2020 is coming to an end and year 2021 is about to begin. This makes it a perfect time to create a list of Highest Market Cap Companies in India.
It’s been an eventful year. Nifty was at 12,200 at the beginning of the year and considering everything that has happened in between – 2020 was actually a fantastic year for the stock market.
Nifty is just 70 points below 14,000!
Who would have thought the index would give nearly 15% returns in the Covid-times that we are living in. Many stocks have doubled and tripled since January.
It’ll be interesting to see how the markets fare in 2021.
Let’s get to the point now. The list.
Highest Market Cap Companies in India
| No. | Company Name | Market Cap (in crore) |
| 1. | Reliance | 12,82,059 |
| 2. | TCS | 10,99,693 |
| 3. | HDFC Bank | 7,85,998 |
| 4. | Hindustan Unilever | 5,59,923 |
| 5. | Infosys | 5,32,512 |
| 6. | HDFC | 4,53,766 |
| 7. | Kotak Mahindra Bank | 3,95,479 |
| 8. | ICICI Bank | 3,65,152 |
| 9. | Bajaj Finance | 3,13,207 |
| 10. | Bharti Airtel | 2,83,825 |
| 11. | ITC | 2,60,315 |
| 12. | Asian Paints | 2,58,633 |
| 13. | HCL Tech | 2,53,999 |
| 14. | State Bank of India | 2,48,015 |
| 15. | Maruti Suzuki | 2,25,169 |
| 16. | Wipro | 2,20,012 |
| 17. | Axis Bank | 1,92,944 |
| 18. | Larsen & Toubro | 1,80,398 |
| 19. | Nestle India | 1,76,200 |
| 20. | Avenue Supermarts | 1,72,638 |
| 21. | Adani Green Energy | 1,62,525 |
| 22. | UltraTech Cement | 1,48,358 |
| 23. | Bajaj Finserv | 1,42,866 |
| 24. | Sun Pharma | 1,41,681 |
| 25. | Titan Company | 1,36,741 |
| 26. | HDFC Life | 1,35,997 |
| 27. | ONGC | 1,17,185 |
| 28. | Hind Zinc | 1,01,323 |
| 29. | Divis Labs | 1,00,139 |
| 30. | Bajaj Auto | 99,466 |
| 31. | Power Grid Corp | 99,191 |
| 32. | Adani Ports | 98,134 |
| 33. | NTPC | 97,709 |
| 34. | Dabur India | 93,576 |
| 35. | Tech Mahindra | 93,429 |
| 36. | JSW Steel | 92,132 |
| 37. | SBI Life Insurance | 89,925 |
| 38. | Pidilite Industries | 89,482 |
| 39. | M&M (Mahindra) | 87,894 |
| 40. | Britannia | 86,538 |
| 41. | Shree Cements | 86,017 |
| 42. | Indian Oil Corp | 85,857 |
| 43. | Dr Reddys Labs | 85,784 |
| 44. | Coal India | 83,597 |
| 45. | BPCL | 82,833 |
| 46. | SBI Cards | 79,070 |
| 47. | Godrej Consumer | 75,720 |
| 48. | Berger Paints | 72,157 |
| 49. | ICICI Prudential Life | 71,759 |
| 50. | Tata Steel | 71,177 |
What is Market Cap?
If you do not know how market capitalisation is calculated, then you can read our detailed article on Market Cap.
In short, Market cap is ‘total number of shares of a company’ multiplied by ‘current market price’.
Example: Reliance has around 640 crore shares. The current market price is approximately ₹ 2000.
So 640,00,00,000 x 2000 = 128,00,00,00,00,000 i.e 12,80,000 crore (approx).
That’s how the market cap is calculated.
1. Reliance Industries
- Rank 1
- Market Cap – ₹ 12,82,059 crore
The company with the highest market capitalization in India is Reliance Industries. The last few years have been exceptional, as the Mukesh Ambani-led company made the transition from its traditional petrochemicals business to India’s most exciting technology company.
Reliance Jio is now in the pockets of more than 40 crore Indians. That’s a massive number, considering the telecom business was publicly launched only in the end of 2016.
In just 4 years, Jio has become India’s largest telecom company and the third largest in the world.
Ambani and his team continues to remain aggressive in the technology space – a move that has attracted global companies like Google, Facebook and Qualcomm to invest in ‘Jio Platforms’.
The Retail section of the business continues to show excellent growth.
The next few years look promising for Reliance. Will it continue to remain the Highest Market Cap Company in India? Only time will tell. Bookmark this page, we will keep you updated.
2. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
- Rank 2
- Market Cap – ₹ 10,99,693 crore
India’s largest Information Technology company is the 2nd highest in terms of market cap.
First listed at the stock market in 2004, TCS is the IT backbone of India. If you visit a nearby passport office, the entire digital process is handled by TCS. No wonder, these days, the entire process is simple and passports are getting issued in record-time.
TCS has operations in 46 countries and provides jobs to more than 4.5 lakh people all over the over.
In 2018, TCS became the first Indian IT company to cross market capitalization of $ 100 billion (₹ 7.3 lakh crore).
The current market cap at the beginning of year 2021 stands at ₹ 11 lakh crore.
TCS also has nearly ₹ 1,00,000 crore in cash, making it one of the most cash-rich companies in the country.
3. HDFC Bank
- Rank 3
- Market Cap – ₹ 7,85,998 crore
The largest private bank in India ranks No 3 in the list of Highest Market Cap Companies in the country.
