HCLTech Reports Higher Profit And Steps Up Fresher Hiring

HCLTech posted a strong quarterly profit and hired thousands of young engineering graduates as demand for artificial intelligence services increased.

On Monday, 12 October 2026, information technology major HCLTech announced its quarterly financial results from Noida for the July to September quarter. The company reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 5,132 crore. This was an increase of 21.2 per cent compared to the same period last year and 11 per cent higher than the previous quarter. Total revenue rose by 11.5 per cent to Rs 35,620 crore, which translates to 3.7 billion dollars. New business deal bookings climbed by 27 per cent to 3.3 billion dollars, giving the company its strongest first half for contracts. Chief executive C Vijayakumar explained that artificial intelligence tools were central to every large deal won. Revenue from advanced artificial intelligence services jumped 78 per cent year on year in constant currency to 219 million dollars. Chief Financial Officer Shiv Walia credited better cost efficiency for widening the operating margin to 18.2 per cent. On Tuesday, 13 October, company shares rose over 5 per cent, lifting the Nifty IT index. The board also declared a dividend of Rs 12 per share.

Why it matters

India's information technology sector employs millions of workers and provides vital white-collar livelihoods for middle-class families. Over the past year, many young engineering graduates faced severe hiring freezes as Western clients cut back on technology spending. In this difficult environment, HCLTech provided welcome news by adding 6,450 workers on a net basis between July and September. This marked the firm's biggest quarterly workforce expansion in four years. Crucially, 6,136 of these additions were fresh college graduates, up sharply from just 1,056 campus recruits in the previous quarter. The company also confirmed that annual salary increments will take effect from 1 October, giving employees meaningful financial support amid rising living costs. At the same time, the industry still faces persistent challenges. Global corporate clients remain cautious, and HCLTech's software products division shrank during the quarter. Even so, the sharp revival in campus hiring offers hope to thousands of engineering students looking for a stable start to their careers.

Key facts

• Total headcount reached a record 230,339 employees, driven by the strongest campus recruitment drive the company has seen in four years.

• New deal bookings reached 3.3 billion dollars, with revenue from advanced artificial intelligence services surging by 78 per cent.

• The company raised the lower end of its full-year revenue growth forecast to between 2.5 per cent and 4 per cent in constant currency.

• The company declared an interim dividend of Rs 12 per share, rewarding shareholders after strong quarterly cash generation.

• Attrition, or the rate at which employees leave, edged up to 12.8 per cent, while total revenue fell slightly below analyst expectations.

What's next

HCLTech now faces the challenge of sustaining this business momentum amid an uneven global economic environment where clients watch budgets closely. With its full-year revenue growth forecast capped at 4 per cent, the overall recovery for Indian IT remains modest. The central question for young Indians is whether this surge in campus recruitment will continue across other major tech companies, or if hiring will slow down again. Workers will also watch closely to see whether artificial intelligence creates new jobs or replaces traditional software development work. For now, thousands of employees will see the direct benefit of promised wage hikes in their pay packets from October.