Larsen & Toubro (L&T) shares increased by almost 4 percent on January 29 because brokerages maintained their positive view of the company’s future despite the mixed results of Q3 fiscal year 2026.

The stock increased to approximately ₹3,933 during the first trading period because the engineering and construction company announced strong order inflows that helped decrease worries about their earnings results which did not meet certain expectations.

Q3 Performance Snapshot

L&T reported a consolidated net profit of ₹3,215 crore for the October–December quarter, which showed a decline of 4 percent compared to the prior year when the company earned ₹3,358.8 crore during the identical quarter. The one-time exceptional cost of ₹1,191 crore, which related to new labour code implementation, created the primary reason for the revenue drop.

The company’s profit missed Street expectations, as a Moneycontrol poll of brokerages had projected net profit of ₹4,524 crore. The company achieved operational revenue growth of 10.5 percent which resulted in revenue of ₨71,449.7 crore yet this performance did not meet the expected revenue of ₨75,011 crore.

L&T reached a favorable milestone when their total order book reached ₨7.33 lakh crore on December 31, 2025, which showed a 30 percent growth from the previous year. The overseas market contributed 49 percent of total order book value which demonstrated strong demand from international customers.

Brokerages Raise Target Prices

Most brokerages maintained their bullish stance on the stock, citing strong order momentum and long-term growth visibility.

Motilal Oswal maintained its ‘Buy’ recommendation while increasing its target price to ₹4,600 from ₹4,500 which results in a potential gain of more than 21 percent. The brokerage reported that Q3 earnings fell short of expectations because core E&C operations performed below what was expected yet they predict Q4 results will improve. The company reported three main positive factors which included strong order inflows and an improving project pipeline and better working capital management.

JM Financial maintained its ‘Buy’ rating while increasing its target price to ₹4,655 from ₹4,500 which indicates a potential gain of almost 23 percent. The brokerage reported that order inflows for the company surpassed all predictions while the company will maintain its current operational pace until FY27 because of its strong international business prospects.

Nomura maintained its ‘Buy’ rating while setting a target price of ₹4,510 which provides a potential gain of approximately 19 percent. The company identified execution problems which caused them to decrease their EBITDA projections for FY27-FY28 because of rising costs in the energy sector but they maintained their optimistic outlook on order flow.

Jefferies maintained its ‘Buy’ recommendation while increasing its target price to ₹4,715 which shows a potential gain of more than 24 percent. The brokerage reported that Q3 EBITDA exceeded expectations and the company improved its profit margins while upcoming events including semiconductor investments and the Hyderabad Metro project will create major future development opportunities.

Buy, Sell or Hold?

Despite execution issues and fluctuating earnings performance, brokerages maintain a positive outlook for L&T because of its substantial order backlog and various business operations and its developing fundamental business strengths. The majority of analysts still recommend ‘Buy’ or ‘Hold’ strategies to long-term investors who want to benefit from ongoing spending on infrastructure projects and worldwide project development.