How years of payouts to shareholders are biting IT firms in the AI era
- Jochelle Mendonca
- ET PrimeUpdated: Jan 15, 2026, 12:19 IST IST
Investors are complaining about the lack of growth prospects in Indian software companies, but they may partly be the reason for it. The short-sightedness of the investing community as well as decision makers’ desire to please the market with handsome payouts have collided to create a situation where the industry is grappling to stay relevant due to under investments.
Since 2017, 10 Indian IT companies, both big and small, have tried to bump up their share prices via buybacks, and are also giving themselves huge rewards in the form of dividends. We looked at the Cline data and found that since 2017 these companies have paid themselves dividends to the extent of INR4.42 lakh crore. During the same period these companies also decreased their equity by INR345 crore through buybacks.
Since 2017, 10 Indian IT companies, both big and small, have tried to bump up their share prices via buybacks, and are also giving themselves huge rewards in the form of dividends. We looked at the Cline data and found that since 2017 these companies have paid themselves dividends to the extent of INR4.42 lakh crore. During the same period these companies also decreased their equity by INR345 crore through buybacks.
