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Today's prices ask more of Reliance Industries than of Larsen & Toubro.
At current prices, buyers of Larsen & Toubro are assuming about 6% growth against 16% in its own record; for Reliance Industries it is 6% 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 estimate withheld.
- Size: Reliance Industries is worth about 3.2 times Larsen & Toubro on the stock market.
- Record: Larsen & Toubro has grown revenue faster: Larsen & Toubro compounded at about 11% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Reliance Industries at about 9% (FY2019–FY2026).
- What to watch: order inflow and backlog at Larsen & Toubro; jio's revenue per user at Reliance Industries.
| Larsen & Toubro | Reliance Industries | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹4,144 | ₹1,340 |
| Market cap | ₹5.70L Cr | ₹18.13L Cr |
| P/E | 31.9 | 22.1 |
| P/B | 5.22 | 2.01 |
| Fair value 🔒 sign in | ₹0,000 | ₹0,000 |
| Upside 🔒 sign in | +00% | +00% |
| Valued on | Estimate withheld | Estimate withheld |
01Two businesses
Engineer, builder, IT house and lender
Larsen & Toubro is India's largest engineering and construction company. Its core business wins and delivers large projects — roads, metros, airports, water systems, power transmission, and oil and gas facilities in India and the Middle East. Its hi-tech manufacturing arm makes heavy equipment and defence systems.
Three businesses under one share price
Reliance Industries started out in textiles and petrochemicals and is now India's most valuable listed company. Its oldest engine, oil-to-chemicals (O2C), runs the Jamnagar refining complex and turns crude oil into fuels, polymers and polyester. Profits there rise and fall with global refining margins, which is why the segment is valued as a capital-heavy commodity business.
02The records side by side
Larsen & Toubro has grown revenue faster: Larsen & Toubro compounded at about 11% a year (FY2018–FY2026) and Reliance Industries at about 9% (FY2019–FY2026). By revenue, Reliance Industries is about 3.8 times the size of Larsen & Toubro. Larsen & Toubro kept 6.6% of revenue as net profit in FY2026; Reliance Industries kept 8.9% of revenue as net profit in FY2026.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: Larsen & Toubro · Reliance Industries.
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
- Order inflow and backlogMost of L&T's revenue for the next few years is already in its order book. The size and margin of new orders set future earnings.
- Execution marginsConstruction margins are thin, so cost overruns or commodity swings move profit by much more than they move revenue.
- Jio's revenue per userThe network is already built, so each tariff increase drops almost straight to profit. How far revenue per user can rise without losing subscribers is the biggest single swing factor in the group's value.
- Retail's store economicsRetail is worth what each store earns once it matures, not how many stores open. Slower same-store growth would shrink this part of the valuation faster than any other.
05What could go wrong
- A slowdown in public capexGovernment infrastructure spending is the biggest single source of domestic orders.
- Working capitalDelayed client payments tie up cash and can strain the balance sheet.
- The holding-company discountMarkets often value conglomerates below the sum of their parts, and that discount can last for years.
- New energy is still a betThe solar, battery and hydrogen projects are early, capital-hungry and not yet proven at scale.
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 Larsen & Toubro or Reliance Industries 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, Larsen & Toubro trades at 31.9 times earnings and 5.22 times book value, and Reliance Industries at 22.1 times earnings and 2.01 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 Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries?
Larsen & Toubro is India's largest engineering and construction company. Reliance Industries started out in textiles and petrochemicals and is now India's most valuable listed company.
Are Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries valued the same way?
Yes — both on estimate withheld, so their workings compare like for like.
What does today's price assume for Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries?
Worked backwards from the share price, Larsen & Toubro needs about 6% growth and Reliance Industries about 6% growth, against 16% and 7% in their own records.