Trent Limited

Consumer Cyclical — Apparel Retail · NSE

₹2,958.70+₹9.00 (+0.31%)

DalalBaazaar Score

72 / 100

🟢 Good

Verdict

REASONABLE

Risk

Low

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

In simple words: Strong business and financial position, 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 Trent Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Trent Limited engages in the retailing and trading of apparels, footwear, accessories, food, grocery, and non-food products in India.

IndustryApparel Retail

SectorConsumer Cyclical

Employees31,226

Annual revenue₹19,850 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹19,850 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹9 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹19 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 31,226 employees supports ₹63.6 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin18.9%

Net margin8.7%

Revenue / employee₹63.6 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are TITAN COMPANY LIMITED, AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

TITAN COMPANY LIMITEDP/E 68.5x · ROE 36.7%

AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITEDP/E 69.9x · ROE 12.7%

What is its competitive advantage?Some evidence

ROCE of 28.2% is above what capital typically costs, which suggests some pricing power, though not yet the sustained, wide gap that marks a durable advantage.

ROCE28.2%

ROE24.6%

Peer median ROE36.7%

What is the outlook?

14 analysts covering the stock expect revenue to grow about 20.0% and earnings to grow about 22.1% in the year to 2028. These are estimates by people who follow the company, not a forecast for the wider industry.

Est. revenue growth+20.0%

Est. earnings growth+22.1%

Analysts14

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 +145% while net margin moved +58% 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+145%

Margin effect+58%

DalalBaazaar Score

72/ 100

Good

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ P/E of 87.2x is demanding — it needs sustained high growth to justify
✓ P/E is 57% below its own historical median of 202.4x — cheap by its own standards
✗ P/B of 22.59x is a steep premium to book

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

78/ 100

Good

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

Valuation

42/ 100

Expensive

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

A good business, but the price already reflects that. The quality is real; the question is whether you are overpaying for it today.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

87.2x

3Y Median

202.4x

40 monthly readings · mean 241.4x · range 75.7x–700.1x

Sector Median

69.2x

median of 2 sector peers

🟢Current valuation is approximately 57% below its 3y median of 202.4x. 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 26% above the peer median of 69.2x.

vs. its own history

Cheap

202.4x median over 40 months · -57%

vs. sector peers

Expensive

69.2x median of 2 peers · +26%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

87.2x

P/B

22.59x

EV/EBITDA

42.7x

PEG

1.53

Dividend Yield

0.14%

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well8

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from 14.6% to 18.9% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 43% over 3 years.
Cash generation is improving
Free cash flow is up 889% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from 17.1% to 24.6%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from 13.2% to 28.2%.
High return on capital employed
ROCE of 28.2% is the mark of a business that converts capital into profit efficiently.
Valuation below its historical average
At 87.2x the stock trades 57% below its own median of 202.4x.
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 28.2% 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 14.6% to 18.9%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 43% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.
Priced below its own history
The stock trades 57% 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 ₹905 Cr alongside low debt means growth, buybacks or dividends need no outside money — and a downturn can be absorbed rather than refinanced.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 26% 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.

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

1Revenue growth stays above 26% a year✓ 34.8% CAGR
Latest reported year was 17.8%. The bar is set below the established compounding rate, so ordinary variation does not trip it.
2EBITDA margin holds above 17%✓ 18.9%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
3Free cash flow remains positive✓ ₹905 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x✓ 0.7x
The ratio lenders write covenants against; it survives a small or negative equity base, unlike Debt/Equity.
5ROCE stays above 25%✓ 28.2%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

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

8 good · 1 neutral · 2 weak

Market Cap

₹1.58 L Cr

Large Cap

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

P/E (Trailing)

87.2x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

22.59x

Rich

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

EPS (TTM)

₹33.92

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

24.6%

Strong

Strong capital efficiency

ROCE

28.2%

Strong

Earns comfortably above its likely cost of capital

Debt/Equity

0.36x

Low

Conservative leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

17.8%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

20.7%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

0.14%

Modest

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

Free Cash Flow

₹905 Cr

Cash generative

Generates cash even after funding its capex

More Metrics

CMP

₹2,958.7

P/E (Forward)

