HCL Tech becomes the fifth IT firm to hit $50 billion Mcap globally

The market capitalisation of HCL Technologies surged past the $50 billion mark for the first time on Friday, after optimistic management commentary from the sector bellwether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) bolstered overall investor sentiment.

Ahead of Q3 results, shares of HCL Technologies hit a fresh lifetime high of Rs 1,555 on the National Stock Exchange. The stock, which added 4% on Friday, saw its market capitalisation swell by $1.95 billion. Even though a strong rupee normally drags earnings of the IT sector, this time around it helped the company to boost its valuation in dollar terms. The local currency has gained close to 0.50% over the last eight sessions to hit a four-month high of 82.92 against the US dollar.

While Dublin-based Accenture tops the league table with a market valuation of $232 billion, homegrown TCS occupies the second spot, having a market capitalisation of $171 billion. Infosys, the second largest IT firm in the country, occupies fourth rank in the world with a market capitalisation of $80.7 billion.

HCL Tech, the best-performing large IT stock, has returned as much as 44% in the last twelve months, which is almost twice the return yielded by the benchmark Nifty50 during the same period. While the stock of Infosys has gained 9% over the last year, TCS has returned 16.5%, whereas Nifty50 has surged 22.6% during the same period. The rally in HCL Tech stock has also narrowed the valuation gap with the other two big players.

Further, the better-than-expected Q3 numbers also boosted its revenue forecast for the full year. The Noida-headquarter company now expects its revenue to grow 5% to 5.5% in constant currency with an EBIT Margin of 18% to 19%. The company also announced an interim dividend of ₹12 per share, taking the nine-month FY24 dividends to ₹40.