Titan Eyes ₹5,000 Target While Britannia Steadies: Why Consumer Stocks Are Back in Play on Dalal Street?

The story on Dalal Street has become about capital preservation.

A sharp bout of global AI-driven volatility, triggered by what traders have dubbed the “Anthropic shock,” has erased nearly 18% from the Nifty IT index this month, forcing institutional investors to reassess risk exposure.

In response, funds are rotating aggressively out of high-beta technology counters and into large, cash-generating consumer franchises. The biggest beneficiaries of this shift have been Titan Company Limited and Britannia Industries Limited.

Market participants describe the move as a classic “flight to safety.”

Titan

Titan has emerged as the standout in the discretionary basket. The stock’s defensive appeal is being reinforced by hard numbers.

In Q3 FY26, Titan reported:

• Net profit: ₹1,684 crore, up 61% year-on-year
• Revenue: ₹25,416 crore, up 43% YoY
• EBIT: ₹2,657 crore, up 63% YoY
• Operating margin: 10.8%, expanding 155 basis points

The jewellery division alone contributed over ₹22,500 crore in quarterly revenue, thus reflecting strong domestic wedding demand that analysts say is at a three-year high.

Beyond domestic growth, investors are factoring in Titan’s international expansion. The consolidation of a 67% stake in Damas Jewellery strengthens its presence across the GCC region, transforming it into a regional powerhouse at a time when Indian brands are scaling overseas.

Another lever is Titan’s lab-grown diamond brand, beYon, which dealers say is attracting significantly higher footfall compared with traditional formats. The shift toward younger consumers and alternative jewellery categories is being viewed as a structural growth driver rather than a cyclical tailwind.

Brokerages remain constructive:

• Motilal Oswal Financial Services: BUY, target ₹5,000
• Goldman Sachs: BUY, target ₹4,950
• Prabhudas Lilladher: BUY, target ₹4,917

The ₹5,000 mark has now become a widely discussed near-term milestone on the Street.

Britannia

While Titan represents organised discretionary strength, Britannia is the staple-sector anchor of this rotation.

Britannia’s Q3 FY26 numbers were comparatively moderate but steady:

• Net profit: ~₹680–₹682 crore, up 17% YoY
• Revenue: ~₹4,970 crore, up 8.2% YoY
• EBITDA margin: ~19.7%, among the highest in the FMCG pack

After a GST-related disruption in late 2025 that affected channel inventory and pricing resets, volumes have begun to recover. Industry trackers indicate double-digit volume improvement in November and December, with momentum sustaining through February.

Margin support has come from easing input costs. Palm oil and wheat prices have softened by nearly 8% this month, improving gross spreads for biscuit manufacturers.

Brokerage positioning reflects confidence in the recovery:

• Motilal Oswal: BUY, target ₹7,150
• Prabhudas Lilladher: BUY, target ₹6,972
• Goldman Sachs: NEUTRAL, target ₹6,500

Fund managers exiting volatile IT names are increasingly reallocating toward Britannia as a high-cash-flow, defensive compounder.

Sector Rotation: Nifty IT vs Consumer Counters

The divergence in February has been stark.

• Nifty IT: Down ~18% month-to-date
• Consumer heavyweights: Outperforming benchmark indices
• Defensive flows: Concentrated in FMCG and jewellery retail

Institutional desks say the move is less about chasing growth and more about earnings visibility and balance-sheet strength.

Titan, with a ₹25,000+ crore quarterly revenue base, and Britannia, with nearly ₹5,000 crore in quarterly turnover and ~20% margins, offer precisely that combination.

Whether the rotation sustains will depend on global AI sentiment, domestic demand resilience, and upcoming macro data. For now, Titan and Britannia have become the twin pillars of India’s defensive trade.

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