58.7x

Improving

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

Operating Margin

12.5%

Average

Average margins

Net Margin

8.6%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.26

Comfortable

Healthy short-term liquidity

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.38

Defensive

Steadier than the market

52W Range Position

29%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

2799.0 / 2858.2

Bearish alignment (short < long)

Price vs SMA 200

Above

Long-term uptrend

RSI (14)

72.9

Overbought zone

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹8,112 Cr	₹12,205 Cr	₹16,874 Cr	₹19,850 Cr	+34.8%
EBITDA	₹1,186 Cr	₹2,073 Cr	₹2,882 Cr	₹3,751 Cr	+46.8%
EBITDA Margin	14.6%	17.0%	17.1%	18.9%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	₹445 Cr	₹1,487 Cr	₹1,547 Cr	₹1,720 Cr	+57.0%
EPS	₹8.34	₹27.88	₹29.01	₹32.25	+57.0%
ROE	17.1%	36.6%	28.3%	24.6%	—
ROCE	13.2%	39.9%	29.3%	28.2%	—
Total Debt	₹4,464 Cr	₹1,753 Cr	₹2,237 Cr	₹2,561 Cr	-16.9%
Free Cash Flow	₹91 Cr	₹612 Cr	₹393 Cr	₹905 Cr	+114.7%

🟢 Revenue has grown at 34.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has grown at 46.8% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from 14.6% to 18.9% over 3 years (+4.3 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has grown at 57.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EPS has grown at 57.0% a year over 3 years.

🟢 ROE has risen from 17.1% to 24.6% over 3 years (+7.5 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from 13.2% to 28.2% over 3 years (+15.0 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 16.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 Free Cash Flow has grown at 114.7% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹11,729 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹4,621 Cr

Total Debt

₹2,561 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹281 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

₹2,668 Cr

Capex

-₹1,763 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

30.6%

Insider Holding

41.9%

Corporate Actions

Next Earnings

05 Nov 2026

Dividend Rate

₹4

Ex-Dividend Date

12 Jun 2026

Analyst Consensus

Recommendations

21 Buy · 4 Hold · 2 Sell

Target Price (Mean)

₹3,377.54

+14.2% vs CMP

Target Range

₹2,950 – ₹4,455

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
TITAN COMPANY LIMITED	68.5x	36.7%
AVENUE SUPERMARTS LIMITED	69.9x	12.7%

Recent News

1 positive4 mixed1 general

Trent rallies 10% after Q2 business update, m-cap tops ₹1.5 trillion

Business Standard, 06 OctResults

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

TRENT Outlook for the Week (October 12, 2026 – October 16, 2026)

Equitypandit, 09 Oct

Trent shares jump 13% after Q2 revenue beats estimates despite festive shift; analysts weigh in

Upstox, 06 OctPrice 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.

Trent Shares Surge 10% To Hit Upper Circuit After Q2 Revenue Growth Beats Expectations

NDTV Profit, 06 OctPrice 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.

Trent (NSEI:TRENT) Stock Forecast & Analyst Predictions

Simply Wall Street, 08 OctAnalyst view

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

Trent shares surge 11% as revenue rises 23% in Q2; brokerages strike bullish tone

Moneycontrol.com, 06 OctResults

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

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.
RSI is in overbought territory — momentum entries here carry more short-term pullback risk.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟢Business QualityStrong15.4/20

🟢Financial HealthStrong16.6/20

🟢GrowthStrong14.9/20

🟢ProfitabilityStrong11.8/15

🔴ValuationDemanding6.7/15

🟢RiskLow6.6/10

Good business, demanding price

The quality is real and the price already reflects it. Buying here is a bet that the business keeps compounding for long enough to grow into the multiple — which good businesses often do, but it removes the margin for error that a lower price would have given you.

This thesis breaks if

✓Revenue growth stays above 26% a year34.8% CAGR
✓EBITDA margin holds above 17%18.9%
✓Free cash flow remains positive₹905 Cr
✓Debt / EBITDA stays below 2x0.7x
✓ROCE stays above 25%28.2%