Share on Social Media

ITC Limited is much more than a cigarette company.

Over the years, the company has evolved into one of India’s most diversified business groups, with a presence across cigarettes, packaged foods, agriculture, paperboards and packaging, hotels, personal care, stationery, and several other categories.

But while the breadth of ITC’s portfolio is well known, its financial statements reveal an even more interesting story.

Where exactly does ITC generate its revenue? And where does it spend its money?

A closer look at FY2026 numbers shows a business powered by a combination of strong consumer brands, agricultural linkages, manufacturing capabilities, and a massive distribution network. At the same time, its expense structure highlights the cost of operating such a large and diversified ecosystem.

So, let’s break down ITC’s financial DNA.

Cigarettes Still Lead the Revenue Engine

The first number that immediately stands out is cigarettes.

In FY2026, Cigarettes and related products generated ₹40,601 crore, making it ITC’s largest individual revenue contributor.

This reinforces the continued importance of the cigarette business within the group. However, looking only at this number would miss the bigger picture.

ITC has increasingly built businesses beyond cigarettes, and one of the strongest examples is its packaged-food portfolio.

ITC’s FY2026 Revenue Mix

Revenue Segment	Revenue (₹ Cr)
Cigarettes etc.	40,601.00
Branded Packaged Food Products	20,504.39
Other FMCG Products	3,810.56
Unmanufactured Tobacco	3,378.01
Other Agri Products & Commodities	9,108.12
Paperboards & Paper	6,212.96
Packaging & Printed Materials	676.94
Hotels, Fresh Food & Others	4,966.23
Other Operating Revenues	655.12
Interest Income	1,462.23
Dividend Income	15.16
Other Non-Operating Income	948.41

The numbers make one thing clear: ITC’s revenue base is significantly more diversified than its traditional image suggests.

Packaged Foods: A Powerful Second Engine

Following cigarettes, Branded Packaged Food Products contributed ₹20,504.39 crore in FY2026.

That is a substantial business in its own right.

ITC’s food portfolio spans multiple everyday-consumption categories, allowing the company to participate in India’s rapidly evolving consumer economy.

And importantly, this isn’t simply about selling more products.

It is about building brands.

As Indian consumers increasingly move towards branded, packaged and convenient products, categories such as biscuits, snacks, staples, beverages and ready-to-eat foods offer significant opportunities.

Consequently, packaged foods have become an important pillar of ITC’s diversification strategy.

The scale is already impressive. At more than ₹20,500 crore of revenue, the business represents roughly half the size of the cigarette revenue stream.

Moreover, ITC has another layer of FMCG businesses covering personal care, education and stationery products, safety matches, agarbattis and other products, which together generated ₹3,810.56 crore.

Therefore, the FMCG story is much broader than food alone.

Agriculture: The Link Between Farm and Consumer

Another important piece of ITC’s financial puzzle is its agriculture business.

In FY2026, ITC generated:

₹3,378.01 crore from unmanufactured tobacco
₹9,108.12 crore from other agricultural products and commodities

Together, that is approximately ₹12,486 crore.

The portfolio includes commodities such as wheat, rice, spices, coffee, soya and potatoes.

However, the importance of this business extends beyond its revenue contribution.

Agriculture connects directly with several other parts of ITC’s ecosystem.

Tobacco, for instance, feeds into the cigarette business. Agricultural commodities can also connect with the company’s broader food operations.

This creates an interconnected value chain:

Sourcing → Agriculture → Processing → Manufacturing → Packaging → Branding → Distribution → Consumer

That integration is one of the most interesting aspects of ITC’s business model.

Rather than operating completely independent businesses, several parts of the group participate at different stages of the value chain.

Paperboards & Packaging Add Another Layer

ITC’s paperboards and paper business generated ₹6,212.96 crore in FY2026, while packaging and printed materials added another ₹676.94 crore.

Together, these businesses contributed nearly ₹6,900 crore.

Again, the strategic importance goes beyond the revenue.

ITC is a major consumer-products company. Its packaged foods, stationery and other products require packaging and paper-based materials.

As a result, the paper and packaging businesses complement the group’s broader consumer ecosystem.

This is where ITC’s diversification becomes particularly interesting.

The company isn’t simply present across multiple industries; several of those industries can support one another.

Where Does ITC Spend Its Money?

Revenue tells only half the story.

The expense structure reveals what it takes to operate ITC’s enormous business ecosystem.

In FY2026, the company reported expenses of approximately ₹64,391 crore across the categories provided.

