Business & Markets
HCLTech revenue narrowly misses Q2 estimates as profit and bookings rise
The Indian IT company raised its full-year revenue-growth floor after a record bookings quarter. Its reported AI revenue also grew, while constant-currency revenue growth remained modest.
Executive summary
- Revenue and profit: HCLTech reported consolidated revenue of ₹35,620 crore ($3.72 billion) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 11.5% in rupees from a year earlier. Reuters reported the result was slightly below analysts’ average estimate of ₹35,686 crore compiled by LSEG. Net income rose 21.2% to ₹5,132 crore and exceeded the cited estimate.[1][2][3]
- Bookings and guidance: HCLTech said new deal wins totaled $3.258 billion, up 27% year over year and a quarterly record. The company raised the lower end of its FY27 constant-currency revenue-growth guidance to 2.5%, from 1% previously, while keeping the upper end at 4%. Bookings measure contract wins, not revenue already earned.[1][2][3]
- AI revenue remains company-reported: HCLTech reported $219 million in quarterly advanced-AI revenue, up 78% year over year in constant currency, and described the annualized run rate as $876 million. The company did not disclose the customer-level or service mix behind that figure; it should not be read as a separately audited segment or a forecast of future sales.[1][2]
HCLTech reported ₹35,620 crore in consolidated revenue for the July-to-September quarter, an 11.5% increase in rupee terms from a year earlier. In U.S. dollars, revenue was $3.724 billion, up 2.2% year over year; revenue growth at constant currency was 2.6%. Reuters, citing LSEG data, said revenue narrowly missed the analyst average of ₹35,686 crore, a gap of about 0.2%.[1][2][3]
Net income rose 21.2% year over year to ₹5,132 crore, above the ₹4,859 crore analyst estimate cited by Reuters. The company called it its highest quarterly net income. The earnings release does not make that profit increase evidence of a broad acceleration in client technology spending: quarterly constant-currency revenue growth was 2.6%, and the estimate comparison shows revenue came in just below expectations.[1][3]
The distinction matters for an IT services business, where new contracts can take time to turn into recognized revenue. HCLTech’s management emphasized deal wins and a raised full-year growth floor, while the quarterly revenue figure offers a more immediate measure of delivered work. The company did not provide a timetable linking this quarter’s bookings to future revenue.[1][2]
New deal wins, measured by total contract value, reached $3.258 billion, HCLTech’s highest quarterly figure, and were 27% above the year-earlier period, the company said. A contract’s total value can be delivered over time and may include work that has not started; the booking figure is not equivalent to quarterly revenue or cash collected.[1][2]
HCLTech raised the bottom of its FY27 revenue-growth forecast to 2.5% from 1% in constant-currency terms, leaving the top at 4%. It also forecast 3% to 4% constant-currency growth for its services business and an EBIT margin between 17.5% and 18.5%. The forecast is management guidance, not a guarantee; the company’s own quarter still showed modest constant-currency revenue growth.[1][2][3]
Reuters reported that the result came as clients held back some technology spending and artificial intelligence was reshaping India’s IT-services business model. HCLTech’s reported bookings provide one sign of demand for its services, but they do not establish how much of the new work is AI-related or how quickly it will contribute to revenue.[3][1]
HCLTech said advanced-AI revenue was $219 million in the quarter, up 78% year over year in constant-currency terms. It annualized that quarterly result to $876 million. The company did not publish a breakdown by customer, product or recurring revenue, so the number is best treated as a management-reported business metric rather than a standalone audited segment.[1][2]
The company also announced a global partnership with Anthropic on the results date. HCLTech said its services teams plan to build enterprise offerings using Anthropic models and that HCLSoftware will embed Claude products in selected software. Those are announced plans; the release did not disclose a contract value, customer commitments or expected revenue from the partnership.[1]
Taken together, the quarter shows a split between a strong order pipeline and slower growth in revenue already delivered. The bookings record and profit increase are favorable indicators for HCLTech, while the narrow revenue miss, modest constant-currency growth and limited detail about AI sales leave open how much of the pipeline will convert into sustained growth.[1][3][2]