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Shriram Finance and Bajaj Finance are both large listed Indian non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), but the available figures do not establish a universal winner for long-term investors. Bajaj Finance is the larger, broader platform in its FY2026 disclosures; Shriram Finance has distinct vehicle-finance and rural lending exposures and reported strong year-over-year growth in its Q2 FY2027 standalone results. The decision depends on the price you pay and how you assess each company’s sustainable returns, credit costs, funding, and portfolio risks—not on scale or a single quarter alone.
The figures below have different dates and, in some cases, different reporting scopes. Treat them as evidence about each business, not as a perfectly matched head-to-head scorecard. This comparison is for general information, not a personalized investment recommendation.
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At a glance
| Name | Best for examining | Key disclosed figure | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bajaj Finance | A broad, diversified lending and financial-services platform | FY2026 consolidated AUM: ₹509,975 crore | November 2026 |
| Shriram Finance | Vehicle-finance and rural lending exposure | Consolidated AUM: ₹281,309 crore as of September 2025 | November 2026 |
Prices checked November 2026.
“Best for” describes the business exposure an investor may want to investigate; it is not a buy rating. The AUM figures are from different reporting dates and should not be read as a same-date size comparison.
Which NBFC is better for long-term investors?
Neither is demonstrably better for every long-term investor on the evidence available. Bajaj Finance offers more scale and product breadth in the cited FY2026 figures, while Shriram Finance gives investors a different mix, notably commercial-vehicle and rural lending, alongside strong reported Q2 FY2027 standalone growth. Whether either stock is attractive depends on its valuation relative to sustainable earnings and book-value growth, and on whether its credit and funding risks are being adequately compensated.
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A sensible comparison separates three questions:
- How sound is the business? Look at asset quality, credit costs, funding, capital, and the stability of returns.
- How durable is its growth? Compare multi-year AUM, income, and profit trends, then use quarterly growth as a recent update—not a forecast.
- What price is the market asking? Compare both companies on the same date and the same valuation basis. A good business can still be an unattractive investment at an unjustifiably high price.
The research supports useful company snapshots but not a matched-date valuation verdict. It would be misleading to turn the reported figures into a blanket recommendation or to declare one stock cheaper using mismatched data.
How do the two lending businesses differ?
The businesses have different portfolio profiles, so their growth and risks should not be assessed as if they were interchangeable lenders.
Bajaj Finance: a larger, broader platform
Bajaj Finance describes a financial-services business serving consumer, MSME, commercial, and rural customers through a range of lending and other financial products. Its FY2026 annual report puts consolidated assets under management (AUM) at ₹509,975 crore and reports 119.33 million customers. That scale and breadth may support distribution and cross-selling, while exposure across customer and product categories can diversify some sources of business risk.
Size does not remove the need to examine what is driving growth or how much risk accompanies it. Investors should track customer acquisition, unsecured lending, credit costs, and the company’s execution of its technology and longer-range strategy. A broad product menu is not proof that every segment contributes equally to durable returns.
For its FY2026 reporting, Bajaj Finance reported net total income of ₹53,324 crore and PAT of ₹20,689 crore on the adjusted basis described in its report. That PAT measure excludes specified provisions and one-time charges, so it should not be treated as directly equivalent to an unadjusted profit figure without checking the accounting basis. The company also reported ROE of 19.2%, gross NPA of 1.01%, and net NPA of 0.41% for FY2026. Those are company-reported period figures, not a promise of future performance. See the Bajaj Finance FY2026 annual report for the stated bases and definitions.
Shriram Finance: vehicle and rural lending exposures
Shriram Finance has a large lending franchise with rural reach and notable commercial-vehicle exposure. Its portfolio also includes vehicle and other retail and business lending. This can give an investor exposure to different borrowers and lending cycles than Bajaj Finance’s broader platform, but it also makes vehicle demand, used-vehicle values, borrower cash flows, and rural conditions important to follow.
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CRISIL Ratings reported consolidated AUM of ₹281,309 crore and gross Stage 3 assets of 4.6% as of September 2025. These are dated measures, not Shriram’s current 2026 ratios. CRISIL also reported FY2025 PAT of ₹9,436 crore and annualised return on managed assets of 3.0% for H1 FY2026, versus 3.4% for FY2025. The periods and metric labels matter: return on managed assets is not interchangeable with ROE. Consult the CRISIL rating rationale for its dated analysis.
Analyst research described FY2027 AUM growth guidance of 15–17% and flagged uneven monsoon and rural-income risks. Treat those as analyst-reported expectations and concerns, not as guaranteed company outcomes. They help identify what to monitor; they do not establish that the forecast will be met or that rural conditions will deteriorate.
What do the reported growth and profit figures show?
