1. At a Glance – Fashion With a Balance Sheet Swagger
Trent Ltd is what happens when a conservative Tata company decides to dress like a Gen-Z influencer and still keep CA-approved books. As of Q3 FY26, the company is sitting pretty at a market cap of ₹1.45 lakh crore, with the stock at ₹4,083, down 30% YoY — yes, even fashion icons trip on the ramp sometimes.
Quarterly revenue clocked in at ₹5,345 crore, up 14.8% YoY, while quarterly PAT stood at ₹532 crore, growing a modest 7% YoY. That margin compression? We’ll get there.
ROCE is a juicy 30.7%, ROE at 30.4%, and yet the stock trades at a spicy 87x trailing earnings and 23.8x book value. That’s not valuation, that’s couture pricing.
Store count has exploded to 1,043 stores (from 875 last year), with 295 new stores added in FY25 alone. If store additions were calories, Trent would be bulking season personified.
So the big question: is this India’s best retail execution story… or a very expensive Zara catalogue? Let’s unzip the numbers.
2. Introduction – From Department Store Uncle to Zudio Chacha
Once upon a time, Trent was known for Westside — the respectable, well-pressed department store your parents trusted. Fast forward to 2026, and the company has reinvented itself as India’s fastest-growing value-fashion juggernaut, powered by Zudio’s “₹999 is the new luxury” philosophy.
Backed by the Tata Group (37% promoter holding, no pledges — because Tata), Trent has pulled off something most Indian retailers only dream about: scale + margins + brand recall, all at once.
But success comes with expectations. The stock has already delivered a 5-year CAGR of 42%, and the market is now asking Trent to not just grow — but grow perfectly. Any hiccup, and the fashion police (a.k.a. Mr. Market) issues a challan.
So
let’s see whether Q3 FY26 justifies the premium… or if the market is expecting Prada performance at Zudio pricing.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
In simple terms: Trent sells clothes and groceries, but mostly vibes.
Core Formats:
- Westside: Premium mass fashion + home. Large format, high ASPs, lifestyle positioning.
- Zudio: The real monster. Value fashion, rapid expansion, high footfalls, low ticket sizes.
- Star: Grocery + essentials. Low margins, high volumes, surprisingly disciplined.
- Utsa & Samoh: Ethnic wear — niche, experimental, low scale (for now).
- Burnt Toast: New kid on the fashion block. Still in beta mode.
Trent’s superpower is direct-to-consumer retail. No distributors, no wholesalers — just stores, stores, and more stores. That gives:
- Better inventory control
- Faster fashion cycles
- Higher gross margins
Zudio, in particular, is run like a McDonald’s of fashion — standardized layouts, tight SKU control, and ruthless cost discipline. Ever wondered why there’s a Zudio in every Tier-2 town before a Starbucks? Exactly.
Question for you: if Zudio slows down tomorrow, does the Trent growth story wobble?
4. Financials Overview – Numbers Doing a Catwalk
Q3 FY26: Financial Comparison Table (₹ crore)
| Metric | Latest Qtr (Dec FY26) | YoY Qtr (Dec FY25) | Prev Qtr (Sep FY26) | YoY % | QoQ % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 5,345 | 4,657 | 4,818 | 14.8% | 10.9% |
| EBITDA | 1,081 | 847 | 816 | 27.6% | 32.5% |
| PAT | 510 | 497 | 373 | 7.0% | 36.7% |
| EPS (₹) | 14.42 | 13.99 | 10.60 | 3.1% | 36.0% |
