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Today's prices ask more of Hindustan Unilever than of ITC.
At current prices, buyers of Hindustan Unilever are assuming about 8% growth against 3% in its own record; for ITC it is 0% against 8%. 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: Hindustan Unilever on discounted cash flow; ITC on estimate withheld.
- Size: Hindustan Unilever is worth about 1.3 times ITC on the stock market.
- Record: On revenue the two have grown at much the same pace: Hindustan Unilever compounded at about 7% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and ITC at about 8% (FY2018–FY2026).
- What to watch: volume growth at Hindustan Unilever; cigarette volumes and taxes at ITC.
| Hindustan Unilever | ITC | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹1,993 | ₹285 |
| Market cap | ₹4.68L Cr | ₹3.57L Cr |
| P/E | 31.1 | 18.9 |
| P/B | 9.61 | 4.93 |
| Fair value 🔒 sign in | ₹0,000 | ₹0,000 |
| Upside 🔒 sign in | +00% | +00% |
| Valued on | Discounted cash flow | Estimate withheld |
01Two businesses
The brands in almost every Indian home
Hindustan Unilever is India's largest fast-moving consumer goods company and is majority-owned by Unilever. Its products — Surf Excel, Rin, Lux, Dove, Lifebuoy, Pond's, Brooke Bond, Kissan and, since its 2020 merger with GSK Consumer Healthcare, Horlicks and Boost — reach most Indian households through millions of shops.
Cigarettes pay for everything else
ITC is India's largest cigarette company, with brands such as Gold Flake, Classic and Navy Cut, and the cigarette business still earns most of its operating profit. Over two decades it has used that cash to build a packaged-foods and personal-care business — Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, Bingo!, Yippee!, Classmate, Savlon — along with paperboard and packaging mills and an agri-business that sources and exports crops.
02The records side by side
On revenue the two have grown at much the same pace: Hindustan Unilever compounded at about 7% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and ITC at about 8% (FY2018–FY2026). By revenue, ITC is about 1.4 times the size of Hindustan Unilever. Hindustan Unilever kept 23.4% of revenue as net profit in FY2026; ITC kept 23.4% of revenue as net profit in FY2026.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: Hindustan Unilever · ITC.
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
- Volume growthPrice increases can lift revenue for a while, but lasting value comes from selling more packs. Rural demand is the swing factor.
- Commodity costsPalm oil, crude derivatives and tea flow straight into costs; HUL's pricing power decides how much it can pass on.
- Cigarette volumes and taxesCigarettes are most of the profit. Tax changes decide how much volume is lost to smuggled and illegal cigarettes.
- FMCG marginsThe foods and personal-care business is large but earns thin margins; lifting them is the main source of new value.
05What could go wrong
- The multiple itselfIf growth stays in low single digits, the market may stop paying a premium P/E.
- Royalty increasesA higher royalty to Unilever moves value from minority shareholders to the parent.
- Tobacco taxationA large tax increase can cut legal cigarette volumes sharply.
- ESG pressureSome global investors avoid tobacco altogether, which can cap the multiple.
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 Hindustan Unilever or ITC 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, Hindustan Unilever trades at 31.1 times earnings and 9.61 times book value, and ITC at 18.9 times earnings and 4.93 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 Hindustan Unilever and ITC?
Hindustan Unilever is India's largest fast-moving consumer goods company and is majority-owned by Unilever. ITC is India's largest cigarette company, with brands such as Gold Flake, Classic and Navy Cut, and the cigarette business still earns most of its operating profit.
Are Hindustan Unilever and ITC valued the same way?
No. Hindustan Unilever is valued on discounted cash flow and ITC on estimate withheld, because forcing one model onto both would misstate at least one of them.
What does today's price assume for Hindustan Unilever and ITC?
Worked backwards from the share price, Hindustan Unilever needs about 8% growth and ITC about 0% growth, against 3% and 8% in their own records.