Ofcourse ITC is a much better business to invest in. But look at the valuations it is trading at. I believe it is trading at a PE multiple > 35x LTM earnings. Clearly the superior dynamics of the business are already reflected in the share price. Clearly, there is no margin of safety.
The task as a value investor lies in identifying superior businesses trading at low PE multiples.
Another useful indicator I look at is Return on Reinvested Capital.
RoRC = Change in Operating Profits / Change in Invested Capital
This metric shows the returns generated on every $ of capital re-invested. If a company has reinvest $100 and increased earnings by only 5 then clearly management is into ‘empire-building’ i.e. creating a large company and essentially destroying value.