LIC bonus issue: Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) rallied in the trade on Wednesday, April 8, as the company is slated to hold a board meeting on Monday, April 13, to consider and recommend a proposal for the issue of bonus shares.
The stock jumped as much as 6.9% to the day's high of ₹794.65 on the NSE.
What is a bonus issue?
A bonus issue is a corporate action wherein a company gives free additional shares to its existing shareholders in proportion to their existing holdings.
For example, in a 1:1 bonus issue, an investor holding one share will receive one extra share at no cost. Companies usually issue bonus shares to reward shareholders and improve stock liquidity.
What happens when a bonus issue becomes effective?
When the bonus issue becomes effective (on the ex-date), the stock price adjusts downward to reflect the increased number of shares in the market.
This does not mean investors lose value-rather, the total investment value remains the same, just split across more shares.
For instance, if a stock trading at ₹1,000 announces a 1:1 bonus, its price typically adjusts to around ₹500 after the bonus, while the number of shares held doubles.
LIC share price trend
Shares of the company ended at ₹740.50 apiece on the NSE, down 0.6% on Tuesday, April 7.
The stock has remained listless so far in 2026. Data show that the shares have slipped over 13% year-to-date (YTD). The stock has fallen over 17% in the past six months and 8% in 1 month (as of the April 7 closing level).
LIC Q3 FY26 earnings
State-owned life insurer LIC reported a 17% jump in net profit at ₹12,958 crore in the third quarter ended December 2025 (Q3 FY26).
The country's biggest insurer, LIC, earned a net profit of ₹11,056 crore in the year-ago period.
During the quarter, the net premium income of the insurer rose to ₹1,25,613 crore from ₹1,06,891 crore seen in the same period a year ago, LIC said in a regulatory filing.
The total income also improved to ₹2,33,984 crore in the latest December quarter compared to ₹2,01,994 crore in the same period a year ago.
The insurer paid a net commission of ₹6,011 crore as against ₹5,966 crore in the third quarter of the previous financial year.
As regards new business, LIC garnered a first-year premium of ₹10,605 crore as compared to ₹7,285 crore in the same quarter a year ago.