India’s largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services, became the world’s most valuable information technology (IT) firm on Thursday when it surpassed rival Accenture for the first time in terms of market capitalization.
On Thursday, TCS closed 3.19 percent higher on the BSE at Rs 2,825, taking its market cap to $144.73 billion, or Rs 10.6 trillion. Accenture is currently listed on the Nasdaq at $143.4 billion or Rs 10.52 trillion, while IBM currently has a market cap of $118.2 billion or Rs 8.67 trillion.
On Thursday, TCS shares were helped by a better than anticipated performance in the second quarter ended September and a buyback announced by the company worth Rs 16,000 crore. An interim dividend of Rs 12 per share was also announced by TCS.
The company posted a 3 percent year-on-year increase in revenue to Rs 40,135 crore, with global customers spending more on cloud and digital ventures to keep pace with the pandemic’s aggravated market shifts.
Analysts said the main aspect of TCS ‘enhanced performance compared to the last quarter was that in key verticals such as BFSI, Retail & CPG, and Lifesciences, the business had seen a fast bounce back in growth.
According to analysts Sudheer Guntupalli and Hardik Sangani of brokerage ICICI Securities, the company is expected to increase its market share in global markets, including Europe.
In Europe, our channel checks suggest that considering its lead over the competition, the company is well placed to win many upcoming major deals (in areas such as CX / CI). TCS should benefit from a similar pattern post-COVID-19, they said, backed by its prior experience in managing M&A led systems/process integration projects post-GFC.
In the past few weeks, most Indian software services majors have seen strong buying activity on the stock exchanges, fuelled by hopes of better business prospects. Wipro rallied over 10% in early trading on Thursday and closed 7% higher, while Infosys rallied over 4% and closed 2.6% higher.
