Titan Company shares tanked 5.5 per cent on Tuesday after its first-quarter business update missed Street expectations, dragging down the billionaire Jhunjhunwala family’s portfolio by nearly Rs 900 crore, according to an ET report.The family holds a 5.15 per cent stake in the Tata Group firm, and the selloff underscores how premium consumer stocks are increasingly vulnerable to earnings disappointments. The main drag came from the core jewellery segment, where domestic revenue rose just 18 per cent year-on-year, well below the 22–23 per cent expected by analysts.Titan’s flagship brands, Tanishq, Mia, and Zoya, posted 17 per cent growth excluding bullion sales. “Q1 Tanishq, Mia & Zoya business revenue (ex-bullion) up 17 per cent YoY vs est. of 28 per cent YoY,” Morgan Stanley noted. The brokerage maintained an Overweight rating with a target of Rs 3,876 but flagged jewellery as a key underperformer.Surging gold prices, up nearly 35 per cent in Q1FY26 and 15 per cent within the quarter, weighed heavily on consumer sentiment, especially between May and mid-June. “In the high gold rate scenario, customers preferred lightweight and lower karatage jewellery,” Titan said, according to the report.The company added that buyer growth remained flat year-on-year for its premium brands as well as CaratLane.Brokerages have turned cautious. Emkay Global retained a ‘Reduce’ rating with a target of Rs 3,350, warning of “increasing competition, mushrooming LGD players, and a deteriorating RoIC profile.” JM Financial projects a jewellery EBIT margin of 11 per cent (ex-bullion), down 20 basis points year-on-year, while noting pressure on high-margin studded sales.CLSA, however, maintained an Outperform rating with a Rs 4,326 target, stating that the 20 per cent year-on-year growth in consumer business was “resilient” in light of gold volatility and geopolitical uncertainty.Amid intensifying competition, Titan is narrowing pricing gaps, enhancing exchange schemes, and rolling out EMI options. It also opened 19 new stores during the quarter, 3 under Tanishq, 7 under Mia, and 9 through CaratLane.Despite this, Titan’s like-for-like growth remained modest, driven by higher average ticket sizes rather than new customers.Shares are up just 7 per cent in 2025 and have gained 10.5 per cent over the past two years. The company’s current market cap stands at Rs 3.08 lakh crore.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market and other asset classes given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)