Top 10 Zero-Debt Companies to Watch in 2026

A balance sheet tells you how a company is built. Some companies are built with bricks and cement, others with leverage. A “zero debt” company is the first kind. It funds its operations and growth without borrowing from banks or issuing long-term debt. That does not automatically make it a great investment, but it does make the business easier to live with as a shareholder, especially when markets are nervous and interest rates are unpredictable.

What “Zero Debt” Really Means?

In simple terms, a zero-debt company has little to no interest-bearing borrowings on its books. It may still have normal working-capital items like trade payables, lease liabilities, or customer advances. Those are part of day-to-day business. What investors usually mean by “zero debt” is: no meaningful bank loans, bonds, debentures, or other borrowings that create interest burden and refinancing risk.

Top 10 Zero-Debt Companies to Watch in 2026

Here is the list of the top 10 zero-debt companies

Source: Screener

Note: Some companies might have lease liabilities

Here is the overview of Zero Debt Companies

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is a digital transformation and technology partner of choice for industry-leading organisations worldwide. Since its inception in 1968, TCS has upheld the highest standards of innovation, engineering excellence and customer service. Rooted in the heritage of the Tata Group, TCS is focused on creating long term value for its clients, its investors, its employees, and the community at large. With a highly skilled workforce spread across 55 countries and 202 service delivery centers across the world, the company has been recognised as a top employer in six continents. With the ability to rapidly apply and scale new technologies, the company has built long term partnerships with its clients – helping them emerge as perpetually adaptive enterprises. Many of these relationships have endured into decades and navigated every technology cycle, from mainframes in the 1970s to Artificial Intelligence today.

Infosys

Infosys is a global provider of next-generation digital services and consulting. It helps clients across 59 countries advance their digital transformation. Drawing on more than four decades of experience in running and modernising the systems that power global enterprises, Infosys supports organisations as they move to cloud-led, AI-enabled operating models. The company builds an AI-first digital core, scales agile digital capabilities across the business, and drives continuous improvement through always-on learning, supported by the transfer of skills, expertise and ideas from its innovation ecosystem.

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India’s largest FMCG company and has served Indian consumers for over 90 years.  With a wide and resilient portfolio and a strong distribution network, the Company reaches 9 out of 10 Indian households with one or more of its brands.

HUL has a portfolio of over 50 brands across 15 FMCG categories, with a total distribution reach (direct and indirect) spanning over 9 million stores. The Company operates through four main segments: Home Care, Beauty & Wellbeing, Personal Care, and Foods. HUL’s popular brands and products include Wheel, Sunlight, Surf excel, Rin, Comfort, Vim, Pond’s, Lakmē, Dove, TRESemmé, Glow & Lovely, Vaseline, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pears, Closeup, Axe, Kissan, Knorr, Hellmann’s, Brooke Bond Red Label, Taj Mahal, Bru, 3 Roses, Cornetto, Magnum, Boost, and Horlicks.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC)

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) is the largest insurance provider company in India. LIC’s main business activity is life insurance under “insurance services including pension and health”, contributing 100% of its turnover. It offers individual and group insurance solutions (participating, non-participating and unit-linked), with products across protection, pension, savings, investment, annuity, health, variable and CRAC.

Maruti Suzuki India

Maruti Suzuki India Limited was established in 1981. A joint venture agreement was signed between the Government of India and Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), Japan, in 1982, and the Company became a subsidiary of SMC in 2002. In terms of production volume and sales, it is now SMC’s largest subsidiary, with SMC holding a 58.28% equity stake. It is the market leader in passenger vehicles in India and the country’s largest exporter of passenger vehicles. In FY 2024-25, the Company reported its highest-ever total sales, crossing 2 million units for the second consecutive year, becoming the first passenger vehicle manufacturer in India to achieve this milestone.

HCL Technologies (HCLTech)

HCLTech is a global technology company with more than 226,300 people across 60 countries. It provides industry-leading capabilities across AI, digital, engineering, cloud and software, supported by a broad portfolio of technology services and products. The company works with clients across major verticals, delivering industry solutions for Financial Services, Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Healthcare, High Tech, Semiconductor, Telecom and Media, Retail and CPG, Mobility and Public Services.

ITC

ITC Limited (ITC) is India’s largest manufacturer and seller of cigarettes. Established in 1910, the company spent its first six decades building and consolidating its cigarettes and leaf tobacco businesses. Today, it operates across five business segments: FMCG-Cigarettes, FMCG-Others, Paperboards, Paper and Packaging, Agri Business, and other businesses, which mainly include IT solutions and services, and it owns well-known consumer brands such as Aashirvaad, Sunfeast, YiPPee!, Bingo! and Savlon.

Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries (Sun Pharma)

Sun Pharma is the world’s leading specialty generics company, with operations spanning innovative medicines, generics and consumer healthcare products. It is India’s largest pharmaceutical company and a leading generic player in the U.S. as well as global emerging markets. Its high-growth global Innovative Medicines portfolio includes products in dermatology, ophthalmology and onco-dermatology and contributes about 20% of the company’s sales. With vertically integrated operations, Sun Pharma supplies high-quality medicines that are trusted by physicians and consumers in more than 100 countries. Its manufacturing facilities are spread across six continents, supported by a multicultural workforce drawn from over 50 nations.

