Abhishek Sinha
Infosys Ltd has announced that the record date for its ₹18,000-crore share buyback — the largest in the company’s history — is Friday, November 14, 2025. Only those investors who hold Infosys shares on or before November 14 will be eligible to participate. Considering the T+1 settlement rule, buyers must purchase Infosys stock by November 13 to qualify.
🧾 Buyback Details
- Buyback Size: ₹18,000 crore
- Buyback Price: ₹1,800 per share — around 18% premium to Monday’s closing price of ₹1,514.60 on the BSE
- Mode: Tender offer route
- Total Shares to be Repurchased: Up to 10 crore equity shares (about 2.41% of paid-up equity capital)
- Reservation for Retail Investors: 15%
Eligible shareholders can tender their shares during the five working-day window, beginning within two working days after dispatch of the Letter of Offer.
Notably, Infosys promoters, including Nandan Nilekani and Sudha Murthy, have opted out of the buyback — leaving a higher share quota available for public shareholders.
💰 Taxation: The Game-Changer for Retail Investors
Analysts highlight that this buyback offers an immediate arbitrage opportunity, but taxation changes have made the decision complex.
Since October 2024, proceeds from share buybacks are taxed as “deemed dividends” under the investor’s income tax slab — which can go up to 30% plus surcharge and cess.
Earlier, such gains were tax-free for investors.
Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart, said,
“For investors in higher tax brackets, the post-tax return from this buyback could be unattractive compared to selling in the open market, where only 10% LTCG tax applies. Tax efficiency should outweigh the premium appeal.”
📈 Why Small Investors Still Benefit
For small shareholders (holding shares worth up to ₹2 lakh), the buyback still looks rewarding.
SEBI rules mandate that 15% of the total buyback size must be reserved for this category. Historically, this leads to higher acceptance ratios compared to institutional investors.
With Infosys promoters not participating, the effective acceptance ratio could be even better this time — potentially offering a short-term profit margin of over 15% on accepted shares.
However, analysts caution that acceptance may still be partial, and unaccepted shares could face market risk after the tender window closes.
🧐 Should You Buy Infosys Before Record Date?
Market experts remain divided.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said,
“Given the large retail investor base of over 28 crore shares, the acceptance ratio may be too low to justify a last-minute buy purely for arbitrage.”
Harshal Dasani, Business Head at INVAsset PMS, added,
“Infosys is showing signs of recovery, with a stronger large-deal pipeline and easing attrition. Long-term investors can stay invested for compounding gains, while short-term players may opt for partial participation.”
💼 Infosys Stock and Sector Outlook
Despite near-term pressure from weak global tech spending and tighter client budgets in the US and Europe, analysts see long-term strength in the IT major.
Vinod Nair further said,
“Infosys continues to post steady growth with 2.9% YoY CC expansion. With valuations near historical averages, the stock remains attractive for long-term investors.”
He added that digital transformation, AI integration, and cloud adoption trends will continue to drive growth in the coming years.
⚠️ Final Word
For small investors, Infosys’ buyback offers limited but relatively safe arbitrage potential, thanks to the 15% reservation rule and promoter abstention.
For high-tax-bracket investors, however, the new taxation regime significantly reduces the post-buyback gains.
