Pankaj Tibrewal turns optimistic on Indian stocks as Q1 earnings surpass expectations, driven by small-cap performance and broad market resilience.
Pankaj Tibrewal has turned more constructive on Indian equities after a first-quarter earnings season that, by his account, has come in stronger than expected. Speaking on Business Today, the founder and chief investment officer of IKIGAI Asset Manager said 398 of the top 500 companies have reported results, with revenue growth above 20%, the best showing in 12 quarters. He said the data points to a market that is proving more resilient than many investors had feared.
Tibrewal said small-caps are again doing much of the heavy lifting, with 56% to 57% of companies posting earnings growth of more than 15%. That, he argued, suggests the improvement is not confined to a narrow group of large companies. He also said earnings upgrades are now outpacing downgrades and that July demand trends have remained encouraging, reinforcing the idea that corporate momentum is broadening.
The shift in sentiment comes after a long stretch of consolidation in Indian shares. According to Moneycontrol, Tibrewal said in April that he was 99.5% invested, only the second time in his career he had taken positions that high, while also warning that enthusiasm around artificial intelligence may have moved ahead of fundamentals. More recently, ET Now reported that he expects foreign institutional investors to return later this year and sees mid-cap information technology companies, private banks and hard assets as preferred themes.
There is, however, a note of caution in the broader market debate. Business Standard has reported that some fund managers expect small-cap funds to benefit from better valuations and an earnings recovery in 2026, helped by easier liquidity and lower borrowing costs, while others remain wary that the next rally may not be evenly spread. That tension leaves Tibrewal’s view as one of improving but still selective optimism: earnings are strengthening, flows are turning less hostile and sentiment is recovering, but stock picking may matter more than ever.
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