ITC

The FMCG major is piloting freshness-led packaged foods through its food-tech cloud kitchens, leveraging e-commerce platforms as it sharpens its premiumisation strategy

Firm says GST rate rejig, duty changes have led to an unprecedented increase in tax incidence on cigarettes

The conglomerate warned that a new excise duty on cigarettes will lead to a rise in illicit trade, causing hardship and loss to millions of farmers, MSMEs, retailers, and local value chains

Q3FY26 company results: Firms including Dabur India, Tata Motors, Paytm, Swiggy, and Canara Bank are also to release their October-December earnings today

ITC Q3 results preview: Brokerages tracked by Business Standard estimate ITC's net profit to average ₹5,175.85 crore, compared to ₹4,893.4 crore a year ago, up 1.6 per cent Y-o-Y

ITC will pursue selective, value-accretive acquisitions while banking on premiumisation and a gradual recovery in consumption to outpace FMCG industry growth

The brokerage expects the price hike will have a significant impact on volumes, pressure margins, increase illicit trade, stifle growth and the company's ability to recruit consumers.

ITC earnings estimates for FY27-28 have been cut after a sharp excise duty hike on cigarettes. Brokerages have downgrade the stock, citing margin and volume risks

Only continuous relevance and reinvention can secure a place in the ­­30-stock index

Indian equity benchmarks closed largely flat in the first trading session of 2026, as gains in Larsen & Toubro and M&M offset sharp losses in ITC after a new tobacco tax announcement

Shares of cigarette makers fell sharply after the Centre announced higher GST and excise duties on tobacco products from February, raising concerns over price hikes, volumes and margins

Before the latest notification, cigarettes and other tobacco products were taxed under a layered structure combining GST with multiple cesses, including a compensation levy

ITC, Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries fell up to 10 per cent, after Centre notified February 1 as the date from which additional excise duty will be levied on tobacco

e buying on the counter came after the CCI approved ITC's acquisition of Aditya Birla Real Estate's pulp and paper business

According to Shrikant Chouhan of Kotak Securities, Prestige remains well placed to benefit from sectoral tailwinds, and ITC continues to position itself as a future-ready Indian conglomerate

LIC MD Ratnakar Patnaik urges the government to exempt insurance from GST to restore input tax credit and suggests raising the tax threshold for high-value insurance policies

A wave of demergers is reshaping India Inc, with firms such as Tata Motors, Raymond, ITC and Aditya Birla splitting key units to unlock value and simplify structure

Niva Bupa expects a modest 50-60 basis point hit from GST-related ITC loss but aims to offset it through higher policy sales, revised distributor commissions, and cost efficiencies

Brokerages were unanimous that the non-cigarette FMCG business remains a bright spot in ITC's portfolio.

The company reported consolidated gross revenue of Rs 21,255.86 crore for Q2FY26, down 1.3 per cent compared to Rs 21,536.38 crore a year ago