HCL Technologies shares traded 0.11 per cent higher at ₹1,669.50 on Tuesday afternoon, recovering from an intraday low of ₹1,626 after the IT services major reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and announced a multi-year partnership with The Magnum Ice Cream Company. The stock saw buying interest from institutional investors despite mixed analyst recommendations, with several brokerages revising their target prices upward following the company’s upgraded revenue guidance.
Morgan Stanley raised its target price to ₹1,760 from an earlier estimate, maintaining an equal-weight rating, while Macquarie set an outperform rating with a target of ₹2,080. Goldman Sachs increased its 12-month target to ₹1,720 from ₹1,680, citing stable-to-improving demand conditions in the IT sector. However, caution persisted with Kotak Institutional Equities maintaining a reduce rating with a target of ₹1,680, arguing the stock trades at a premium to peers at 23 times FY27 estimated earnings.
The company reported revenue of ₹33,872 crore for Q3FY26, up 13.3 per cent year-on-year, with constant currency revenue growing 4.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter. EBIT margin stood at 18.6 per cent, beating estimates, though reported profit after tax of ₹4,076 crore fell 11.2 per cent due to a one-time provision of ₹956 crore related to new labour codes. Excluding this exceptional item, adjusted PAT rose 4.4 per cent year-on-year to ₹4,795 crore. The board declared an interim dividend of ₹12 per share, marking the 92nd consecutive quarter of dividend payout.
HCL Tech also announced it will partner with The Magnum Ice Cream Company, the world’s largest ice cream company, to design, build and manage future-ready IT infrastructure. The company will deploy its AI Force platform to embed AI across TMICC’s digital infrastructure, enabling a transition from AIOps to a NoOps operating model for fully autonomous IT operations.
Management raised the FY26 services revenue growth guidance to 4.75-5.25 per cent from 4-5 per cent earlier, reflecting strong deal momentum. The company secured total contract value bookings of $3 billion in the quarter, up 43.5 per cent year-on-year, with a notable $473 million five-year mega deal with a global retailer underscoring demand for AI-led transformation services.