The first-quarter earnings season for FY26 largely met market expectations, with several companies delivering robust profit growth despite lingering global uncertainties. Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOSL) noted that the severity of earnings cuts moderated this quarter compared to earlier periods, while Nifty posted an 8 percent year-on-year (YoY) profit growth. Although market volatility persists due to tariff-related concerns, analysts believe that improved earnings visibility and reasonable valuations could help Indian markets end the year on a positive note.
Nifty Outlook
According to MOSL, “Nifty reported a single-digit earnings growth for the fifth consecutive quarter since the pandemic (Jun’20). EPS growth for Nifty-50 is projected to rise to ~9% in FY26 (vs. an anemic 1% in FY25) – aided by a likely improvement in the macro environment owing to the stimulative fiscal and monetary measures.”
While the Indian equity market has been volatile over the past two months owing to tariff jitters, MOSL believes that improved earnings prospects and reasonable valuations (barring small-caps) should enable the market to achieve modest gains. It expects the influence of the US tariff wars on Indian markets to be limited.
4 Stocks Delivered Over 50% Rise in Their Q1 Net Profit
JSW Steel: JSW Steel reported a consolidated net profit of ₹2,184 crore for Q1 FY26, up 158% YoY from ₹845 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations stood at ₹43,147 crore, slightly above ₹42,943 crore in the same quarter last year. The company posted an operating EBITDA of ₹7,576 crore, with a margin of 17.6%, marking a 37% YoY increase driven by higher volumes and lower coking coal costs. Consolidated steel sales rose to 6.69 million tonnes, up 9% YoY, with institutional and retail sales volumes increasing 12% YoY.
Tata Steel: Tata Steel saw its April-June Q1 FY26 net profit soar 118% to ₹2,007 crore, up from ₹918 crore a year ago. Revenue from core operations dipped 2.9% to ₹53,178 crore, compared with ₹54,771 crore a year earlier. The profit surge was supported by a 3.89% reduction in total expenses, which fell to ₹50,347 crore from ₹52,389 crore YoY.
Bharti Airtel: Bharti Airtel posted a 57% YoY jump in consolidated net profit to ₹7,422 crore, up from ₹4,717.5 crore in the previous year’s quarter. Revenue from core operations increased 28% YoY to ₹49,462 crore, while mobile service business revenue in India grew nearly 22% to ₹27,396 crore from ₹22,527 crore in Q1 FY25.
Titan: Titan Company Ltd recorded a 52.5% YoY increase in consolidated net profit to ₹1,091 crore for the June quarter. Revenue climbed 24.6% YoY to ₹16,523 crore. Operating profit (EBITDA) rose 46.7% to ₹1,830 crore, with EBITDA margins expanding to 11.1% from 9.4% YoY, exceeding estimates of 10.6%. The jewellery segment grew 19% YoY (excluding bullion and digi-gold sales), while the watches and wearables division posted a 24% revenue jump to ₹1,273 crore, marking one of its best quarters.
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