Forbes & Company Ltd Q2 FY26 – From Vacuum Cleaners to Valuation Vacuum: The Curious Case of a 106-Year-Old Conglomerate Still Learning How to Stick a Label

1. At a Glance

Forbes & Company Ltd, one of India’s oldest corporate entities (born in 1919, probably older than half your grandfathers), just dropped itsQ2 FY26results — and the numbers are as quirky as its business mix. The company, owned 73.85% by theShapoorji Pallonji Group, operates in everything fromindustrial coding machines to vacuum cleaners,real estate,IT kiosks, and evenshipping. Imagine a buffet where someone put pizza, sambar, and sushi in the same plate — that’s Forbes & Company’s portfolio.

At amarket cap of ₹432 crore, trading at₹335 per share, the company sits at a modestP/E of 15.3x— far below theindustry average of 51.7x. It’s almost like the market is pricing it as “discounted nostalgia.” TheROE at 62.4%looks heroic, but hold your excitement — much of it comes from aone-off other incomeof ₹119 crore. Meanwhile,sales growthover the past five years has been a painful-40.8%, and yet,the stock has given a 48% return over five years.

Quarterly sales fell46% QoQ to ₹18.7 crore, while profit after tax rose18.5%to ₹6.33 crore — a classic “less revenue, more profit” paradox. Forbes just proved that sometimes, shrinking makes you rich — if you shrink the right parts.

2. Introduction – The Reluctant Conglomerate

Forbes & Company is like that overqualified relative who studied medicine, engineering, law, and yoga — but still can’t pick one career. Fromhealth and hygiene appliancestoprecision cutting tools,IT-enabled kiosks, and even areal estate project called Vicinia in Chandivali, Mumbai, Forbes is everywhere — and nowhere in particular.

The company was once a prestigious name in engineering and home products. But over time, it started divesting and restructuring like a reality show contestant reinventing themselves after every elimination. In FY23 alone, it discontinued several subsidiaries — Forbes Facility Services, Lux del Paraguay, and Forbes Campbell Services.

And then came thedemerger of its precision tools business in Feb 2024, sanctioned by the NCLT. The company probably thought, “Let’s split, maybe we’ll finally find ourselves.”

What’s even more interesting? Thepromoters have pledged 98% of their holding— meaning Standard Chartered Bank practically owns the emotions of the Shapoorji Pallonji family right now.

But Forbes refuses to die. Every time you think it’s gone, it returns with a new segment or a JV — like its 50:50 partnership withMacsa ID of Spainto make industrial marking systems. From colonial-era trade to barcoding machines — what a character arc.

3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?

Let’s decode this buffet of confusion:

• Health, Hygiene & Safety Products: They sell vacuum cleaners, water purifiers, air cleaners, and even fire extinguishers. Basically, if it hums, filters, or extinguishes, they sell it.
• Engineering Division: The precision tools, marking systems, and spring lock washers business. These products go into factories and heavy industries. It’s the cash cow — or at least the mechanically precise cow — contributing over50% of FY23 revenue.
• Real Estate: The Vicinia project in Chandivali continues to contribute to revenue via sales and rental income. It’s a fancy name for the “Forbes ka building” that keeps saving their quarterly numbers.
• IT Enabled Services: Earlier branded underForbes Technosys, the company made kiosks, POS machines, and note counting devices — until FY23, when they decided to discontinueForbes Xpress, their money transfer network.
• Shipping & Logistics: Once upon a time, Forbes ran ships. Now it’s a small segment with minimal activity — a legacy hangover from the “Forbes Campbell Shipping” days.

In short — Forbes & Company is like a family WhatsApp group where everyone is doing something random but still claims to be “synergizing.”

4. Financials Overview

Let’s compare the latest quarterly numbers (Q2 FY26) with the same quarter last year and the previous one: