Infosys' stock falls for a 7th straight day, the longest loss streak in 2 years

By Tomi Kilgore

IT consultant's stock bounces sharply off a 9-month low, but still heads for lowest close in five months

Shares of Infosys Ltd. bounced sharply off its lows, but not enough to snap a long losing streak after the India-based information-technology consultant reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue that missed expectations, and said it cut back on a contract with a large customer.

The U.S.-listed stock (INFY) fell 0.9% in midday trading, to put it on track for the lowest close since Nov. 13. Earlier, it was down as much as 5.4% at the intraday low of $16.04, the lowest price seen since July 20, 2023.

The stock was also headed for a seventh straight decline, which would be the longest losing streak since the eight-day stretch that ended April 14, 2022. The stock has shed 7.7% during its current streak.

For the quarter to March 31, revenue of $4.56 billion was down 2.1% from the previous quarter but up 0.2% from the same period a year ago. The results came up short of the FactSet consensus of $4.61 billion.

The company said during the quarter, it had a "rescoping and renegotiation" of one of the large contracts in the financial services segment, which led to a one-time impact of about one percentage point. Nearly 85% of the contract continued "as-is."

Cost of sales increased 1.7% to $3.22 billion, while operating profit fell 4.2% to $917 million, leading to an operating margin of 20.1%, which was down from 21.0% a year ago.

Net income rose to $914 million, or 23 cents a share, from $830 million, or 18 cents a share, a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of 18 cents.

Free cash flow increased 18.9% to $848 million, which was the highest in the last 11 quarters.

The stock has dropped 8.7% year to date, while the iShares MSCI India ETF INDA has gained 4.8% and the S&P 500 index SPX has advanced 5.8%.

-Tomi Kilgore

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04-18-24 1138ET

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