Top 10 Companies of India by Market Cap in 2025 compared to that in 2015.
Company Rank & Market Cap in 2025 (USD Bn)
1 Reliance Industries Ltd. 195.8
2 Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. 174.4
3 HDFC Bank Ltd. 148.7
4 Bharti Airtel Ltd. 114.3
5 ICICI Bank Ltd. 99.33
6 Infosys Technologies Ltd. 89.8
7 State Bank of India Ltd. 77.09
8 Hindustan Unilever Ltd. 64.62
9 ITC Ltd. 64.14
10 LIC of India Ltd. 60.3
Company Rank & Market Cap in 2015 (USD Bn)
1 Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. 81.92
2 Reliance Industries Ltd. 46.73
3 ONGC 44.16
4 ITC Ltd. 42.15
5 HDFC Bank Ltd. 41.02
6 Coal India Ltd. 37.82
7 Infosys Technologies Ltd. 37.54
8 State Bank of India Ltd. 33.69
9 Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 33.22
10 HDFC Ltd. 32.41
Brief synopsis of each of the Top 10 companies by Market Cap of 2025:
- Reliance Industries Ltd.: A private sector Petrochemicals monopoly company & refining powerhouse even till today but now a Telecom duopoly too alongside Bharti Airtel & in the course of pivoting itself to also becoming a retail giant from fast fashion to Hypermarket stores (India’s Walmart) with complete pan-India presence. With the company also inching towards building a stranglehold in the field of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Green Hydrogen, Battery manufacturing for EVs (Gigafactory) etc. the company is very much poised to remain the most valued or the top 3 most valued company of India for decades to come & in very likelihood India’s first Trillion USD Market Cap in the future.
- TCS: India’s biggest technology outsourcing company be it my Market cap, revenue or net profits & expected to remain so for another decade given its so ahead by a margin of double wrt its nearest rival Infosys. But threat posed by AI to IT outsourcing business for the coming future as advanced software coding gets more cost efficient by use of AI tools & GPUs how sustainable business models of such companies will be for the coming decade is an ever-evolving question though the quantum of AI threat too isn’t clear as yet. However, given TCS being part of the ultra-dynamic Tata group timely pivoting into newer areas of opportunities like AI & Cloud computing (already in progress), building next gen tech platform & architecture on the likes of Microsoft, Google & Apple etc. wouldn’t be much of problem for them ensuring they remain the top Indian tech firm for another decade & surely among the top 10 in market cap. A major concern for TCS is the overall ever compressing valuation metrices of IT services companies & sector as a whole.
- HDFC Bank Ltd.: India’s biggest pvt sector bank today be it in terms of market cap, Asset size, profits or branches. An ever-expanding branch network (9143 as on 31.12.2024) & well growing profits with good net margins, well performing subsidiaries a near monopoly in terms of scale & size with only its nearest competitor ICICI Bank Ltd. can pose a threat to its current position for the coming decade but set to remain among the top 10 for another decade.
- Bharti Airtel Ltd.: A pvt telecom duopoly alongside Reliance Jio which is expected to remain so for another decade unless there’s explicit govt intervention. A company with consistently growing Free Cash flow to firm – ₹38,846.70 Cr or $4.62 Bn for FY 2023-24 after assuming capital expenditure of over ₹40k Cr ($4.76 Bn approx.), a strong 5g network & management always prepared for newer technologies & challenges it’s a company with very strong footing & will keep growing even if moderate & generate returns for shareholders. With very few chances of any major incumbent players into this extremely capital-intensive industry they are quite unbeatable.
- ICICI Bank Ltd.: India’s 2nd largest pvt bank all in terms of Market cap, asset size, profits or branch network it along with HDFC Bank & smaller competitors Axis Bank & Kotak Mahindra Bank have built a unique oligopoly which will keep getting rooted with every passing year. Given ICICI Bank experiencing a near complete turn around post its Chanda Kochar debacle of 2018 & has now become almost another HDFC Bank in terms of lending strategies & quality of customers it intends to cater to (mostly HNIs & budding HNIs) & gradually reducing risky corporate loan portfolio it is slated to keep growing at the same pace as the leader & thus maintain its position as 2nd largest pvt bank for at least another decade to come.
- Infosys Technologies Ltd.: India’s 2nd largest IT services & outsourcing company by M-cap, revenue & net profit, a company which faced very turbulent times as recently as in 2017 due to overnight resignations of top management & then CEO – Vishal Sikka but then reset on path by former CEO – Nandan Nilekani it has been able to maintain its 2nd position even though its now nearest competitors Cognizant Tech & HCL Tech keeps closing the gap its YoY profit & sales growth has slowed down to around 10% over last 10 years & given current trends & threats to IT outsourcing industry as a whole for it to maintain its position among Top 10 Market cap companies for the next decade as it has barely shown much intent or ability to built original architectures & platforms other than its popular Finnacle used in Indian banking industry & remains mostly as a coding arbitrage powerhouse.
- State Bank of India: India’s largest bank by Asset size & largest public sector banks (with its 2nd – PNB not even half of its size) which keeps growing at a steady pace of about 18% it is well set to achieve & thus become India’s first Trillion USD bank by asset size in another 5-7 years & thus gain the deserved global visibility. With steadily growing profits of 17% over past 10 years which even slows down slightly to around 13-14% will ensure it remains very healthy & fundamentally sound organisation. Also having flourishing subsidiaries like SBI Card & SBI Life which too are likely to keep boosting its performance SBI in all likelihood will retain its position among Top 10 Indian companies by M-cap.