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL)

Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is a Government of India Navratna PSU and a state-run defence equipment manufacturer. Incorporated in 1954, the company is a leading aerospace and defence electronics supplier to the Indian armed forces. The Government holds a 51.14% stake, and BEL is a market leader in domestic defence electronics, supplying products and systems across the Army, Navy and Air Force. BEL is primarily engaged in developing electronics technology solutions for both defence and civilian segments, and it is expanding its presence in international defence and civilian markets.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) principal business includes the design, development, manufacturing, maintenance, repair, overhaul and servicing of aircraft, helicopters and engines, along with related systems such as avionics, instruments and accessories. Its primary customers are India’s defence forces, including the Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard. The company also works with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to support its space programmes. HAL was granted Navratna PSU status in June 2007 and Maharatna status in October 2024.

Why Zero Debt Companies Can Be a Good Investment Option?

Here are some of the advantages, which makes zero debt companies a good investment option

1) No interest burden, more profit stays with the business

When a company does not pay interest, it protects operating margins and keeps more cash available for reinvestment, dividends, buybacks, or simply building reserves. During slowdowns, this can be the difference between maintaining profitability and slipping into losses.

2) Lower risk of nasty surprises

Debt can turn a manageable problem into a crisis. A demand shock, a raw material spike, a delayed receivable cycle, or one bad expansion can strain cash flows. If repayments are fixed and cash flows fall, the business loses room to manoeuvre. A zero-debt company is less likely to be forced into emergency fundraising or asset sales at the wrong time.

3) Stronger bargaining power in tough periods

In stressed markets, lenders tighten terms, and refinancing becomes expensive. A debt-free company is not negotiating from weakness. It can choose when to invest, when to conserve cash, and when to strike acquisitions or expand capacity as competitors struggle.

4) Cleaner capital allocation discipline

Companies that grow without debt often have a culture of careful spending. They are usually more selective about expansions and more aware of return on capital. You still need to verify this in numbers, but the absence of leverage often goes hand in hand with prudent decision-making.

How Zero Debt Can Act as a Shield in Volatile Markets?

Volatility tests both business models and balance sheets. When markets swing sharply, it is rarely only about price. It is about confidence, liquidity, and the fear of what can go wrong.

• In high interest-rate phases, leveraged companies face higher finance costs and tighter coverage ratios. Even if sales remain steady, profits can get squeezed. Zero debt firms avoid this direct hit.
• During a liquidity crunch, credit lines shrink and lenders become conservative. Businesses that depend on rolling over debt can get stuck. A debt-free company does not need to refinance to survive.
• When demand drops suddenly, fixed costs hurt everyone, but debt adds another fixed obligation. Without interest and principal pressure, management can focus on operations rather than firefighting with bankers.
• In market panic, investors punish fragile balance sheets. Companies with low financial risk often fall less and recover faster because survival is not in question.

This “shield” is not about guaranteeing returns. It is about reducing the number of ways an investment can go wrong.

The Realistic Side: Zero Debt is Not Always Superior

A debt-free balance sheet is a strength, but it can also hide weaknesses if you stop your analysis too early.

1) Debt can be smart when used well

Some businesses can safely use moderate debt to expand capacity, improve efficiency, or enter new markets, as long as cash flows are steady and returns exceed the cost of borrowing. Avoiding debt at all costs can sometimes mean missed opportunities.

2) “Zero debt” today can change tomorrow

A company may be debt-free now but planning a large capex cycle funded by loans. Always check commentary, capex plans, and contingent commitments.

3) Cash-rich does not mean value-rich

Some zero debt companies sit on large cash piles but earn weak returns, especially if growth opportunities are limited. You want cash that is productive, not idle.

4) Business quality still matters more

A weak product, poor pricing power, governance issues, or aggressive revenue recognition can damage even a debt-free company. Debt is only one risk. It is not the only risk.

How to Evaluate a Zero-debt Company?

If you are using “zero debt” as a starting filter, follow it with these practical checks:

• Cash flows: Is operating cash flow consistently positive and close to reported profits?
• Working capital: Are receivables under control? Is inventory building up without reason?
• Return ratios: Look for healthy ROCE/ROE over a cycle, not just one year.
• Moat and pricing power: Can the company pass on costs or protect margins?
• Management behaviour: Are expansions measured? Are acquisitions sensible?
• Valuation: Even a great debt-free business can be a poor investment at an inflated price.

Conclusion

Zero debt companies can offer peace of mind because they remove a major source of financial stress: interest and refinancing risk. In volatile markets, that stability often shows up in better resilience and calmer decision-making. But “zero debt” should be treated as the start of research, not the finish line. The best opportunities are usually debt-free businesses with strong cash flows, disciplined capital allocation, and sensible valuations. That combination, not the label alone, is what tends to reward investors over time.