It stayed positive on select large caps such as TCS and Infosys and midcap names such as Coforge, Persistent Systems and Mphasis.
BNP Paribas said it sees investors best served by siding with companies where revenue growth expectations are modest and valuations are undemanding.
"We see TCS as the best fit. Among mid caps, we find comfort in Persistent's strong revenue growth potential; its recent valuation correction has improved its risk-reward balance. We also like Infosys, HCL tech and LTIMindtree and remain concerned on Wipro growth and valuation," it said.
The brokerage sees risk reward in balance for TechM and Mphasis
JM Financial said till some the clarity emerges on demand front, it would stick with players with valuation comfort such as TCS and Infosys and earnings visibility (TCS and Tech Mahindra).
"We moderate earnings across the sector and revise down our target prices as well. We prefer mid-size and restructuring stories as themes for the sector. We upgrade TechM to Hold (from Reduce). In the top-tier, we prefer Infosys due to its current 10 per cent discount to TCS, and LTIM as a restructuring story; in the mid-tier, we prefer LTTS - all Buy rated. We have a Hold on most other stocks given that our targets imply one-year upside of 0-16 per cent from current stock prices," HSBC Securities said.
Kotak Institutional Equities expects a sequential revenue decline for all large IT companies for the March 2025 quarter due to seasonal weakness, lower billing days and marginal deterioration in demand. Account-specific challenges could weigh on companies such as LTIMindtree, it said.
"There are exceptions to the gloom, with strong growth likely from Perstsient (3.9 per cent), Coforge (3.1 per cent QoQ) and to a lesser extent Mphasis (2.8 per cent QoQ), enjoying the fruits of large deal wins and bookings in earlier quarters," it said.
Assuming a no-recession scenario, Kotak sees scope of upsides in plenty of IT stocks. "Long-term revenue growth implied in the stock price stands at 5-7 per cent for many large companies, reasonable in our view. Infosys, TCS, TechM, Coforge and Indegene are our key picks. The key risk to our call is recession in the economy—such a scenario could weigh on multiples," it said.
ICICI Securities said US government’s policy changes pertaining to tariffs have manifested in uncertainty over the last three weeks of the quarter.
"This may impact client decision making and dampen recovery in discretionary spends. Manufacturing (including auto), retail and CPG verticals may face the brunt. A cautious demand narrative and conservative guidance for FY26 may serenade the ensuing earning season," it said.
This brokerage is cautious on Wipro and prefer TCS and Mphasis – their valuations being most attractive, supported by healthy fundamentals.
Kotak said Persistent Systems, Coforge and Mphasis will stand out with strong growth in 4QFY25, while incumbents such as Infosys, TCS, Wipro and TechM will report weak numbers. LTIM will likely disappoint as well. ERD companies will report weak numbers, with Tata Elxsi leading the pack.
In terms of guidance, MOFSL expects Infosys to guide for 2.5-5 per cent CC growth for FY26 and said HCL Tech's top end to be in a similar range.
TechM is MOFSL's top pick in tier I IT space. "We continue to like HCL Tech for its all-weather portfolio, and believe TCS offered a fair risk-reward balance," MOFSL said.