As of today (2026-07-12), HDFC Life Insurance Co's weighted average cost of capital is 12.49%%. HDFC Life Insurance Co's ROIC % is 0.00% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
HDFC Life Insurance Co earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital. It will destroy value as it grows.
For a comprehensive WACC calculation, please access the WACC Calculator.
HDFC Life Insurance Co (NSE:HDFCLIFE) WACC % Explanation
Because it costs money to raise capital. A firm that generates higher ROIC % than it costs the company to raise the capital needed for that investment is earning excess returns. A firm that expects to continue generating positive excess returns on new investments in the future will see its value increase as growth increases, whereas a firm that earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital will destroy value as it grows.
As of today, HDFC Life Insurance Co's weighted average cost of capital is 12.49%%. HDFC Life Insurance Co's ROIC % is 0.00% (calculated using TTM income statement data).
HDFC Life Insurance Co earns returns that do not match up to its cost of capital. It will destroy value as it grows.
Be Aware
1. GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding latest one-year quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together.
For companies that report quarterly, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's quarterly debt data from the beginning of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report semi-annually, GuruFocus combines all of the most recent year's semi-annual debt data from the start of the year to the year-end and calculates the average.
For companies that report annually, GuruFocus combines the beginning and ending annual debt data from the most recent year and then calculates the average.
2. The WACC formula discussed above does not include Preferred Stock. Please adjust if preferred stock is considered.
3. (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
4. GuruFocus uses the latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
For the Insurance - Life subindustry, HDFC Life Insurance Co's WACC %, along with its competitors' market caps and WACC % data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
HDFC Life Insurance Co WACC % vs Insurance Industry
For the Insurance industry and Financial Services sector, HDFC Life Insurance Co's WACC % distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where HDFC Life Insurance Co's WACC % falls into.
The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. The WACC is commonly referred to as the firm's cost of capital. Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. WACC is the average of the costs of these sources of financing, each of which is weighted by its respective use in the given situation. By taking a weighted average, we can see how much interest the company has to pay for every dollar it finances.
WACC
=
E
/
(E + D)
*
Cost of Equity
+
D
/
(E + D)
*
Cost of Debt
*
(1 - Tax Rate)
1. Weights:
Generally speaking, a company's assets are financed by debt and equity. We need to calculate the weight of equity and the weight of debt.
The market value of equity (E) is also called "Market Cap". As of today, HDFC Life Insurance Co's market capitalization (E) is ₹1231052.841 Mil.
The market value of debt is typically difficult to calculate, therefore, GuruFocus uses book value of debt (D) to do the calculation. It is simplified by adding the latest one-year quarterly average Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation and Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation together. As of Mar. 2026, HDFC Life Insurance Co's latest one-year quarterly average Book Value of Debt (D) is ₹28896 Mil.
a) weight of equity = E / (E + D) = 1231052.841 / (1231052.841 + 28896) = 0.9771
b) weight of debt = D / (E + D) = 28896 / (1231052.841 + 28896) = 0.0229
2. Cost of Equity:
GuruFocus uses Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to calculate the required rate of return. The formula is:
Cost of Equity = Risk-Free Rate of Return + Beta of Asset * (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return)
a) GuruFocus uses 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate as the risk-free rate. It is updated daily. The current risk-free rate is 7.02%. Please go to Economic Indicators page for more information. Please note that we use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the country/region where the company is headquartered. If the data for that country/region is not available, then we will use the 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Rate of the United States as default.
b) Beta is the sensitivity of the expected excess asset returns to the expected excess market returns. HDFC Life Insurance Co's beta is 0.9601.
c) (Expected Return of the Market - Risk-Free Rate of Return) is also called market premium. GuruFocus requires market premium to be 6%.
Cost of Equity = 7.02% + 0.9601 * 6% = 12.7806%
3. Cost of Debt:
GuruFocus uses latest TTM Interest Expense divided by the latest one-year quarterly average debt to get the simplified cost of debt.
As of Mar. 2026, HDFC Life Insurance Co's interest expense (positive number) was ₹-0 Mil. Its total Book Value of Debt (D) is ₹28896 Mil.
Cost of Debt = -0 / 28896 = 0%.
4. Multiply by one minus TTM Tax Rate:
GuruFocus uses the most recent TTM Tax Expense divided by the most recent TTM Pre-Tax Income to calculate the tax rate. The calculated TTM tax rate is limited to between 0% and 100%. If the calculated tax rate is higher than 100%, it is set to 100%. If the calculated tax rate is less than 0%, it is set to 0%.
