Infosys has rolled out its biggest share buyback in ten years, worth ₹18,000 crore. The company will repurchase 100 million shares at an average price of ₹1,800 each. That’s a 19.3 percent premium over Thursday’s closing price of ₹1,509.50.
The move accounts for 2.41 percent of Infosys’ paid-up equity capital and marks the fifth buyback in a decade. The last one was in 2022, when it spent ₹9,300 crore to buy back 60 million shares at ₹1,850 apiece.
So why are big companies, especially in IT, leaning so heavily on buybacks? Let’s break it down by looking at what others have done.
TCS: The Champion of Buybacks
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has made buybacks a habit. In 2022, it ran an ₹18,000 crore repurchase at ₹4,500 per share. Over the past ten years, TCS has returned more than ₹40,000 crore to shareholders this way.
What this really means is that TCS doesn’t just see buybacks as a one-time move. It’s a core part of how the company keeps its return on equity strong and investor confidence steady.
Bajaj Auto Bets Big
In March 2024, Bajaj Auto announced a ₹10,000 crore buyback at ₹10,000 per share. That price carried a hefty 43 percent premium.
Here’s the thing: Bajaj Auto wasn’t under pressure. It simply had surplus cash and decided to return it to shareholders. The goal was clear—consolidate equity, tighten shareholding, and boost earnings per share.
Bajaj Consumer Care: Back-to-Back Buybacks
Bajaj Consumer Care has been consistent too. It announced plans to buy back up to 6.43 million shares at ₹290 each, an 18 percent premium. This comes right after its 2024 buyback worth ₹166 crore.
For a mid-sized FMCG player, back-to-back buybacks show one thing: management wants to keep investors close, especially in a competitive sector.
Wipro’s ₹12,000 Crore Move
Wipro joined the list in 2023 with a ₹12,000 crore repurchase at ₹445 per share. The tender offer was part of a larger capital allocation strategy.
What Wipro wanted was simple—use buybacks to improve earnings per share and polish its return ratios at a time when IT sector valuations were under stress.
Telecom and Pharma Join In
It’s not just IT or auto. Indus Towers pulled off a ₹2,640 crore buyback at ₹465 per share in August 2024. This came as the telecom sector was racing to build infrastructure for 5G and beyond.
On the pharma side, Aurobindo Pharma ran a ₹750 crore buyback at ₹1,460 each, while Zydus Lifesciences went in for a ₹600 crore repurchase at ₹1,005. Both wanted to signal confidence in their global growth pipelines.
Fertilisers Step Into the Game
Even traditional sectors are playing the buyback card. Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals used a ₹700 crore repurchase at ₹450 per share earlier this year. The cash came from healthy fertiliser business flows, and the buyback trimmed equity while lifting shareholder value.
What Buybacks Signal
Across industries, the message is similar. Buybacks are less about short-term stock price boosts and more about managing capital smartly. They reassure investors, help companies clean up equity, and make financial ratios look sharper.
For Infosys, announcing its largest repurchase in a decade shows one thing clearly: even in uncertain times, it wants to keep faith with shareholders while balancing growth with stability.
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