Tag: earnings miss

  • Hindustan Unilever Shares Drop Nearly 6% After Q1 Profit Miss Despite 10% Revenue Surge

    Hindustan Unilever Shares Drop Nearly 6% After Q1 Profit Miss Despite 10% Revenue Surge

    Hindustan Unilever opened FY27 with sharply mixed signals for investors. Sales grew at its fastest pace in several quarters, but profit growth failed to keep up, triggering a nearly 6% tumble in its share price on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Shares of India’s largest consumer goods maker fell sharply after the Q1 results. While sharp stock reactions like this are common in the FMCG sector, a profit miss often outweighs strong top-line growth in the short term.

    Stock Tumbles Nearly 6% After Results

    Hindustan Unilever shares (HINDUNILVR) were trading at Rs 2,045.80 on the NSE. According to TradingView, the stock was down close to 5.92% during the session on July 28, 2026. The stock briefly touched its 52-week low zone during the session, and trading volumes surged well above recent averages, pointing to heavy selling pressure right after the earnings release.

    Profit Falls on Tough Base and Higher Costs

    Consolidated net profit fell 3% year-on-year to Rs 2,673 crore, compared to Rs 2,756 crore in the same quarter last year. Rising input costs weighed on the bottom line this quarter.

    EBITDA Margin Holds Within Guided Range

    EBITDA rose 8.4% to Rs 3,947 crore, up from Rs 3,640 crore. The EBITDA margin stayed at 23%, remaining within the range management had earlier guided for FY27.

    Revenue Growth Stays Strong Across Categories

    Revenue from operations grew 10.1% to Rs 17,341 crore this quarter. Underlying volume growth came in at 5%, a healthy pace for the sector. Pricing and volume both contributed equally to this growth.

    Home care was the clear standout this quarter. Its revenue rose 13.4% to Rs 6,554 crore. Underlying sales growth of 14% marked its best show in three years.

    Segment-Wise Revenue Performance in Q1 FY27

    Beauty and wellbeing revenue grew 12.4% to Rs 4,083 crore this quarter. Premium skin care and hair care posted double-digit growth, while foods revenue rose 6.8% to Rs 3,480 crore on steady demand for staples.

    Personal care stayed the weakest link again this quarter. Revenue rose just 3.3% to Rs 2,624 crore. Pricing drove most of the gain, while volumes slipped slightly.

    Leadership Stays Focused on Volume-Led Growth

    CEO Priya Nair called the quarter resilient despite a volatile external backdrop. She pointed to ongoing investments in market development and portfolio transformation, which she said are building a stronger, future-ready business.

    Nair added that the near-term focus stays on volume-led revenue growth. Investments in channel expansion and premium products should support performance ahead. Management gave no signal of a near-term change in strategy.

    Market Outlook

    HUL’s revenue strength points to healthy consumer demand across most categories. The sharp stock fall appears tied more to sentiment than fundamentals. Investors should watch margin trends and personal care recovery in coming quarters.

    Hindustan Unilever delivered strong sales growth this quarter, even as profit growth disappointed the Street. Home care and beauty segments both posted their best show in years, pointing to a business still gaining consumer traction. The sharp stock reaction looks driven by short-term market sentiment rather than any deeper weakness. As costs ease and personal care regains pace, Hindustan Unilever’s scale should keep supporting its long-term standing in India’s consumer goods space.

  • IBM Stock Plunges 25% After CEO Krishna Admits Company Was Too Slow on AI

    IBM Stock Plunges 25% After CEO Krishna Admits Company Was Too Slow on AI

    IBM shares posted their steepest one-day drop in decades after the company reported disappointing preliminary second-quarter results, with CEO Arvind Krishna acknowledging that the company failed to adapt quickly enough to the artificial intelligence spending boom. The selloff erased billions of dollars in market value and sent shockwaves through the technology sector.

    Revenue Miss and Profit Warning

    The technology giant reported revenue of $17.2 billion for the quarter ended June, up just 1% from the same period last year but below analysts’ expectations. Adjusted earnings per share also missed estimates, triggering a sharp market reaction. IBM shares fell about 25% in a single trading session, marking the steepest stock decline for the company in decades.

    CEO Admits Execution Failures

    In a letter to investors, Krishna said IBM underestimated how rapidly enterprise customers would redirect technology budgets toward AI infrastructure such as servers, storage systems, and memory hardware.

    “These conditions require our teams to execute perfectly, and this quarter we faltered. We did not adapt and move quickly enough,” Krishna wrote.

    He added that several large deals also failed to close within the expected timeline, further weighing on the company’s performance. IBM had anticipated supply-chain constraints would limit demand, but instead customers accelerated purchases of AI infrastructure, reducing spending on software and mainframe-related products.

    Spending Shift Hurts Software Business

    IBM’s infrastructure division posted a 7% decline in revenue, while software revenue grew 5%, slower than market expectations. Consulting revenue remained largely flat, reflecting cautious enterprise spending.

    The results highlight a broader industry shift: businesses are prioritizing investments in AI hardware and data center infrastructure over traditional software deployments. Analysts warn the trend could pressure other enterprise software companies in the coming quarters.

    Bright Spots in the Quarter

    Despite the overall disappointment, certain parts of IBM’s business performed well. Red Hat recorded 11% revenue growth, while recently acquired companies HashiCorp and Confluent delivered strong results. IBM also noted that its Distributed Infrastructure business achieved record performance, supported by demand for Power servers and storage systems, with a backlog of approximately $500 million exiting the quarter.

    IBM maintained that its long-term AI strategy remains intact, but the latest results underscore how rapidly changing enterprise priorities are reshaping the technology industry as companies race to build AI infrastructure.