The figures show growth at both companies, but they cover different periods and scopes. They are useful signals to investigate further, not a direct contest in which the larger percentage automatically identifies the better investment.
| Company and reporting basis | Period | Reported result | How to read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bajaj Finance, consolidated | FY2026 | AUM grew 22%; net interest income and net total income each grew 21% | Annual growth disclosed in the company’s investor presentation |
| Shriram Finance, standalone | Q2 FY2027, year over year | Net interest income rose 38.20% to ₹8,661.04 crore; PAT rose 59.37% to ₹3,677.03 crore | Quarterly standalone result; not directly comparable with a consolidated figure |
| Bajaj Finance, consolidated | Q2 FY2027, year over year | PAT rose 29% to ₹6,367 crore | Quarterly consolidated result; keep its scope separate from Shriram’s standalone result |
Bajaj Finance’s FY2026 annual and investor materials report substantial growth in AUM and income. Its investor presentation gives the 22% AUM growth and 21% growth in both net interest income and net total income. These company-reported rates describe one financial year; investors should check the full time series to see whether growth is steady, accelerating, or easing. The FY2026 investor presentation provides the relevant period context.
Shriram Finance’s Q2 FY2027 release reported standalone net interest income growth of 38.20% year over year and standalone PAT growth of 59.37%. Bajaj Finance reported consolidated Q2 FY2027 PAT growth of 29%. The standalone-versus-consolidated distinction makes a raw comparison of the companies’ profit totals or growth rates unreliable. Even on a like-for-like basis, a single quarter can be affected by timing, provisions, and the base period; investors need the associated balance-sheet and credit-cost information to judge how much of the growth is repeatable. The results are available in the Shriram Finance Q2 FY2027 earnings release and Bajaj Finance’s H1 FY2027 communication.
Which has stronger asset quality and lower credit risk?
The cited data does not allow a clean current ranking of credit quality. Shriram Finance’s cited gross Stage 3 figure is from September 2025, while Bajaj Finance’s FY2026 gross and net NPA figures are from March 2026; the dates and potentially the measures differ.
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Bajaj Finance reported FY2026 gross NPA of 1.01% and net NPA of 0.41%. Those are useful reference points, but they should not be compared directly with Shriram’s 4.6% gross Stage 3 measure as though both were reported at the same date under identical definitions. For Shriram, the CRISIL figure is as of September 2025. To make a fair comparison, find each company’s latest results for the same quarter and confirm how each defines its asset-quality measures.
Credit costs deserve attention alongside delinquency ratios. Bajaj Finance’s FY2025 loan-loss provisions rose 72% to ₹7,966 crore. The company attributed the rise to macro-level deterioration, greater leverage in unsecured loans, and rising stress across the banking industry. That disclosure is an important risk signal to track, but it is not by itself proof that the same pressure continued unchanged into FY2026 or FY2027. Review later provision and credit-cost disclosures to see whether the increase persisted or eased. The FY2025 annual report gives the company’s explanation.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteFor both lenders, a stronger review includes gross and net NPA or Stage 3, credit cost, write-offs, restructuring, collection trends, and the movement of overdue accounts between risk categories. Read the explanations as well as the headline ratios: a low reported NPA ratio does not tell the whole story if provisions, recoveries, or write-offs are changing materially.
How do portfolio mix and funding affect the risks?
Portfolio mix shapes which economic pressures matter most. Bajaj Finance’s varied consumer, MSME, commercial, and rural activities create a broad set of lending exposures; its unsecured lending and customer-acquisition economics are important areas to watch. Shriram Finance’s vehicle and rural lending make borrowers’ cash flows, vehicle cycles, used-vehicle values, and rural income especially relevant. Diversification can help, but it does not make either business immune to a broad credit slowdown.
For Shriram Finance, analyst research highlighted risks from uneven monsoon conditions and rural income, and described funding and margin conditions as changing. Those are dated analyst observations, not facts about what will happen next. An investor should look for updated company disclosures on funding costs, incremental borrowing rates, liquidity, and margins rather than assuming an older assessment still applies.
For both companies, funding and capital determine how resilient growth can be. Check the cost of funds, liquidity position, capital adequacy, leverage, and ability to reprice loans as borrowing costs change. Capital raises or changes in share count can also affect per-share earnings and returns. Use current exchange filings and reported share counts before drawing conclusions about earnings per share or dilution.
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Finally, distinguish realized results from strategic aims and management guidance. Forward-looking statements are uncertain; Shriram Finance’s FY2026 annual report expressly cautions that actual results may differ materially from forward-looking statements. Strategy language can frame questions for investors, but it is not a substitute for evidence that execution, asset quality, and returns are meeting expectations.
