UBS upgrades Apollo Tyres to Buy, raises target price to Rs 590

UBS sees an inflection in Apollo Tyres’ India business and a better European outlook. The brokerage expects EBITDA to grow 21% next year, despite Q1 FY27 margin pressure from higher natural-rubber costs.

— Source publishedMon, 24 Aug, 2026, 07:47 IST·First seen Mon, 24 Aug, 2026, 08:25 IST·Source NDTV Profit

What happened

UBS upgraded Apollo Tyres to Buy and lifted its target price to Rs 590, citing an India-business inflection point and improving European outlook. Despite

Key facts

  • UBS rating upgraded to Buy from Neutral
  • Target price raised to Rs 590 from Rs 580
  • Q1 FY27 net profit: Rs 349 crore versus Rs 12.8 crore year-on-year
  • Q1 FY27 revenue: Rs 7,398 crore, up 12.8% year-on-year
  • Q1 FY27 EBITDA: Rs 868 crore versus Rs 869 crore
  • EBITDA margin: 11.7% versus 13.2%
  • Expected next-year EBITDA growth: 21% year-on-year
  • Share price: Rs 439.70, up 2.42%
  • Stock down over 12% year-to-date and 5.6% over 12 months

Why this matters

The improved European outlook reinforces the strategic value of Apollo Tyres’ international footprint, while commodity-cost pressure keeps sourcing resilience and margin-accretive expansion priorities in focus.

What to watch

  • Natural-rubber price trend and the timing/scale of tyre price hikes.
  • Q1 FY27 gross-margin and EBITDA-margin performance versus expectations.
  • India replacement-demand growth, especially passenger-vehicle and premium-tyre categories.
  • European volumes, utilization rates and profitability trajectory.
  • Management commentary on FY27 EBITDA growth, working capital and capex.
  • Additional analyst estimate revisions or target-price upgrades after results.
  • Apollo Tyres may pursue calibrated price increases in replacement and OEM channels to offset rubber-cost inflation.
  • Management is likely to emphasize premiumization, replacement-market mix and cost-control initiatives in upcoming earnings commentary.
  • Sell-side analysts may raise FY27-FY28 earnings estimates if India volume momentum and Europe margins improve together.
  • Competitors could follow with industry-wide tyre price hikes, reducing the risk that Apollo loses share from pass-through actions.