1. At a Glance – BEL in One Breath (and One Raised Eyebrow)
Bharat Electronics Ltd is currently sitting at a market cap of ₹3.31 lakh crore, trading around ₹453, and flexing like a PSU that discovered capitalism late but enthusiastically. In the last 3 months, the stock is up ~10%, while 1-year returns are a wild 75%, officially turning BEL into every retail investor’s favourite “safe aggressive” stock.
Q3 FY26 numbers? Revenue ₹7,154 Cr (+24% YoY), PAT ₹1,580 Cr (+20% YoY), OPM ~30%, and ROCE ~39%.
Order book stands at a nuclear ₹73,015 Cr, which is roughly 2.7x FY25 revenue.
Debt? Practically non-existent.
Working capital? Slightly bloated like a defence babu’s lunch plate.
Valuation? 58x earnings, which means expectations are already doing parade drills.
This is not just a PSU anymore — it’s a defence-tech compounding machine priced like perfection. Question is: is perfection guaranteed, or priced in?
2. Introduction – From Screwdriver PSU to Defence Tech Mafia
BEL was incorporated in 1954, when India needed radios, radars, and hope. For decades, it behaved like a typical PSU — slow, steady, and allergic to shareholder excitement.
Then something changed.
Indigenisation became sexy.
Defence budgets exploded.
Imports became politically incorrect.
BEL quietly turned into the brain behind India’s defence hardware — radars, electronic warfare, communication systems, seekers, drones, cyber warfare, space electronics — basically everything that goes beep before something goes boom.
Today, 74% of revenue comes from indigenously developed products, which is exactly what the government wants
plastered on PowerPoint slides. BEL is no longer waiting for orders — orders chase BEL.
But with great relevance comes great valuation risk. Let’s dig.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Think of BEL as TCS + L&T + Iron Man suit electronics, but for defence.
Defence Segment (90% Revenue)
- Radars & fire control systems
- Electronic warfare
- C4I systems (Command, Control, Communication, Computers & Intelligence)
- Weapon systems electronics
- Unmanned systems, seekers, arms & ammunition
They operate 29 SBUs, including newer shiny toys like Cyber Security, Unmanned Systems, Seekers, and Ammunition.
Non-Defence (6% Revenue)
- Smart cities
- Homeland security
- Medical electronics
- Space & alternate energy
- Cyber & software
This segment grew 157% between FY22–FY24, small base but loud ambition.
Exports (4% Revenue)
- Supplying to USA, France, Israel, Germany, ASEAN, etc.
- Segment revenue grew 236% between FY22–FY24
Still tiny, but strategically huge.
So yes — BEL is not a screwdriver assembler anymore. It’s a system integrator with IP muscle.
4. Financials Overview – Q3 FY26 Scorecard
Quarterly Performance Table
