Persistent Extends Growth Streak to 24 Quarters, FY26 Revenue at $1.6 Billion

Persistent Systems reported $1.65 billion in revenue for FY26, up 17.4% year-on-year, as demand for AI-led transformation and digital engineering work continued to support growth.

The company posted $436 million in Q4 revenue, rising 3.2% sequentially and 16.2% year-on-year, extending its growth streak to 24 consecutive quarters.

What stands out is Persistent’s ability to maintain consistency. The company has now delivered 24 straight quarters of growth, a rare streak in an industry currently dealing with uneven demand. 

Margins remained stable, with FY26 EBIT margin at 15.6%, even after a marginal one-time impact from new labour codes. Q4 EBIT margin came in at 16.3%, showing sequential improvement from the previous quarter when margins were weighed down by the same impact.

Profit growth remained strong through the year, even as the company navigated one-time cost pressures. Persistent reported a net profit of ₹529 crore for the quarter, up 33.7% year-on-year. For the whole year, the company’s profit after tax jumped 33.2% YoY to ