ONGC vs RELIANCE
Side-by-side comparison of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. and Reliance Industries Ltd.. Descriptive only — not investment advice.
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.
Energy
Quality Score: 58/100
Reliance Industries Ltd.
Energy
Quality Score: 42/100
At a glance
| Metric | ONGC | RELIANCE |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Score | 58/100 | 42/100 |
| P/E (trailing) | 9.2 | 24.1 |
| Forward P/E | 6.7 | 20.0 |
| ROE | — | +9.1% |
| Profit margin | +5.8% | +7.6% |
| Debt-to-equity | 43.80 | 36.65 |
| Dividend yield | +6.63% | +0.38% |
| 1Y price return | +24.2% | +1.4% |
| From 52w high | -9.2% | -11.0% |
| Analyst rating1 = Strong Buy, 5 = Strong Sell | 2.23 | 1.31 |
Highlighted value = better on the metric (lower for P/E, D/E, drawdown, analyst rating; higher elsewhere). Descriptive only.
Snapshots
ONGC trades at ₹279.2, up 24.2% over the past 12 months and above its 200-DMA (₹247.1), though marginally below the 50-DMA (₹280.5). The stock carries a trailing PE of 9.2 and a 6.6% dividend yield, with a quality score of 54 against an energy-sector peer range of 29-77. Debt-to-equity at 43.8 and a thin profit margin of 5.8% reflect the structural leverage and subsidy dynamics typical of a state-owned upstream producer.
Reliance Industries (₹1,435) is a large-cap energy and consumer conglomerate trading marginally above its 200-DMA (₹1,433) after a virtually flat 12-month price return of +1.41%. The company reported record annual EBITDA of ₹2,07,911 crore in FY26 but net profit declined 12.5% in Q4, continuing a 5-year earnings CAGR of -12.6% even as revenues compounded at 12.5%; debt-to-equity stands at 36.65 with a rising trend. An active bribery investigation involving a Reliance subsidiary was reported by Reuters in April 2026.
Pros
- ✓Forward PE of 6.7 versus trailing PE of 9.2 implies the market prices in earnings expansion; five-year earnings CAGR of 16.2% supports this directional read.
- ✓Dividend yield of 6.63% is among the higher absolute yields on the NSE large-cap energy board, reflecting consistent cash distribution from a state enterprise.
- ✓Price is 24.2% higher over 12 months and remains above the 200-DMA (₹247.1) by approximately 13%, indicating medium-term trend resilience.
- ✓FCF was positive in 4 of the available tracked years, suggesting the business has generated surplus cash in most periods despite capital-intensive upstream operations.
- ✓Revenue scale and growth: 5-year revenue CAGR of 12.5% reaching a record ₹11,75,919 crore in FY26, with EBITDA margins of 17.7% and EBITDA growth of 13.4% YoY in the most recent quarter.
- ✓Forward PE of 19.98 represents a compression from the trailing PE of 24.05, indicating that analyst earnings estimates for the next period are higher than the current run rate — a directional improvement expected by the sell side.
- ✓Mean analyst rating of 1.3125 across 32 analysts (1–5 scale, lower = more constructive); coverage breadth reflects the stock's institutional prominence.
- ✓Jio (digital services segment) PAT grew 13% YoY in Q4 FY26, providing a higher-margin segment counterbalancing pressure in the energy business.
Cons
- ✗Debt-to-equity of 43.8 is high relative to the energy-sector profile; the debt trend is classified as rising, which compounds refinancing risk in a rising-rate or falling-crude environment.
- ✗ROE data is unavailable and the fundamental persistence score is 20 out of 100, with only 1 year above the 15% ROE threshold — indicating weak historical capital-return consistency.
- ✗Profit margin of 5.8% provides a narrow buffer; government subsidy-sharing obligations and crude-price volatility have historically compressed or eliminated margins in down-cycles.
- ✗An active stop-production order from the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board for the Mori#05 well (April 2026) adds near-term operational and regulatory headline risk.
- ✗Earnings have declined at a -12.6% CAGR over 5 years despite strong revenue growth; ROE of 9.14% has never crossed 15% in the available history (roeYearsAbove15 = 0), indicating the business is not generating adequate returns on equity deployed.
- ✗Debt-to-equity of 36.65 with a rising debt trend and FCF positive in only 3 of available years; interest burden is likely a primary driver of the gap between EBITDA growth and net profit growth.
- ✗An active bribery investigation involving Asteria, a Reliance subsidiary, reported by Reuters on April 24 2026, introduces governance and regulatory risk with uncertain financial and reputational consequences.
- ✗Quality score of 29 ranks 5th of 6 sector peers; PE of 24.05 is the highest in the peer group against peers trading at 5.3–12.8x — the valuation premium is not accompanied by peer-leading profitability or return metrics.
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