HCLTECH vs INFY
Side-by-side comparison of HCL Technologies Ltd. and Infosys Ltd.. Descriptive only — not investment advice.
HCL Technologies Ltd.
IT
Quality Score: 55/100
Infosys Ltd.
IT
Quality Score: 58/100
At a glance
| Metric | HCLTECH | INFY |
|---|---|---|
| Quality Score | 55/100 | 58/100 |
| P/E (trailing) | 18.5 | 13.9 |
| Forward P/E | 14.2 | 12.8 |
| ROE | +23.4% | +31.4% |
| Profit margin | +12.8% | +16.4% |
| Debt-to-equity | 6.93 | 9.83 |
| Dividend yield | +8.48% | +4.76% |
| 1Y price return | -31.8% | -33.5% |
| From 52w high | -35.2% | -37.8% |
| Analyst rating1 = Strong Buy, 5 = Strong Sell | 2.90 | 1.90 |
Highlighted value = better on the metric (lower for P/E, D/E, drawdown, analyst rating; higher elsewhere). Descriptive only.
Snapshots
HCL Technologies (Rs 1,131.7) has declined 31.77% over the past 12 months and trades 35.21% below its 52-week high, sitting below both the 50-DMA (Rs 1,207.11) and 200-DMA (Rs 1,419.16). The trailing PE of 18.52 (forward PE 14.18) sits above most large-cap IT peers despite a quality score of 40 that ranks last among the 6 tracked peers. ROE of 23.36% and four consecutive years of positive FCF provide a counterweight to the weak price and earnings-growth trends.
Infosys (INFY) trades at ₹1,051.4 as of June 22 2026, down 33.5% over 12 months and 37.84% from its 52-week high, with the price sitting 9.8% below its 50-DMA and 23.8% below its 200-DMA. The company carries a PE of 13.89 — the lowest among the 6 tracked IT peers — alongside a 5-year earnings growth rate of 11.8% and ROE of 31.44%, which ranks 2nd in the peer group. Two consecutive single-day declines of approximately 9.74% on June 20 and June 21 mark a sharp acceleration of the broader downtrend.
Pros
- ✓ROE of 23.36% exceeds WIPRO (15.44%) and TECHM (16.61%) peers, with 4 of the available years recording ROE above 15%, pointing to consistent capital efficiency above the sector floor.
- ✓Forward PE of 14.18 vs trailing PE of 18.52 implies the market is pricing in meaningful near-term earnings recovery; forward PE is broadly in line with TCS (15.71) and WIPRO (14.36) and below TECHM (26.12).
- ✓Positive free cash flow in 4 of the available years (persistence consistency score 61) supports dividend coverage; the declared yield of 8.48% at prevailing price has been funded by operating cash generation in recent periods.
- ✓Recent partnership announcements spanning Volkswagen e.solutions, Pegasystems AI modernization, and Sarvam AI unicorn participation extend the enterprise and AI pipeline across automotive and financial services verticals.
- ✓ROE of 31.44% ranks 2nd among 6 tracked IT peers (HCLTECH 23.36%, WIPRO 15.44%, TECHM 16.61%, LTM 21.29%); TCS at 48.4% is the only peer ahead.
- ✓PE of 13.89 is the lowest in the tracked peer group (next lowest: WIPRO at 14.36, TCS at 15.71); forward PE of 12.84 implies the multiple has contracted further on forward estimates.
- ✓5-year earnings growth of 11.8% outpaces 5-year revenue growth of 6.6%, suggesting margin expansion or mix-shift contribution over the period.
- ✓Quality score of 65 ties for 1st place among 6 IT peers (LTM also 65; TCS 62; others 40–49), and the company secured a new contract with Norway-based DNB Bank for financial crime operations modernisation as recently as June 7.
Cons
- ✗Five-year earnings CAGR of -0.2% against revenue CAGR of 5.3% indicates margin compression has been a persistent feature rather than a single-year anomaly.
- ✗Composite quality score of 40 ranks 6th of 6 tracked IT peers; relative to TCS (62), LTM (65), and INFY (65), HCLTECH carries the weakest quality profile in the cohort while trading at a premium PE to INFY and WIPRO.
- ✗D/E ratio of 6.94 stands materially above the net-cash or near-zero-debt profiles of TCS and INFY, introducing balance-sheet risk in a rising-rate or revenue-slowdown scenario.
- ✗Price is 31.77% below 12-month levels and 35.21% off the 52-week high, trading below both the 50-DMA and 200-DMA with the nearest resistance at Rs 1,198.3 (5.9% above current price) and further resistance at Rs 1,257 and Rs 1,447.
- ✗Price has declined 33.5% over 12 months and 12.01% over 3 months; the stock has not traded above its 200-DMA (₹1,380.29) and is 23.8% below it, reflecting a sustained multi-month downtrend. Two additional single-day drops of ~9.74% each on June 20 and June 21 accelerated the drawdown to 37.84% from the 52-week high.
- ✗D/E ratio of 9.83 stands materially above what is typical for large-cap asset-light IT businesses; elevated leverage constrains financial flexibility relative to less-leveraged peers.
- ✗Revenue growth of 6.6% over 5 years is at the lower end of IT-sector norms; persistence consistency score of 53 (out of 100) and FCF-positive in only 4 of the tracked years limit confidence in the durability of the headline ROE figure.
- ✗CFO sold 5,191 shares on May 28, and a third-party analyst note cut the 12-month price target to ₹1,455.74; insider disposal and target reductions are incremental negative signals even if individually modest.
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