The third-quarter earnings season for India Inc has kicked off amid high expectations that it could prove to be a turnaround quarter. The earnings season will be closely tracked by investors, as a good India Inc report card can pull back foreign investors to the market and ease the pressure unleashed by Trump’s tariff tantrum.
CLSA, in a recent report, said that India’s relative valuations have become more lucrative. This, along with steady earnings growth, could bring back investor interest in India in 2026.
Next week will be action-packed on the earnings front, as several blue-chip companies announce their Q3 results. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will report its results on Monday, while India’s most valuable company, Reliance Industries, is scheduled to announce its Q3 numbers on Friday. A host of banks are also slated to post their results next weekend.
Q3 Results Preview
According to estimates by Motilal Oswal Financial Services (MOSL), the earnings for companies under its coverage could grow 16% year-on-year (YoY) — the highest in eight quarters — and Nifty to grow 8% YoY in the third quarter of fiscal 2025-26 (Q3 FY26).
The overall earnings growth is expected to be strong and will be anchored by oil & gas, financials led by NBFC-lending, automobiles, metals, telecom, technology, real estate, capital goods, cement and NBFC-non-lending. These sectors are anticipated to contribute 77% of the incremental YoY accretion in earnings, said MOSL.
Sales and EBITDA for the MOFSL Universe are expected to grow 8% and 12% YoY, while the same for the Nifty are likely to improve 11% YoY and 10% YoY, respectively.
6 Nifty companies to post over 40% bottomline growth
Among the Nifty 50 companies, in terms of bottomline growth, six constituents can report a profit after tax (PAT) growth of over 40%, as per an analysis by MOSL. These include: Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Eternal and Tata Consumer.
Tata Steel: Tata Steel is one of the largest players in India’s steel sector and is set to benefit from improving steel price realisations, operating efficiencies, and the strong domestic demand outlook, said MOSL.
“While near-term challenges persist due to global uncertainty around tariff escalations, the long-term outlook for Tata Steel remains strong,” it added.
The brokerage sees a sharp 225.5 YoY growth in its PAT to ₹2,410 crore. Sales could rise 9.5% YoY and EBITDA by 12.9%. It said the Indian business is expected to continue its strong performance, and an improvement in the European business performance is likely to support overall earnings.
JSW Steel: Another steel company, JSW Steel, is also expected to post over 100% growth in its bottomline. As per MOSL estimates, JSW Steel’s PAT in Q3 could come in at ₹1,850 crore — a growth of 137.3%.
The brokerage said that muted net sales realisation could pressurise revenue, but it would be partially offset by healthy volumes. The brokerage said that guidance on capex status and demand/pricing outlook, along with an update on Bhushan Power & Steel Limited’s stake sale, will be key monitorables.
Bharti Airtel: MOLS continues to prefer Bharti Airtel and RIL in the telecom space, with further re-rating of multiples contingent on higher long-term ARPU growth. The brokerage expects adjusted PAT to grow 54.8% YoY to ₹8,500 crore, with revenue up by 19%.
Healthy show in Homes and Africa (amid favourable forex change) will aid the company’s performance, the brokerage opined. It also added that ARPU could rise 0.8% QoQ to ₹258.
Tech Mahindra: For IT major Tech Mahindra, MOSL sees a 47.7% YoY growth to ₹1,500 crore as it sees a recovery in the auto segment along with communications. “Auto is showing recovery in selected pockets in Manufacturing. Communication may recover in 2H as temporary challenges in Europe ease,” it said.
However, revenue growth would be muted amid furloughs. In terms of margins, MOSL sees EBIT margin expansion of 60 bps sequentially to 12.7% supported by improved GM as the company optimises fixed cost projects. It has built in a 13% exit margin by FY26.
Eternal: In new-age technologies, MOSL said it reintroduced Eternal following its recent correction, which makes it attractive again from a valuation perspective. However, its core quick delivery business continues to scale higher.
“With dark store addition intensity likely to remain lower than the 2QFY25–4QFY25 cycle and the QC network already near breakeven (with losses largely discretionary via marketing), we see scope for a medium-term earnings inflection even with an uptick in competitive intensity,” said MOSL.
It sees a sharp 42.6% YoY growth in its profit after four quarters of decline in the bottomline to ₹84.1 crore.
Tata Consumer: In the FMCG space, Tata Consumer is expected to report a massive 41% YoY rise to ₹399.6 crore amid strong across the board growth. MOSL expects tea volumes to grow in the low single digits, with a marginal increase in tea prices, while the salt business could grow in double-digits.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations expressed are those of individual analysts or broking firms, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.
