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How HCLTech Makes Money Across IT Services, Engineering and Software (FY25–FY26)

By Freedom251 Team · · 8 min read

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HCLTech makes money from two services businesses and one enterprise-software business. IT and Business Services (ITBS) is the largest stream, selling implementation, modernization, cloud, infrastructure, cybersecurity and business-process work. Engineering and R&D Services (ERS) earns fees for designing and developing products and connected systems. HCLSoftware sells enterprise products and platforms, with recurring revenue tracked through annual recurring revenue (ARR).

In FY25, ended March 31, 2025, HCLTech reported ₹117,055 crore of revenue from operations. External-customer revenue was ₹86,438 crore from ITBS, ₹18,960 crore from ERS and ₹12,049 crore from HCLSoftware. Those figures show a services-heavy company: ITBS represented 73.8% of consolidated revenue, ERS 16.2% and HCLSoftware 10.3% before an inter-segment elimination. A later FY26 update reported $14.7 billion of revenue and $1.05 billion of HCLSoftware ARR, but those figures use different measures and must not be blended with the FY25 segment table.

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The three businesses behind HCLTech’s revenue

HCLTech reports its operations in three businesses with different economic models:

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  • IT and Business Services (ITBS): enterprise technology implementation, application modernization, cloud and infrastructure operations, cybersecurity, data work and business-process operations.
  • Engineering and R&D Services (ERS): engineering and product-development services for physical, embedded and digital systems, from semiconductor work through connected products and software-defined vehicles.
  • HCLSoftware: enterprise software products and platforms sold with associated services and catalog-based consumption options.

The first two businesses primarily sell people, expertise, delivery capacity and managed outcomes. HCLSoftware sells product access and related capability. Services therefore account for most of the company’s reported revenue, while software adds a product-led stream with recurring-revenue characteristics.

What the FY25 revenue mix shows

HCLTech’s FY25 annual report, covering the year ended March 31, 2025, provides the clearest detailed segment split. The amounts below are external-customer revenue unless noted otherwise.

Business FY25 revenue Share of consolidated revenue Economic model
IT and Business Services ₹86,438 crore 73.8% Technology and business-process services
Engineering and R&D Services ₹18,960 crore 16.2% Product and systems engineering services
HCLSoftware ₹12,049 crore 10.3% before inter-segment elimination Enterprise software products, platforms and related services
Total revenue from operations ₹117,055 crore 100% Consolidated FY25 total

HCLTech also disclosed ₹392 crore of inter-segment revenue, associated with HCLSoftware products and services used by the services businesses. That amount is eliminated when the consolidated total is prepared. Consequently, the three segment percentages shown above add to more than 100% when viewed together: they are segment contributions before the inter-segment elimination, not independent slices that can simply be summed.

How IT and Business Services earns fees

ITBS is the company’s main revenue engine. Customers pay HCLTech to change, run or support technology and business operations rather than to buy a single boxed product.

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Digital transformation and application work

Digital Business Services (DBS) covers redesigning operating models, modernizing applications and core systems, connecting platforms and using data to produce operational insight. A customer may engage HCLTech to replace a legacy application, move workloads to a modern architecture, integrate systems after an acquisition or build analytics into an existing process. Revenue can arise from the initial design and implementation, followed by enhancement, support or managed operation.

Digital foundation operations

Digital Foundation Services (DFS) addresses the technology layer that keeps an enterprise running. The scope described by HCLTech includes infrastructure, cloud, networks, cybersecurity and enterprise operations. Contracts can cover migration and setup, day-to-day monitoring, incident response, security operations, capacity management or a combination of these services. The commercial value comes from delivering reliable capability at an agreed service level, not from transferring ownership of a physical data center or network.

Business process operations

The Business Process Operations (BPO) business performs or supports repeatable business activities for clients. Depending on the engagement, that can include operating a process, applying technology to improve it, or combining process staff with automation and analytics. The client pays for the managed process and its outcomes, with the exact pricing and scope set by the contract.

