A sharp rally in Bajaj Finance shares on Friday lifted the group’s combined market capitalisation to ₹15.7 lakh crore, around ₹2 lakh crore higher than the HDFC Group’s ₹13.8 lakh crore valuation.
The shift is notable because the HDFC Group had emerged as India’s largest business house by market value in December 2018 after overtaking the Tata Group. Since then, however, the merger of HDFC Ltd. with HDFC Bank, along with the recent underperformance of HDFC Group stocks, has reshaped the rankings.
So far in 2026, the Bajaj Group has added nearly ₹1.5 lakh crore to its market capitalisation, while the HDFC Group has lost ₹4.2 lakh crore—the steepest decline among India’s large conglomerates.
The erosion has largely been driven by HDFC Bank, whose market capitalisation has declined by ₹3.7 lakh crore this year. HDFC Life Insurance has shed another ₹42,000 crore. In contrast, Bajaj Finance has added nearly ₹1 lakh crore to its market value, while Bajaj Auto has contributed another ₹61,000 crore.
HDFC Bank continues to dominate the HDFC Group, accounting for 83% of its combined market capitalisation with a market value of ₹11.5 lakh crore. Within the Bajaj Group, Bajaj Finance contributes 45% of the group’s valuation, while Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Auto together account for another 41%.
With a combined market capitalisation of ₹15.7 lakh crore, the Bajaj Group is now India’s fourth-largest business conglomerate by market value, behind the Tata Group (₹25.4 lakh crore), Reliance Group (₹20 lakh crore) and the Adani Group (₹18.4 lakh crore).
The rally was triggered by a 9.3% jump in Bajaj Finance shares to a record high of ₹1,151.50 after the non-banking finance company reported better-than-expected June-quarter earnings, with improvements across key operating metrics.
The strong performance prompted ICICI Securities and Motilal Oswal Financial Services to upgrade the stock to ‘Buy’, citing improving asset quality and easing credit costs.
Citigroup, which has a ‘Buy’ rating and a 12-month target price of ₹1,300, said Bajaj Finance indicated that its June-quarter operating metrics tracked ahead of guidance across multiple parameters. While the company chose not to revise its outlook immediately, Citi said the decision reflected confidence rather than caution.
“Bajaj is confident of the underlying business trends and the decision to wait for another quarter before revising guidance is not indicative of any underlying concern or conservatism,” Citi said in a note.