The credit for the success of HDFC Bank goes largely to its ex-Managing Director Aditya Puri – who left the bank in October 2020.
Puri’s journey in HDFC Bank began in 1994 and he was instrumental in making it the biggest private bank in the country.
HDFC Bank is now in its transition phase as Sashidhar Jagdishan has taken charge as the CEO.
With private banks struggling, HDFC still holds tremendous growth potential.
4. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)
- Rank 4
- Market Cap – ₹ 5,59,923 crore
If you happen to visit a supermarket, take a few popular products, turn it around and check the name of the company that sells it.
Chances are you will find the name of Hindustan Unilever Limited.
To name some of their popular brands – Axe, Lux, Rexona, Dove, Lifebuoy, Sunsilk, Lakme, Pears, Wheel, Pond’s, Vaseline, Pepsodent, Surf Excel, Bru, Kissan, Vim, Annapurna, Red Label, Hamam, Rin, Taj Mahal, Clinic Plus and many more.
How many products of the above-mentioned brands do you have in your own house? Their products will be in your kitchen, bathroom and your bedroom!
That’s the power of HUL. Almost every Indian household uses their product – and for this very reason, the company ranks No 4 in the list of Highest Market Cap Companies in India.
5. Infosys
- Rank 5
- Market Cap – ₹ 5,32,512 crore
Infosys is the 2nd largest IT company in India. It was founded by Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, S Gopalakrishnan and four others.
The company was first listed at the stock market in February 1993. And guess what, its IPO was under-subscribed.
It was the US investment company ‘Morgan Stanley’, which picked up 13% stake in the company and pushed the IPO through.
Amazing, isn’t it? The times that we are living in, even the IPOs of loss-making companies are getting over-subscribed several times. And there was a company called Infosys, which would go on to become one of the biggest wealth creators in the Indian Stock Market space – and its IPO didn’t generate any interest.
It has to be noted that the IPO of Infosys came just after the Harshad Mehta scam was exposed and the serial blasts in Mumbai – including one inside the basement of Bombay Stock Exchange. The market was under the grip of the bears.
Back then, companies would release their financial results once in a year. It was Infosys which started publishing its results twice a year and eventually every quarter. This has now become mandatory for all listed companies.
Ironically, it was Infosys which was accused of unethical practices by whistleblowers in 2019. The rumors, however, were laid to rest and the share price of the company has doubled since then.
6. HDFC
- Rank 6
- Market Cap – ₹ 4,53,766 crore
A lot of people are not aware that HDFC (Housing Development Finance Company) was the first company that was founded by Hasmukh Thakordas Parekh in the 1970s.
HDFC is the parent company of HDFC Bank. It holds 21% stake in the bank.
The company is a market leader in the ‘Housing Finance’ segment, commanding a market share of more than 40%.
HDFC also has stake in its subsidiary companies like HDFC Life, HDFC AMC, HDFC ERGO etc.
It is the 6th highest in terms of Market Cap in India.
7. Kotak Mahindra Bank
- Rank 7
- Market Cap – ₹ 3,95,479 crore
Kotak Mahindra Bank is the 2nd largest bank in the terms of highest market capitalization. The company has more than 1600 branches spread across the country and more than 2500 ATMs.
It was Uday Kotak who founded the company and took it to great heights.
In 2015, Kotak Bank acquired ING Vysya Bank – which helped the bank spread itself across the country.
The bank has subsidiary companies which covers General Insurance, Life Insurance, Mutual Fund, Kotak Securities and others.
8. ICICI Bank
- Rank 8
- Market Cap – ₹ 3,65,152 crore
There are 3 banks in the Top 10 list of Highest Market Cap companies in India. ICICI Bank is the third.
The network of ICICI Bank is large. It comes a close second in ‘number of branches’. HDFC has a few more than 5400 branches, while ICICI has around 5325 branches across the country.
In comparison, Kotak is smaller – but commands premium valuations due to better fundamentals.
ICICI Bank ranks No 8 in the list of highest market cap companies in India.
9. Bajaj Finance
- Rank 9
- Market Cap – ₹ 3,13,207 crore
If there are 3 banks in the Top 3, there are 2 non-banking finance companies too. Bajaj Finance comes second after HDFC.
Bajaj Finance is a subsidiary of Bajaj Finserv, and it was founded to lend money to customers who were interested in buying 2 and 3 wheelers.
The company then ventured into lending in the consumer durables segment. This has led to tremendous growth, with the company using technology to innovate and lend to customers across the country.
Growth and future potential in a country has meant premium valuations. In terms of market cap, Bajaj Finance ranks 9th in India.
10. Bharti Airtel
- Rank 10
- Market Cap – ₹ 2,83,825 crore
The Top 10 list of Highest Market Cap companies started with a company that has disrupted the telecom space (Reliance Jio) and ends with a company that remains the only survivor.
But saying Reliance has disrupted the telecom industry, would be an understatment. The last profitable quarter for Airtel was March 2019. The next 6 quarters, the company has reported net loss of nearly ₹ 50,000 crore.
Jio has literally destroyed all other telecom companies. But with Airtel as the only other survivor, and the company still having more than 30 crore subscribers – the future is expected to be much better.
This article will be updated once in 15 days with the latest market cap numbers.
If you have any questions, please ask in the comments section below.
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