Infosys approved a ₹18,000 crore buyback at ₹1,800, a 19% premium.
CLSA and Nomura stay bullish with targets near ₹1,880; Morgan Stanley is neutral at ₹1,700.
The record buyback signals confidence, with execution likely over 3–4 months.
Shares of Infosys rose 2% on September 12 after the IT services major approved a share buyback worth ₹18,000 crore, the company’s largest ever.
The Bengaluru-based firm said the buyback will be conducted through the tender route at a price of ₹1,800 per share, representing a 19% premium to Thursday’s closing price. At this scale, Infosys will repurchase around 2.41% of its outstanding equity. The announcement also topped market expectations, which had pencilled in a buyback in the range of ₹10,000-₹14,000 crore, and marks the fifth such corporate action in the company’s history.
Brokerages were quick to weigh in on the implications for the stock. Morgan Stanley struck a more cautious note, maintaining an ‘equalweight’ rating with a target price of ₹1,700. It stated that the buyback size exceeded expectations and, in absolute terms, was Infosys’ largest ever.
However, it also added that execution could stretch over three to four months, based on past timelines. Morgan Stanley also viewed the announcement, coming against the backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty around tariffs and global demand, as a sign of confidence in Infosys’ FY26 guidance.
Meanwhile, CLSA anticipates the buyback to act as a support for Infosys’ shares during what is typically a seasonally weak second half of the financial year. On the other hand, Nomura retained its ‘buy’ recommendation and a price target of ₹1,880 for the stock while highlighting the record size of the buyback as a key signal.
That said, CLSA reiterated that the management has still not flagged any significant changes in demand, with cost optimisation remaining a priority against the backdrop of subdued discretionary technology spending.
CLSA kept its ‘outperform’ rating with a price target of ₹1,861, implying a potential upside of 23% from current levels.
As for Nomura, the brokerage expects Infosys to deliver 3.8% year-on-year dollar revenue growth in FY26, with acquisitions contributing about 40 basis points. Valuing the stock at 20 times FY27 earnings, Nomura also sees an attractive dividend yield of 4.4% on FY27 estimates. On generative AI, it pointed towards the management’s commentary that IT budgets could expand, with incremental volumes offsetting some of the deflationary effects of automation.
