Infosys ₹18,000 Crore Share Buyback: Record Date & Why Promoters Opted Out?

India’s IT behemoth, Infosys announced a ₹18,000 crore buyback last month — its fifth and largest in its history. The last buyback was done by them in 2022. Interestingly, the company’s promoters will not be participating in this buyback, instilling confidence among the shareholders.

This buyback is through a tender route, where the company is offering to repurchase the shares at a fixed buyback price of ₹1,800 per share. 

On October 16, Infosys reported its Q2FY26 earnings and announced a 13.2% year-on-year increase in its net profit for the quarter, to ₹7,364 crore. The company’s revenue from operations grew 8.5% to ₹44,490 crore, while total expenses rose to ₹35,243 crore during the quarter. Infosys also announced an interim dividend of ₹23 per equity share.

Read: The Infosys Buyback: Should you participate & tax impact 

Infosys promoters, including Narayan Murthy, Sudha Gopalakrishnan, Nandan Nilekani and Sudha Murthy, who hold close to 13.05% stake in the company, have decided to opt out of Infosys’s biggest buyback program. Even without tendering their shares, the promoters’ stake will increase marginally, since the overall outstanding share count will decline once the company repurchases shares from the public.

While the promoter and promoter group have the option to participate in the buyback, by choosing not to, they are sending a positive signal to the shareholders. 

Here are a few key reasons why promoters could be choosing not to sell their shares:
 

• Token of confidence: The promoters have strong confidence in the company’s long-term growth and valuation.
• Benefiting the shareholders: Since the promoters aren’t participating, the entire ₹18,000 crore buyback pool will benefit public shareholders.
• Reaffirming integrity: By staying invested in the company, the promoters are indirectly boosting investors’ confidence in the company’s future earning potential and management integrity. 

For retail investors, this buyback is a chance to make a potential short-term gain by selling their shares at ₹1,800 a piece, which is at a 20% premium to its current market price of ~₹1,500. As a long-term investor, this buyback is a vote of confidence from the company’s management and promoters.

Through this buyback, the company is getting a chance to reward its shareholders and improve its capital efficiency. A win-win for everyone? 

To participate in the buyback, you need to have the shares of Infosys in your demat account on the record date, which is yet to be announced. You can sell the shares through the buyback process via your broker. If your shares are accepted, you will receive the payment in your trading account, and if not, the shares will be credited back to your demat account.

By not participating in the Infosys buyback program, the promoters are making a statement. They are reaffirming their confidence in the company – signaling they continue to believe in the long-term growth prospect of the company and would rather stay invested in its growth than cashing out.