Each year, India's festive season begins with Ganesh Chaturthi, builds through Navratri and Durga Puja, and culminates in Dhanteras and Diwali before the wedding season begins. For businesses, this period typically brings higher footfalls, larger order volumes, bigger ticket sizes, and improved margins. Ahead of the festive season, and amid expectations of a surge in discretionary spending, Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research at Kotak Securities, has listed 10 stocks on which the brokerage holds a positive view.

The list spans sectors that are most directly tied to festive demand—automobiles, consumer internet and retail, healthcare, and banks and non-bank lenders—reflecting the spending channels that typically see the sharpest uptick during the period, from vehicle and jewellery purchases to higher consumption on food delivery, quick commerce, and beauty products. Lenders such as Bajaj Finance and Shriram Finance are also closely watched at this time of year, as festive borrowing for consumer durables and two-wheelers typically rises.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)

Chouhan expects M&M to continue outperforming industry growth across its tractor and commercial vehicle segments, while a strong product launch cycle should help the company sustain its leadership in the SUV segment. He noted that M&M aspires to grow its SUV segment volumes by mid-to-high teens year-on-year in FY27. The LCV cycle is also likely to maintain its momentum, which he sees as a further positive. "M&M continues to execute well by maintaining a leadership position in all three segments, an improvement in return ratios and cash flow generation," he highlighted.

Eicher Motors

For Eicher Motors, the analyst expects Royal Enfield's domestic volume growth momentum to continue at a healthy pace, with capacity expansion and new model launches auguring well for the business. A potential entry into the 250 cc segment could widen the addressable market and attract younger consumers, he said, adding that the aspirational nature of the brand and rising disposable income should support demand. "We expect gradual improvement in profitability, driven by price increases, value engineering and control over other costs," he said.

Eternal

Eternal, the parent of Zomato and Blinkit, is a leading Indian internet company operating food delivery, quick commerce (Blinkit), going-out (District), and B2B supplies (Hyperpure), Chouhan noted. He said the company is transforming into a diversified consumer-tech platform, with Blinkit emerging as its key growth engine. "We expect Eternal to deliver a robust 49% revenue CAGR over FY26–29, led by rapid expansion in quick commerce and sustained growth in food delivery. As scale improves and operating leverage strengthens, we forecast EBITDA margins to expand from 2.2% in FY2026 to 5.3% in FY29, driving a meaningful improvement in profitability," he wrote.

Nykaa

Nykaa, operated by FSN E-Commerce Ventures, is a leading omnichannel beauty, personal care and fashion retailer with a growing portfolio of owned brands. Chouhan noted that the company is positioned for strong long-term growth, driven by premiumization, AI-led personalization, faster deliveries, category expansion, and continued investment in customer acquisition. Improving operating leverage and the scaling of its beauty, fashion, and owned-brand businesses are expected to support profitability. "We remain positive on the stock given its strong growth outlook and improving earnings profile," he said.

Apollo Hospitals

Apollo Hospitals remains Kotak's preferred hospital pick. "We like the combination of strong existing-hospital performance, manageable capacity expansion, improving pharmacy profitability and the approaching digital breakeven. Valuations appear reasonable for the quality and growth visibility," Chouhan said.

Dr. Lal PathLabs

Dr. Lal PathLabs is one of India's leading diagnostic chains, offering pathology and preventive healthcare services through an extensive network of laboratories and collection centres. Chouhan noted that the company is seeing a steady recovery in test volumes, with Q1FY27 sample volumes growing 11% year-on-year and realization per test rising around 8%. The turnaround at Suburban Diagnostics and calibrated network expansion should further support volume growth, he said. "With management now expecting mid-teens revenue growth in FY27, we expect sales and earnings to remain on a healthy trajectory, with EBITDA and adjusted EPS CAGR of 16% and 15%, respectively, over FY26-29," he added.

ICICI Bank

Adding to the slew of bullish brokerage calls on ICICI Bank, Chouhan noted that the lender has delivered best-in-class underwriting and resilient asset quality, with net NPLs at historical lows. A strong liability franchise and pricing discipline should support NIM resilience, while loan growth recovery and operating leverage provide scope for a sustained 15% RoE, he added.

Axis Bank

Naming Axis Bank as another festive pick, Chouhan said the lender's retail franchise offers significant growth potential through mortgages, affordable housing, gold and education loans. Technology-led execution and improving branch productivity should drive operating leverage, while lower credit costs and a better loan mix provide a path toward improving RoE and potential valuation re-rating.

Shriram Finance

According to Chouhan, the recent MUFG capital infusion and an AAA rating upgrade give Shriram Finance a structural funding advantage. Lower borrowing costs and improved leverage should support margin expansion and a 16% medium-term RoE, he noted, while strong asset-quality performance and a shift toward newer, lower-risk vehicles support sustainable 17-18% medium-term AUM growth.

Bajaj Finance

Citing strong 22% AUM growth as evidence of continued momentum across its diversified lending franchise, Chouhan named Bajaj Finance among his festive picks. He noted that declining credit costs and Fin-AI-led operating leverage should support RoA expansion, while 21-26% medium-term earnings growth and 19-20% RoE offer a compelling growth-profitability combination.

Disclosure: This article was written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an investment advisor and holds no financial interest in the companies named as of the date of publication. The views and recommendations expressed are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced with due attribution; they should not be construed as the views of EconomicTimes Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consult the original research report and make investment decisions based on their own assessment.