Trent's impressive growth

Trents earnings, Insurance IPO, and Pharma win.

🗓 Morning, folks.

Morning, folks! Markets ended largely flat on Monday, though the Sensex managed to rise nearly 1% and the Nifty closed 0.3% higher.

Defence stocks continued to rally for the second straight session. IT stocks staged a smart comeback, with Tech Mahindra, LTI Mindtree, and Persistent Systems leading the gains. Perhaps the demise of IT in the age of AI was greatly exaggerated.

Spotlight: foreign investors just logged their longest buying streak in nearly two years, pumping $4.1 billion into Indian equities over the past nine sessions.

What’s driving it: rising hopes of a U.S.-India trade deal, attractive stock valuations, and India’s positioning as a relative safe haven.

Moreover, India also looks more insulated than China or the U.S.—and it’s still on track to be the fastest-growing major economy in FY26.

Let’s hit it!

1 Big Thing: Trent reports a mixed bag Q4 📊

Trent’s, which runs stores like Westside across India and has been on a generational run, saw stock jump 5% after reporting pretty solid earnings.

By the numbers:

• Revenue: ₹4,106 crore, up 28.8% YoY vs ₹3,187 crore
• EBITDA: ₹656 crore, up 37.5% YoY vs ₹477 crore
• EBITDA Margin: 16% vs 15% YoY
• Net Profit: ₹350 crore, down 46.5% YoY vs ₹654 crore, mostly due to an accounting change.

What’s happening: Westside added 13 stores in FY25, while Zudio—its affordable fashion rocket—opened 132 new outlets, including two in the UAE.

Trent now has 765 stores and continues to charge ahead in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

The secret sauce: over 80% of sales come from private labels, backed by tight inventory cycles and faster design-to-shelf execution. That means fresh collections, better margins, and more loyal customers.

Zoom out: a young, trend-hungry India is refreshing its wardrobe at Insta speed — and brands like Trent are meeting the moment. Their scale allows them to hit the right fashion notes at the right price, reinforcing a flywheel that keeps pulling them ahead.

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2. Travel Food Services gears up for ₹2,000 crore IPO ✈️

Travel Food Services has received SEBI’s approval to launch its ₹2,000 crore IPO.

The deets: Travel Food Services runs quick-service restaurants, lounges, cafés, and bars at airports across India and Malaysia. It is one of India’s largest airport food and beverage (F&B) operators.

The IPO will be entirely an Offer for sale (OFS) and the proceeds will go to the selling shareholders.

An OFS allows existing shareholders to sell their stake to the public, meaning the company doesn’t raise fresh capital.

The company’s portfolio covers 14 airports in India (including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru) and three airports in Malaysia. It operates a mix of international, regional, and in-house brands like Caféccino, Dilli Streat, and idli.com.

Zoom out: with air passenger traffic expected to reach over 600 million by 2030, airports are becoming major retail and dining hubs.

The airport F&B (food & beverage) segment alone is projected to grow at 18–20% over the next five years, according to industry estimates.

While we are on IPOs,

Another financial player is eyeing the public markets.

Canara HSBC Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Canara Bank, has filed draft papers for an IPO.

The deets: the company offers life insurance products including term plans, savings plans, and retirement solutions. Canara Bank owns 51%, HSBC holds 26%, and PNB the remaining 23%.

The offering will be a pure offer for sale (OFS) by Canara Bank, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings, and Punjab National Bank. No new shares will be issued.

Why it matters: the IPO comes at a time of market volatility when insurance listings have been rare. For Canara Bank, this is part of a broader play to unlock value from its subsidiaries and boost capital.

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3. Japan & Singapore tap into India’s green hydrogen 🤝

India is set to export 4.12 lakh tonnes of Green Hydrogen derivatives to Japan and Singapore.

The deets: green hydrogen derivatives are clean fuels made from hydrogen using renewable energy.

The deets: these clean fuels, made using renewable energy, will power hard-to-decarbonise sectors like shipping, steel, and power in both countries, replacing coal and oil with greener alternatives.

Why it matters: India is turning its solar and wind strength into export dollars.

With Japan and Singapore looking to slash emissions, India’s early bet on green hydrogen is opening up high-value markets.

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4. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀

IOL Chemicals received approval from China’s drug regulator to export its Ibuprofen drug.

The deets: IOL Chemicals is one of India’s top makers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

Meanwhile, Ibuprofen is a go-to medicine for pain relief, inflammation, and fever. With this approval, the company can now directly sell Ibuprofen in the massive Chinese market.

Why it matters: breaking into China’s tightly regulated pharma market is no small feat. It opens a huge new revenue stream for IOL and reduces its reliance on traditional export markets.

Zoom out: the global Ibuprofen market is worth around $6.5 billion and China alone accounts for roughly 15% of global Ibuprofen consumption.

Zoom out: India’s pharmaceutical exports have been steadily climbing over the last decade—topping $30 billion in FY25.

What else are we snackin’ 🍿

🚢 Shipping boost: French shipping giant CMA CGM has launched its first Indian-flagged container vessel, CMA-CGM Vitoria, from Mumbai — marking a milestone for India's maritime sector.

🛰️ Orbit battle: Amazon launched its first Kuiper internet satellites, kicking off its plan to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink in the space internet race.

💻 IBM boost: IBM is planning to invest $150 billion in the US over five years, including $30 billion for mainframe and quantum R&D.

🏥 Max expansion: Max Healthcare will invest ₹6,000 crore by 2028 to add 3,700 beds across India, aiming to grow its network to 30 hospitals from the current 22.

🧠 Infosys AI: Infosys launched Topaz, a new AI suite to help businesses shift to SAP S/4HANA Cloud. The tools run on Infosys’ Cobalt cloud platform.

That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.

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Hit that 💚 if you liked this issue.

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