SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd. share price target

SBI Life has provided a mid-teen growth guidance in volume and maintains a healthy 26–28% VNB margin guidance for FY26.

We maintain our BUY recommendation on the stock

SBI Life Insurance (SBILIFE) reported 9% YoY growth in new business APE to INR39.7b (in line). VNB margin for the quarter stood at 27.4% vs our estimate of 28.5% (26.8% in 1QFY25). Absolute VNB grew 12% YoY to INR10.9b (in-line), driven by the product mix shift toward non-linked products.

Strategic Shift Underpins Long-Term Compounding Story

In Q4FY25, SBI Life reported a decline in both net premium and total income. Despite this, the company remains strategically focused on long-term growth through strengthening its agency and bancassurance channels, improving the product mix with increased emphasis on non-ULIP and protection products, advancing digital capabilities, and expanding its presence in underserved regions....

Moderate APE growth of 2% YoY in Q4FY25, 9% YoY in FY25; while VNB margins expand ~200bps YoY in Q4

SBI Life reported an impressive performance for Q4FY25/FY25 with VNB margin at 30.5%/27.8%, respectively, clocking in 7.2% VNB growth for FY25.

We maintain our BUY recommendation on the stock

SBI Life Insurance (SBILIFE) reported 2% YoY growth in new business APE to INR54.5b (in line). For FY25, it grew 8% YoY to INR214.2b. Absolute VNB grew 10% YoY to INR16.6b (14% beat). VNB margin for the quarter stood at 30.5% vs. our estimate of 27.4% (28.3% in 4QFY24).

We recommend a BUY rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,609/ share, implying an upside of 10% from the CMP.

We maintain our BUY recommendation on the stock

Strong APE growth YoY while margins contract in 9M on shift towards ULIP mix and new surrender guidelines

We upgrade SBI Life to BUY from Add with revised up Dec-25E TP of Rs1,850, implying FY26E P/EV of 2.3x. SBI Life delivered an impressive performance in Q3FY25 with growth rebound in the banca channel (10% YoY in Q3 vs 7% in H1), which led to Retail APE growth of 13% in Q3 on a strong base of last year, and VNB margins for the quarter coming in at 26.95% vs 26.86% of 9M despite implementation of the new surrender regulations.

SBI Life Insurance (SBILIFE) reported strong performance in 3QFY25. APE grew 13% YoY to INR69.4b (5% beat). For 9MFY25, it grew 11% YoY to INR159.7b

SBI Life Insurance reported premium income lower than our estimates by 6% mainly due to weakness in the group insurance and muted growth in the bancassurance channel. In terms of APE, growth was muted at 3% YoY, lower than our estimates by 4%.

SBI Life Insurance (SBILIFE) reported a weak performance in 2QFY25. APE grew 3% YoY to INR53.9b (11% miss). For 1HFY25, it grew 9% YoY to INR90.3b.

We maintain our BUY recommendation on the stock.

We remain constructive on SBI Life Insurance (SBLI) basis strength in its distribution and cost structure. While these business moats remain extremely relevant, the wide customer base also makes SBLI least vulnerable to regulatory changes.