HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited (HDFCLIFE)
Large CapFinancial Services stocks · Large cap · NSE
HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited is an Indian life insurance provider offering a range of individual and group insurance solutions. It focuses on long-term savings and protection, leveraging a diversified distribution network including HDFC Bank, agency, and non-bank alliances.
One read, four checks
75+ is strong, 60-74 is usable, 45-59 is mixed, and below 45 needs caution. These are research lenses, not buy/sell instructions.
Weak fundamentals, management trust is acceptable, price trend argues for patience, and recent execution is consistent.
Fundamental lens: valuation, quality, growth, balance sheet, and cash flow.
low confidence · 0/0 claims checked
Timing lens: price trend and sector relative strength.
Rolling lens: recent quarterly delivery, not the latest single-result score.
Quarter ended 30 Jun 2026
Average · 42/100margin compression · Rev +15% YoY · PAT +12% YoY · +70% QoQ
| Metric | This quarter | YoY | QoQ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | ₹33,759 Cr | +14.6% | +69.7% |
| EBITDA | ₹506 Cr | +15.3% | +368.5% |
| Operating margin | 1.5% | +0 bps | +90 bps |
| PAT | ₹611 Cr | +11.5% | +22.9% |
| PAT margin | 1.8% | -5 bps | -69 bps |
NDF means not disclosed in the current structured filing feed. It is intentionally not treated as zero.
Business & thesis
Growth engines, tailwinds/headwinds, and risk radar from management commentary
Business & thesis
Growth engines, tailwinds/headwinds, and risk radar from management commentary
Where growth can come from, and what can break the case
Q1 FY27 saw overall APE growth of 9% (individual APE 7%), VNB up 9%, and PAT up 12% YoY. New business margins improved sequentially to 25%, while 13-month persistency moderated. AUM crossed INR 4 trillion, and solvency improved to 185%.
HDFC Life delivered Q1 FY27 results broadly in line with management's FY27 aspirations, with strong growth in protection and annuities. While the HDFC Bank channel remains subdued, other channels show robust performance. Margin expansion is noted, but management prioritizes growth.
Individual APE by Product
Latest issuer-disclosed distribution across 5 reported categories.
Retail Protection
Retail Protection continued to outperform the company average growing by 42% and retail sum assured should also continue to outpace the industry.
Agency Channel
Our agency channel grew ahead of the company average at 21%, with particularly healthy traction in protection and annuity.
Non-bank Alliances
Our non-bank alliances also delivered a strong quarter with retail protection growing by 60% year-on-year.
Variable Annuity Proposition
Annuity saw strong momentum on the back of our variable annuity proposition launched in Q4 FY26 and which now accounts for just under half of our annuity mix.
Agency Branch Expansion
Branches opened in our agency channel in the past 24 months contribute almost 16% to our agency APE. The new branches were in Tier 2, Tier 3 markets.
Overall Branch Network
We have reached 700-plus branches across maybe 600-plus cities, which is a significant reach. We have slowed down the expansion.
Improving Macro Backdrop
The improving macro backdrop is constructive for long-term savings and protection businesses like ours.
Favorable Yield Environment
Non-par savings crossed mid-20s on a run rate basis, aided by calibrated rate actioning across select cohorts supported by a favorable yield environment.
Benign Competitive Environment
Most of the competition is now completely benign on those products, which were obviously not profitable for them as well.
Credit Environment
Credit Protect also delivered healthy growth of 19%, supported by a recovery in the MFI segment, as the credit environment has been good and disbursements are up.
HDFC Bank Channel Subdued
Business through the HDFC Bank channel remains subdued this quarter, reflecting softer volumes at the overall bank level.
Geopolitical Escalations
Geopolitical escalations and risks can resurface quickly and we are watching this closely, given bearing on oil prices and broader market sentiment.
El Nino Impact
El Nino also remains a factor we are tracking, though we do not see this as a broad-based risk at this stage.
