Wipro’s latest quarterly results have presented a mixed picture of India’s technology services industry. Revenue improved in the September quarter, but a sharp fall in new deal bookings and a smaller workforce have raised questions about how quickly the company can return to stronger growth.
The Bengaluru-based IT services company reported a 9.1% year-on-year rise in consolidated revenue to ₹24,752.7 crore for the second quarter of the 2026-27 financial year. However, net profit fell 1.9% to about ₹3,201 crore compared with the same period last year.
Wipro shares moved higher after the results, gaining in early trade on Friday, October 16. Investors appeared encouraged by revenue that exceeded market expectations, even as analysts remained cautious about the company’s growth prospects. The stock’s rise also came during a broader recovery in Indian IT shares.
The results underline a key challenge for technology companies: stronger revenue does not necessarily mean that demand for their services is accelerating.
Wipro’s IT services business generated $2.61 billion in revenue during the quarter. This represented a modest 0.3% increase from a year earlier in reported terms, while revenue was broadly flat compared with the June quarter on a constant-currency basis. Constant currency removes the impact of exchange-rate movements, allowing investors to assess underlying business performance more clearly.
The company’s operating margin in IT services improved to 16.5%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter. The improvement suggests that cost controls and operational measures helped protect profitability, even as business growth remained limited.
Operating cash flow also strengthened, rising 61.3% sequentially to ₹5,300 crore. It was equivalent to 165.8% of quarterly net income, giving the company cash to support its business and investments.
The biggest concern, however, was the sharp decline in deal bookings. Wipro recorded total bookings worth $2.6 billion, down 22.9% from the previous quarter in constant-currency terms. Large-deal bookings fell 58.6% sequentially to $674 million.
Bookings represent the value of contracts signed during a period. Revenue from those contracts is generally recognised over time, so a sustained decline in new orders can affect future growth. Wipro’s total bookings were also well below the $4.7 billion reported a year earlier, marking their weakest level in nearly four years.
The company has indicated that two delayed large deals could close in the December quarter. If completed, these contracts may support revenue in the following quarter. Their closure and the pace at which new projects begin will be important indicators for investors.
Wipro expects IT services revenue in the third quarter to range between $2.57 billion and $2.63 billion. This translates into sequential growth of between a 1.5% decline and a 0.5% increase in constant-currency terms. The outlook points to another period of limited growth, with seasonal factors such as client furloughs also likely to affect performance.
The company’s workforce also contracted during the quarter. Wipro had 2,36,328 employees at the end of September, down by 6,716 from the previous quarter. The reduction followed a period in which the company added 888 employees.
The lower headcount comes as IT services firms adjust staffing to match project demand, improve productivity and manage costs. However, the company has not disclosed that the entire decline resulted from layoffs, and the numbers alone do not establish the reasons behind every employee departure.
Wipro’s voluntary attrition rate edged down to 13.8% on a trailing 12-month basis, compared with 13.9% in the previous quarter. Fresh graduate hiring has also remained a point of focus, with the company previously indicating that it had a pool of graduates recruited in the last financial year who could be deployed as demand improved.
Meanwhile, Indian IT stocks staged a strong recovery during the week. The sector added around ₹2.6 lakh crore in market value, with the IT index rising about 12%, making it one of the best-performing parts of the market. Better-than-expected quarterly earnings, positive commentary from some companies and a reassessment of concerns around artificial intelligence helped lift investor sentiment.
The rally does not mean that the sector’s longer-term challenges have disappeared. Investors are still weighing how AI will change traditional outsourcing, software development and business-process services. While AI creates opportunities for technology companies to offer new products and automate client operations, it may also put pressure on established billing models and the amount of human effort required for projects.
Wipro is investing in AI-led services and consulting, hoping to win larger transformation contracts and expand relationships with existing clients. Its recent deal wins include work involving banking platforms, enterprise applications, healthcare operations and AI-enabled business processes. The key question is how quickly such investments can translate into meaningful revenue growth.
Brokerage views on Wipro remain divided. Some see potential for improvement if delayed deals close and margins remain stable, while others point to weak bookings and a subdued revenue outlook as reasons for caution.
The coming quarters will show whether Wipro can turn its technology investments and project pipeline into stronger demand. Until then, its results offer a reminder that a rising share price and a broader IT sector rally do not necessarily signal a complete business recovery.