- HUL Ltd.: India’s largest FMCG company by M-cap selling soaps & detergents to beauty products, Tea to Health drinks, an indispensable name for middle income Indian households it is however now facing some tough times due to stagnation of sales growth over past 2 years due to multiple factors such as ‘shrinking middleclass’ (as Nestle CEO attributed recently) facing incessant inflation pressure & minimal wage/salary growth & top of it the growing threat from Quick commerce names which are promoting cheaper alternatives from newly emerging startups. Its heavy reliance on 3rd party manufacturers for sourcing (a trend setoff in late 1990s by FMCG giants as a way to cut heavy management costs & sourcing hassles & build a reliable domestic supply chain) has seemed to turning into disadvantage for it as budding startups are able to easily replicate its products via such 3rd parties which have built expertise & innovations in FMCGs over past 2 decades. Thus given such fundamental threats to its business it will very much be difficult for HUL to maintain growth & lead & thus remain among the top 10 M-capped companies in coming decade.
- ITC Ltd.: India’s largest FMCG company by profits & 2nd largest by M-cap (by a very thin margin) though still contributes 42% of its sales & about 78% of its profits so its not yet truly an FMCG company but very much on the path with management determined to convert the company into such. Unlike HUL much of ITC’s FMCG business comes from its foods business with beauty & hygiene still in a nascent & facing very stiff competition from ever budding startups. Given current challenges faced by FMCG giants & ever looming threats to its cigarettes business from cheaper & more fashionable vapes, smuggling this company too might not remain among the Top 10 in coming decade.
- LIC of India Ltd.: India’s largest life insurance company which only got listed in May 2022 though met with disappointment as equity markets showed hardly any jubilance to its IPO for various reasons such as Ukraine war tensions just triggered a month earlier, Fundamental problems like declining market share, high proportion of participatory policies in it portfolio & quite important lack of any retained earnings in its Balance sheet during IPO & also some subtle concerns posed by some Asset-liability mismatches out of legacy issues. Such trend has barely changed till late 2024 though LIC is making effort to strike a better proportion of non-participatory business. With an Equity holder’s point of view even if discounting its 10years possible earnings or assume its embedded value of ₹8.217 Trillion (as on 30.09.2024) it doesn’t assume much attraction since its already the largest & thus has growth constraints, thus making sense only for ultra long-term investors. Thus, its ability to be among the Top 10 in coming 10 years is severely constrained.
Conclusion: The great wheel of fortune dictates that no company or business or billionaire remains at the top forever in a reasonable gap of time old ones leave the club & new ones join as new ideas keep replacing old ones. India’s Top 10 has indeed seen a decadal change but certainly not drastic as nearly all these companies in the Top 10 list are near monopolies of their own kind (be it the past ones or current ones) & most of them are expected to stay so for decades to come. So deeply rooted are the strengths of some like Reliance Ind, Bharti, HDFC Bk, SBI, ICICI Bk & TCS that even shaking them up for any incumbent is difficult. Others (as already said in each of their synopsis) like LIC, ITC, HUL & Infosys will likely give way for other incumbents, possible names of which are:
- Larsen & Toubro – India’s largest engineering & construction company, a truly worldclass corporate institution which has time & again been rated among the highest on term of employee job satisfaction (on various metrices) & currently the 12th biggest in M-cap. An ever-growing order book value which is expected to remain strong for coming decade too given high infra spending by Govt so as to ensure India becomes a $10 Trillion economy as soon as possible & prospects of making it good or possible big in the area of defence this company should make it into the Top 10 league in coming years.
- Titan Industries Ltd.: A true ‘Make in India’ story of manufacturing which started from watches has now spread to Jewelleries bigtime as Tanishq becoming the biggest organised jewellery brand & then expanding into accessories, clothing & discretionary. An all ‘brand ki dukaan’ story this is on course to become India’s own Louis Vitton once its premium fashion business emerges in full force – Taneira. This company will keep growing at least about 20% & in spite of its very high PE with remain attractive & thus become a part of the Top 10 club.
- Bajaj Finance Ltd.: The consumer lending powerhouse, an outcome of Bajaj Auto demerger & product of meticulous effort capitalizing Bajaj group’s franchise power it has become a true household name no matter whether you like it or hate it for its intense marketing strategies. This company is expected to keep growing in sync with India’s growing consumer demand as most electronics/mobiles purchases are loan financed & Bajaj Finance is at the forefront. A company which earned less than ₹1000 Cr till even 2015 to now earning over ₹15,000 Cr as on 2024 Sep an incredible compounding story is expected to keep intact though with reduced & more sustainable levels helping it become part of the club.
- Adani Enterprises: A fast-growing conglomerate which started out as an export house today India’s top trader cum exporter of minerals like coal & iron ore, cement & other items to executing infrastructure on a grand scale & timely manner & investing in other avenues like recently acquired Cement businesses of Ambuja & ACC making it India’s 2nd biggest cement player. All these factors are expected to ensure Adani Enterprises is one of the candidates for the top 10 club.
- Zomato: The unique success story of India’s Pvt equity backed startup universe post 2010s it has now successfully expanded from food delivery to becoming your mobile kirana store for urban Indians. Combined with its data power it is the true quick commerce story giving sleepless nights to even Amazon & Flipkart now. As it keeps scaling up with now expectedly profitable growth it run towards the Top 10 club seems quite unstoppable.
Credit For article : Gaurav Lath(prudentclasses.kolkata@gmail.com)