Career Shaper and skills services

ITBS also includes Career Shaper, HCLTech’s EdTech business. Its role is to provide learning and employability-oriented capabilities within the broader services portfolio. It is reported inside ITBS rather than as a separate consolidated segment.

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How ITBS contracts are priced

HCLTech identifies outcome- and consumption-based engagement models, as well as flexible engagement structures, among its differentiators. That means there is no single ITBS price formula:

  • A project may be priced around milestones, deliverables or time and materials.
  • A managed service may use recurring fees tied to scope, service levels or capacity.
  • An outcome-based arrangement can link payment to an agreed business result.
  • A consumption model can charge for measured use, such as transactions, capacity or other units defined in the agreement.

Actual terms depend on the customer, geography, work performed and risk allocation. HCLTech’s public segment description does not establish that every engagement uses one of these models or that any named customer represents a typical contract.

How Engineering and R&D Services earns fees

ERS serves organizations that need engineering capacity to create, improve or maintain products and platforms. HCLTech describes the scope as running from “chip to cloud to edge to experience.” That expression captures work at several layers:

Product and embedded engineering

ERS can support semiconductor engineering, embedded software, electronics and connected systems. The work may involve architecture, verification, firmware, device integration or lifecycle maintenance. Customers buy specialized engineering teams and tools without having to build every capability internally.

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Digital products and software-defined systems

The portfolio also includes software platforms, connected products and software-defined vehicles. Engineers may develop the software, interfaces, control systems, testing environments and cloud connections that allow a physical product to be updated and operated as a digital system.

Laboratory and systems capabilities

HCLTech refers to lab-based engineering capabilities for validating products and systems. Such work can include testing, compliance support, performance validation and integration across hardware and software. It remains a services business even when the engagement produces reusable intellectual property or contributes directly to a client’s commercial product.

Patents are an activity measure, not revenue

HCLTech reported that it filed 32 patent applications and received 30 grants during FY26. Those are company-reported engineering and innovation activities; they do not represent sales, contract value or a separate revenue stream. Revenue is generated through the engineering engagements and related services that customers purchase.

How HCLSoftware contributes product revenue

HCLSoftware is HCLTech’s enterprise software products and platforms business. Its FY26 annual-report material describes more than 70 products serving clients in more than 130 countries, alongside an operating model that combines products with services and catalog-based consumption.

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Products, platforms and categories

The company groups its portfolio across areas including experience, collaboration, intelligent operations, data, intellectual-property products and platforms, and specialized software. Customers may license software, subscribe to hosted or cloud delivery, consume capabilities from a catalog, or purchase implementation and support around the product. The exact mix varies by product and agreement.

Why software revenue is measured differently

Software management teams often track annual recurring revenue because it estimates the annualized value of recurring subscriptions or contracts at a point in time. ARR is not the same as revenue recognized under accounting rules: it can include the annualized value of contracts whose revenue will be recognized over future periods, and it excludes some non-recurring items. It also is not directly comparable with ITBS or ERS revenue, which is reported as recognized services revenue.

HCLSoftware describes the relationship this way: “Products enable functionality and services enable capability.” In practice, a software customer may buy the product itself and then pay for deployment, integration, administration, support or other services that make it useful in its environment.

FY26 performance: revenue, growth, TCV and ARR

HCLTech’s April 21, 2026 results release provides a newer company-wide update for FY26, the year ended March 31, 2026. It reported:

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Metric FY26 figure What it means
Total revenue $14.7 billion Reported USD revenue, up 6% year over year
Constant-currency revenue growth 3.9% Growth adjusted to remove currency movement
Services revenue growth 4.8% constant currency Combined ITBS and ERS services growth
ITBS growth 3.7% constant currency Year-over-year growth for the ITBS business
ERS growth 9.8% constant currency Year-over-year growth for the ERS business
New-deal total contract value (TCV) $9.3 billion Value of new contract wins, not recognized revenue
HCLSoftware ARR $1.05 billion Annual recurring revenue, down 0.5% in constant currency

TCV and ARR answer different questions from revenue. TCV indicates the value of newly signed work over the contractual period; it does not mean HCLTech recorded $9.3 billion of revenue in FY26. ARR indicates the annualized recurring software base; it does not equal HCLSoftware’s total GAAP revenue or the company’s consolidated revenue.

