Silver price rally makes Hindustan Zinc India's most valued metals stock

A 60% rally in Hindustan Zinc shares over the past two months, driven by a surge in silver prices, has propelled the company’s market capitalisation to nearly ₹3 lakh crore, making it India’s largest metals player by market value and overtaking major peers, including parent Vedanta Ltd.

International silver prices have nearly doubled over the past two months and are currently trading around $99 per troy ounce. Shares of Hindustan Zinc, one of India’s largest producers of the white metal, gained another 6% on Friday to hit a 52-week high of ₹710 on the NSE. The stock’s all-time high stands at ₹807.70, recorded in May last year.

With a market capitalisation of about ₹3 lakh crore, Hindustan Zinc now accounts for 14.1% of the Nifty Metal Index’s combined valuation of ₹21.2 lakh crore. In comparison, JSW Steel accounts for around 13.6% of the index market capitalisation, while Vedanta and Tata Steel represent 12.8% and 11.2%, respectively.

Name	Market Cap (₹lakh crore)
Hindustan Zinc Ltd	2.96
JSW Steel Ltd	2.86
Vedanta Ltd	2.69
Tata Steel Ltd	2.35
Hindalco Industries Ltd	2.11
Jindal Steel Ltd	1.09

However, Hindustan Zinc trades with a relatively thin free float of around 10%, compared with other major metal companies. About 66% of Tata Steel’s outstanding shares are traded in the market, while JSW Steel has a free-float market capitalisation of about ₹1.1 lakh crore, or nearly 38% of its total market value. Parent Vedanta holds a 62% stake in Hindustan Zinc, while the central government owns another 28%.

For the quarter ended December 2025, Hindustan Zinc reported better-than-expected earnings, aided in part by a sharp rise in silver sales. Net profit rose 47% year-on-year to ₹3,879 crore, while revenue increased 27% to ₹10,980 crore.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at ₹6,005 crore for the quarter, exceeding the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹5,614 crore. EBITDA rose 34.7% year-on-year.

Of the 19 analysts tracking Hindustan Zinc on Bloomberg, 10 have a “buy” rating, four recommend “hold”, while the remaining five have a “sell” rating.