Residual GST Impact
Residual GST impact now stands at 60 basis points, and we remain on track to fully neutralize it over the coming quarters.
Regulatory Changes
The RBI regulations on third-party product distribution finalized last month and effective January 1st, provide a framework around best-selling practices for distributors.
Market Volatility
Unit-linked demand remained resilient despite market volatility.
Persistency Moderation
Our 13-month persistency moderated by around 200 basis points to 84% broadly in line with our expectations and driven largely by specific cohorts and softer collections in unit-linked products.
Management accountability
What management said, and what results must prove
Management accountability
What management said, and what results must prove
What management said, and what results must prove
Issuer guidance and extracted claims are tracked against later reported outcomes. Treat these as management statements, not IndiaPulse forecasts.
YoY comparison is crucial for assessing overall business growth and profitability trends, especially in a sector that can have seasonal variations. QoQ comparison is important for tracking sequential momentum in new business margins, persistency, and channel-specific performance, particularly for the HDFC Bank channel's recovery.
Overall APE Growth
Overall APE growth was stronger at 9%, supported by robust growth in credit life and group business.
Individual APE Growth
Q1 individual APE grew by 7%.
Value of New Business (VNB) Growth
Our value of new business grew 9% to INR 879 crores during the quarter.
New Business Margins (NBM)
New business margins stood at 25%, aided by better product profile, which helped absorb scale-related pressure and a GST impact of approximately 60 basis points.
FY27 Growth Aspiration
For FY27, our aspiration remains unchanged, to grow in line with or faster than the industry and to deliver VNB growth broadly in line with APE growth.
Margin Strategy
Going forward, while margins should improve with scale and product mix, we will continue to prioritize growth over margin expansion. And hence, we expect new business margins to remain range bound at current levels.
HDFC Bank Channel Outlook
While it is early days, we see growth pick up as a matter of time rather than anything structural, and we expect the channel to progressively contribute to growth as the year progresses.
Product Portfolio Balance
We expect our product portfolio to remain balanced. We do not anticipate ULIP mix increasing meaningfully from current levels and expect the share of non-par savings products to improve gradually.
Numbers and claims to verify in the next filings
| Checkpoint | Current evidence | What to verify next |
|---|---|---|
| HDFC Bank Channel Growth | Marginally lower or flattish in Q1 FY27. | Progressive contribution to growth as the year progresses, with market share trending closer to last year's run rate. |
| New Business Margins (NBM) | 25% in Q1 FY27. | Margins to remain range bound at current levels, with any inherent improvement reinvested back into the business for growth. |
| 13-month Persistency | 84% in Q1 FY27. | Improvement through the year, with management expecting it to be in the 84%-85% range. |
| GST Impact Neutralization | 60 basis points residual impact. | Full neutralization of the remaining GST impact over the coming quarters. |
Verification checkpoints are IndiaPulse research interpretation, not investment advice.
Trend score and candlestick chart
40NeutralSMA20 -2.2% / mo · MACD + · near 52W low
Technical chart
HDFCLIFEdaily · 1Y · AUTO-20.2%Daily technical trend read
Bearish setupTrend is weak — long-term trend down. RSI 50.
- Price below SMA200 (long-term downtrend) — short-term bounces likely countertrend.
- SMA20 falling (~2.3% over last month) — short-term momentum negative.
- RSI(14) at 50 — sideways, no extreme reading.
- MACD above signal but histogram contracting — bullish momentum cooling.
- Within 5% of 52-week low — testing support.
Mechanical read from the price + indicator series above. Not a recommendation — technical setups can reverse without warning, especially around earnings and macro events.
Relative Strength & Trend Stage
- Price is 8.9% below the 30-week proxy.
- The 50-DMA is below the 30-week proxy and its slope is falling -4.0%.
- Both 3-month and 6-month returns are negative.
Valuation & score drivers
U-Score 19 · OVERVALUED · pillar breakdown, sector model, fair-value anchor
Valuation & score drivers
U-Score 19 · OVERVALUED · pillar breakdown, sector model, fair-value anchor
Fundamental score breakdown
OVERVALUEDWhy this score?
