IIFL Capital Services has announced significant employee stock option activities under its ESOS-2018 scheme. The company's Nomination and Remuneration Committee approved both the allotment of equity shares and grant of new stock options during its meeting held on February 04, 2026.

Equity Share Allotment Details

The company allotted 51,350 equity shares to employees who exercised their stock options under the "IIFL Securities Limited Employee Stock Option Scheme – 2018" (IIFL ESOS – 2018). These newly allotted equity shares rank pari passu with existing equity shares from the allotment date.

Stock Options Grant

The NRC also approved the grant of 967,627 stock options to identified employees under the same ESOS-2018 scheme. Each option is convertible into one fully paid-up equity share of the company.

Key Terms of Options Granted

Regulatory Compliance

The company confirmed that the scheme complies with SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits) Regulations, 2021. The intimation was made pursuant to Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

Meeting Details

The Nomination and Remuneration Committee meeting commenced at 3:00 p.m. and concluded at 3:25 p.m. on February 04, 2026. The decisions were communicated to both BSE Limited (Scrip Code: 542773) and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (Symbol: IIFLCAPS) for regulatory compliance.

India's headline GDP growth of 8.20% may look impressive on paper, but equity markets are likely to focus more on earnings acceleration and valuation comfort in the coming period, according to IIFL Capital Services research leadership.

GDP Growth Reality Check

GV Giri, President and Head of Research at IIFL Capital Services, emphasized caution when interpreting India's reported GDP figures. The 8.20% real GDP growth has been supported by a compressed deflator, which may not reflect the complete economic picture.

High-frequency indicators suggest actual growth may be closer to 6.50-7.00%, with the acceleration being selective and led by automobiles and a few sectors following GST cuts.

Corporate Earnings Outlook for FY27

Giri expects corporate earnings to regain significant momentum in FY27, supported by both underlying growth and recovery in large companies. The Nifty has maintained underlying earnings growth of around 13-14%, but FY27 presents opportunities for enhanced performance.

The projected 16-17% Nifty earnings growth appears achievable through a double boost of normalisation and recovery in large companies, particularly airlines and banks.

Banking Sector Positioned for Strong Performance

Banks emerge as the biggest potential beneficiaries in the current economic cycle, according to Giri's analysis. The sector has experienced 125 basis points of rate cuts in 2025, combined with deregulation initiatives by the RBI and government.

Key Banking Sector Advantages:

• Rate Cut Benefit: 125 basis points reduction creating favorable conditions
• Regulatory Support: Deregulation by RBI and government
• Credit Growth: Expected pickup in loan growth
• Cost Management: Credit costs anticipated to remain low
• Margin Expansion: Second phase of rate repricing supporting margins

Private banks and NBFCs could experience strong earnings leverage, with some NBFCs already delivering over 30.00% EPS growth. Historically, banks have been spectacular outperformers during rate-cut cycles.

Valuation Concerns and Market Outlook

Despite positive earnings prospects, Indian equities face valuation challenges. At around 20.40 times earnings, India has not delivered sufficient growth to justify major re-rating compared to global markets.

Innovation-led earnings growth remains limited in India compared to global leaders in AI, robotics, and drug discovery.

Additional Sector Opportunities

Beyond financials, several sectors show improving fundamentals and earnings visibility:

• Cement: Enhanced volume and earnings visibility
• Hospitals: Improving operational metrics
• Pharmaceuticals: Strengthening earnings outlook
• Internet and Platform Companies: Sustained profit growth in companies like Swiggy and Zomato through scale and operating leverage

Giri expects Indian markets to maintain stability with mid-teen earnings growth, even if valuations limit near-term upside potential. Unless material negative developments occur, Nifty returns should broadly track the projected earnings growth of 15-17%.