When it comes to growth predictions, the biggest optimist in the mix is not the investor or the analyst, but the company management. The CEO rides or dies on the basis of how their company performs. So they can't help wearing rose-colored glasses.

But the Q3 results came out in a pretty bearish market, and have disappointed. Nearly half of the companies announced negative or neutral profit growth. Average revenue growth across the universe is in the low single digits. It's hard to be cheerful in the face of these numbers. 

We take a closer look at what the management focused on, in this results season's earnings calls. CEOs are battling weak domestic demand, rising trade barriers from a confrontational Trump White House, and a slowing global economy. A rising dollar - as Trump keeps talking up reciprocal tariffs - is not helping.  

In this week's Analyticks:

• Mood Tracker: What are the risks and opportunities CEOs are talking about in earnings calls?
• Screener: Multibagger stocks that are still beating the bear market

Let's take the temperature.

It's hot under the collar: CEOs discuss their biggest risks

The problem? CEOs talk a lot. The solution? Trendlyne's Discover, which allowed me to search for specific comments and phrases across all earnings calls. This tool saved me a lot of time this week. I didn't have to wade through every line of each earnings call, while my eyesight suffered, my family fell apart and my cat escaped. Instead, my cat is happily sunbathing (proof) while I bring you this data.

When we look at CEO commentary across earnings calls, management is pointing to a challenging economic environment.  

Nikhil Sohoni, CFO at Blue Star, noted that margins have been impacted across key segments, and "we expect the revival to happen only slowly, over the next year." Some industries like cement saw temporary regional weaknesses, like in South India, where prices were depressed since price revisions happen in December. But in most industries, the twin problems of low demand and rising costs are not expected to resolve by Q4. 

The twin monsters of Trump tariffs and inflation

The new US administration has  arrived with the intention to shake things up. President Trump is firing federal workers, letting Elon Musk comb through government databases, and threatening tariffs against major trade partners.

Joe Biden rarely got a mention from Indian CEOs. But Donald Trump looms large in the discussions, especially with major export players, from electronics to auto. 

For CEOs, a worry that comes from Trump tariffs is trouble closing deals. Trump has been making threats with long timelines, where tariffs get imposed in March or April this year. K Natarajan, MD of Galaxy Surfactants, noted that some deal talks have frozen in place as a result, with customers saying that they "want to wait and watch" to see what kind of tariffs get implemented.

The other challenge is in having to realign supply chains. CEOs note that while tariffs will be passed on to customers, companies will have to work to minimize their effects over time. "For the short term, Trump tariffs will have to be passed on to the market," Nikhil Kumar, MD of TD Power says. "In the longer term, we will have to see where we can manufacture where the duties will not apply." 

Other threats, like inflation and rising debt, were mainly raised by CEOs in response to questions from analysts. Many are counting on inflation and interest rates coming down over the next few quarters, making these less of a threat compared to a trade war.

CEO commentary suggests that most think that the worst is behind them. Analysts may discount such optimism, but the management is pointing to lower inflation, and indicators showing recovering manufacturing and services activity. Companies are also responding with new product and capacity investments.

Some industries are also benefiting from growing export markets, despite the broader headwinds. GE Vernova T&D has for instance, seen a rise in large deals from Europe in the energy and utilities sector, as energy transition investments in the EU ramp up.  

The biggest opportunities in specific industries are getting mentions from multiple CEOs. GLP - weight loss drugs - is one of the biggest, with a stream of generic drugs coming in from Indian pharma as patents start to expire in 2026 in Asia and Africa. The electric vehicles ecosystem has also been a strong deals pipeline for auto and auto component manufacturers, even as tariffs loom.

But while areas like defence spending still remain high and lucrative, opportunities like large infrastructure projects may be slowing down. "NHAI projects have become competitively very crowded", the MD of Afcons Infrastructure says, "So we are mainly looking into state level proposals now."

CEOs are hoping that the tax cuts from the Budget will boost domestic demand, and the new RBI leadership will drive interest rate cuts. But for management, uncertainty is the real growth killer. Tariffs now are better than the promise of tariffs later, since the second freezes companies and customers in place. Once the US administration finally drops the hammer, Indian CEOs can make their moves. 

Screener: Multibagger stocks which are rising in the past quarter

Beating the bears: Pharma, metals stocks are among the big gainers

The Indian equity markets have seen a massive sell-off of Rs 63,641.1 crore by foreign investors over the past month after threats of import tariffs from President Donald Trump, resulting in the Nifty 50 falling by 1.5%. In this volatile market, we look at multibagger stocks which have continued their share price growth. This screener shows multibagger stocks rising in the past quarter despite a negative sentiment in the market.

The screener is dominated by stocks from the pharmaceuticals & biotechnology, general industrials, banking & finance, food, beverages & tobacco, and consumer durables sectors. Most notable stocks in the screener are PG Electroplast, Shakti Pumps (India), Wockhardt, Godfrey Phillips India, BSE, Blue Jet Healthcare, Sarda Energy & Minerals, and Lloyds Metals & Energy. 

PG Electroplast features in the screener after rising 318.5% in the past year. This consumer electronics company has continued this trend in recent months, rising 24.5% in the past quarter after posting positive results in Q3FY25. Its revenue and net profit grew by 81.6% YoY to Rs 974.9 crore and 106.2% YoY to Rs 39.5 crore, respectively. 

Higher sales of air conditioners and washing machines contributed to revenue growth. The company’s stock price also surged after signing an agreement with Whirlpool of India on December 24, 2024. PG Electroplast will manufacture some of the stock-keeping units (SKUs) for semi-automatic watching machines for Whirlpool at its facility in Roorkee. 

Shakti Pumps has risen 189.5% in the last year. This industrial machinery company’s stock price increased by 11.3% in the past quarter, driven by strong Q3FY25 results. Its revenue grew by 31.3% YoY to Rs 652.7 crore on the back of an improvement in sales in the domestic market. On the other hand, net profit increased by 130.2% YoY to Rs 104.1 crore, owing to deferred tax returns during the quarter. 

The company’s stock price also got a boost after it entered a partnership with ReNew Photovoltaic on February 3 to supply a domestic content requirement (DCR) cell-based solar module worth Rs 1,300 crore. Its board of directors also approved raising Rs 400 crore by issuing equity shares through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) in January.

You can find some popular screeners here.