TCS vs Infosys vs Wipro vs HCL Tech: Which IT stock to buy ahead of Q1 results 2023?

Q1 results 2023: First quarter results season for the financial year 2023-24 kickstart this week, however Dalal Street is eagerly waiting for 12th July 2023 when IT giants Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and HCL Technologies will declare their Q1FY24 results. On the following day i.e. on 13th July 2023, Wipro would declare its Q1 earnings for the financial year 2023-24. So, bargain hunters are expected to remain vigilant about attrition, margins and order intake news in regard to leading Indian IT majors.

According to stock market experts, after lower-than-expected fourth quarter growth guidance by Accenture, IT segment in India is expected to remain in base building mode for next one to two quarters and in that case positional investors are expected to start accumulating their preferred IT stocks. They said that among four Indian IT majors, Infosys had given weak guidance after the fourth quarter results in the previous financial year but TCS and HCL Tech had given better quarterly numbers. They advised positional investors to look at margins, order book intake and rate of attrition. If any of these companies manages to give good news on any of these three front, that is going to become a blue eyed IT stock for both DII and FIIs.

TCS vs Infosys vs Wipro vs HCL Tech

On which large-cap IT stock is better placed ahead of Q1 results 2023, Avinash Gorakshkar, Head of Research at Profitmart Securities said, "After Q4 results most of the Indian IT majors had to receive heavy beating but among these four, HCL Tech and TCS managed to recover from that beating. Wipro too managed to attract some buying interest after the beating. But, Infosys almost remained at those lower levels and hence, market is expecting better numbers from HCL Tech, TCS and Wipro." However, he maintained that all IT companies may give muted numbers in Q1 results season in current financial year.

However, Vaibhav Kaushik, Research Analyst at GCL Broking said, “Infosys had given practical guidance in comparison to other peers. So, I am expecting big jump in Infosys Q1 results for 2023 and hence, I would suggest positional investors to start accumulating Infosys shares as this company management has adopted a practical approach to handle margins, attrition and order book challenge that all IT companies across world is facing.”

Vaibhav Kaushik of GCL Broking advised positional investors to buy Infosys shares ahead of Q1 results 2023 citing, “My advice to positional investors looking for a large-cap IT stock is to buy Infosys at around ₹1320 to ₹1340 range for near term target of ₹1500 and ₹1600 apiece levels.”

However, the stock market expert suggested strict stop loss at ₹1270 apiece levels.

Cue from Accenture guidance

Last month, Accenture reported lower than expected quarterly revenue forecast in the range of $15.75 billion to $16.35 billion. The global IT major blamed weakness in business from tech, media and communications industries for this muted forecast. so, market is expecting muted Q1FY24 numbers from most of the Indian IT companies.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations given in this article are those of individual analysts. These do not represent the views of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.