Wipro Wobbles As Weak Guidance Clouds Record Buyback and IT Recovery Hopes

Mumbai, April 17: Shares of Wipro fell nearly three per cent in early trade on Friday, trading at Rs 204.56 and dragging on sentiment as Indian markets opened on a muted note, with weak global cues and cautious earnings outlooks keeping investors on edge.

The decline in the IT major comes after a disappointing March quarter performance and a subdued forward guidance that has raised fresh concerns about demand recovery in the sector.

Missed Estimates

Wipro reported a fourth-quarter revenue that missed street estimates, even as topline growth remained modest. Revenue for the quarter rose 7.7 per cent year-on-year to ₹24,236 crore, but fell short of analysts’ expectations, reflecting continued softness in client spending. 

More importantly, profitability remained under pressure. Net profit slipped 1.9 per cent on-year to Rs 3,502 crore, underscoring margin challenges in a still-uncertain macro environment. 

Weak Forecast

The biggest overhang, however, is the company’s outlook. Wipro guided for a weak June quarter, signalling that demand especially from key markets like the US banking and financial services segment remains fragile. Clients continue to delay discretionary spending amid economic uncertainty and geopolitical disruptions, a trend that has plagued the IT services space for several quarters now. 

Deal momentum, while improving sequentially, also failed to fully reassure investors. Total bookings came in at $3.5 billion, higher than the previous quarter but still below the year-ago level, pointing to uneven recovery in large deal conversions. 

Management commentary further highlighted the challenging backdrop. CEO Srini Pallia flagged global geopolitical and policy uncertainties as key factors weighing on client decision-making and delaying project ramp-ups. 

Buyback Overshadowed

The weak earnings and guidance overshadowed the company’s announcement of a sizeable ₹15,000 crore share buyback, which typically acts as a sentiment booster. Analysts have largely termed the results as underwhelming, with some brokerages pointing to lacklustre growth and continued demand uncertainty as key concerns. 

The stock reaction also mirrors global sentiment towards IT services, where companies are grappling with slower deal cycles, pricing pressure, and disruption from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence. Wipro’s performance stands in contrast to some peers that have shown relatively better resilience, adding to investor caution. 

In the broader market context, Indian equities opened flat, balancing optimism from easing geopolitical tensions against concerns around corporate earnings. Wipro’s decline has become one of the key drags in early trade, reinforcing the narrative that stock-specific factors—particularly earnings visibility are currently outweighing macro tailwinds.

In essence, Wipro’s stumble at the start of the session reflects a larger story: even as global risks begin to ease, the road to recovery for IT demand remains uneven, and investors are in no mood to give the sector the benefit of doubt just yet.

Source:

• https://www.nseindia.com/get-quote/equity/WIPRO/Wipro-Limited