Top U-Score contributors and drags from the latest stored fundamentals.
Positive drivers
- Cash flow contributes 4/10 to the score.
- Quality contributes 4/20 to the score.
- Balance sheet contributes 3/15 to the score.
Main drags
- Altman Z is 0.5, in distress territory.
- Fair-value margin of safety is negative at -264.5%.
- Valuation is weaker at 0/30; verify the latest quarterly trend.
Insurance valuation: embedded value and VNB quality
Insurance economics depend on long-duration book value and new-business profitability.
Stored run vs live recompute
This shows the stored score trend when snapshots exist, and also compares the latest stored nightly score with a live recompute from current fundamentals and price.
Score history
12 stored score snapshots. Latest stored move: +0 points.
Factor attribution
Modelled fair value
Trust score
Does management behaviour match later outcomes? Claim delivery, forensic breakdown, evidence depth
Trust score
Does management behaviour match later outcomes? Claim delivery, forensic breakdown, evidence depth
Trust asks: does management behaviour match later outcomes? Higher is better, but confidence and evidence depth matter as much as the number.
Mixed Trust: Claim history is still being built. It ranks around the 56th percentile of the scored universe and 70th percentile within Financial Services. Main check: balance sheet trust is weak at 55/100.
Healthy Trust Lite: Promoter pledge is zero. Key concern: Altman Z is 0.54.
Usable, but needs evidence. Treat guidance with a margin of safety.
overall median 67 · Financial Services: 70th pctile, median 62 · Large: 32nd pctile, median 73
74 documents have extracted text, but claim history is not strong enough yet.
0 claims extracted · No contradicted claim yet
How to read this Trust Score
Mixed Trust · low confidenceRead Trust alongside U-Score, result consistency, and technical trend. A cheap stock with weak Trust needs a larger margin of safety; a high Trust score does not make an expensive stock attractive by itself.
Forensic breakdown
Read low sub-scores as due-diligence warnings, not automatic sell signals.
Trust positives
- ▸Promoter pledge is zero.
- ▸7 years of positive FCF.
- ▸3/4 latest quarters had positive YoY PAT growth.
- ▸OPM spread across recent quarters is 3.7%.
Trust risks
- ▸Altman Z is 0.54.
- ▸Profit margin is 1.2%.
Trust Lite uses financial behaviour only. Prefer claim-tested Trust when enough concall claims have later outcomes.
Financials
Full fundamentals table and 10-year revenue / profit / ROE history
Financials
Full fundamentals table and 10-year revenue / profit / ROE history
Fundamentals
Valuation
- P/E
- 60.10
- P/B
- 6.07
- EV/EBITDA
- 101.51
- Market Cap
- 118710.00Cr
Profitability
- ROE
- 11.30%
- ROCE
- 10.30%
- ROA
- 0.46%
- Dividend Y
- 0.38%
Growth (CAGR)
- Revenue 5Y
- 7.00%
- EPS 5Y
- 7.00%
- Revenue 3Y
- 12.00%
- EPS 3Y
- 12.00%
Balance Sheet
- Debt/Equity
- 0.17
- Interest Coverage
- —
- Altman Z
- 0.54
- Book Value
- 90.00
Cash Flow
- FCF Yield
- —
- FCF Positive Y
- 7/5
- OCF
- 22625.00 Cr
- EPS TTM
- 9.14
Shareholding
- Promoter Hold
- 50.54%
- Promoter Pledge
- 0.00%
- Momentum 52W
- 6%
Financial History
Updated 5/9/2026
Revenue
₹ CrNet Profit
₹ CrReturn on Equity
%Peers
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Peers
Business-comparable names in Financial Services, ranked by similarity
Peers
Business-comparable peers in Financial Services — ranked by industry, sub-sector, theme-tag overlap, market cap, and U-Score similarity. Green cells mark the best available peer metric in this table.