809 Cr	+57.5%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 36.2% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 38.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 63.6% to 67.2% over 3 years (+3.6 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹101 Cr to ₹11 Cr.

🟢 EPS has turned positive, from ₹-8.85 to ₹0.95.

🟢 ROE has risen from -321.1% to 2.0% over 3 years (+323.1 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 2.6% to 7.4% over 3 years (+4.8 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 6.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 57.5% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹6,464 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹5,933 Cr

Total Debt

₹4,778 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹71 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹1,197 Cr

Capex

-₹388 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

4.4%

Insider Holding

79.8%

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

7 Buy · 1 Hold · 0 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹646.88

+39.1% vs CMP

Target Range

₹534 – ₹725

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
DLF LIMITED	36.6x	10.3%
GODREJ PROPERTIES LTD	30.2x	8.4%
OBEROI REALTY LIMITED	23.5x	14.7%

Recent News

1 positive2 mixed3 general

Why flexible office space providers are grabbing centre stage

Livemint, 12 Oct

Smartworks adds 4.92 lakh sq ft capacity in Bengaluru

scanx.trade, 11 Oct

Smartworks Coworking Spaces Q1 Results: Revenue rises 44%, margin flat

CNBC TV18, 22 JulResults

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

Why Is Smartworks Coworking Spaces Share Price Falling Key Reasons 2026

Univest, 01 JulPrice 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.

Smartworks Coworking Spaces Ltd Key Financial Ratios – Valuation, Profitability & More

Value Research, 27 Aug

Smartworks Expands LTTS Partnership With 1,100+ Seats in Pune

HDFC Sky, 20 JulPartnership

🟡Mixed / dependsA partnership, whose value depends entirely on terms that a headline will not carry. Worth reading the filing before assuming either way.

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

🟡Business QualityAdequate11.5/20

🔴Financial HealthStretched7.2/20

🟢GrowthStrong18.4/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate7.1/15

🔴ValuationDemanding3.2/15

🔴RiskHigh2.9/10

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. 2 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 27% a year36.2% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 65%67.2%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x4.0x
✗Interest cover stays above 3x1.0x
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹809 Cr