In its last recorded trade, on Tuesday 21 July 2026 (30 Tir 1405), Kourosh Food Industry (ticker "Ghakouresh") closed at its daily ceiling with a final price of 19,130 rials, a figure that has grown roughly 6.4 times over the past year from a floor of 2,986 rials. The key point, however, is that despite this large jump, the stock's price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) is estimated at about 6.4, almost in line with the food sector's P/E of 6.44. In other words, the price rise is mostly backed by earnings rather than pure excitement. This report is informational and educational, not buy or sell advice.
Background
Ghakouresh is the largest producer of household liquid cooking oil and a subsidiary of the Golrang Industrial Group; its basket carries brands such as Oila, Familia, Kimball and Santin, and about 90 percent of its output is liquid oil. Ownership is concentrated within Golrang: Gostaresh Sanaye Bastebandi Kourosh holds about 90 percent, and the Golrang group on a consolidated basis holds about 92 percent of the shares.
To understand the price surge, two events must be read together. First, a heavy capital increase of about 120 percent, funded from retained earnings and receivables, which lifted registered capital to 44,000 billion rials (4,400 billion tomans, equal to 44 billion shares). Second, a real jump in profitability after the removal of preferential foreign exchange for cooking oil in Dey 1404 (December 2025 to January 2026) and the liberalization of the selling price. The one-year price range in the trading system is computed on an adjusted basis (after accounting for the capital increase); that is why the 6.4x jump is mostly "real growth" rather than a mere statistical effect of splitting the price after a capital increase.
The numbers
The stock's valuation picture at the last recorded trade looks like this (all price figures and ratios from the official trading system, as of 21 July 2026):
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Final price (21 July 2026) | 19,130 rials (previous day 18,580 rials, at the daily ceiling) |
| One-year range (adjusted) | 2,986 to 19,130 rials |
| Estimated EPS (trading system) | 2,993 rials |
| Stock P/E / sector P/E | about 6.4 / 6.44 |
| Registered capital | 44,000 billion rials (44 billion shares) |
| Market capitalization | about 84 hemat (84,170 billion tomans; a hemat is a thousand billion tomans) |
| Net profit, FY 1403 | about 2,500 billion tomans (down 22 percent from 1402) |
| Net profit growth, 1404 (unaudited) | about 255 percent |
For scale, the roughly 84 hemat market cap, at the mid-July 2026 free-market dollar rate (about 180,000 to 190,000 tomans), equals something in the 440 to 470 million dollar range. The core of the valuation is that P/E of about 6.4, which does not make the stock look expensive relative to its peers, though the estimated EPS of 2,993 rials is exactly that, an estimate, and the realized figure must be confirmed.
The drivers
The main engine of this performance is a repricing mechanism, not a technical adjustment. Cooking-oil production in Iran is heavily import-dependent; according to the head of analysis at one brokerage, about 95 percent of the company's cost of goods sold is direct materials, most of them (oilseeds and crude oil) imported. Until Dey 1404, the government covered part of this cost with preferential FX and, in return, held the selling price down.
With preferential FX removed, the consumer price of cooking oil more than doubled. Market examples are telling: an 810-gram bottle of frying oil rose from about 79,000 to 175,000 tomans (over 121 percent), and cooking oil from about 72,600 to 150,000 tomans (over 106 percent). This price liberalization opened the company's profit margin and lifted 1404 net profit, based on unaudited financial statements, by about 255 percent. The effect is not unique to Ghakouresh; the larger rival, Behshahr Industrial ("Ghabshahr"), also reported roughly 220 to 260 percent increases in the selling price of household and industrial oil after preferential dollar removal.
The analytical frame is decisive here: Ghakouresh is not a dollar exporter but a domestic consumer company with rial sales, in which both ends of its margin (cost of goods and selling price) are policy- and FX-driven. That distinction is the key to understanding its profitability, and it is exactly where a proper fundamental analysis should begin.
The risks
That same dependence is also the stock's main risk. Any change in the rate or quota of import FX for inputs shifts the cost of goods directly. A delay by the Market Regulation Headquarters in adjusting the approved selling price can compress the margin again; the experience of 1403, when net profit fell 22 percent despite growth in gross profit, shows exactly this (the main factor: a jump in financial and administrative costs). A large share of sales also runs through Golrang's affiliated companies (Golrang Pakhsh, the Ofogh Kourosh stores, Sorena and Gandom), which makes the transparency of related-party pricing important. Finally, systematic market risk in the tense environment of mid-1405 weighs on the whole board.
Outlook
The stock's outlook is tied to three variables and should be read cautiously. First, the actual realization of 1404 profit: the trading system's estimated EPS is 2,993 rials, but that figure is an estimate; if the audited realized profit comes in lower, the real P/E rises somewhat. Second, whether the approved selling price keeps pace with input FX costs. Third, the dividend policy; the company has a history of paying out most of its profit (the 1403 dividend was 550 rials from EPS of 586 rials). As long as the stock's P/E stays in line with the sector and the selling price moves in step with costs, the assumption of "relative value versus peers" holds, but that assumption is fragile and conditional.
Bottom line
The core of this report is one sentence: the 6.4x jump in Ghakouresh's price over a year is, contrary to the common impression, mostly not a bubble, because it came with a P/E of about 6.4 (in line with the sector) and was backed by real profit growth after the removal of preferential FX. But that "relative value" is not unconditional: administrative pricing and input FX can flip the equation at any moment. What to remember is that Ghakouresh is a domestic consumer company with input FX risk, not a dollar exporter, and its valuation should be read within exactly that frame.
What to watch
To follow this stock, keep an eye on a few points: the release of the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending Esfand 1404 and the exact realized profit figure; the general meeting's approved dividend for fiscal 1404; any change in the approved selling price set by the Market Regulation Headquarters or in input FX policy; and the new capital-increase plan on the company's agenda. For comparison, one can also set the record of peers such as Ghabshahr and Ghamarg alongside Ghakouresh. The live price and trend for the ticker are available on the Ghakouresh price page on Sahmino.
