1. At a Glance – Blink and You’ll Miss the Irony
Steel Strips Wheels Ltd (SSWL) is what happens when you take a boring auto component, scale it up globally, sprinkle Japanese tech, add Tata Steel as a shareholder, and then still manage to scare the market every time exports sneeze. As of January 2026, the company sits at a market cap of ₹2,947 Cr, trading at ₹186 per share, down ~14.6% in 3 months and ~22.4% in 6 months—basically the stock has been in reverse gear while the auto sector keeps honking behind it.
Despite that, Q3 FY26 revenue came in at ₹1,321 Cr (+22.9% YoY). Profit, however, chose to be dramatic—₹49.2 Cr PAT, down 5.1% YoY. Translation: volumes are showing up, margins are feeling moody. With ROCE at 16.8%, ROE at 14.5%, and Debt/Equity at 0.55, SSWL is not broken—but it’s definitely grumpy.
Steel wheels still dominate, alloy wheels are growing, exports are sulking, and management is promising the future with alloy wheels, steering knuckles, and capex plans that would make your CA sweat. Curious already? Good. Let’s open the bonnet.
2. Introduction – A Wheel That Has Seen Too Many Potholes
Incorporated in 1985 and operational since 1991, Steel Strips Wheels Ltd is headquartered in Chandigarh and lives in the unglamorous but essential business of making wheels. Steel wheels. Alloy wheels. Wheels for tractors, trucks, SUVs, two-wheelers, three-wheelers—if it rolls, SSWL wants a piece of it.
For years, this was a classic Indian manufacturing story: scale, cost control, OEM relationships, repeat orders. Then came exports, then Europe, then the US, then geopolitics, tariffs, and suddenly Wall Street sneezed and Ludhiana caught a cold.
The irony? Operationally, SSWL has rarely been stronger. Capacity utilisation is healthy (mid-70s), domestic mix is improving, alloy wheels are scaling, and customer concentration is enviable. Yet, the stock trades at 14.8× earnings while the industry median laughs at ~28×.
So what’s the
market scared of? Debt? Capex? Exports? Or just the fact that steel is boring unless it’s in a Netflix documentary?
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Let’s explain this like you’re smart but scrolling Instagram.
SSWL makes wheels. Not the steering wheel you angrily punch in traffic—but the ones that actually touch the road.
Two Main Buckets:
1) Steel Wheels (63% of H1 FY26 revenue)
These are for mass-market vehicles—tractors, trucks, entry-level cars, CVs. High volume, lower margin, but stable. Products include tubeless, multi-piece, high-vent, and weight-optimised wheels. Customers? Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra, and basically everyone who sells vehicles in India.
Volumes in H1 FY26: 76 lakh units (vs 160 lakh in FY24). Yes, volumes dipped. No, the company didn’t forget how to make wheels. Mix shift and export softness played spoilsport.
2) Alloy Wheels (36% of H1 FY26 revenue)
This is the “premium glow-up” segment. Lightweight, fully painted, diamond-cut alloys. Higher margins, better branding, sexier PowerPoint slides. SSWL has 50–100% business share with OEMs like Hyundai, Renault, Tata, Nissan.
Volumes in H1 FY26: 18 lakh units (vs 30 lakh in FY24). Again, demand moderation—not execution failure.
Add to this:
- Geographic shift toward domestic (87% in FY25)
- Export exposure shrinking but becoming more Europe-heavy
- Backward integration via AMW
