1. Opening Hook
While global tech CEOs are busy debating whether AI will steal jobs or just coffee breaks, Infosys quietly decided to hire 20,000 freshers and talk about AI agents running enterprises. Somewhere, spreadsheets felt threatened.
Q3FY26 was officially branded a “strong quarter”—which in IT terms means no panic, no celebration, just PowerPoint confidence. Revenues grew, margins behaved (mostly), and AI was mentioned enough times to qualify as a buzzword ETF.
The real fun, though, lies beneath the polished optimism: rising headcount while peers cut jobs, margins padded by currency luck, and AI value pools that sound massive—yet remain stubbornly unquantified.
So yes, this was a calm, confident call. But also one filled with carefully managed excitement.
Read on. It gets far more interesting once you translate management optimism into investor reality.
2. At a Glance
- Revenue up 1.7% YoY (CC): Growth showed up late, blamed traffic, but still entered the room.
- Large deals at $4.8 bn: Deal machine humming; execution risk politely ignored.
- Operating margin at 21.2% (adjusted): Currency and Project Maximus did the heavy lifting.
- Free cash flow $915 mn: Cash behaved better than volumes.
- Headcount +13k in two quarters: Hiring while peers fire—confidence or contrarian courage?
3. Management’s Key Commentary
“We had a strong performance in Q3.”
(Strong = nothing broke, and guidance didn’t collapse 😏)
“We signed $4.8 billion in large deals with 57% net new.”
(Deal wins strong; execution risk deferred to future quarters.)
“We work with 90% of our top 200 clients on AI.”
(AI everywhere, revenue attribution nowhere.)
“We are executing 4,600 AI projects.”
(Sounds huge. Wallet impact still loading.)
“We see six AI-led value pools emerging.”
(Translation: TAM slides coming at Investor Day.)
“Margins expanded 20 basis points sequentially.”
(Thanks, rupee depreciation and Project Maximus 😌)
“We are building capacity for future growth.”
(Utilization down, hope up.)
4. Numbers Decoded
| Metric | Q3FY26 | What It Really Means |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth (CC) | +1.7% YoY | Stable, not spectacular |
| Large Deal TCV | $4.8 bn | Sales strong, ramp-up pending |
| Adjusted EBIT Margin | 21.2% | Currency-assisted confidence |
| Free Cash Flow | $915 mn | Cash > excitement |
| Headcount | 337k | Betting on demand recovery |
| Attrition | Down 2% QoQ | Market slowdown helping retention |
