Indian software services giant Infosys Limited will buy back as much as 180 billion Indian rupees ($2bn) worth of shares in an effort to return cash to investors amid a stock-price decline, reports Bloomberg.
The company’s board approved a buyback of as many as 100 million shares at 1800 rupees apiece, it said in a public disclosure yesterday. That compares with a closing price of 1,509.70 rupees yesterday.
The buyback, the first by Infosys in almost three years, underscores the company’s confidence in its long-term bets on digital services and new technologies such as artificial intelligence reviving revenue growth. India’s number two information technology services provider has forecast sales growth of 1 per cent to 3pc on a constant-currency basis for the year through March 2026.
Shares of the IT bellwether have slumped about 20pc this year while the broader Mumbai market has gained. India’s $280bn software services sector has shown muted growth as corporations curb spending to cope with geopolitical uncertainties exacerbated by wars and US President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
“We do find the announcement’s timing interesting, especially in the context of heightened macro uncertainty,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note.
Infosys and its Indian rivals gained fame by offering cheap back-office solutions to help clients in North America and Europe cut costs. They are now using automation, cloud computing and generative AI in a bid to win bigger business deals from mutinational corporations.