Tata Consumer Products Limited

Consumer Defensive — Packaged Foods · NSE

₹978.90−₹12.55 (−1.27%)

DalalBaazaar Score

58 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

NEUTRAL

Risk

Low

Driven by a very high earnings multiple, which leaves little margin for disappointment.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, with both sales and profits growing well. Valuation is currently the main factor to watch.

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 Tata Consumer Products Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Tata Consumer Products Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and trades in food products in India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through Branded Business and Non Branded Business segments.

IndustryPackaged Foods

SectorConsumer Defensive

Employees11,233

Annual revenue₹20,171 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹20,171 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹8 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹14 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 11,233 employees supports ₹1.80 Cr of revenue a year, the signature of a capital- or asset-led business.

EBITDA margin14.4%

Net margin7.6%

Revenue / employee₹1.80 Cr

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are NESTLE INDIA LIMITED, BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD, DABUR INDIA LTD. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

NESTLE INDIA LIMITEDP/E 59.8x · ROE 79.9%

BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTDP/E 44.1x · ROE 51.0%

DABUR INDIA LTDP/E 34.7x · ROE 17.2%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 8.3% 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.

ROCE8.3%

ROE7.1%

Peer median ROE51.0%

What is the outlook?

24 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 11.4% and earnings to grow about 20.5% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+11.4%

Est. earnings growth+20.5%

Analysts24

What has been driving growth?

Growth has come mainly from selling more, rather than from keeping more of each sale. Over 3 years revenue moved +48% while net margin moved -13% 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+48%

Margin effect-13%

DalalBaazaar Score

58/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ ROE of 7.1% is weak

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

56/ 100

Average

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

Valuation

41/ 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

59.3x

3Y Median

85.2x

40 monthly readings · mean 82.5x · range 60.9x–98.4x

Sector Median

44.1x

median of 3 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 30% below its 3y median of 85.2x. 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 34% above the peer median of 44.1x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

85.2x median over 40 months · -30%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

44.1x median of 3 peers · +34%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

59.3x

P/B

4.45x

EV/EBITDA

33.2x

PEG

6.88

Dividend Yield

1.02%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 72% over 3 years.
Valuation below its historical average
At 59.3x the stock trades 30% below its own median of 85.2x.
Very low debt
Debt/Equity of 0.12x leaves the balance sheet with plenty of headroom.
Consistently profitable
Profitable in every one of the last 4 reported years.

🔴 What Needs Attention1

Debt is rising
Total debt is up 76% over 3 years — worth checking what it funded.

Red Flags

1 item require attention · 1 high

🔴Debt has risen sharplyFinancial
Total debt is up 76% over 3 years, from ₹1,600 Cr to ₹2,820 Cr.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Priced below its own history
The stock trades 30% 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.
Self-funding with balance-sheet headroom
Positive free cash flow of ₹1,973 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.
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?

A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 34% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.

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

1Revenue growth stays above 10% a year✓ 13.9% CAGR
Latest reported year was 11.9%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 12%✓ 14.4%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹1,973 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 1.0x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 8%✓ 8.3%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

7 / 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

5 good · 4 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹96,882 Cr

Mid Cap

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

P/E (Trailing)

59.3x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

4.45x

Fair

Moderate premium to the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹16.52

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

7.1%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

8.3%

Moderate

Moderate return on the capital in the business

Debt/Equity

0.12x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

11.9%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

27.9%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

1.02%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹1,973 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹978.9

P/E (Forward)

41.0x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

10.5%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

7.8%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.56

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.40

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

10%

Near low

Near its 52-week low

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

973.0 / 1014.8

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

48.6

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹13,660 Cr	₹15,099 Cr	₹17,508 Cr	₹20,171 Cr	+13.9%
EBITDA	₹2,005 Cr	₹2,492 Cr	₹2,648 Cr	₹2,912 Cr	+13.2%
EBITDA Margin	14.7%	16.5%	15.1%	14.4%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹1,204 Cr	₹1,150 Cr	₹1,278 Cr	₹1,542 Cr	+8.6%
EPS	₹12.86	₹12.2	₹13.06	₹15.58	+6.6%
ROE	7.4%	7.2%	6.4%	7.1%	—
ROCE	10.0%	8.4%	7.9%	8.3%	—
Total Debt	₹1,600 Cr	₹3,477 Cr	₹2,393 Cr	₹2,820 Cr	+20.8%
Free Cash Flow	₹1,150 Cr	₹1,602 Cr	₹1,597 Cr	₹1,973 Cr	+19.7%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 13.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 13.2% a year over 3 years.

🟡 EBITDA Margin has held roughly flat at 14.4% over 3 years.

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 8.6% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 6.6% a year over 3 years.

🟡 ROE has held roughly flat at 7.1% over 3 years.

🔴 ROCE has fallen from 10.0% to 8.3% over 3 years (-1.7 pts).

🔴 Total Debt has grown at 20.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 19.7% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹34,453 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹11,264 Cr

Total Debt

₹2,820 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹3,047 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹2,422 Cr

Capex

-₹449 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

34.7%

Insider Holding

34.4%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

03 Nov 2026

Dividend Rate

₹10

Ex-Dividend Date

25 May 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

24 Buy · 3 Hold · 1 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹1,320.5

+34.9% vs CMP

Target Range

₹1,080 – ₹1,475

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
NESTLE INDIA LIMITED	59.8x	79.9%
BRITANNIA INDUSTRIES LTD	44.1x	51.0%
DABUR INDIA LTD	34.7x	17.2%

Recent News

1 positive2 mixed3 general

This Tata Group stock falls 13% in 3 months, but Motilal Oswal sees 21% upside on 'resilient growth' - Do you own?

Livemint, 10 Oct

Tata Consumer Products approves ₹10 dividend at 63rd AGM

scanx.trade, 10 OctCapital return

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

Tata Consumer Products share price soars nearly 3% on robust Q1 earnings; check details

Upstox, 27 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.

Tata Consumer Products Share Price hits yearly low today

Univest, 28 Sept

TATA Consumer Products Shares Fall 2.03% to Rs 1,086.20; Stock Among Top Losers on Nifty 50

Moneycontrol.com, 11 AugPrice 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.

Tata Consumer Products (NSEI:TATACONSUM) Stock Price

Simply Wall Street, 22 Jun

Watch Items

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

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate9/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong15.6/20

🟡GrowthModest11.3/20

🔴ProfitabilityWeak6.2/15

🟡ValuationFair8.3/15

🟢RiskLow7.5/10

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. 1 high-severity red flag sits above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 10% a year13.9% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 12%14.4%
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹1,973 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x1.0x
✓ROCE stays above 8%8.3%