How should you compare the valuations?
Do not choose between the shares using the available valuation figures: they are not a matched-date comparison. The evidence includes a broker’s dated Shriram Finance valuation but no Bajaj Finance valuation calculated on the same date and basis.
Axis Direct’s Shriram Finance Q2 FY2027 research note used an October 23, 2026 share price of ₹865 and valued the stock at 2.0 times estimated September 2028 book value. That is a broker estimate tied to a particular share price and forecast, not a guaranteed fair value or a current quote. It cannot establish that Shriram Finance is cheaper or more expensive than Bajaj Finance without a comparable Bajaj valuation. See the Axis Direct result update for the stated assumptions.
For a fair comparison, collect same-day market prices and calculate or source both firms’ multiples using clearly labelled inputs. At minimum, compare trailing or forward P/E and price-to-book, then assess those multiples alongside expected growth, sustainable ROE, credit costs, asset quality, and funding. Forward measures depend on forecasts; trailing numbers describe the past. Avoid comparing a broker’s target or forward multiple for one company with the other company’s spot valuation.
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For NBFCs, price-to-book is only useful when read with returns: a higher multiple may reflect higher expected book-value growth or sustainable profitability, but those expectations can fail. P/E also needs context about credit costs and the durability of earnings. A same-date comparison is a starting point for analysis, not a complete intrinsic-value calculation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What could make each investment thesis fail?
A long-term thesis should name the evidence that would weaken it, not just the qualities that make a company appealing.
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- Bajaj Finance thesis to test: scale and product breadth support growth and cross-selling while returns remain attractive. Revisit that thesis if credit costs stay elevated, unsecured-loan stress worsens, growth becomes less profitable, or execution does not support the company’s stated strategy.
- Shriram Finance thesis to test: vehicle and rural lending exposures can generate durable growth and returns. Revisit it if asset quality weakens, vehicle or rural borrower conditions deteriorate, funding costs pressure margins, or reported growth fails to translate into sustainable returns.
- Either company: a high entry valuation can undermine an otherwise sound business thesis. Reassess if expected earnings or book-value growth does not keep pace with the assumptions embedded in the share price, or if capital and share-count changes reduce per-share outcomes.
These are monitoring questions, not predictions. The latest results and filings should determine whether a concern is emerging, improving, or already reflected in valuation.
How can a long-term investor make the choice?
Use a repeatable comparison rather than selecting the company with the biggest AUM or fastest recent profit growth.
- Align the reporting periods. Put both companies’ latest quarterly numbers side by side, and label consolidated and standalone data. Avoid comparing different dates or scopes.
- Check the quality of growth. Compare multiple years of AUM, net interest income, total income, and profit growth. Ask whether growth is being achieved alongside stable asset quality and sustainable returns.
- Compare credit risk on common definitions. Use matched-date gross and net NPA or Stage 3, credit cost, write-offs, restructuring, and collection information. Read management explanations for material movements.
- Understand the exposures. Decide whether you are comfortable with Bajaj Finance’s broad consumer, MSME, commercial, and rural mix and its unsecured-lending risks, and with Shriram Finance’s vehicle and rural exposures and sensitivity to borrower cash flows.
- Review funding and capital. Check cost of funds, liquidity, capital adequacy, leverage, and share-count changes in the latest filings.
- Compare valuation using a common date and basis. Use same-day prices and consistent trailing or forecast P/E and price-to-book inputs. Test whether expected returns still make sense if growth slows or credit costs rise.
- Write down what would change your mind. Specify which future figures or risks would invalidate your thesis, then revisit it when new results arrive.
That process may lead one investor to prefer Bajaj Finance’s breadth and another to prefer Shriram Finance’s distinct lending exposures—or to conclude that neither stock is attractive at the current price. The cited evidence supports comparing the risks and business models; it does not support a universal long-term winner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does AUM mean for an NBFC?
AUM means assets under management: the value of the loans and other assets the company manages under the stated reporting basis. It is not the same as cash on hand, profit, or the market value of the company’s shares.
What is the difference between standalone and consolidated results?
Standalone results report the company entity on its own; consolidated results combine it with subsidiaries under the applicable accounting rules. The scope can change reported totals, so check the label before comparing results between companies or periods.
What does gross Stage 3 mean in Shriram Finance’s rating data?
Stage 3 is a credit-risk classification for assets considered credit-impaired under the relevant reporting framework; gross indicates the measure before deducting provisions. Confirm the reporting definition and period before comparing it with an NPA ratio from another source.
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A low multiple may reflect market concerns about future growth, asset quality, funding, or the sustainability of returns rather than a mispricing. It is more informative when compared with the company’s own operating outlook and a peer’s figures calculated on the same date and basis.
