ITC Shares Slide Ahead of Q3 Results; Long-Term Investors Stuck With Zero Returns After 8 Years

Shares of ITC slipped 0.25% to ₹322.60 as of 11:48 AM today, down ₹0.80, amid mild selling pressure during mid-session trade. The FMCG major had closed at ₹324.70 in the previous session. The stock’s muted performance has left long-term investors in a dilemma. ITC was trading at ₹325.75 on July 17, 2017, implying that shareholders have earned virtually zero returns over the last eight-and-a-half years.

ITC shares, which hit a 52-week low in the previous session, are deeply oversold on charts following fresh excise duty hikes on cigarettes announced by the government in the beginning of this month. Subsequently, sentiment turned weak with the stock plunging 11%,leading to a loss of Rs 97,000 crore in market capitalisation . Adding to the pressure, brokerage firm Nuvama downgraded ITC from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’, citing a likely negative impact of excise duty hikes on sales and operational income. The brokerage sharply cut its price target to ₹415 from ₹534 earlier. Japanese brokerage Nomura also double-downgraded the stock to ‘reduce’ from ‘buy’ and slashed its price target to ₹340 from ₹540. Centrum Broking, meanwhile, has set a price target of ₹390.

The stock has declined 21% over the past six months and extended its losses into 2025, tumbling nearly 10% on the very first trading session of the New Year. So far in 2026, ITC shares are down 17%, recording negative closes in eight out of the ten trading sessions, leading to an erosion of over ₹80,000 crore in market capitalisation.

Amid these challenges, investor focus is now shifting to the company’s upcoming quarterly results. ITC, in an exchange filing, said its Board of Directors will meet on Thursday, January 29, 2026, to consider and approve the unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results.

Going by past trends—ITC had announced its Q2 FY26 results around 4:30 PM on October 30, 2025—the company is expected to declare its Q3 FY26 earnings around the same time. Along with the October–December quarter results, ITC may also consider announcing an interim dividend for the financial year ending March 31, 2026. The FMCG major has maintained a strong dividend track record. In 2025, it announced dividends thrice—₹7.85 in May and ₹6.50 in February. In 2024, dividends were declared twice at ₹7.50 in June and ₹6.25 in February—keeping shareholder expectations alive despite the recent stock underperformance.