The proportion of worth shares among the many high 1,000 corporations by market capitalisation has risen to 13% in August 2026 from 11% in 2024, in response to a report by ICICI Securities. The universe had fallen sharply from 30% in 2022, with the most important decline occurring between March 2023 and September 2024, when the Nifty 50 climbed about 54%.
The report defines an investable worth inventory as one with an earnings yield above the common India-US bond yield and return on fairness above 14%.
“Publish 2024, there have been two episodes — the US tariff concern in 2025 and the West Asia disaster in 2026 — that sparked a average enlargement within the universe of worth shares,” ICICI Securities stated. Subsequent market rallies, nevertheless, reversed a part of that enchancment.
The brokerage’s present value-stock record, sorted by earnings yield, contains Vedanta, ONGC, Indian Oil Corp., Oil India, NMDC, BPCL, Hindalco Industries, NALCO, Simply Dial and Petronet LNG.
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The ten shares on the display
Vedanta has the best earnings yield among the many 10 shares at 20%, adopted by ONGC at 17% and Indian Oil at 15%. Oil India has an earnings yield of 13%, whereas NMDC has 12%.BPCL and Hindalco Industries each have an earnings yield of 11%. NALCO, Simply Dial and Petronet LNG every have an earnings yield of 10%.
Small caps stay the weak hyperlink
The decline within the worth inventory universe was led largely by small caps. The variety of investable worth shares within the small-cap phase fell from 230 in March 2022 to 87 in August 2026.
By comparability, the large-cap universe has remained broadly steady. Massive-cap investable worth shares stood at 24 in August 2026, in contrast with 23 in March 2022. Mid-cap worth shares declined from 26 to 16 over the identical interval.
The sector composition has additionally modified materially. Monetary providers and banks at present account for the most important swimming pools of qualifying shares, with 19 names every in August 2026. Industrials account for 15, consumption for 12, metals for 11, vitality for 10 and IT for 10.
Supplies, as soon as among the many largest contributors, fell from 53 qualifying shares in March 2022 to 9 in August 2026. Healthcare declined from 16 to 3, whereas vehicle and elements fell from 14 to 5.
Earnings may enhance the worth universe
ICICI Securities stated a rising company revenue cycle may assist enhance the variety of shares assembly its worth standards. The brokerage famous that the present range-bound market is being pushed by geopolitical considerations, whereas company profitability is enhancing.
“The present part of a range-bound market is pushed by considerations of elevated geopolitics; alongside, a rising company revenue cycle might enhance the tally of investable worth shares forward,” the report stated.
The brokerage additionally cautioned {that a} additional rise in international bond yields may make it tougher for shares to qualify as worth investments, because the earnings-yield hurdle would enhance.
Revenue expectations stay strongest exterior the benchmark index. The report estimates a 20% compound annual development fee in revenue after tax for the Nifty Midcap 100, excluding volatile-growth corporations, between fiscal 2026 and financial 2028. The corresponding estimate for the Nifty Smallcap 100 is 22%, whereas the Nifty 50 is anticipated to ship a 15% CAGR.
ICICI Securities’ framework is designed to keep away from worth traps, shares that seem low cost however stay weak as a result of their long-term fundamentals proceed to deteriorate.
The display due to this fact additionally appears for low speculative worth, earnings yield above bond yields, a price-to-book ratio nearer to 1 occasions relying on the sector, restricted earnings downgrades and near-term catalysts.
The report says the worth technique relies on “avoiding worth traps and figuring out indicators of recognition of worth by the market.”
That leaves traders with a narrower proposition: the shares might look cheap, however a rerating will nonetheless rely upon earnings supply, enhancing fundamentals and catalysts that may deliver the market again to them.
(Disclosure: This text has been written by Nikhil Agarwal, who just isn’t a SEBI-registered Analysis Analyst or an funding advisor. Nikhil Agarwal doesn’t maintain any monetary curiosity in all the businesses talked about within the report as of the date of publication. The views/suggestions talked about on this article, wherever relevant, are these of the respective SEBI-registered Analysis Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They shouldn’t be construed because the views or suggestions of the EconomicTimes Digital or the journalist. Readers are suggested to contemplate the unique analysis report and make their funding selections primarily based on their very own evaluation.)
