HCLTech shares jump 8.4% as margins improve, deal bookings grow
Key Facts
Shares of India's HCLTech closed up 8.4% at 1,326 rupees on October 13, 2026, according to Reuters, after results for the quarter ended September showed an improvement in its operating profit margin and growth in new deals. The company said its operating margin reached 18.2%, up 131 basis points from the previous quarter. The stock's rise was part of broader gains in Indian information technology shares, with the Nifty IT index rising 5.2% in the same session. The sector index outperformed the broader Nifty 50, which ended trading up 1.6%, according to Reuters. The company's shares also outpaced both indexes in a session that saw stronger profitability alongside quarterly revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations.
The company's net income reached 5,132 crore rupees in the quarter ended September 2026, according to figures published on its investor relations page. Net income rose 11.0% from the previous quarter and 21.2% from a year earlier, showing improvement on both a quarterly and annual basis. On sales, the company reported rupee-denominated revenue growth of 3.0% from the previous quarter and 11.5% from the corresponding period a year earlier. Actual revenue totaled 356.20 billion rupees, compared with analysts' average forecast of 356.86 billion rupees, according to London Stock Exchange Group data cited by Reuters. Earnings thus grew faster than sales on both a quarterly and annual basis, while revenue remained below the level analysts had expected for the quarter.
In advanced AI services, HCLTech reported actual revenue of $219 million for the quarter ended September. Revenue from these services grew 28.4% from the previous quarter in constant currency, according to the company's earnings statement. On the same basis, revenue rose 78% from the corresponding period a year earlier, exceeding the quarterly growth rate. The company said the quarterly total equated to an annualized revenue run rate of $876 million, based on sales achieved during the period. This figure represents an annualized rate calculated from quarterly revenue, while the reported quarterly total covers actual sales of advanced AI services during the period ended September.
New deal bookings totaled about $3.3 billion during the quarter, according to the company's statement, up 27% from the same period a year earlier. The new deals included a $1.14 billion contract with Mercedes-Benz, according to Reuters, among the business the company secured in the period ended September. In IT and business services, revenue grew 4.4% year on year in constant currency, according to the reported results. As part of its expansion in AI services, the company said in its partnership statement with Anthropic that it plans to establish a business unit dedicated to the partner company. It added that it would set up a center of excellence "to build agentic AI solutions" as part of partnership arrangements that include the planned business unit.
For the current fiscal year, HCLTech raised the lower end of its annual constant-currency revenue growth forecast to 2.5% from 1%, according to Reuters. The company kept the upper end of its growth forecast at 4%, limiting the revision to an increase in the lower end of the revenue range. Its investor relations page listed the fiscal year's target growth range at 2.5% to 4.0% in constant currency. The company also targets an operating profit margin of between 17.5% and 18.5% for the current fiscal year, according to guidance published with its results. The narrowing of its annual revenue forecast range coincided with the release of quarterly results showing growth in sales and net income and an improvement in operating margin from the previous quarter.
On cash returns to shareholders, the company announced an interim cash dividend of 12 rupees per share, according to NDTV Profit. The dividend was announced in October 2026 alongside results for the quarter ended September, which included quarterly and annual increases in net income. The company set October 16, 2026, as the record date for shareholders entitled to the interim cash dividend, according to the same source. Eligibility for the announced payment is tied to the date the company set for shareholders, while the cash dividend will be transferred later in the month. The dividend is scheduled to be paid on October 26, 2026, the subsequent date for executing the cash payment the company announced in its October disclosures.