HCL Technologies , India's third-largest information technology firm by market capitalisation, will announce its third-quarter results for FY26 today (January 12). Despite expectations of a decent performance, the company's shares traded with minor cuts ahead of the results announcement, falling over 1% to ₹1,641.20 on the BSE.

The IT major announced last month that its board will consider the payment of the fourth interim dividend for FY26 alongside the Q3 results announcement.

Analyst Expectations for Q3 Performance

Analysts anticipate steady results from HCL Tech, with the company likely to outperform several industry peers on revenue and net profit growth. This performance is expected despite the seasonally weak period for IT services companies.

Kotak Institutional Equities noted that the ramp-up of large deals won during the quarter and seasonality in the products business would contribute to overall revenue growth. The company's diversified portfolio spanning IT services, engineering and R&D services, and products and platforms is expected to support this performance.

Margin Outlook and Operational Metrics

EBIT margins are expected to see notable improvements across different analyst forecasts:

Seema Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at SMC Global Securities, highlighted that HCL Tech's diversification will help cushion the impact of volatility in discretionary spending. She noted that EBIT margins may see moderate improvement, aided by stronger performance across the portfolio amid rising demand for cloud, network, security, and digital workplace services.

Strategic Positioning and Growth Drivers

HCL Tech's strong positioning in AI-led transformation and enterprise modernisation engagements is expected to remain a key strategic highlight during the quarter. The company's diversified business model across multiple service lines provides resilience against market volatility.

Key growth areas include:

• Cloud services and digital workplace solutions
• AI-led transformation projects
• Enterprise modernisation engagements
• Engineering and R&D services expansion

Guidance Revisions and Key Monitorables

Kotak Institutional Equities expects the company to narrow its guidance ranges:

Investors will closely monitor management commentary on deal pipeline strength, execution momentum, and evolving client decision-making trends. Performance across core verticals such as financial services, technology, and emerging digital segments will be key focus areas, along with updates on operational discipline and talent management strategies in the challenging macro environment.

HCL Technologies is set to announce its December quarter earnings today, with analysts expecting a seasonally strong performance driven by its products and platforms business. The stock closed 0.9% higher on Friday at ₹1,661.40, though it has declined 16.69% over the past 12 months.

Financial Performance Expectations

Bloomberg consensus estimates point to robust sequential growth, with analysts forecasting mid-single-digit revenue increases and sharper operating profit growth. In constant-currency terms, quarter-on-quarter growth is expected in the 2.2%-3.4% range.

Segment-wise Growth Projections

Analysts expect services revenue to remain stable while the products and platforms business benefits from seasonal strength. Software seasonality is anticipated to drive favourable performance, though wage hikes and restructuring costs may temper some upside.

Deal Momentum and Strategic Focus

Deal wins are expected to cross the $2-2.5 billion mark, compared with $2.56 billion in the September quarter. Key areas of focus include:

• FY26 growth guidance revisions
• Artificial intelligence-led revenue opportunities
• Commentary on demand visibility for calendar year 2026
• Discretionary spending trends

Brokerage Expectations

Jefferies forecasts 2.9% quarter-on-quarter constant-currency growth, with EBIT margin expansion of around 60 basis points supported by a richer software mix, though offset by wage hikes and restructuring costs.

Investec expects 2.4% constant-currency growth and 2.3% growth in US dollar terms, with margins projected to improve by nearly 100 basis points due to software seasonality, partly offset by an estimated 80 basis point impact from wage hikes.

Nuvama forecasts similar growth rates with EBIT margin expansion of roughly 110 basis points, aided by favourable seasonality but partially offset by restructuring expenses and wage hikes.

Guidance and Outlook

Most brokerages expect HCLTech to maintain its margin guidance of 17%-18%, with potential upward tweaks to guidance following the seasonally strong software quarter. Investec anticipates the lower end of services revenue growth guidance to be raised to 4.5%-5% from the current 4%-5% range.