Nestle India Shares Drop 5% After Q1 Net Profit Misses Expectations

The shares of Nestle India crashed nearly 5 percent on July 24 after the company's Q1 net profit missed analysts' expectations. The stock is currently the top loser on the benchmark Nifty 50 index.

Nestle reported a net profit of Rs 647 crore for the first quarter of the financial year 2026. This marks a 13% drop from the Rs 747 crore net profit reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The net profit is significantly lower than the Rs 751 crore estimated on an average by brokerages polled by Moneycontrol.

The shares of the company were trading at 2,340 in the afternoon. The sharp fall in the share price pushed the Nifty FMCG index down more than 1 percent to hover around 55,143.

The FMCG major's revenue from operations rose 6 percent on-year to Rs 5,096 crore in Q1 FY26. It had earlier reported revenue from operations at Rs 4,814 crore in Q1 FY25. The revenue is higher than the Rs 5,082 crore estimated on an average by brokerages polled by Moneycontrol.

Elevated consumption prices across the commodity portfolio impacted the FMCG company's earnings this quarter, said the firm's current Chairman and MD Suresh Narayanan. Higher operations costs as a result of significant expansion in manufacturing in the last seven to eight months, and higher finance costs due to borrowing from commercial banks to fund temporary operational cash-flow requirements further impacted earnings, he added.

According to Nestle, coffee prices expected to remain range-bound at current lower levels, as the upcoming Vietnam crop appears to be normal. Cocoa and edible oil prices have stabilized and remain range-bound, while milk prices will likely decrease with the onset of a favorable monsoon and flush season, the firm added.

Along with the Q1 results, the FMCG major’s board also approved the appointment of Manish Tiwary as the Chairman and Managing Director, effective from August 1 August this year. Current CMD Suresh Narayanan will relinquish his office upon his retirement on July 31.

According to the source: Moneycontrol.