Can Canara Robeco AMC retain equity edge? Will Q2 results put TCS out of its misery?

In business, a quarter can feel like a lifetime. Ask Tata Consultancy Services Ltd's (TCS's) chief executive officer, K. Krithivasan.

- Mayur Bhalerao

The July-September period tested the country's largest IT (information technology) services firm on several fronts-one external, and two self-made challenges. US President Donald Trump's move to hike the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, starting next year, rattled India's tech majors. Mid-cap firms have said it won't hurt them, but analysts agree that it will hit the big five, including TCS.

A lso, growth has slowed with a few analysts even expecting TCS to report a full-year revenue decline, its first since the company went public in 2004.

That's only half the worry. The immediate battle Krithivasan and his team faces is how to motivate the company's over 600,000 troops as it plans to lay off 2% or 12,000 engineers. Morale inside the company has hit rock bottom.

The rise of artificial technologies has further muddied waters and poses an existential risk to firms like TCS.