SBI m-cap hits ₹9 trn; surges 44% from March low. Should you buy or hold?

SBI is now the 6th Indian firm with market value of more than ₹9 trillion; the stock has rallied 10% in the last one month on the back of better-than-expected Q2 earnings.

SBI joins ₹9 trillion market capitalisation club

 

State Bank of India (SBI) stock joined the elite club of companies having market value of ₹9 trillion. The state-owned lender on Monday became the first public sector bank and the sixth Indian company to cross the ₹9 trillion market capitalisation (m-cap) mark. 

 

SBI achieved the milestone as its shares hit a new high of ₹975.80 on the BSE in Monday’s intra-day trade. In the past one month, the stock has outperformed the market by surging 10 per cent after the bank reported better-than-expected September 2025 quarter (Q2FY26) earnings. The stock price of SBI has recovered 44 per cent from its 52-week low of ₹679.65 touched on March 3, 2025.

 

At 09:33 AM; with ₹899,801 crore (₹8.99 trillion) m-cap, SBI was trading 0.75 per cent higher at ₹974.65 on the BSE, the exchange data showed. SBI’s m-cap hit ₹9.01 trillion in intra-day trade.

 

At present, five Indian companies are valued over ₹9 trillion. Apart from SBI, Reliance Industries (RIL), HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and ICICI Bank are in the ₹9 trillion league.  HDFC Bank (₹15.25 trillion) and ICICI Bank (₹9.83 trillion) are the only other lenders with m-cap of over ₹9 trillion.  CATCH STOCK MARKET LIVE UPDATES TODAY

Should you buy or hold SBI stock?

 

SBI, along with other state-owned banks, have seen a sharp rise in stock prices in the last two years on the back of strong profit growth and improvement in asset quality. Since September, the Nifty PSU Bank index has zoomed 26 per cent.

 

Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOFSL) said PSBs are well positioned to benefit from any capex recovery, though near-term growth will continue to be funded by retail, agriculture, and MSME (RAM) assets. Stronger capital positions, cleaner balance sheets, and prudent provisioning make PSBs more resilient and limit cyclicality in earnings and asset quality relative to past cycles.

 

Meanwhile, SBI reported a steady quarter, led by robust net interest income (NII), resilient margins, and one-off gains from the Yes Bank stake sale in Q2FY26. Net interest margin (NIM) expanded 7bp QoQ to 2.97 per cent, and management expects a further recovery in Q3 and Q4, supported by improved liquidity from Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) cuts. 

 

Opex was higher due to GST and training expenses, while robust revenue growth resulted in in-line Pre-Provision Operating Profit (PPoP). Credit growth was healthy at 13 per cent YoY, while a robust credit pipeline is expected to support a healthy outlook in FY26. Management guided FY26E loan growth at 12-14 per cent. Asset quality also saw an improvement, with slippages improving and credit cost remaining benign at 39bp, MOFSL said as it reiterated 'BUY' rating on SBI with a target price of ₹1,075.

 

Analysts at ICICI Securities also maintained a ‘BUY’ rating on SBI stock with a target price of ₹1,120.

 

Focus on RAM segment with relatively resilient margins aided by diversified loan mix and consistent strong asset quality re-inforce robust operating profile. Thus, the brokerage firm said it revised target price at ₹1120 (earlier ₹940), valuing standalone bank at ~1.4x and assigning ₹247 for subsidiaries.

 

SBI’s management raised its credit growth guidance to 12–14 per cent for FY26E (from ~11 per cent earlier), supported by a strong corporate pipeline at ~₹7 trillion, with half already sanctioned and the remainder under discussion. Corporate lending momentum is expected to accelerate in H2FY26, led by private-sector capex in renewable energy, power, commercial real estate, and steel, which should sustain in FY27E. 

 

On the retail side, gold loans surged ~87 per cent YoY, partly cannibalizing Xpress Credit demand, though overall retail traction remains healthy. Deposit accretion is likely to remain stable, aided by steady growth in retail term deposits and calibrated rate actions. Overall, analysts at ICICI Securities model ~12.5 per cent loan CAGR over FY26–27E, driven by balanced growth across corporate and retail portfolios.