ITC Shares Today Climb 2% After Massive Earnings Beat in Q4; Brokerages Expect Upside; Time to Buy/Hold/Sell?

Tobacco Company, ITC Ltd, shares are in focus on Friday as the stock opened at 1.14% higher after the announcement of its Q4 FY25 earnings yesterday post market hours. Investor interest in ITC shares was reignited after the FMCG-to-cigarette conglomerate posted a massive 289% year-on-year surge in net profit.

ITC Share Price Today

Shares of FMCG major ITC Ltd opened at Rs. 434 on Friday morning with a 1.14% gain over the previous close of Rs. 426.10. While ITC stock showed a slight uptick in today's early trade, it has largely remained range-bound over the past 30 days. On a year-to-date (YTD) basis, ITC shares have declined around 10%, underperforming compared to broader market indices.

ITC Q4 Results FY25 Highlights

ITC Ltd announced its Q4 results for the financial year 2024-25, reporting a significant surge in standalone net profit to Rs. 19,561.6 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. This marks a nearly fourfold increase, or 289%, compared to Rs. 5,020 crore in Q4 FY24, largely due to a one-time gain of Rs. 15,179.4 crore arising from the demerger of its hotels business.

The company's standalone revenue for the quarter rose by 9.4% YoY to Rs 17,248 crore, up from Rs 15,733.4 crore in the same period last year.

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Meanwhile, standalone EBITDA saw a modest rise of 2.5% YoY to Rs 5,986.3 crore. However, EBITDA margins declined slightly to 34.7% from 37.1% a year ago.

The company's agribusiness segment posted strong performance with a 17% year-on-year revenue growth to Rs. 3,649 crore in Q4 FY25, all because of the increased exports of value-added agricultural products such as coffee, spices, leaf tobacco, and rice.

The cigarette segment, which is a major key revenue driver for ITC, also performed well. For the full year, cigarette revenues increased by 6% to Rs. 8,400 crore, while PBIT (Profit Before Interest and Tax) rose 4% YoY.

ITC managed to deal with the rising cost of leaf tobacco by selling more high-margin products and cutting down on unnecessary expenses. The company also said it is actively fighting illegal cigarette sales by launching new premium products and making smart moves in the market to protect its share.

ITC Final Dividend 2025

ITC Ltd has declared a final dividend of Rs. 7.85 per equity share for the financial year ended March 31, 2025. The dividend is subject to shareholder approval at the upcoming 114th Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for Friday, July 25, 2025.

In a regulatory filing, the company stated, "The final dividend, if approved, will be paid between Monday, July 28, 2025, and Thursday, July 31, 2025, to shareholders whose names appear in the register of members as of the record date of May 28, 2025."

This final dividend comes in addition to the interim dividend of Rs. 6.50 per share declared earlier on February 6, 2025. With this, the total dividend for FY25 stands at Rs.14.35 per equity share of face value ₹1 each.

Should You Buy ITC Shares Now? Here's What Experts Say

Following the release of ITC Q4 FY25 results, several brokerage firms have shared their views on whether investors should consider buying ITC shares at current levels.

Antique Broking on ITC Stock

Antique Broking remains positive on ITC, particularly due to the strong performance in its cigarette segment and the anticipated recovery in the FMCG business. However, the broking has revised its future estimates slightly downward following Q4 earnings.

"We remain positive about ITC due to its steady momentum in the cigarette business and expected recovery in FMCG performance. Post the 4QFY25 performance, we have cut our FY26E and FY27E EBITDA estimates by 9% and 8%, respectively. We maintain a BUY rating with a revised target price (TP) of Rs. 497 (earlier ₹543), based on our FY27 Sum-of-the-Parts (SoTP) valuation," said Antique Broking.

Motilal Oswal on ITC Share Price Outlook

Analysts at Motilal Oswal Research also reiterated a 'BUY' call on ITC stating, "If ITC sustains mid-single-digit volume growth in cigarettes and the FMCG business sees recovery in FY26, we expect a valuation re-rating. We reiterate our BUY rating on ITC with an SoTP-based target price of ₹525, based on 30x March 2027E P/E,"

Disclaimer: The recommendations made above are by market analysts and are not advised by either the author, nor GoodReturns. The author, nor the brokerage firm nor GoodReturns would be liable for any losses caused as a result of decisions based on this write-up. Goodreturns.in advises users to consult with certified experts before making any investment decision.