ITC’s FY2026 Expense Mix

Expense Category	FY2026 (₹ Cr)
Cost of Materials Consumed	26,272.33
Purchases of Stock-in-Trade & Biological Assets	8,826.01
Change in Inventories	-2,550.46
Excise Duty	11,044.93
Employee Benefits	6,781.50
Other Expenses	7,309.70
Outward Freight & Handling	1,988.97
Depreciation & Amortisation	1,710.53
Advertising & Sales Promotion	1,492.86
Contract Processing Charges	1,429.58
Finance Costs	85.17

The largest expense is clearly the cost of materials consumed, at ₹26,272.33 crore.

For a company operating across cigarettes, food, paper and other manufacturing-intensive businesses, this is unsurprising.

Raw materials form the foundation of the company’s production ecosystem.

Therefore, procurement, sourcing efficiency and commodity management can have a meaningful impact on the company’s overall economics.

Excise Duty: A Major Cost of the Cigarette Business

The next major expense is excise duty at ₹11,044.93 crore.

The scale of this expense once again demonstrates the importance of cigarettes within ITC’s financial structure.

Importantly, however, it also shows why revenue numbers should never be viewed in isolation.

A business generating substantial revenue can simultaneously carry significant tax and operating costs.

By looking at both sides of the equation, we get a much clearer understanding of the economics of the business.

People, Distribution and Brands

ITC spent ₹6,781.50 crore on employee benefits in FY2026.

For a diversified group spanning manufacturing, agriculture, hospitality, consumer products and distribution, people are an essential part of the operating infrastructure.

At the same time, ITC spent ₹1,988.97 crore on outward freight and handling.

That is hardly surprising for a company with a nationwide consumer footprint.

After all, producing a product is only the beginning.

It needs to travel from factories and warehouses to distributors, retailers and ultimately consumers.

And then there is the cost of building the brands themselves.

ITC spent ₹1,492.86 crore on advertising and sales promotion.

This becomes particularly important when considering the company’s FMCG ambitions.

Strong consumer brands require continuous investment in awareness, innovation and customer engagement.

Consequently, advertising expenditure is not simply a cost of doing business. It is an important component of building long-term consumer franchises.

The Bigger Picture: ITC Is an Ecosystem

When you place ITC’s revenue and expense numbers side by side, the company’s financial DNA becomes much easier to understand.

At its core, ITC combines four powerful characteristics:

Consumer brands.
Agricultural linkages.
Manufacturing capabilities.
Distribution scale.

Cigarettes remain the biggest revenue generator.

However, packaged foods have emerged as a substantial second engine. Agriculture provides a large commodity-linked business, while paperboards and packaging add another layer of industrial capability.

Meanwhile, hotels, personal care, stationery and other businesses provide additional diversification.

And importantly, the expense structure mirrors this complexity.

Materials, taxes, procurement, people, logistics, manufacturing, and brand-building all contribute to the cost of running the business.

So ITC’s financial story isn’t simply about how much revenue it generates.

It is about how multiple businesses come together to create one interconnected financial ecosystem.

What Makes ITC’s Financial DNA Interesting?

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the FY2026 numbers is that ITC’s diversification story is already visible in its financials.

The company continues to have a powerful core business.

At the same time, it has developed sizeable businesses in packaged foods, agriculture, paperboards and several other categories.

That creates multiple avenues for future growth.

India’s long-term consumption opportunity, rising demand for branded products, premiumisation and expanding organised retail can all provide opportunities for ITC’s consumer businesses.

Meanwhile, agriculture and paper-related operations continue to strengthen the company’s broader value chain.

As a result, ITC enters the future with something particularly valuable: scale combined with diversification.

And that combination can create resilience while simultaneously opening up new growth opportunities.

Conclusion: The Numbers Behind the Name

ITC’s FY2026 financials tell a story that goes far beyond cigarettes.

Yes, cigarettes remain the company’s largest revenue engine at ₹40,601 crore.

But alongside it sits a ₹20,504 crore packaged-food business, a ₹12,486 crore agriculture business, a ₹6,890 crore paper and packaging business, and nearly ₹5,000 crore from hotels, fresh food and other businesses.

On the cost side, ₹26,272 crore of material costs, ₹11,045 crore of excise duty and ₹6,782 crore of employee expenses demonstrate the scale required to operate this diversified empire.

Ultimately, ITC’s financial DNA is defined by scale, integration, and diversification.

And this is precisely why granular company intelligence matters.

At PrivateCircle, we go beyond headline financial numbers to help businesses and investors understand the companies behind them — from financial performance and revenue segments to investors, funding activity, ownership and broader corporate intelligence.

Because the real opportunity isn’t just knowing who the biggest companies are. It’s understanding what drives them.

Explore India’s companies beyond the headlines with PrivateCircle.