Wipro Q2: margin 16.5% passes, PERM gate still open

Wipro reported Q2 FY27 on 15 October. Net profit was Rs 3,201 crore, down 1.4 percent from Rs 3,246 crore a year earlier and down 4.5 percent on Q1’s Rs 3,352 crore. Revenue rose 9.1 percent year on year to Rs 24,753 crore. IT services revenue was $2,611.5 million, flat on the quarter and up 0.6 percent in constant currency. My 11 October gate had two parts. The first was an IT services margin near 16 percent. It passed: the margin was 16.5 percent, up 50 basis points from 16 percent in Q1. The second was a PERM count or cost estimate from management. It has not come. Wipro says the suspension will not have a material impact, and that over 80 percent of its US employees are locally recruited. That is a qualitative statement, not a filing count or a cost. Q3 guidance is $2,571 million to $2,625 million, implying sequential constant-currency growth of minus 1.5 to plus 0.5 percent. The Alpha Net contract completion has moved again, now to 31 December 2026, from 30 September. No reason was given. Wipro [][***** closed at Rs 188.66 on StockGro’s 3:59 PM IST print on 23 October, up 0.8 percent from Rs 187.15. That is 20 percent above my Rs 156.79 exit and above the Rs 177.74 resistance from 16 July. My view: hold, not a fresh entry. The margin test passed, but the PERM gate is still open, and the price has moved well past my levels. Fresh money waits for a PERM count or cost estimate from management. No fresh money at this price on the margin alone. My exit is a close below Rs 156.79, the NSE 52-week low, unchanged. The guidance and the Alpha Net delay do not trigger it. Disclosure: Vijay Kumar Gupta, SEBI Registered Research Analyst, INH000020226, Vijay Gupta Advisory. SEBI registration and NISM certification do not guarantee performance or assure returns. Securities markets are subject to market risks. No holdings in the subject company.