HCL Technologies’ share price crashed by over 9% apiece on NSE on Wednesday, 22 April, after the company reported its Q4 results, which missed Street expectations. The IT stock opened at ₹1,345 today, as compared to the previous close of ₹1,441 per share on Tuesday. The stock touched an intraday low of ₹1,301.
The IT stock has remained largely negative in the near-term as it has shed over 10% in a week and 2% in a month. Furthermore, HCL Tech’s share price has lost 20% year-to-date (YTD) and 12% in a year.
Looking at the broader level, the IT stock has delivered nearly 25% gains in three years and 36% returns in the last five years.
HCL Tech Q4 results 2026 highlights
India’s third-largest IT firm reported a 4.20% year-on-year (YoY) increase in consolidated profit for the March quarter (Q4FY26), reaching ₹4,488 crore compared to ₹4,307 crore in the same period last year. On a sequential basis, profit rose 10.11% from ₹4,076 crore in Q3FY26.
The company’s consolidated revenue from operations for the quarter grew 12.35% YoY to ₹33,981 crore, up from ₹30,246 crore in Q4FY25. However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, revenue remained largely unchanged compared to ₹33,872 crore reported in Q3FY26.
In constant currency (CC) terms, the company’s revenue grew 2.4% year-on-year (YoY) but fell 3.3% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), missing Street estimates of -1.6% CC QoQ. In dollar terms, revenue increased 5.3% YoY but declined 2.9% QoQ to $3,682 million in Q4FY26.
HCL Technologies reported EBIT of ₹5,620 crore for the quarter, up from ₹5,442 crore in Q4FY25 but lower than ₹6,285 crore in Q3FY26. This translates to a 3.3% YoY increase and a 10.6% QoQ decline. The EBIT margin, excluding restructuring costs, came in at 17.7%, compared to 18% a year ago and 19.4% in the previous quarter.
During the January–March period, the company secured multiple deal wins, including several advanced AI contracts. The total contract value of new deals stood at $1,936 million in Q4FY26, while the full-year FY26 figure reached $9,323 million. The TCV was weak as analysts had pegged the figure around a $2-2.5 billion price band. Meanwhile, FY27 services revenue growth guidance of 1.5-4.5% was also below expectations.
C Vijayakumar, CEO & Managing Director at HCLTech, flagged weak discretionary spending behind the weak performance.
“During the quarter, our performance came below our expectations due to softness in certain parts of our business, due to lower discretionary spend and delayed decision making. Our new AI-led service offerings are getting traction in the market and are reflected in annualised Advanced AI revenues crossing $620 million in Q4,” Vijayakumar said in a release.
The company also declared a dividend of ₹24 per share for the quarter, taking the total dividend for FY26 to ₹60 per share. It has fixed Saturday, April 25, as the record date to identify eligible shareholders, and the dividend will be paid on Tuesday, May 5, according to its exchange filing.
HCL Tech share price – Should you buy or sell?
Brokerage firm JM Financial has downgraded the HCL Tech stock from ‘downgrade’ to ‘reduce’ with a revised target price of ₹1350, saying lower visibility.
“We lower our target multiple to 18x (vs 19x earlier) and cut our FY27-28E estimates by 1-2% given lower growth visibility. Downgrade to REDUCE with revised TP of INR 1350 (vs INR 1440 earlier). Valuations are at 19.5x FY27 consensus EPS – 14% premium to Infosys,” the firm said in a note.
According to the brokerage firm, HCL Tech’s service revenue and EBIT margins were below its estimates. “HCLT reported 4QFY26 results – revenues and margins were lower vs expectations. Services revenue declined 0.1% cc QoQ vs. JMFe of +1% QoQ, largely due to pressure from discretionary cuts from two large US telecom clients and SAP program discontinuations. EBIT margins at 16.5% – were below JMFe of 17.0%,” it said.
Meanwhile, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal has reiterated a ‘buy rating on HCL Tech stock with a target price of ₹1,650, seeing an upside potential of up to 15%.
“For FY26, revenue/EBIT grew 11.2%/4.6%, while adj. PAT was flat YoY in INR terms. We expect revenue/EBIT/PAT to grow 12.6%/21.0%/8.4% YoY in 1QFY27. Free cash flow stood at 107% of net profit for FY26. FY26 RoE came in at 24.5% (vs. 25.2%/23.5%/23.3% in FY25/FY24/FY23). The company’s relative growth premium vs. large-cap peers narrows in the near term, although its diversified, infra-heavy portfolio remains a structural positive. We reiterate our BUY rating on HCLT with a TP of INR1,650, implying a 15% potential upside,” the company said.
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
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