Yes Bank, Havells and two others stocks that could surprise this earnings season

As the Q1FY27 earnings season gets underway, brokerage firm Citi has identified four companies that could outperform Street estimates and another four that may fall short of expectations.

The brokerage expects Havells India, GAIL (India), Britannia Industries and YES Bank to deliver positive earnings surprises in the June quarter, backed by improving demand, stronger operating performance and better profitability.

On the other hand, ITC, HCLTech, Ashok Leyland and SRF could report weaker-than-expected results due to company-specific headwinds.

Among Citi's top picks, Havells India stands out on the back of robust demand in its cables & wires business and electrical consumer durables (ECD) segment.

The brokerage recently GAIL (India) and raised its target price to ₹1,500, implying an upside of nearly 29% from the previous close.

Citi believes the recent correction in the stock has created an attractive entry point into a high-quality electricals and consumer durables franchise.

It expects growth to improve during FY27, driven by strong momentum in cables & wires, a gradual recovery in consumer businesses and the solar segment emerging as a meaningful growth driver.

Margin expansion is also likely, aided by operating leverage in ECD and cables & wires and lower losses at Lloyd, although the brokerage said margins in the Lloyd business remain a key monitorable.

Havells shares have fallen 16.5% so far this year.

Citi also expects Britannia Industries to post a positive surprise, supported by stronger gas marketing earnings and improved performance in its LPG business.

The optimism comes despite the state-run gas utility reporting a 21.2% sequential decline in YES Bank to ₹1,262.2 crore, which missed CNBC-TV18 poll estimates.

Revenue, however, exceeded expectations, rising 2.1% sequentially to ₹34,773 crore.

GAIL shares are down 1.5% so far in 2026, while both ITC and HCLTech continue to maintain bullish views on the stock.

For Ashok Leyland, Citi expects a sequential recovery as the pricing disruption caused by competitors' dual-pricing strategy fades.

The brokerage estimates 8% revenue growth and 9% EBITDA growth for the June quarter.

Britannia had reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings

, with revenue of ₹4,719 crore falling short of Street estimates. The stock has declined 11% so far this year.

Among financials, YES Bank could also deliver a positive surprise. Citi expects the lender's core return on assets (RoA) to improve to 0.75-0.8%, while loan growth is likely to accelerate to 18%.

The bank's provisional business update for the June quarter showed loans and advances rising 18.4% year-on-year to ₹2.85 lakh crore, while deposits increased 14.3% to ₹3.15 lakh crore, indicating healthy business momentum.

While Citi remains constructive on these four companies, it has also highlighted stocks where earnings could disappoint.

The brokerage expects ITC to report a 29% decline in cigarette EBIT, driven by an estimated 10% drop in cigarette volumes.

For HCLTech, Citi sees downside risk to margin guidance as transition costs associated with a recently won large deal begin to weigh on profitability.

Ashok Leylandcould face pressure from margin compression and market share losses, while SRF may report weaker-than-expected earnings due to softness in its agrochemicals business.