NSE’s IPO offers a bet on India’s capital-markets expansion, say brokerages

As per the latest business developments, Research firms are positive on the upcoming public offering for the National Stock Exchange (NSE), as a result of its firm market position, profitability, and the overall long-term expansion potential of India’s capital markets.

SAMCO Securities has recommended subscribing to the NSE's offering for the long term, saying that the exchange is one of the strongest market infrastructure businesses in India. In FY26, the exchange had a 92.99 percent market share in cash equities, 99.79 percent in equity futures and 74.71 percent in equity options.

According to research firms, the NSE's advantages include scale, liquidity, technology infrastructure, an integrated clearing ecosystem and a large investor base. SBI Securities described NSE as the “best franchise among peers”.

Further, at the upper price range of Rs 1,785, the exchange is valued at 42.9 times FY2026 earnings. This is under its listed peer, Asia's oldest exchange BSE's current valuation of 49.3x.

NSE noted topline from operations of Rs 16,601 crore and PAT of Rs 10,302 crore in FY26, with an operating EBITDA margin of 66.9 percent and ROE of 33 percent.

The exchange additionally saw a pick-up in operating momentum in the first quarter of FY2027. Topline rose 13.1 percent year-on-year, operating EBITDA increased 14.84 percent, while cash-market average daily traded value grew 25.25 percent.

SBI Securities additionally noted that NSE’s topline and PAT grew at a CAGR of 6 percent and 11 percent, respectively, between FY2024 and FY2026. Its technology and data businesses contributed 12 percent of FY2026 topline, providing some diversification beyond trading.

Research firms additionally see potential in NSE’s wider ecosystem, including NSE Clearing, NSE Indices, market data and analytics and its GIFT City initiatives. Ventura Securities additionally highlighted NSE’s technology capabilities, with the platform processing 21.9 billion peak order messages in a single day and 201 million trades on March 24, 2026.

The biggest concern flagged by research firms is NSE’s dependence on derivatives, particularly options. Options accounted for 60 percent of FY26 topline from operations, while NSE’s equity-options market share declined from 96.86 percent in FY24 to 68.48 percent in Q1 FY27, stated research firms.

SAMCO cautioned that further regulatory intervention or elevated transaction taxes could weigh on speculative derivatives volumes. Ventura additionally flagged government dependency and execution risks. That stated, the brokerage did mention that NSE keeps generate firm returns despite a slide in FY26 topline and profitability.

Overall, research firms believe NSE’s dominant franchise and exposure to the expansion of India’s capital markets provides market participants with a long-term opportunity. Importantly, at the same time, maintaining market share and reducing dependence on options topline will stay some key monitorables for market participants.