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Today's prices ask more of Apollo Hospitals than of Sun Pharma.
At current prices, buyers of Apollo Hospitals are assuming about 21% growth against 16% in its own record; for Sun Pharma it is 7% against 16%. 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: Sun Pharma is worth about 3.7 times Apollo Hospitals on the stock market.
- Record: Apollo Hospitals has grown revenue faster: Apollo Hospitals compounded at about 15% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Sun Pharma at about 10% (FY2018–FY2026).
- What to watch: hospital occupancy and pricing at Apollo Hospitals; specialty growth at Sun Pharma.
| Apollo Hospitals | Sun Pharma | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹8,526 | ₹1,880 |
| Market cap | ₹1.23L Cr | ₹4.51L Cr |
| P/E | 54.7 | 41.1 |
| P/B | 12.93 | 5.40 |
| 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.
From generics to specialty medicines
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, founded by Dilip Shanghvi in 1983, is India's largest pharmaceutical company and the leader in branded prescriptions in India. It sells generics in the US, emerging markets and Europe, and owns Taro Pharmaceutical, a dermatology-focused generics maker it took fully private in 2024.
02The records side by side
Apollo Hospitals has grown revenue faster: Apollo Hospitals compounded at about 15% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Sun Pharma at about 10% (FY2018–FY2026). By revenue, Sun Pharma is about 2.3 times the size of Apollo Hospitals. Apollo Hospitals kept 7.9% of revenue as net profit in FY2026; Sun Pharma kept 19.7% of revenue as net profit in FY2026 — a sign of very different business models.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: Apollo Hospitals · Sun Pharma.
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.
- Specialty growthThe specialty portfolio is the main reason Sun earns a higher multiple than most Indian pharma companies. Its growth rate drives the valuation.
- The India businessBranded prescriptions in India are steady, cash-rich and grow 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.
- US FDA complianceWarning letters or import alerts at a manufacturing site can block US sales from that plant for years.
- Trial and patent riskA failed trial or an early generic challenge can wipe out expected specialty revenue.
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 Sun Pharma 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 Sun Pharma at 41.1 times earnings and 5.40 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 Sun Pharma?
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise was founded in Chennai in 1983 by Dr Prathap C. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, founded by Dilip Shanghvi in 1983, is India's largest pharmaceutical company and the leader in branded prescriptions in India.
Are Apollo Hospitals and Sun Pharma 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 Sun Pharma?
Worked backwards from the share price, Apollo Hospitals needs about 21% growth and Sun Pharma about 7% growth, against 16% and 16% in their own records.