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Today's prices ask more of Cipla than of Lupin.
At current prices, buyers of Cipla are assuming about 2% growth against 7% in its own record; for Lupin it is 0% against 17%. 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: Cipla on discounted cash flow; Lupin on estimate withheld.
- Size: the two are worth roughly the same on the stock market.
- Record: On revenue the two have grown at much the same pace: Cipla compounded at about 8% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Lupin at about 8% (FY2018–FY2026).
- What to watch: complex us generics at Cipla; complex us generics at Lupin.
| Cipla | Lupin | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹1,392 | ₹1,980 |
| Market cap | ₹1.12L Cr | ₹0.91L Cr |
| P/E | 38.8 | 17.4 |
| P/B | 3.27 | 4.03 |
| Fair value 🔒 sign in | ₹0,000 | ₹0,000 |
| Upside 🔒 sign in | +00% | +00% |
| Valued on | Discounted cash flow | Estimate withheld |
01Two businesses
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.
A Mumbai drugmaker rebuilt
Lupin was founded in 1968 by Desh Bandhu Gupta and is based in Mumbai. It is one of India's largest generic drugmakers, with big businesses in the US and India and smaller ones across emerging markets.
02The records side by side
On revenue the two have grown at much the same pace: Cipla compounded at about 8% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Lupin at about 8% (FY2018–FY2026). By revenue the two are of broadly similar size. Cipla kept 13.7% of revenue as net profit in FY2026; Lupin kept 19.2% of revenue as net profit in FY2026. Cipla was profitable in every year shown; Lupin reported a net loss in FY2020 and FY2022.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: Cipla · Lupin.
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
- 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.
- Complex US genericsInhalers and other hard-to-make products earn more.
- India businessChronic-therapy brands grow steadily.
05What could go wrong
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 Cipla or Lupin 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, Cipla trades at 38.8 times earnings and 3.27 times book value, and Lupin at 17.4 times earnings and 4.03 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 Cipla and Lupin?
Cipla was founded in 1935 by Khwaja Abdul Hamied and became known worldwide for low-cost HIV medicines in the early 2000s. Lupin was founded in 1968 by Desh Bandhu Gupta and is based in Mumbai.
Are Cipla and Lupin valued the same way?
No. Cipla is valued on discounted cash flow and Lupin on estimate withheld, because forcing one model onto both would misstate at least one of them.
What does today's price assume for Cipla and Lupin?
Worked backwards from the share price, Cipla needs about 2% growth and Lupin about 0% growth, against 7% and 17% in their own records.