Shares of Asian Paints dipped over 4% in early trade on Monday, June 1, even as the paintmaker received bullish views from brokerages over strong January-March quarter results for fiscal 2025-26. Despite giving a positive outlook after robust Q4 growth, global brokerages including Citi and Morgan Stanley have maintained 'sell' rating on the stock. The decline in stock price came even as domestic equity bechmarks Sensex and Nifty rose by 1% after the opening bell amid positive cues.
Shares of Asian Paints opened more than 2% lower at Rs 2,732.60 compared to its previous close of Rs 2,761.60 apiece on thw NSE. Shares extended losses by 4% to hit an intraday low of Rs 2,726.90 apiece on the NSE. The stock has pared some losses to last trade 2.26% higher at Rs 2,729.50 apiece on the NSE. The blue-chip has gained nearly 3% in one week, 11.6% in one month, and 21% in one year. India's largest paintmaker commands a market cap of Rs 2,61,870.59 crore.
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Asian Paints Q4 Results
Asian Paints announced its March quarter results for fiscal 2025-26 (Q4FY26) on Friday, May 29, reporting a surge of nearly 69.4% in consolidated net profit (bottomline) to Rs 1,172 crore, compared to Rs 692 crore in the corresponding period last year. The topline (revenue from operations) of India's largest paintmaker by market share rose 10.6% to Rs 9,247 crore in the fourth quarter of FY26 driven by robust domestic sales, compared to Rs 8.359 crore in the year-ago period.
The Mumbai-headquartered company beat D-Street estimates in terms of key financial metrics during the March quarter. As per Bloomberg estimates, analysts expected net profit at Rs 1,055 crore and revenue to come in at Rs 8,781 crore. Asian Paints also declared a final dividend of Rs 23 per equity share for FY26 for shareholders. The dividend is subject to the approval of shareholders. The board has fixed June 23, 2026 as the record date for the payment of the final dividend payout.
Asian Paints Q4FY26 (Cons, YoY)
- Net profit up 69.4% at Rs 1,172 crore versus Rs 692 crore
- Revenue up 10.6% at Rs 9,247 crore versus Rs 8,359 crore
- EBITDA up 24.4% at Rs 1,787 crore versus Rs 1,436 crore
- EBITDA Margin at 19.3% versus 17.2%
- Other Income at Rs 171 crore versus Rs 100 crore
The higher income and domestic growth supported the surge in profit during the quarter-under-review. Commenting on Q4 scorecard, Amit Syngle, Managing Director & CEO of Asian Paints Ltd, ''The external environment remains fluid, with the West Asia conflict contributing to near-term uncertainty in demand. However, supported by strong fundamentals and execution discipline, we remain resilient to navigate this volatility and sustain our performance.''
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Should you buy, sell, or hold Asian Paints shares?
Jefferies on Asian Paints
- Jefferies maintains a Buy rating on Asian Paints with a target price of Rs 3,300.
- The brokerage highlighted that domestic volumes touched a 12-quarter high, while the gap between volume growth and value growth remained modest.
- Management commentary remained positive on demand trends and volume growth.
- Jefferies expects the momentum in demand to continue and believes the worst of the pricing pressure is now behind the company.
Citi on Asian Paints
- Citi maintains a Sell rating on Asian Paints and has raised its target price to Rs 2,500 from Rs 2,300.
- The brokerage described the quarter as strong but remains cautious on the broader setup, citing margin risks ahead.
- It has increased FY27-28 revenue estimates by around 11% to reflect recent price hikes.
- EPS estimates have also been raised by 3–6%, although Citi expects margin compression to persist.
- The brokerage believes competitive intensity across the paints industry will remain elevated.
HSBC on Asian Paints
- HSBC maintains a Hold rating on Asian Paints with a target price of Rs 2,550.
- The brokerage said Q4 performance was strong, aided by a low base and dealer pre-buying ahead of price hikes in March.
- Going forward, HSBC believes the demand trajectory will be critical as dealers unwind inventories.
- It also flagged downtrading risks amid a challenging consumption environment.
- The brokerage retains its Hold rating due to limited visibility on sustained demand recovery and a lack of near-term catalysts.
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