HCLTech’s investor key-facts page lists FY26 revenue as $14,664 million under US GAAP. The results release rounds that amount to $14.7 billion. Use the more precise figure only with its stated accounting basis, and do not combine the dollar totals with the rupee-denominated FY25 segment amounts as though they were one table.

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How money moves through a typical customer relationship

  1. Demand is identified: a customer needs a transformation, an operating service, product engineering or enterprise software.
  2. Scope is defined: HCLTech proposes a project, managed service, engineering program, software subscription or a combination.
  3. Delivery begins: teams implement systems, operate processes, develop products or deploy software.
  4. Revenue is recognized: services revenue is recognized as contracted work is delivered under the applicable accounting rules; software revenue follows the product’s licensing, subscription and service terms.
  5. Expansion and renewal follow: modernization phases, additional workloads, engineering releases, support and software renewals can create subsequent revenue.

This lifecycle explains why a large contract announcement, a recurring software metric and reported annual revenue should be read as related but non-identical indicators.

What the mix means for investors and readers

ITBS provides scale

With 73.8% of FY25 consolidated revenue, ITBS determines much of HCLTech’s overall growth profile. Its breadth across applications, cloud, infrastructure, security and business processes can create multiple entry points with a customer, but services revenue depends on winning and delivering ongoing work.

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ERS adds specialized engineering exposure

ERS was 16.2% of FY25 revenue and grew 9.8% in constant currency in FY26, according to the results release. Engineering demand can be tied to product cycles, semiconductor programs, connected devices and software-defined systems. The segment’s work remains service revenue even when it helps create intellectual property.

HCLSoftware adds product economics

HCLSoftware contributed 10.3% of FY25 revenue before elimination. Its $1.05 billion FY26 ARR provides a recurring-revenue lens, while the reported 0.5% constant-currency decline shows why ARR should be tracked separately from total company growth. Product renewals, subscriptions, consumption and accompanying services can produce a different timing pattern from project-based services.

Do not infer segment margins from this data

The cited figures establish revenue, growth, TCV and ARR, but they do not establish comparable operating margins for each segment. A meaningful margin comparison would require statutory segment disclosures and consistent accounting definitions.

Common mistakes when interpreting HCLTech’s business model

  • Calling HCLTech a software-only company: software is a distinct business, but ITBS and ERS together represent the large majority of FY25 revenue.
  • Treating ARR as revenue: ARR is an annualized recurring metric, not a GAAP revenue total.
  • Treating TCV as sales recognized: TCV describes new contract wins over their contract periods.
  • Adding the FY25 percentages without explanation: HCLSoftware’s ₹392 crore of inter-segment revenue is eliminated in consolidation.
  • Mixing fiscal years and currencies: FY25 segment amounts are in rupees, while FY26 headline metrics are in US dollars and include constant-currency growth measures.
  • Assuming every contract has the same pricing: HCLTech describes several engagement models, including outcome- and consumption-based structures.

Bottom line

HCLTech makes most of its money by delivering enterprise technology and business-process services through ITBS, with ERS providing specialized product and systems engineering. HCLSoftware supplies a smaller but distinct product-and-platform business whose recurring base is tracked through ARR. FY25 revenue data shows the relative scale of those businesses; FY26 figures show the latest growth, deal-win and software-ARR indicators. Reading each number with its fiscal year, currency and measurement type is essential to understanding how HCLTech earns revenue.

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Business Modelsengineering and R&DEnterprise SoftwareHCLTechIT servicesrevenue analysis

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