HCLTech Share Price In Focus Ahead Of Q3 Results; Margin Expansion, Deal Wins, FY26 Outlook On Radar

Shares of HCLTech Ltd. are in focus ahead of the company’s December-quarter earnings, scheduled to be announced today, with analysts pencilling in a seasonally strong performance driven by its products and platforms business. While the quarter is expected to deliver healthy sequential growth and margin expansion, wage hikes and restructuring-related costs are likely to temper the upside.

The stock closed 0.9% higher on Friday at Rs 1661.40 apiece. It has been trading lower by 16.69% when it comes to the last 12 months.

Bloomberg consensus estimates point to a mid-single-digit sequential increase in revenue and a sharper rise in operating profit, reflecting favourable software seasonality. In constant-currency terms, quarter-on-quarter growth is expected to land in the 2.2%–3.4% range, with services remaining stable and products benefiting from seasonal strength.

• Revenue seen 5% higher at Rs 33,262 crore versus Rs 31,820 crore

• EBIT seen 8% higher at Rs 6,020 crore versus 5,562 crore

• EBIT Margin seen at 18.09% versus 17.47%

• Profit seen 11% higher at Rs 4702 crore versus Rs 4244 crore

Deal momentum is also in focus. Nomura and Citi expect deal wins to cross the $2–2.5 billion mark, compared with $2.56 billion in the September quarter. Alongside near-term execution, commentary around FY26 growth guidance and artificial intelligence-led revenue opportunities will be closely tracked.

Analysts will focus on the extent of margin expansion after factoring in the impact of wage hikes and restructuring costs, alongside any changes to FY26 revenue growth guidance and commentary on demand visibility for calendar year 2026. There is also growing expectation of upward tweaks to guidance, particularly after a seasonally strong software quarter.

Jefferies

Jefferies expects revenue to grow 2.9% quarter-on-quarter in constant currency, led by software seasonality and partially offset by furloughs. EBIT margin is forecast to expand by around 60 basis points, supported by a richer software mix, though offset by the two-month impact of wage hikes and restructuring costs. Jefferies expects margin guidance of 17%–18%, to be maintained. Key focus areas include any FY26 guidance revision, calendar-year 2026 budgets, deal wins, discretionary spending trends and the impact of higher H-1B visa fees.

Investec

Investec expects 2.4% quarter-on-quarter constant-currency growth and 2.3% growth in US dollar terms, driven primarily by the products and platforms business. Services revenue is expected to grow about 1%. Margins are projected to improve by nearly 100 basis points due to software seasonality, partly offset by an estimated 80 basis point impact from wage hikes. Investec expects the lower end of services revenue growth guidance to be raised to 4.5%–5%, from 4%–5%.

UBS

UBS expects margins to expand on the back of strong software performance, although continued investments in growth initiatives could cap the upside. The brokerage expects HCLTech to maintain its FY26 guidance, with no major changes anticipated.

Nuvama

Nuvama forecasts 2.4% quarter-on-quarter growth in constant currency and 2.2% growth in US dollar terms, led by around 15% sequential growth in products and platforms and about 1% growth in services. EBIT margin is expected to expand by roughly 110 basis points, aided by favourable seasonality, though partially offset by restructuring expenses and wage hikes. Nuvama expects FY26 services revenue growth guidance of 4%–5% and margin guidance of 17%–18% to be retained.