Over Rs 37,000 crore Wiped Out: HCLTech shares plunge 10% after Q4 miss; buy the dip?

HCLTech share price: Shares of HCL Technologies (HCLTech) declined sharply, falling nearly 10 per cent on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, after the company reported its January–March quarter earnings and announced an interim dividend for shareholders.

HCLTech share price

At around 9:24 am, the shares were trading at Rs 1,303.30, down Rs 137.90 or 9.57 per cent for the day.

HCLTech has seen a sharp erosion of about Rs 37,734 crore in market value following the nearly 10 per cent decline in its share price.

HCLTech Q4 results

The company reported a 4.2 per cent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 4,488 crore in Q4 FY26. It had posted Rs 4,307 crore in the same period last year.

Revenue for the quarter rose 12 per cent to Rs 33,981 crore, compared to Rs 30,246 crore a year ago. The growth was supported by steady demand in services, though momentum slowed sequentially.

EBIT for the quarter stood at Rs 5,620 crore. This translates to a margin of 16.5 per cent. EBIT declined 10.6 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, though it was up 3.3 per cent year-on-year.

Margins, excluding restructuring costs, came in at 17.7 per cent. The decline reflects cost pressures and weaker operating leverage.

Sequential growth was flat, and revenue in constant currency fell. Revenue stayed mostly flat from Q3 FY26 to Rs 33,981 crore, down from Rs 33,872 crore. However, profit after tax rose around 10 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

In constant currency terms, revenue declined 3.3 per cent QoQ but grew 2.4 per cent YoY. Dollar revenue stood at $3,682 million, down 2.9 per cent sequentially and up 5.3 per cent YoY.

HCLTech’s services revenue in constant currency terms declined 0.1 per cent QoQ but rose 4.2 per cent YoY.

The company’s advanced AI business showed traction. Revenue from this segment stood at $155 million, up 6.1 per cent QoQ in constant currency.

However, HCL Software revenue declined sharply by 14.1 per cent YoY, weighing on overall performance.

Deal wins

Total contract value (TCV) for the quarter came in at $1,936 million.

Attrition eases

The company reported a decline in trailing twelve-month attrition to 12.5 per cent, compared to 13 per cent a year ago.

Total headcount stood at 227,181 as of March 31, 2026. Net addition during the quarter was 802 employees. The company also added 1,712 freshers.

Interim dividend announced

The board declared an interim dividend of Rs 24 per equity share for FY27.

The record date has been set as April 25, 2026. The dividend will be paid on May 5, 2026.

FY27 guidance signals cautious outlook

HCLTech expects revenue growth of 1–4 per cent YoY in constant currency for FY27.

Services revenue growth is projected at 1.5–4.5 per cent YoY in constant currency. EBIT margin is expected to be in the range of 17.5–18.5 per cent.

Full-year performance remains steady

For FY26, the company reported revenue of Rs 130,144 crore, up 11.2 per cent.

In dollar terms, revenue rose 6 per cent to $14,664 million. Growth in constant currency terms stood at 3.9 per cent.

Brokerages cut targets, sentiment turns cautious

Global brokerages turned cautious on HCLTech after the Q4 results, with most cutting target prices and maintaining neutral to negative ratings.

• Jefferies downgraded the stock to Underperform from Hold. It cut the target price to Rs 1,165 from Rs 1,390, implying a downside of 16.2 per cent from the current market price of Rs 1,441.
• JPMorgan Chase maintained a Neutral rating and reduced the target price to Rs 1,370 from Rs 1,410.
• Morgan Stanley maintained an Equal-weight stance and sharply cut the target to Rs 1,410 from Rs 1,760.
• Nomura remained relatively positive with a Buy rating, but lowered the target to Rs 1,600 from Rs 1,700.
• HSBC maintained a Hold rating and cut the target price to Rs 1,480 from Rs 1,560.
• Citigroup retained a Neutral stance and trimmed the target to Rs 1,385 from Rs 1,400.
• Goldman Sachs maintained a Neutral rating and lowered the target price to Rs 1,340 from Rs 1,450.
• CLSA maintained an Accumulate rating, with a marginal cut in target price to Rs 1,519 from Rs 1,524.