Wipro’s Q4FY26 results reveal a mixed bag of strong adjusted operating profit margins and a significant share buyback announcement, juxtaposed with near-term growth challenges and a cautious Q1FY27 revenue guidance, particularly impacting its key BFSI segment.

Photograph: Priyanshu Singh/Reuters

 

Wipro reported a fourth quarter 2025-26 (Q4FY26) information technology (IT) services revenue of $2.6 billion, up 0.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q) in terms of constant currency (CC).

It reported order inflows of $3.5 billion (up 3.5 per cent Q-o-Q), with a large-deal total contract value or TCV of $1.4 billion, down 18 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y).

The adjusted operating profit margin was 17.2 per cent, which beat consensus estimates.

The adjusted net profit was Rs 3,480 crore, up 3.7 per cent Q-o-Q. In rupee terms, revenue grew 4 per cent, adjusted operating profit margin grew 1.8 per cent and adjusted net profit grew 2.2 per cent Y-o-Y in FY26.

Free cash flow stood at 101.4 per cent of net profit for FY26.

The FY26 return on equity or RoE was 15.7 per cent compared with 16.6 per cent in FY25.

For FY26, deal TCV was $16.5 billion, up 15 per cent Y-o-Y.

Growth Challenges and Sectoral Performance

Growth weakness is visible especially in the key BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) segment in the North American market.

The drop in proportion of large deals in TCV is a concern.

The Q1FY27 revenue guidance is minus 2 per cent to 0 per cent Q-o-Q in CC, which implies a soft quarter.

The company’s management expects normalisation from Q2.

The company’s margins are good but may come under pressure.

The IT services margins stood at 17.3 per cent, despite one-month wage hikes and the impact of an acquisition.

Q1 will see the impact of remaining two months of wage hike, lower-margin deal ramp-ups, and continued investments in artificial intelligence (AI) platforms.

The BFSI vertical was impacted by ramp-up delays and client-specific issues. Among other verticals, technology & communications was supported by AI-led deals.

Healthcare is weak. Manufacturing has been impacted by demand volatility caused by US tariffs.

Strategic Moves and Client Dynamics

Wipro closed 14 large deals in Q4FY26, along with vendor consolidation and other cost takeouts.

But the conversion of deal wins into revenue has been slow.

Wipro announced a Rs 15,000 crore share buyback amounting to 5.7 per cent of equity at 19 per cent premium, to be completed in Q1FY27.

This is in line with prior buybacks, implying 5-6 per cent earnings per share accretion on full execution.

Dividend plus buybacks over the last three years amounts to 88 per cent above the minimum payout policy in terms of the capital return ratios.

Wipro’s IT services revenue was at $2.6 billion, up 0.2 per cent Q-o-Q in CC (reported dollar revenue was up 0.6 per cent Q-o-Q).

The FY26 revenue was $10.4 billion, down 0.3 per cent Y-o-Y.

In Q4FY26, technology & communications and consumer verticals grew 5.3 per cent and 1.7 per cent Q-o-Q, respectively, in CC.

At the same time, BFSI and healthcare declined 1.3 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively.

Net utilisation (excluding trainees) was up 40 basis points (bps) at 83.5 per cent.

Operational Insights and Future Outlook

In BFSI, performance was impacted by delayed ramp-ups in large deals and client-specific issues.

One large deal continues to ramp-up slowly and may impact Q1 as well.

Healthcare was hit by seasonality and policy changes.

Attrition was down 40 bps Q-o-Q at 13.8 per cent.

The company hired 7,500 freshers in FY26 but did not offer any hiring guidance for FY27.

Client priorities are shifting with some suffering supply chain disruptions due to geopolitics.

Clients are increasingly seeking AI-powered, non-legacy solutions.

Recent acquisitions are aligned with vendor consolidation strategies for clients.

Deal structures vary, with productivity benefits passed on upfront or over time.

Capco, Wipro’s consultancy arm, is playing a proactive advisory role, helping navigate AI adoption, and technology transitions.

Cloud, data, and AI continue to attract investments and partnerships remain critical, with increasing emphasis on AI-native capabilities.

The top account witnessed a sequential decline in Q4FY26.

An increase in unbilled revenues was considered a quarterly aberration.

Productivity improvements are visible in software development life cycle, in testing and coding.

Further improvement in execution and steady conversions of TCV to revenue will be key monitorables in the future.

The Q1 guidance and broader geopolitical outlook shows limited room for growth and possible margin pressures in the near-term.

The high dividend payout and sustaining margins in the 17 per cent band could maintain buoyancy in the stock.

Market Reaction

All major sectoral indices with the exception of IT ended with gains on Friday.

For the week, the Nifty Energy index gained 4.6 per cent, led by gains in shares of oil marketing companies, while the Nifty Metal index rose 4.2 per cent on firm global metal prices.

Foreign portfolio investors were net buyers for a second straight day, buying shares worth Rs 683 crore on Friday.

Reliance Industries and Hindustan Unilever were the biggest contributors to market gains on Friday.

Wipro and HDFC Life were the biggest losers on Nifty after dismaying quarterly results.