Tue Jan 14 11:14:27 UTC 2025: ## HCL Tech Shares Plunge 8% After Q3 Earnings Report

**Mumbai, India** – Shares of HCL Technologies, India’s third-largest IT services company, plummeted over 8% on Tuesday following the release of its third-quarter (Q3) FY25 earnings report. The stock fell as low as ₹1817.20 apiece on the BSE.

While HCL Tech reported a net profit increase of 8.4% to ₹4,591 crore (approximately $550 million USD) and a 3.6% rise in revenue to ₹29,890 crore (approximately $3.6 billion USD), the results fell short of analyst expectations. Revenue growth in USD terms was 2.6% QoQ. The company narrowed its FY25 revenue growth guidance to 4.5%-5%, but maintained its EBITM guidance at 18-19%. An interim dividend of ₹12 per share and a special dividend of ₹6 per share were also declared.

Dipeshkumar Mehta, Senior Research Analyst at Emkay Global Financial Services, attributed the share price drop to the company’s operating performance being slightly below estimates. While the deal pipeline remains strong, concerns remain about potential softness in Q4 due to planned deal ramp-downs. Emkay Global maintained an ‘Add’ rating with a target price of ₹2,000.

Nuvama Institutional Equities, while acknowledging HCL Tech’s superior growth and strong free cash flow, downgraded its rating to ‘Hold’ due to valuation concerns (28.5x FY26E PE), slightly raising its target price to ₹2,150.

Despite the recent drop, some analysts see the decline as a buying opportunity. Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking, suggests a strong base at ₹1,710 and anticipates a potential rebound towards ₹1,900-₹1,950. He advises investors to maintain a stop-loss at ₹1,710.

The stock’s performance in January alone saw a decline of over 5%, and a month-to-month drop of 8%. However, over the past year, HCL Tech stock has still gained more than 17%, outperforming the benchmark Sensex.

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