Chandra’s Rs 25 lakh crore Tata legacy: Revenue up 71%, PAT 3.6x and a 19x multibagger

The listed Tata empire N Chandrasekaran is set to leave behind is worth around Rs 25 lakh crore, nearly three times its value when he took charge in 2017. Aggregate revenue of listed Tata companies rose 71% over the period, profit after tax climbed 3.6-fold and Trent emerged as a 19-bagger stock.

The combined market capitalisation of the listed Tata companies in the data increased from Rs 8.53 lakh crore at the start of Chandrasekaran’s tenure to Rs 25.21 lakh crore, creating about Rs 16.67 lakh crore in market value.

Aggregate revenue expanded to Rs 11.10 lakh crore in FY26 from Rs 6.48 lakh crore in FY18. Profit after tax surged to Rs 1.63 lakh crore from Rs 45,326 crore, an increase of about 260%, according to data from SBI Securities.

The record now forms the benchmark for Chandrasekaran’s successor as Tata Sons navigates a leadership transition alongside challenges at several businesses.

Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Trent accounted for about two-thirds of the Rs 16.67 lakh crore added by the listed companies in the data.

Titan, not TCS, was the biggest absolute wealth creator. Its market capitalisation jumped more than elevenfold, from about Rs 40,598 crore to Rs 4.50 lakh crore, adding nearly Rs 4.10 lakh crore.

TCS added another Rs 3.60 lakh crore over the comparison period. Together, Titan and TCS contributed about 46% of the aggregate market capitalisation increase.

Titan’s operating performance supported the rerating. Revenue rose to Rs 87,584 crore in fiscal 2026 from Rs 15,983 crore in fiscal 2018, an increase of almost five-and-a-half times. Profit climbed to Rs 5,174 crore from Rs 1,147 crore.


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Trent produced the biggest market cap multiplier among the major Tata companies. Its value surged 19.2 times to Rs 1.59 lakh crore from Rs 8,303 crore. The retailer’s operating growth was similarly sharp. Revenue increased more than ninefold to Rs 20,074 crore from Rs 2,157 crore, while profit jumped about twentyfold to Rs 1,746 crore from Rs 87 crore.

Several other Tata companies also delivered multibagger returns. Tata Consumer’s market value increased almost twelvefold to about Rs 1.05 lakh crore, while its revenue and profit roughly tripled. Indian Hotels rose more than eightfold in market value and Tata Power climbed more than fivefold.

Tata Steel added about Rs 1.83 lakh crore in market value, making it the third largest contributor to the aggregate increase. Trent added around Rs 1.51 lakh crore, narrowly ahead of Tata Motors’s Rs 1.48 lakh crore.

Tata Chemicals’s market value increased only about 15% over the period, while TRF gained around 22%. Rallis India’s market capitalisation declined.

The latest annual numbers also point to an increasingly uneven operating picture. Aggregate revenue fell 5.1% in fiscal 2026 from the previous year, even as combined profit surged 71%.

Much of that profit increase came from Tata Motors, whose figures in the data are adjusted for its demerger. Its profit jumped to Rs 86,532 crore from Rs 28,380 crore, accounting for more than half of the listed companies’ aggregate profit in FY26.

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Performance elsewhere was mixed. Tata Steel’s profit more than tripled to Rs 10,794 crore, while Titan’s rose 55% and Tata Consumer’s increased about 23%. TCS’ profit grew just 1.4%, while Tata Power, Voltas and Tata Elxsi reported declines.

“He steered the group to strong profits, particularly at its listed companies, though challenges remained in some of the unlisted businesses,” said Deven Choksey, managing director at DRChoksey FinServ. “His successor may face a tougher environment, with an increasingly assertive trustee board.”

The leadership announcement initially rattled investors. TCS shares dropped around 4% on Wednesday, their biggest single-day decline in more than two months. The decline erased about Rs 35,000 crore from the market value of India’s largest IT services provider, leaving it valued at around Rs 8.5 lakh crore. The move provided an immediate measure of investor concern, though the longer-term impact will depend on the succession process and the performance of the individual businesses.

“For a systemically important group it is very important to provide clear guidance on the succession planning,” said Abhay Agarwal, founder at Piper Serica Advisors. “Not only that, lenders and senior management at the Group companies will also be anxious to know.”

Chandra’s journey

Chandrasekaran joined the Tata Group as an intern at TCS in 1987 and spent his entire corporate career at the IT company. He became its chief executive officer in 2009 before taking over as Tata Sons chairman in 2017.

Widely known as Chandra, he is not related to the Tata family and was the first non-Parsi chairman of Tata Sons.

His decision to leave in February adds to the difficulties facing the 158-year-old group, including mounting losses at Air India, a sharp decline in sales at Tata Motors’ Jaguar Land Rover business and a data leak at its electronics arm that affected clients Apple and Tesla.

Disagreements have simmered in recent months between Chandrasekaran, 63, and Tata Trusts, which owns 66% of Tata Sons. The two sides have clashed over whether Tata Sons should be listed, the losses at Air India and how to handle the planned exit of a minority shareholder.

In February, Tata Sons, which controls more than 30 Tata companies, including TCS, Tata Motors and Air India, postponed a decision on reappointing Chandrasekaran after Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata opposed the move.

Chandra’s influence

Tata Sons’ influence extends beyond the performance of individual operating companies because the holding company determines the group’s broader strategy and allocation of capital, according to Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental research at SBI Securities.

“Tata Sons, as the holding company and parent, sets the broader strategy, including the group’s focus areas and capital allocation,” Agrawal said. “It decides which sectors should receive a greater push, while the individual businesses are managed by their respective boards and CEOs.”

Several emerging businesses, including semiconductors, Tata Electronics and real estate, remain unlisted. Their capital requirements and eventual performance will form part of the portfolio inherited by Chandrasekaran’s successor.

TCS has historically been the group’s cash cow, generating the maximum profit and distributing substantial dividends, besides conducting buybacks. Cash generated by TCS has also supported capital deployment across other businesses, though sentiment toward the IT sector has weakened over the past one to two years, according to Agrawal.

The broader economic growth story supported expansion across several Tata businesses during Chandrasekaran’s tenure, including automobiles and consumption. The commercial-vehicle business is performing well, while Jaguar Land Rover faces challenges. Titan benefited from the shift from the unorganised to the organised market.

“Over the longer run, both group-level strategy and the performance of individual businesses matter,” Agrawal said. “Neither can be looked at in isolation; they are equally important.”

Chandrasekaran will remain in his role until February 2027, giving Tata Sons time to manage the handover.

“On the Tata Group’s leadership transition, there should not be a leadership vacuum,” Agrawal said. “The transition process should be smooth as Chandra will be around till February 2027. While an individual leader can undoubtedly make a significant contribution, the group’s institutional structure and the management of individual companies remain important.”

The succession debate has shifted attention to the identity of the next chairman and the strategic direction Tata Sons will take. The longer-term test, however, will be whether the businesses that created Rs 16.67 lakh crore in market value under Chandrasekaran can sustain their performance once he is gone.

“The market can sometimes overreact to leadership-related developments,” Agrawal said. “The more relevant question for investors is how the individual businesses are performing before and after a leadership transition.”

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)