By Elton Gomes
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) – India’s largest IT services firm – made history on Monday by crossing the $100 billion in market capitalisation mark (m-cap).
TCS became the first listed Indian company to cross the $100 billion m-cap, and it overtook consulting giant Accenture who ended up with an m-cap of $98.2 billion.
TCS now has a market cap of $103.14 billion. The company also saw a surge in its share prices, with each share selling for roughly Rs 3,395.
TCS creates history
India’s largest IT services firm is bigger than the entire Pakistan Stock Exchange. Until April 22, 2018, the total market capitalisation of 577 companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange amounted to $81.38 billion, whereas TCS’ market cap stands at $103.14 billion.
By crossing $100 billion in market cap, TCS can be alongside the world’s 100 most valued organisations. On Thursday, TCS saw a 4.48 percent year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit, and recorded profits worth Rs 6,904 for the March quarter.
Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata group, told the Economic Times,“It’s a special moment, a moment we have been waiting for.” He added that the company is focused on creating value continuously, and was confident that “TCS will continue to do very well in the coming months and quarters.”
In more good news for the company, in March, it was ranked as the fastest growing IT services brand in 2018.
Why is this significant
TCS’ surge in the market can be a good sign for the entire IT industry. As the risk of being overtaken by Artificial Intelligence looms across the IT industry, it can be said that TCS has adapted well to a demanding and changing ecosystem. To retain its value in such a demanding market, the company will have to continue focusing on increasing employees’ salary and on imparting quality training to its recruits.
In 2017, although the IT industry was seemingly in doldrums, TCS was attempting to streamline itself. The Mumbai-based company developed a separate unit to impart skills in new technologies to its employees. TCS’ growth augurs well for India as it employs thousands of people, and it seems prepared to take on the advent of automation.
Moreover, in January 2018, it was reported that the Indian IT sector was showing signs of recovery with major contributions from TCS and Infosys
To drive revenue growth, TCS was also looking to capitalise on opportunities in life sciences and manufacturing. TCS has progressed along with the changing times and is showing potential to be a game changer by crossing the $100 billion market cap.