Infosys has approved its largest-ever share buyback worth ₹18,000 crore, offering ₹1,800 per share, at about 19% premium to its last closing price of ~₹1,510.
The buyback represents approximately 2.41% of its total paid-up equity, with 10 crore shares to be repurchased via tender offer route.
Infosys shares rallied ~2-2.3% early in trading on the announcement, reflecting investor enthusiasm over capital return and corporate confidence.
Analysts view this move as a strategic signal amid global uncertainty, particularly because many IT peers are facing margin pressures and demand headwinds.
The buyback is seen as part of Infosys’s capital allocation policy—having previously promised to return ~85% of free cash flow through dividends and repurchases.
Retail shareholders may benefit directly, though participation levels and acceptance ratio will matter in determining upside.
With ~26 lakh shareholders, the buyback offers a rare arbitrage opportunity given the size, premium and timing.
Expectations are that earnings per share (EPS) could see improvement by ~3-5% once buyback is executed, helping support valuations.
Some caution remains: with tariffs, AI pricing, and demand visibility in U.S. markets uncertain, execution risk and global macro remain headwinds.
Overall, this buyback has injected optimism into the broader IT sector and bolstered market sentiment, especially among long-term holders.