1. At a Glance – The Headline That Slaps You Awake
If Indian credit growth were a Bollywood movie, Shriram Finance Ltd would be the background character who quietly steals the show and then walks away with the box-office collections. Market cap sitting at ₹1.88 lakh crore, stock price hovering around ₹1,003, and returns that have gone full IPL mode—+40% in 3 months, +63% in 6 months, and a spicy ~90% over 1 year. Not bad for a company whose core customer still prefers cash over UPI and knows the EMI date better than their wedding anniversary.
Q3 FY26 came in hot: PAT ₹2,530 crore (+18% YoY), Revenue ₹12,171 crore (+13.8% YoY), and EPS ₹13.45 for the quarter. Asset quality? Improving. GNPA down to 4.5%, NNPA 2.6%. NIM chilling at ~8.5%, which in NBFC land is equivalent to six-pack abs.
But before we start clapping like a mutual fund ad, remember—this beast runs on leverage, rural sentiment, and truck drivers’ cash flows. So the real question: is this a compounding machine… or just a very well-managed risk factory?
Ready? Helmet pehno. Truck nikal raha hai.
2. Introduction – Welcome to the Shriram Credit Universe
Shriram Finance is what happens when you mix old-school moneylending instincts, modern balance-sheet discipline, and pan-India scale—then let it marinate for four decades. Born out of Shriram Transport Finance, today it’s the flagship NBFC of the Shriram Group, with fingers dipped into commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, MSME loans, gold loans, personal loans, tractors, two-wheelers, and basically anything that moves or earns.
This is not your fancy app-first fintech. This is boots-on-the-ground capitalism. 3,220 branches, 627 rural centers, 61,000+ employees, serving 9.56 million customers—many of whom don’t exist in PowerPoint decks of global banks.
What makes Shriram Finance interesting isn’t just size
(AUM ₹2.63 trillion), but diversification within risk. CV loans are still king, but MSME, PV, and personal loans are rising. Add to that a growing deposit franchise, diversified borrowings, and now—MUFG entering with ₹39,618 crore for a 20% stake. When Japanese bankers show up with that kind of cheque, they’re not here for filter coffee.
But leverage is high. Credit cycles are real. And rural India can go from hero to villain faster than a budget speech. So let’s open the bonnet.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Think of Shriram Finance as India’s credit supermarket for the underbanked.
You want a second-hand truck? Shriram.
You want working capital for your kirana? Shriram.
You want a tractor, gold loan, or a personal loan because cousin ki shaadi aa rahi hai? Shriram again.
Core Segments (FY25 AUM Mix)
- Commercial Vehicles – 45%
- Passenger Vehicles – 20.5%
- MSME – 14.2%
- Two Wheelers – 5.9%
- Construction Equipment – 6.8%
- Others (Gold, PL, Farm Equipment, etc.)
The magic sauce is risk-based pricing + deep local knowledge. These guys know which transport route pays, which mandi is hot, and which borrower will disappear after Holi.
They also raise money like pros:
- Public deposits (24%)
- NCDs, ECBs,
