1. At a Glance – Tata Ka Mutual Fund, But With Board Meetings
Tata Investment Corporation Ltd (TICL) is that one relative in the Tata family who doesn’t run factories, doesn’t sell steel, doesn’t make software, but quietly owns pieces of everything. As of Q3 FY26, this investment NBFC sits on a ₹31,516 crore market cap, trades near ₹623, and is oddly priced below book value (P/B ~0.99) despite holding a massive equity portfolio.
Latest numbers?
- Q3 FY26 PAT: ₹75.39 crore
- 9M FY26 PAT: ₹369.85 crore
- TTM PAT: ₹408 crore
- Debt: Zero
- Promoter holding: 73.38% (classic Tata, no drama)
But here’s the meme-worthy part: ROE is barely 1%, while the stock has delivered ~14% CAGR over 15 years, comfortably beating BSE 200. So the share price is partying, but the reported profitability looks like it’s fasting. Curious already? Good. Keep reading.
2. Introduction – The Oldest Investment Company That Still Confuses Investors
Tata Investment Corporation is not a flashy NBFC. No loans, no fintech app, no ads with cricketers. It’s essentially a listed investment holding company, registered with RBI as an Investment Company, whose job is to allocate capital across listed and unlisted businesses.
Think of it as a publicly listed family office of the Tatas – conservative, patient, dividend-loving, and allergic to leverage. The company earns money primarily through dividends, interest income, and fair value changes in its portfolio.
In FY23, 63% of revenue came from dividends, which already tells you this is not a trading desk but a long-term compounding machine. Over decades, TICL has quietly built exposure to some of India’s most valuable businesses, both within and outside the Tata ecosystem.
So why does it trade at a P/E of 77? Why is ROE stuck at 1%? And why
do long-term investors still love it? Let’s break it down, slowly, like Tata steel cooling.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
Simple answer: they invest money and wait.
Tata Investment Corporation deploys its capital into:
- Quoted equity shares
- Unquoted equity shares
- Debt instruments
- Mutual funds
As of FY23, it held investments in 85 companies, of which 62 were listed and 23 unlisted. Roughly 80% of the portfolio is quoted equity (~₹2,577 crore) and 20% unquoted (~₹650 crore) at FY23 values. By FY25–26, the balance sheet has ballooned further due to market appreciation.
The company does not churn aggressively. It prefers dividend-paying, high-quality businesses, many of which are Tata group companies. This explains the stable dividend income but also the low reported ROE – accounting rules don’t let unrealised gains flow into profits.
So yes, your wealth is compounding… just not showing up nicely in EPS. Frustrating? Yes. Intentional? Also yes.
4. Financials Overview – Numbers That Look Boring but Hide Gold
Quarterly Comparison Table (₹ crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Q3 FY26) | YoY Qtr (Q3 FY25) | Prev Qtr (Q2 FY26) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 57.9 | 4.0 | 154.0 | Massive | -62% |
| EBITDA | 48.0 | -5.0 | 144.0 | NA | -67% |
| PAT | 75.4 | 20.0 | 148.0 | 284% | -49% |
| EPS (₹) | 1.49 | 0.39 | 2.93 | 282% | -49% |
Annualised EPS (Q3 rule):
