Diversified conglomerate ITC saw its shares extend losses for the third straight day on Thursday, March 19, falling another 2% to the day’s low of ₹298.55 apiece. The stock was last seen at this level in August 2022.
Today’s decline has taken the stock’s fall to 4.5% in March so far and a sharp 25.66% on a year-to-date basis. After closing 2025 with a 12% drop, the stock extended its weak trend into 2026, falling 21% in January, followed by another 3% decline in the subsequent month.
The additional excise duty on cigarette prices, along with muted performance in the December quarter, coupled with target price cuts by brokerages and rising competition, has dented investor sentiment, making the stock one of the worst performers among Nifty 50 constituents in 2026 so far.
Although the company implemented price hike on cigarettes, analysts believe this falls short of the roughly 35% increase needed to fully offset the tax hike and expect it to weigh on cigarette EBIT in the near term.
The sustained decline has not only weighed on the Nifty 50’s performance, given its heavyweight status, but has also ₹1,30,178 crore”>wiped out ₹1,30,178 crore in market capitalisation in less than three months, bringing it down to ₹3.75 lakh crore, based on today’s low.
At its peak of ₹498.85 apiece, the company was valued at ₹6,25,144 crore. Taking today’s low into account, the stock is trading 40% below its record high and 26% lower than its 2026 high of ₹402.70 apiece.
LIC was one of the largest shareholders in ITC, with a 15.69% stake in the company at the end of the December quarter, resulting in significant wealth erosion.
ITC Q3 results 2026
ITC, which generates the majority of its revenue from the cigarette business, posted a ₹5,018″>consolidated net profit of ₹5,018 crore in Q3FY26, largely unchanged from ₹5,013 crore in the same period last year. The net profit was impacted by both a rise in raw material costs and a one-time charge of ₹354.58 crore related to the country’s new labour codes.
Its consolidated revenue from operations stood at ₹21,706 crore, up 6.7% YoY from ₹20,349 crore reported in the June 2024 quarter. At the operating level, the company posted an EBITDA of ₹6,882 crore, marking an 8.17% YoY growth from ₹6,362 crore, while margins have improved by 50 basis points to 31.7%.
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