Infosys, Wipro ADRs fall nearly 3% after TCS earnings, US crackdown on H-1B-linked green card programme

Infosys and Wipro ADRs dipped nearly 3% in US trading on Thursday, amid rising uncertainties over the sector's future following Tata Consultancy Services' (TCS) Q3 earnings report and the US government's expanded crackdown on H-1B-linked green card programmes. Infosys ADRs closed 2.8% lower at $10.26, while Wipro ADRs fell 2.5% to $1.63.

TCS reported a 15% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 13,884 crore for the September quarter, with revenue rising 11.2% to Rs 73,188 crore. The company also disclosed a 24% operating margin and annualised AI revenue of $3.1 billion, accounting for more than 10% of its total revenue. TCS had a workforce of 598,056 employees and reported a total contract value of $9.6 billion for the quarter.

US Vice President JD Vance announced the suspension of several major tech firms, including Microsoft, from the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) programme, a pathway for foreign workers to obtain employment-based green cards. Vance accused companies operating in the US of exploiting the programme and called for greater emphasis on hiring American workers. The PERM programme, separate from the H-1B visa, is crucial for Indian IT companies that rely heavily on the US market and employ many Indian professionals there.

The latest US administration action compounds concerns among Indian IT firms about the health of the US market and the impact of employment-based immigration programmes on their workforce. With investors already evaluating technology spending recovery, margin pressures, and AI's impact on traditional IT services, TCS's Q3 results indicate continued growth in AI-related business, although sequential revenue growth remained modest at 0.5%.