Wipro Vs TCS Vs HCLTech Vs Tech Mahindra: Who Leads In AI, Deal Wins And Hiring After Q2?

India's four major IT services companies, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCLTech and Tech Mahindra, reported mixed performance in the September quarter, with differences emerging in deal wins, revenue growth, hiring and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.

HCLTech reported a sharp sequential increase in new bookings and advanced AI revenue, while TCS's annualised AI revenue crossed $3 billion. Wipro's deal bookings declined from the previous quarter, even as its constant-currency revenue growth returned to flat territory. Tech Mahindra reported sequential revenue growth in constant-currency terms and continued to invest in its AI portfolio.

The companies also offered different signals on demand and future growth, with their December-quarter outlooks reflecting varying degrees of caution.

Deal Wins: HCLTech Sees Strong Bookings, Wipro's Large Deals Decline

HCLTech reported new bookings of $3.25 billion in the September quarter, up 35.5% sequentially from $2.4 billion in the June quarter. The company described the performance as its second-highest quarterly booking total and said it had recorded its strongest first half on record.

Management said it had seen demand building over the past quarter but remained cautious given the volatile operating environment. It also expects the 2027 budget to be better than the previous one.

TCS reported deal wins worth $9.6 billion, marginally higher than $9.5 billion in the preceding quarter, though below the estimate of $10 billion.

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Wipro's total bookings fell to $2.6 billion from $3.3 billion in the June quarter, a sequential decline of 22.9% in constant-currency terms. Large-deal total contract value dropped to $700 million from $1.6 billion, down 58.6%.

However, management highlighted wins in the energy sector and continued traction in travel, transportation and consumer businesses. Wipro CFO Aparna C. Iyer said some deals expected to be signed in the September quarter had not closed, with the company anticipating these to flow through in the December quarter.

Tech Mahindra reported new deal wins of $1.023 billion, up 25.4% year-on-year but down 5.1% sequentially.

Revenue Growth: HCLTech Leads Sequential Momentum

HCLTech's revenue grew 2.3% sequentially in constant-currency terms, recovering from a 0.5% decline in the June quarter. The growth was slightly below the 2.5%-3% expectation provided in the supplied estimates. TCS reported constant-currency revenue growth of 0.5%, compared with 0.4% in the March quarter. International revenue grew 1.2% sequentially in constant-currency terms.

Wipro reported flat constant-currency growth in the September quarter, an improvement from the 1.2% decline recorded in the June quarter. Tech Mahindra's revenue grew 2.4% sequentially in constant-currency terms.

On sequential constant-currency revenue growth, HCLTech recorded the highest rate among the four companies, followed by Tech Mahindra, TCS and Wipro. The comparison reflects reported growth rates and does not by itself indicate differences in profitability or full-year performance.

Guidance: Wipro Remains Cautious, HCLTech Narrows Outlook

Wipro expects its IT services revenue to decline 1.5% or grow 0.5% sequentially in constant-currency terms in the December quarter. The company said the outlook was consistent with the seasonal weakness typically seen during the period. Iyer said Wipro remained confident about the coming quarters, supported by its pipeline and deal wins, and expected robust bookings in the December quarter.

HCLTech narrowed its FY27 revenue growth guidance to 2.5%-4%, from 1%-4% earlier. Its services revenue growth guidance was revised to 3%-4%, compared with 1.5%-4.5% previously. The company maintained its EBIT margin guidance at 17.5%-18.5%.

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Tech Mahindra said it did not expect the usual seasonality in the December quarter. Management also outlined a three-year focus on growth, with an ambition to outperform peers and return to higher growth in banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI).

Hiring: TCS And HCLTech Add Employees

HCLTech recorded a net employee addition of 6,450 in the September quarter, reversing a net reduction of 3,292 in the June quarter. Its attrition rate edged up to 12.8% from 12.7%. TCS added 4,258 employees sequentially, marking its third consecutive quarter of workforce expansion. Its total workforce stood at 598,056 at the end of September, while last-12-month attrition in IT services remained stable at 13.3%.

Wipro's headcount fell by 6,716 sequentially to 236,328. Attrition edged down to 13.8% from 13.9%. The company hired around 1,000 freshers in the first half of the financial year and plans to step up recruitment in the second half. It has indicated that it intends to hire a similar number of freshers as the 7,500 recruited last year.

Tech Mahindra's total headcount stood at 152,206, with last-12-month IT attrition at 11.7%. Management said hiring would continue as the company pursues faster growth.

AI: TCS Crosses $3 Billion, HCLTech Reports Strong Growth

AI remained a key growth theme across all four companies, although they reported different metrics. TCS's annualised AI revenue reached $3.1 billion, crossing 10% of its revenue and continuing to grow at a double-digit rate. The company said clients were increasingly adopting an AI-plus-human approach and that AI-related revenue carried higher margins than its overall business.

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HCLTech reported advanced AI revenue of $219 million, up 28.4% sequentially in constant-currency terms from $171 million in the June quarter. Management said the higher-margin business was contributing to profitability and that it intended to reinvest gains to strengthen its position in AI.

Wipro said clients were focusing on cost optimisation, legacy modernisation and scaling agentic AI. CEO Srini Pallia said investments in AI services were helping the company pursue opportunities beyond traditional technology spending, with growth emerging across AI model systems.

Tech Mahindra is expanding its AI solutions portfolio and continuing investments in its Helix programme. Management also highlighted its SpaceX.ai partnership and said high-tech was seeing significant AI adoption. It argued that concerns about AI-driven deflation were overstated, adding that productivity demands and new technologies could expand the market opportunity for IT service providers.

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