Deal wins reported by the country’s top four IT services companies in the December quarter point to early signs of stabilisation in client spending, even as revenue growth remains subdued and recovery uneven across players.
Aggregate deal wins for Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro stood at a little over $20 billion during the quarter, higher than the September quarter but broadly in line with the year-ago period, indicating that demand has stopped deteriorating but has yet to turn decisively stronger.
In the preceding September quarter, the four firms together had reported deal wins of about $18–19 billion, while the figure in the December quarter last year was estimated at just over $20 billion. Analysts said the sequential improvement is more meaningful than the year-on-year comparison, given the weak deal environment that prevailed through most of FY25.
Infosys Leads Growth
Infosys led the pack in the December quarter, reporting large deal wins worth $4.8 billion, up sharply from $2.1 billion in the September quarter and higher than the $3.2 billion it had reported a year earlier. Of this, the company said large transformation deals accounted for a majority, with strong traction in financial services, manufacturing and digital-led engagements. Smaller deals also saw improvement, helping Infosys post its strongest deal intake in nearly nine quarters.
“Infosys’ large deal momentum and improved conversion pipeline suggest that client decision-making is slowly normalising. While discretionary spending remains selective, the rise in new client additions is a positive signal,” analysts at Kotak Institutional Equities, said, adding that the guidance upgrade reflected improved confidence in deal execution.
HCLTech Execution Strength
HCLTech reported total contract wins of about $3 billion in the December quarter, compared with around $2.6 billion in the previous quarter and roughly $2.1 billion a year earlier. Large deals formed a meaningful part of the pipeline, supported by strong traction in engineering services, cloud infrastructure and digital operations.
According to analysts, HCL’s ability to convert deal wins into revenue was reflected in its relatively stronger sequential growth compared with peers.
“HCLTech continues to outperform on execution. The steady increase in large deal wins and sustained momentum in its services business indicate better-than-average demand resilience,” Emkay Global said in its report.
Steady TCS Pipeline
Tata Consultancy Services, the country’s largest IT exporter, reported deal wins of around $9.3 billion in the December quarter, broadly flat compared with the September quarter but slightly lower than the year-ago period.
While the company continued to sign large multi-year contracts, analysts pointed out that decision cycles remained elongated and deal ramp-ups were gradual. TCS management indicated that while client sentiment has stabilised, discretionary spending remains cautious, particularly in Europe.
According to brokerages, TCS’s deal pipeline remained healthy but lacked the acceleration seen in some peers. “The deal flow is steady, not weak, but the absence of a sharp uptick suggests that recovery will be gradual rather than V-shaped,” Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said.
Wipro Lags Peers
Wipro lagged peers on deal momentum, reporting total contract value of around $3.3 billion, down sequentially as well as year-on-year. Large deals remained limited, with most wins coming from smaller contracts and renewals. Analysts said the company continues to face challenges in scaling its deal pipeline despite some improvement in client conversations.
“Wipro’s deal intake remains below industry average, and the lack of large transformational wins is a concern. While management commentary has turned cautiously optimistic, the numbers do not yet reflect a turnaround,” JM Financial said.
Across the sector, brokerages agree that deal wins in the December quarter mark a shift from contraction to stabilisation, but not a full recovery. Most of the recent deal activity has been driven by cost optimisation, vendor consolidation and selective digital transformation, rather than large discretionary spending programmes.
Analysts expect the momentum to improve gradually over the next two to three quarters, with Infosys and HCL Technologies likely to benefit earlier from the upcycle, while TCS provides stability and Wipro remains a laggard.