Godfrey Phillips shares slide despite strong Q4 earnings, down 20% in six months; what analysts say

Shares of Godfrey Phillips India Ltd declined 4.45 per cent on Monday to settle at Rs 2,314.80. At this level, the cigarette-maker's stock has fallen 19.53 per cent over the past six months.

Today's drop came even as the company reported strong fourth-quarter (Q4 FY26) earnings. During the quarter under review, Godfrey Phillips reported an 86.50 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 521.46 crore from Rs 279.61 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Revenue from operations during the quarter surged 84.64 per cent to Rs 3,485.54 crore as against Rs 1,887.79 crore in the year-ago period.

However, concerns over higher taxation appeared to weigh on investor sentiment. Sharad Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer at Godfrey Phillips, said, "The steep increase in taxation in Q4 FY26 will make the next year challenging. We are confidently responding through balanced price increase to ensure that consumer impact is phased and not in one go."

The Centre had imposed an excise duty on cigarettes ranging from Rs 2,050 to Rs 8,500 per 1,000 sticks, depending on product length, with effect from February 1.

Commenting on the company's performance, Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Mastertrust, said, "The company has continued to report strong earnings growth and healthy operational performance in recent quarters. Strong profitability and business expansion initiatives have also remained key positives."

He added, "The counter has witnessed some profit booking after a strong recovery move, but the broader setup still looks relatively stable. The stock had seen a decent rally from lower levels and gradually moved toward the Rs 2,450–2,500 zone before facing selling pressure near resistance. The recent correction appears more like a healthy pullback after a sharp run-up rather than a complete change in trend. Momentum indicators have also cooled slightly, suggesting that the stock may spend some time consolidating in the near term."

Singh further said, "Going ahead, the Rs 2,250–2,280 zone remains an important support area, while Rs 2,450–2,500 may continue acting as an immediate hurdle. Sustaining above the support could keep the medium-term outlook positive despite short-term volatility."

Jigar S Patel, Senior Manager – Technical Research at Anand Rathi, stated that support is seen at Rs 2,200, while resistance is placed at Rs 2,500. A decisive move above Rs 2,500 could push the stock towards Rs 2,600, with the expected short-term trading range between Rs 2,200 and Rs 2,600.