The latest calculated TTM Tax Rate = 500.1 / 19623.3 = 2.55%.
HDFC Life Insurance Co's Weighted Average Cost Of Capital (WACC) for Today is calculated as:
WACC
=
E / (E + D)
*
Cost of Equity
+
D / (E + D)
*
Cost of Debt
*
(1 - Tax Rate)
=
0.9771
*
12.7806%
+
0.0229
*
0%
*
(1 - 2.55%)
=
12.49%
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
HDFC Life Insurance Co (NSE:HDFCLIFE) has a WACC % of 12.49% as of Jul. 12, 2026. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on HDFC Life Insurance Co and its competitors. This is near median its historical median of 12.37. Over the past decade, HDFC Life Insurance Co's WACC % has ranged from 11.56 to 13.63. According to the industry distribution chart, HDFC Life Insurance Co ranks #445 out of 519 companies in the Insurance industry, placing it in the top 85.7%.
Is HDFC Life Insurance Co's WACC % too high?
HDFC Life Insurance Co's current WACC % of 12.49% is near median its 10-year median of 12.37. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 11.56 to a high of 13.63. The Insurance industry median WACC % is 9.17. HDFC Life Insurance Co's value of 12.49% is 36.2% above this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, HDFC Life Insurance Co ranks #445 out of 519 companies in the Insurance industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, HDFC Life Insurance Co has a GF Score™ of 79/100 and is considered Modestly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does HDFC Life Insurance Co's WACC % compare to AFL and MET?
According to the Insurance industry distribution chart, HDFC Life Insurance Co ranks #445 out of 519 companies for WACC %. This places HDFC Life Insurance Co in the lower half of its industry. The industry median WACC % is 9.17. HDFC Life Insurance Co's value of 12.49% is 36.2% above this benchmark. Historically, HDFC Life Insurance Co's own WACC % has ranged from 11.56 to 13.63 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 12.37 vs. the industry median of 9.17, HDFC Life Insurance Co has consistently been above the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good WACC % for an Insurance company?
The median WACC % among Insurance companies is 9.17, based on 519 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a WACC % significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, WACC % should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. HDFC Life Insurance Co's current WACC % of 12.49% is 36.2% above the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high WACC % mean?
A high WACC % can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the average rate a company pays to finance assets. View historical data on HDFC Life Insurance Co and its competitors. For the Insurance industry, the median WACC % is 9.17 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. HDFC Life Insurance Co's current WACC % is 12.49%, which is near median its own 10-year median of 12.37. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is HDFC Life Insurance Co stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, HDFC Life Insurance Co (NSE:HDFCLIFE) is currently considered Modestly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is ₹712.75, compared to a current price of ₹567.70 — trading 20.4% below its estimated fair value. The current WACC % is 12.49%, which is near median its 10-year median of 12.37 and 36.2% above the Insurance industry median of 9.17. HDFC Life Insurance Co's overall GF Score™ is 79/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is WACC % calculated?
WACC % is calculated from a company's financial statements. For HDFC Life Insurance Co (NSE:HDFCLIFE), the current WACC % is 12.49% as of Jul. 12, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.
Is HDFC Life Insurance Co (NSE:HDFCLIFE) Overvalued in 2026?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, HDFC Life Insurance Co stock appears to be undervalued.
The current stock price of ₹567.70 is trading 20.4% below its estimated GF Value™ of ₹712.75.
GuruFocus considers HDFC Life Insurance Co to be Modestly Undervalued.
Key valuation signals for NSE:HDFCLIFE:
WACC %: 12.49% (near median its 10-year median of 12.37)
GF Value™: ₹712.75 vs. price of ₹567.70 (20.4% below fair value)
Industry Position: 36.2% above the Insurance median (#445 of 519)
No single metric tells the full story. See the NSE:HDFCLIFE stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.
HDFC Life Insurance Co Ltd is a long-term life insurance company. It offers individual and group insurance solutions such as Protection, Pension, Savings and Investment, and Health, along with Children's and Women's Plans. The company operates through segments namely, Participating Life (Individual & Group), Participating Pension (Individual & Group), Non-Participating Life (Individual & Group), Non-Participating Pension (Individual & Group), Non-Participating Life Group Variable, Non-Participating Pension Group Variable, Non-Participating - Annuity, Non Participating - Individual & Group Health, Unit Linked - Individual Life, Unit Linked - Individual Pension, Unit Linked - Group Life and Unit Linked - Group Pension.
79GF Score
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