Infosys CEO's annual pay rises 2.5% to $8.7M
What's the story
Infosys CEO Salil Parekh's annual compensation has increased by 2.5% to ₹826 million ($8.69 million) for the fiscal year 2026, as per the company's annual report. The report details a fixed salary of ₹79.7 million and bonuses worth ₹233.5 million for Parekh during this period. However, it does not mention anything about his potential reappointment as CEO after his current five-year term ends in March next year.
Compensation breakdown
Comparison of Parekh's earnings over the years
A major chunk of Parekh's compensation for the year came from exercising his stock options, which amounted to ₹507.5 million. This is significant part of his overall pay package and highlights the importance of stock options in executive remuneration at Infosys. In comparison, he earned $9.44 million in fiscal 2025 and $7.9 million in fiscal 2024, respectively, with the dollar amount for FY26 being lower due to a nearly 10% depreciation of the Indian rupee against dollar during this period.
Market conditions
Indian IT sector facing challenges, slow growth expected
The Indian IT sector, valued at $315 billion, is expected to witness another year of slow growth as AI-related disruptions prompt clients to reconsider their technology spending. Earlier this month, Indian IT stocks hit a three-year low after OpenAI announced a new services-led venture. For fiscal 2027, Infosys has projected revenue growth between 1.5% and 3.5% in constant currency terms, lower than analysts' expectations of at least 2% to 4%.
Financial performance
Infosys's revenue growth in fiscal 2026 and TCS CEO's pay
For fiscal 2026, Infosys reported a revenue growth of 3.1% in constant currency terms, matching estimates of 3% to 3.5%. This reflects its performance amid challenging market conditions. Notably, K Krithivasan, the CEO of Tata Consultancy Services (Infosys's larger rival), earned $2.96 million for fiscal 2026, while HCLTech and Wipro are yet to release their annual reports for this period.