What it is
ITC is a listed Indian company with several businesses under one roof. Based on the latest quarterly reports, these include cigarettes, FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods, meaning everyday products sold in large volumes), agriculture and paper.
Because it mixes a tax-heavy product with newer consumer and commodity-linked lines, readers often look at how each part performs, not just the headline profit.
How it works
A company that runs many businesses reports results in two ways. Consolidated figures add up the parent company and its subsidiaries. Standalone figures cover only the parent. The two can differ, so always check which one a report is quoting.
Net profit is what remains after all costs, taxes and other charges. Net revenue is the sales figure before those costs. Companies compare each quarter with the same quarter a year earlier, which is called a year-on-year comparison, so festive or seasonal swings do not distort the picture.
In ITC’s case, the cigarette business is a major earnings driver. When its earnings fall sharply, the whole company’s profit can fall even if other businesses are growing.
Why it is in the news
ITC reported its second-quarter FY27 results (July to September 2026), and the company was among those in focus on Tuesday, 3 November. According to the Economic Times, consolidated net profit fell 18.5% to ₹4,229 crore from ₹5,187 crore a year earlier.
Revenue moved the other way. Consolidated net revenue rose 5% to ₹20,454 crore from ₹19,455 crore.
The Economic Times reported that a sharp decline in earnings from the cigarette business weighed on profitability, despite strong growth in FMCG, agriculture and paper.
A separate Economic Times report on the standalone numbers said net profit fell 20%. It said a rise in cigarette taxation hit profitability and that ITC absorbed part of the price hikes instead of passing all of them on. The same report said the non-cigarette businesses achieved their highest revenue growth in 14 quarters, and that inflation and geopolitical tensions continue to affect the operating environment.
For a sense of scale, the consolidated profit fell by about ₹958 crore (₹5,187 crore minus ₹4,229 crore), while revenue rose by about ₹999 crore (₹20,454 crore minus ₹19,455 crore). Costs and taxes grew faster than sales, which is why profit fell while revenue grew.
You can read the quarter in more detail in our report on ITC’s standalone Q2 profit and in our stocks-in-news roundup.
What it means for you
If you hold ITC shares directly or through a mutual fund, this quarter shows how one business line can pull down a diversified company’s results. Tax changes on a single product can move profit even when sales grow.
When you read any company’s results, a few checks help:
- Whether the figure is consolidated or standalone.
- How profit compares with the same quarter last year, not only the previous quarter.
- Which businesses grew and which shrank.
- What management or reports say about costs, taxes and pricing.
None of this tells you whether to buy, sell or hold. A single quarter is one data point, and reports describe the operating environment as affected by inflation and geopolitical tensions. If you track returns over time, a CAGR calculator can help you measure growth over several years.
