There is a belief among investors that for big returns you need to chase midcaps, smallcaps, or microcaps. While this is partially true, the fact is that there are select so-called boring, large-cap companies which are delivering as well. 

If you look at market cap based Nifty indices, over the last 1 year the large-cap index outperformed the small-cap and even the micro-cap indices. 

Nifty 50 grew 4.61% during this period, while Nifty smallcap 100 only grew 1.75% and Nifty Microcap 250 increased only 1.61%. Last year, the market was highly volatile, and large caps, being the safe harbor, not only protected investors’ capital but also offered returns higher than other market segments. 

Why is this so?

You see, what most miss is that some of the large cap companies are growing fast too. And we are talking revenue and profit growth here. These companies may look boring, but when it comes to business, they are quite agile. 

In this article, we will explore three so-called boring large-cap companies that have delivered exceptional revenue growth in the past year. This should make you sit up and take notice that to find growth, and therefore, potential returns, one does not necessarily have to ignore the boring large cap space completely. 

Let’s start. 

#1 Bajaj Finance Limited (BAJAJFINANCE)  

Bajaj Finance Ltd., one of the leading financial services companies in India, offers an array of lending services. It caters to the needs of both rural and urban clientele. It offers consumer lending solutions, SME lending, commercial lending, rural lending, and a lot more. 

The current market capitalization of the company is ₹5,78,861 Crore (as on 4 July 2025) at a current share price of ₹932 per share. The share price appreciated 29.73% over the last 1 year. So, as you can see, it’s definitely a large cap. 

But is it boring?  

In the past year, Bajaj Finance has delivered a whopping 26.76% revenue growth, which is among the highest in the largecap group of companies. The revenue went up from ₹54,972 crore in FY24 to ₹69,684 crore in FY25. 

The net profit went up from ₹14,451 crore in FY24 to ₹16,779 crore in FY25, growing at 16% YoY. Even though the profit surged, management expected the profit to increase more, but increased credit costs took their toll. This led to a marginal drop in the Return on Equity (ROE) from 22.1% in FY24 to 19% in FY25. 

The financial services company also witnessed a marginal increase in its Net non-performing assets (NPA) during FY25. NPAs went up from 0.37% in FY24 to 0.44% in FY25. 

Coming to the operating parameters, the Net Interest Income (NII) of Bajaj Finance increased from ₹29,582 crore in FY24 to ₹36,393 crore in FY25, registering a solid 23% YoY growth. 

Bajaj Finance’s management is positive about the future and expects to add 1.4 to 1.6 crore new customers in FY26. It also expects the profit to grow further in FY26 and the ROE to be between 19% to 20% for the current fiscal. The company is working on deploying AI across segments and expects to be a FINAI company by 2028. 

The stock is trading at a Price Earning (PE) Ratio of 34.8x, lower than its own 10-year median PE of 43.8x, but expensive than its peers, as industry PE is 25.8x. 

#2 ICICI Bank Limited (ICICIBANK)

ICICI Bank Ltd. needs no formal introduction. It is the second-largest private sector bank in India by market capitalization. ICICI Bank offers a plethora of financial products and services catering to retail customers, SMEs, and corporates. From savings accounts to corporate loans, this bank offers it all.

ICICI Bank’s market capitalization as on 4 July 2025 is ₹10,29,578 crore. Its share price, currently at ₹1,443, increased 17% over the last 1 year. This massive market cap not only makes ICICI Bank the second-largest private sector bank but also one of the top large-cap companies in India.

So, is this large cap company boring? Far from it. 

This private bank has delivered a solid 17% growth in its revenue during FY25. Revenue increased from ₹1,59,516 crore in FY24 to ₹1,86,331 crore in FY25. The net profit increased from ₹46,081 crore in FY24 to ₹54,569 crore in FY25, registering a 15% growth, which indicates that this large-cap company is delivering significantly well. However, the ROE marginally dipped from FY24’s 19% to 18% in FY25.

