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LIC and State Bank of India are valued in different ways.
LIC is valued on embedded value and State Bank of India on excess return, because the two businesses do not work the same way. Below, each is set out on its own record and its own value drivers; the two fair values sit in the full valuations.
- Valuation method: LIC on embedded value; State Bank of India on excess return.
- Size: State Bank of India is worth about 2.0 times LIC on the stock market.
- Record: LIC's filed history in the data used here is too short to compare year by year, so only State Bank of India's record is summarised: revenue went from FY2019 to FY2026 at about 12% a year.
- What to watch: embedded value at LIC; return on equity versus its own history at State Bank of India.
| LIC | State Bank of India | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ₹399 | ₹1,080 |
| Market cap | ₹5.05L Cr | ₹9.97L Cr |
| P/E | 8.1 | 11.0 |
| P/B | 2.86 | 1.62 |
| Fair value 🔒 sign in | ₹0,000 | ₹0,000 |
| Upside 🔒 sign in | +00% | +00% |
| Valued on | Embedded value | Excess return |
01Two businesses
India's life insurer, still by a distance
Life Insurance Corporation of India is the country's largest life insurer by a wide margin. It was the only life insurer until private companies were allowed in from 2000, and the Government of India still owns the overwhelming majority of its shares after the 2022 IPO.
The bank the whole country runs on
State Bank of India is the country's largest bank by deposits, loans, branches and customers, and it is majority-owned by the Government of India. It lends to everyone from farmers and home buyers to the largest corporates, and its group includes SBI Life, SBI Card, the SBI Mutual Fund asset manager and SBI General Insurance.
02The records side by side
LIC's filed history in the data used here is too short to compare year by year, so only State Bank of India's record is summarised: revenue went from FY2019 to FY2026 at about 12% a year.
Full ten-year tables and charts are on each company's page: LIC · State Bank of India.
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.
LIC is not valued on a single growth or return rate that can be solved back from its price.
04What decides each one's value
- Embedded valueThe present value of profits from policies already written, plus net assets — the starting point for valuing any life insurer.
- Value of new businessHow much value each year's new policies add. LIC's margins on new business have been below private peers', and lifting them is the main lever.
- Return on equity versus its own historySBI's value depends on whether recent returns hold through a full credit cycle — something it has not shown before.
- Credit costsBecause the book is so large, even a modest rise in fresh bad loans would show up quickly in profit.
05What could go wrong
- Losing share to private insurersPrivate life insurers have taken market share steadily since they were allowed in.
- Government ownershipFurther share sales by the government, or pressure to invest in state priorities, can weigh on the price.
- A turn in corporate creditSBI's history shows how fast large-company defaults can erase years of profit.
- Staff and pension costsWage settlements at a public-sector bank are less flexible and can lift costs in step.
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 LIC or State Bank of India 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, LIC trades at 8.1 times earnings and 2.86 times book value, and State Bank of India at 11.0 times earnings and 1.62 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 LIC and State Bank of India?
Life Insurance Corporation of India is the country's largest life insurer by a wide margin. State Bank of India is the country's largest bank by deposits, loans, branches and customers, and it is majority-owned by the Government of India.
Are LIC and State Bank of India valued the same way?
No. LIC is valued on embedded value and State Bank of India on excess return, because forcing one model onto both would misstate at least one of them.