Investors aren't too excited about TCS's biggest bet

“We are on a journey to become the world’s largest artificial intelligence (AI)-led technology services company,” said Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd’s chief executive K. Krithivasan in prepared remarks on Thursday after announcing it will spend over $6 billion in about six years to set up data centres.

- Jas Bardia [e-mail]

Investors and analysts are uncertain about the country’s largest IT services firm's largest pivot since its listing in 2004. The main concern is the lack of details and the potential impact on profitability.

Shares of TCS settled 1.1% lower at ₹3,028.40 apiece on the BSE on Friday.

“Regarding the data centre announcement, we await clarity on the capital structure, capex schedule, and other details such as potential rentals and signed MOUs (memorandum of understanding). At present, we do not model data centre investments or related revenue into our forecasts,” said Motilal Oswal Financial Services analysts Abhishek Pathak, Keval Bhagat and Tushar Dhonde, in a note dated 9 October.