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Today's prices ask more of Apollo Hospitals than of Cipla.
At current prices, buyers of Apollo Hospitals are assuming about 21% growth against 16% in its own record; for Cipla it is 2% against 7%. That shows which share needs more to go right — not which is cheaper. How far each trades from its estimated fair value is in the full valuations.
- Valuation method: both on discounted cash flow.
- Size: the two are worth roughly the same on the stock market.
- Record: Apollo Hospitals has grown revenue faster: Apollo Hospitals compounded at about 15% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Cipla at about 8% (FY2018–FY2026).
- What to watch: hospital occupancy and pricing at Apollo Hospitals; complex us generics at Cipla.
| Apollo Hospitals | Cipla | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹8,526 | ₹1,392 |
| Market cap | ₹1.23L Cr | ₹1.12L Cr |
| P/E | 54.7 | 38.8 |
| P/B | 12.93 | 3.27 |
| Fair value 🔒 sign in | ₹0,000 | ₹0,000 |
| Upside 🔒 sign in | +00% | +00% |
| Valued on | Discounted cash flow | Discounted cash flow |
01Two businesses
India's largest private hospital group
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise was founded in Chennai in 1983 by Dr Prathap C. Reddy and opened one of India's first corporate hospitals. Today it runs a network of large multi-speciality hospitals across the country, along with clinics, diagnostics and day-care centres.
Ninety years of affordable medicine
Cipla was founded in 1935 by Khwaja Abdul Hamied and became known worldwide for low-cost HIV medicines in the early 2000s. Today it is one of India's largest pharmaceutical companies, with strong positions in India, South Africa and the US.
02The records side by side
Apollo Hospitals has grown revenue faster: Apollo Hospitals compounded at about 15% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Cipla at about 8% (FY2018–FY2026). By revenue the two are of broadly similar size. Apollo Hospitals kept 7.9% of revenue as net profit in FY2026; Cipla kept 13.7% of revenue as net profit in FY2026.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: Apollo Hospitals · Cipla.
03What each price assumes
Work backwards from each share price and you can see what buyers are taking for granted — the rate each company must sustain to justify what it costs, against what its own record supports.
04What decides each one's value
- Hospital occupancy and pricingFuller beds and more complex procedures lift margins.
- New bedsApollo is adding capacity; new hospitals take years to mature.
- Complex US genericsInhalers and other hard-to-make products face less competition than simple pills.
- India branded businessSteady, cash-rich and growing with the domestic market.
05What could go wrong
- Price regulationCaps on treatment or drug prices would squeeze margins.
- Expansion costsNew hospitals lose money before they fill up.
- FDA complianceInspection problems at key plants have delayed launches before.
- US price erosionGeneric prices fall as competitors enter.
06Which is better value?
Sign in free to see which trades further below its worth
- ✓Both fair values per share — each on the method that fits the business
- ✓Every step of both workings — growth, margins and cost of capital, with sources
- ✓Bull, base and bear cases — for each company
- ✓Downloadable reports — the full write-up for each, yours to keep
08Questions people ask
Is Apollo Hospitals or Cipla better value?
That turns on how far each share trades from its estimated fair value. Both figures, with every step of the working, are in the full valuations, free to view once you sign in. On the public numbers, Apollo Hospitals trades at 54.7 times earnings and 12.93 times book value, and Cipla at 38.8 times earnings and 3.27 times book value — but multiples alone mislead when two businesses work differently, which is why each is valued on the method that fits it.
What is the difference between Apollo Hospitals and Cipla?
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise was founded in Chennai in 1983 by Dr Prathap C. Cipla was founded in 1935 by Khwaja Abdul Hamied and became known worldwide for low-cost HIV medicines in the early 2000s.
Are Apollo Hospitals and Cipla valued the same way?
Yes — both on discounted cash flow, so their workings compare like for like.
What does today's price assume for Apollo Hospitals and Cipla?
Worked backwards from the share price, Apollo Hospitals needs about 21% growth and Cipla about 2% growth, against 16% and 7% in their own records.