Kolkata: The Indian IT industry, a signature of the nation on the world stage as well as a driver of the growth engine, has been facing turbulent waters over the past two years. This year too, the projections of growth and revenue have not been encouraging by most expert agencies. However, the September quarter has been a relatively bright spot in this gloomy picture since the industry delivered a relatively steady performance in the Q2FY26 period. Analysts point out that about half of the prominent companies exceeding revenue forecasts and surpassing margin expectations.
The two stocks in focus are HCL Tech and Coforge. Analysts have indicated that the sector could be nearing its trough, which means it is close to bottoming out. The headwinds are still there — discretionary tech spends by big western clients remains tepid, the challenge of adapting to the AI-led transition is around — there are indications of operational resilience and improving deal execution.
HCL Technologies
Motilal Oswal has fixed a target price of Rs 1,800 for this company. In early trade on Thursday, November 6, HCL Technologies was trading at Rs 1,527.10, down Rs 2 or 0.13%. The point that has been highlighted is that the company generated robust results in the July-September period this year, when revenues went up by 2.4% quarter on quarter (better than estimates) and EBIT margin at has been recorded at 17.4%. The company has also struck strong deals, the value of which has gone up 16% on a year-on-year basis.
HCL Tech also issued services growth guidance to 4–5% (year-on-year).The growth was led by AI-linked solutions, which demonstrate the firm’s skill in this expanding field. Growth was also powered by IT services. Significantly, AI-led services currently constitute about 3% of the revenue of the company. AI Force and AI Factory are also seen boosting productivity of the company. The brokerage thinks revenue can grown at 5.3% and net profits at 7.2% (CAGR both) during the period FY25 and FY27. The analysts also described HCL Tech as the fastest-growing large-cap IT firm which can flourish in different market conditions.
Coforge
The target price for Coforge is Rs 2,400. In early trade on November 6, Coforge shares were trading at Rs 1,767.60, up Re 0.60 or 0.034%. The company posted a 5.9% quarter-on-quarter growth in revenues and 18% in net profits in the Q2FY26 period. The firm also registered an EBIT margin of 14%. The order book for the next 12 m months stand at $1.6 billion, mentions the brokerage.
Coforge can boast of a strong pipeline of deals and requisite skills of project delivery. The company has an outlook of 23% growth in the current financial year. The brokerage has described the stock as a top pick in the IT sector. It has demonstrated consistency in securing deals that are higher than $500 mn in value. The company has said that they will secure 20 large deals in FY26, of which it has sealed 10 in the first half.
(Disclaimer: This article is only meant to provide information. TV9 does not recommend buying or selling shares or subscriptions of any IPO, Mutual Funds, precious metals, commodity, REITs, INVITs, any form of alternative investment instruments and crypto assets.)