Coming to the operating parameters, the NII went up from ₹74,306 crore in FY24 to ₹81,165 crore in FY25, registering a 9.2% growth. Core operating profit surged from ₹58,122 crore in FY24 to ₹65,396 crore in FY25, growing at 12.5%.

ICICI Bank has successfully reduced its Net NPA from 0.42% in FY24 to 0.39% in FY25.

The management expects the near-term growth to be impacted by the rate cuts happening in the economy. It expects further rate cuts to happen this fiscal. ICICI Bank is looking for ways to grow profits as in a falling interest rate environment commercial banks take a near term hit i.e., their loans get repriced faster than their deposits. So, while interest income takes a hit, the cost of money reduces only gradually, impacting near term profitability. 

Coming to the valuation (based on PE only), the stock is trading at a PE of 20.2x, which is almost at par with its 10-year median PE of 19.6x but definitely higher than the industry PE of 13.6x.

#3 Bharti Airtel Limited (BHARTIARTL)

Bharti Airtel Ltd. is one of the leading telecommunication service providers globally. It has presence across 18 countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and 14 countries in Africa. The company offers mobile network services, broadband services, DTH, and it has also ventured into financial services.

With a current share price of ₹2,017 per share, Bharti Airtel has a market capitalization of ₹12,10,376 crore, the highest in the telecommunication industry. Even being a giant large-cap company, the share price has increased at an astounding 41.1% during the past 1 year.

So definitely not boring, right? There’s more. 

During FY25, the revenue of Bharti Airtel grew by 15%, from ₹1,49,982 crore in FY24 to ₹1,72,985 crore in FY25. But what is more interesting is the fact that during FY25, the company generated 133% more profit compared to FY24. The net profit stood at ₹8,558 crore in FY24, which jumped to a massive ₹37,481 crore in FY25.

During FY25, the company added 13.5 crore new customers.  The management has said that capital expenditure will now go down in FY26 as rural rollout is almost complete. They want to be more flexible with their capital deployment tactics to balance debt, dividends, buybacks and investments.

Bharti Airtel anticipates its broadband customer base to increase from the current 4.6 crore homes to 8-9 crore homes during the current fiscal.

Another interesting fact is that two of the companies with the highest market caps on this list – Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance have joined hands. This partnership is expected to boost Bharti Airtel’s Finance business segment in the coming days.

The stock of Bharti Airtel is trading at a cheaper PE of 43.6x, way lower than its 10-year median PE of 62x. However, if you compare it with the industry PE of 43.6x, then it is at par with its peers.

Wrapping up

Do you still think large caps are always boring? And they cannot offer higher returns? 

With select large cap companies, you can chase higher returns without necessarily taking higher risks. These large cap businesses are delivering solid returns to their investors, on the back of solid company performances. Maybe, it’s time to not label all large caps boring, and in fact, consider adding some of them to your watchlist. 

Disclaimer

We have relied on data from www.Screener.in throughout this article. Only in cases where the data was not available, have we used an alternate, but widely used and accepted source of information.  

The purpose of this article is only to share interesting charts, data points and thought-provoking opinions. It is NOT a recommendation. If you wish to consider an investment, you are strongly advised to consult your advisor. This article is strictly for educative purposes only. 

Maumita Mitra is a seasoned writer specializing in demystifying the world of investment for a broad audience. She has a keen eye for detail and a knack for explaining complex financial concepts in the simplest manner possible. 

Disclosure: The writer and his dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article. 

The website managers, its employee(s), and contributors/writers/authors of articles have or may have an outstanding buy or sell position or holding in the securities, options on securities or other related investments of issuers and/or companies discussed therein.  The content of the articles and the interpretation of data are solely the personal views of the contributors/ writers/authors.  Investors must make their own investment decisions based on their specific objectives, resources and only after consulting such independent advisors as may be necessary.