- Infosys shares rose 5.4% after a 40% decline in the first half of 2026
- The stock is down 37% in 2026, the steepest fall in 33 years
- Accenture's revenue cut caused a sharp 10% drop in Infosys ADRs in June 2026
Infosys closed the first half of 2026 with a 40% decline, and its shares recovered 5.4% on Thursday, clawing back above Rs 1,000 a day after breaching that level for the first time since September 2020. The stock is still down roughly 37% in 2026, on course for its steepest single-year fall in its 33-year listed history, exceeding the 37% it lost during the 2008 global financial crisis.
Five consecutive months of decline preceded today's recovery, and the stock remains 49% below its all-time high of Rs 2,006 touched in December 2024. The stock has underperformed a Nifty IT index that is itself down 31% in 2026, and Infosys has not recorded three consecutive years of stock price degrowth in its listed history. It is now two years into one.
How It Got Here
The sharpest single session came in June 2026 when global IT peer Accenture cut its revenue guidance, sending Infosys ADRs down nearly 10% overnight and wiping approximately Rs 40,000 crore in market capitalisation when domestic shares opened the following day.
Underlying is a sector-wide demand problem, and JP Morgan has noted that enterprises are redirecting budgets toward AI and cloud, compressing available spend on traditional technology services. The brokerage projects revenue growth of only 3-4% for large-cap IT companies and does not expect a return to mid-single-digit growth in the near term.
Infosys's own guidance for FY27, reiterated in its SEC Form 20-F filed in June 2026, projects constant currency revenue growth of 1.5%-3.5%, with an operating margin range of 20%-22%. The company reported large deal wins of $14.9 billion and revenue growth of 3.1% in FY26.
Putting It In Context
The stock has survived the dot-com bust of 2000–2001, which cut it 85% from a 27,150% boom in the late 90s, recovered through a global IT spending cycle that ran until 2007, fell 57% in the 2008 crisis, lost 40% when Covid hit in 2019-2020, and then rallied 284% through the post-pandemic digital demand surge that carried it to its December 2024 highs.
For investors who came in at the IPO in 1993, the stock still represents approximately 1,250x their money at current prices. This is with the adjusted IPO price of Rs 0.79 per share after all bonus issues and stock splits. At the December 2024 peak, that figure was 2,500x.
What Comes Next
Infosys has been building out its generative AI platform Topaz and has deepened partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Google Cloud. CEO Salil Parekh said at the company's recent AGM that hiring trends have not changed as a result of AI adoption, with 20,000 fresh graduates hired in FY26. Management has positioned AI-led enterprise transformation as the company's primary long-term growth driver.
The next major data point is their Q1FY27 results, due July 23, 2026 — the first earnings release of the season for large-cap Indian IT.
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