Stocks To Watch: 'Stars' To 'Hitters' —Macquarie Bets On Airtel, M&M, JSW Steel, Among 15 Others

Macquarie, in its India Strategy, has highlighted six stars in its coverage universe that are delivering exceptional alpha, which include Bharti Airtel Ltd., Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., among others.

The brokerage also introduced six rising stars with a timeline of the next two to three years, and these include big names like Delhivery Ltd., IRCTC Ltd., among others.

A unique third category is six hitters, which the brokerage believes are tactical trades. These include Reliance Industries Ltd., JSW Steel Ltd., among others.

The brokerage has added Makemytrip Ltd. to its core list in the best buy category on the heels of rising discretionary spend, greater travel connectivity, and formalisation.

It further added that Mahindra & Mahindra has been the best performing stock in our Core Super 6s list, led by new-model-launch driven market-share gains, a healthy tractor cycle alongside market-share gains for M&M, and resilient margins.

"We continue to see Bharti Airtel Ltd. as a defensive high-quality large-cap holding. While positioning in the stock is already strong, and we see limited scope for positive earnings surprise", the brokerage said.

Another company in the super six category is HDFC Bank Ltd. for which the bank forecasts a healthy 15%-13% three-year EPS-BVPS CAGR (FY25-27E) alongside mid-teens and improving ROE.

"We see Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. as an enabler of the data modernisation required for Al. We expect TCS to restore its EBIT margin to 26-28%. We expect an improvement in the demand environment and for revenue growth to accelerate in FY27E to 10% in US dollar terms," it added

In the six 'Hitters' category, the brokerage has picked Reliance Industries Ltd., supported by improving earnings momentum, the anticipated Jio listing in 1HCY26, and strategic partnerships with Meta and Google in AI.

Macquarie also has JSW Steel Ltd. in this category as it expects the company to benefit from a robust capacity expansion plan and supportive government policy.

It also has Dixon Technologies Ltd. and Havells India Ltd. in the mix in the light that they are well-positioned to ride the domestic manufacturing and consumer electronics wave.

Bandhan Bank Ltd., with its turnaround potential, joins the list, and GAIL continues to offer value amid energy transition tailwinds.

Among the six 'Rising Stars', the brokerage has identified six emerging companies with market caps under US$10 billion, each offering strong optionality and a credible path to doubling in value over the next three years.

Tata Communications Ltd. leads the pack, leveraging its global digital infrastructure and expanding its digital services portfolio to drive profitability and ROIC improvements.

L&T Technology Services Ltd. stands out with its diversified engineering and R&D offerings, catering to global innovation demand.

Delhivery Ltd. continues to scale in logistics and supply chain tech, while AB Capital Ltd. is unlocking value across financial services. Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd. is capitalising on India’s hospitality rebound, and IRCTC Ltd. remains a unique play on digital rail services and tourism.