Wipro leans harder into AI as muted Q4 outlook keeps hiring cautious

Wipro is pushing deeper into AI-led delivery to protect productivity and margins, even as its growth outlook for the March quarter stays soft — a mix that points to selective hiring rather than broad workforce expansion in the near term.

In its results for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Wipro said it expects IT services revenue for the March quarter in the range of $2,635 million to $2,688 million, implying 0% to 2% sequential growth in constant currency terms. That guidance, while not unusual in a slow demand environment, underlines how carefully Indian IT services firms are calibrating capacity amid uneven client spending.

The December quarter itself showed a familiar pattern: modest growth, strong cost control, and heavy emphasis on platforms.

Wipro’s gross revenue rose to ₹235.6 billion, up 3.8% quarter-on-quarter and 5.5% year-on-year. IT services segment revenue came in at $2,635.4 million, up 1.2% sequentially. On a constant currency basis, the company said IT services revenue grew 1.4% QoQ, but was down 1.2% YoY.

What stood out more than topline movement was the margin performance. Wipro reported an IT services operating margin of 17.6%, up 0.9 percentage points sequentially. Chief financial officer Aparna Iyer called it a milestone: “Our IT services operating margins at 17.6% expanded both sequentially and on a year-on-year basis. This is our best margin performance in last few years.”

That discipline came alongside a profit number that looked weaker on the surface, but cleaner once adjusted. Net income fell to ₹31.2 billion, down 7% year-on-year. The company said that adjusted for labour code changes, net income would have been ₹33.6 billion, up 3.6% sequentially and 0.3% year-on-year.

The labour code impact mattered — not because it changed the operating story, but because it reminded investors that people costs are being reshaped by regulation as well as demand. Wipro disclosed a one-time ₹3,028 million gratuity-related adjustment tied to past service costs under the new labour framework.

Against that backdrop, Wipro leaned hard into its AI narrative — but in ways that still read as execution-led rather than hype-led. Chief executive Srini Pallia said: “As AI becomes a strategic imperative, Wipro Intelligence is emerging as a differentiator and contributed to several wins this quarter. We saw greater adoption of our AI-enabled platforms and solutions, scaled AI-led delivery through WINGS and WEGA, and expanded our innovation network across global locations.”

Deal flow, however, was not uniformly strong. Total bookings were $3,335 million, down 5.7% year-on-year in constant currency terms. Large deal bookings were $871 million, down 8.4% YoY in constant currency — a reminder that while firms are selling transformation, clients are still cautious about committing big-ticket spend.

On workforce signals, the company offered one clean indicator: voluntary attrition, which came in at 14.2% on a trailing 12-month basis. That’s neither a spike nor a collapse — more a sign of normalisation after the churn-heavy post-pandemic period.

Wipro did not spell out hiring plans in the release. But in practice, flat-to-low Q4 guidance typically limits the case for ramping up headcount at scale — especially when management is highlighting platform-led delivery and productivity as levers. The likely picture, based strictly on the tone and numbers disclosed, is continued targeted hiring in priority areas rather than a broad hiring cycle.

The next quarter will tell a sharper story: whether margin gains hold as demand stays patchy, and whether AI-led delivery translates into stronger bookings — not just better rhetoric. For now, Wipro’s message is clear enough: execution is tightening, AI is being industrialised, and growth expectations remain measured.