Trent Surges 10% on Q2 Growth; Experts Eye ₹3,000 Next
Shares of Tata Group retail arm Trent Limited staged a blistering rally during Tuesday's trading session, surging by as much as 10 percent to reach an intraday high of ₹2,838 per share. The explosive move marked the stock's most powerful single-day percentage gain since August 2024, triggering sharp buying across retail desks and institutional funds. The massive upward re-rating was sparked by the company’s provisional second-quarter (July–September) business update released after market hours on Monday. Following the standout operational figures, seasoned market analyst Gaurang Shah projected further headroom for the retail powerhouse, indicating that Trent's share price could comfortably challenge and breach the ₹3,000 mark in the near term.
23% Revenue Acceleration: Growth Breaches Key 20% Threshold for Second Time in Six Quarters
In an official regulatory filing submitted to stock exchanges, Trent revealed that standalone revenue grew by a robust 23 percent year-on-year during the July-September quarter, marking its fastest pace of expansion in several quarters. This robust performance represents only the second time across the past six quarters that Trent's revenue expansion has breached the crucial 20 percent threshold, recovering sharply from the 19 percent growth posted in the provisional first-quarter update that previously triggered a 12 percent stock drop on July 7. The 23 percent run-rate moves Trent closer to management’s long-term guidance of a sustainable 25 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), reassuring market participants about the retail operator's post-monsoon momentum and consumer appetite across urban centers.
Milestone 1,000th Zudio Store Opens as Citi Maintains Cautious 'Sell' Rating on Square-Foot Realisations
The quarterly update was highlighted by a major footprint milestone—the official inauguration of the 1,000th Zudio outlet, solidifying its position as India's premier value-fashion chain. Over the July-September period, Trent expanded its offline footprint by adding 17 new Zudio stores and 10 flagship Westside lifestyle locations. Despite the stock's rally, global brokerage firm Citi struck a cautious contrarian chord, retaining a 'Sell' rating on Trent with a conservative price target of ₹2,950—the lowest among major Street estimates. Citi pointed out that average revenue per square foot contracted by 8.4 percent year-on-year over the trailing 12 months (assuming standardized store dimensions), though this was better than Citi's anticipated 12 percent decline and showed sequential moderation from previous quarterly contractions of 12.4%, 11.6%, 16.1%, and 15.5%. Citi noted that while persistent declines in square-foot throughput remain an overhang, sustained improvement in realisations alongside rapid physical store expansion could further support valuations over time.
