1Q F27 Preview: Better Than Feared

Research evidence excerpt

1Q F27 Preview: Better Than Feared

Idea

July 2, 2026 08:07 AM GMT

Morgan Stanley India Company Private Limited+MIndia Consumer | Asia Pacific Archana Menon, CFA

Equity Analyst

1QF27 Preview: Better Than Archana.Menon@morganstanley.comShravan Vohra +91 22 6118-2215

Shravan.Vohra@morganstanley.com +91 22 6118-2039

Feared Gaurav Varma

Research Associate

Gaurav.Varma@morganstanley.com +91 22 6118-1033

We think 1Q performance was good across consumer companies

in our coverage with stable demand, as well as pricing tailwinds

for select names. Management commentary on the demand

outlook, particularly in the context of inflation and monsoon

trends, as well as pricing actions and margin outlook, will be key. India Consumer

Asia Pacific

Industry View In-Line

Key Takeaways

Staples – Varun Beverages, Nestle, and Marico are likely to deliver the strongest

top-line growth, while ITC and Britannia may post the weakest.

Discretionary – Titan, Lenskart, and FSN are likely to lead on top-line growth,

JUBI could lag.

Paints – Demand remains broadly stable sequentially, with price hikes supporting

stronger top-line growth.

Key stock calls: Within staples, we prefer Tata Consumer (OW) and believe,

tactically, companies with greater pricing support like HUL (EW) could outperform

in the near term. We see the greatest potential for positive surprises from both HUL

and Dabur on top-line performance. We see downside risk for GCPL on margins and

Britannia on top-line growth. Among discretionary stocks, we prefer Titan (OW, low

valuations vs peers with strong operational performance) and Lenskart (OW,

continued strong top-line momentum). In paints, we believe easing input cost

inflation (crude-linked) and market share trends could create tactical opportunities.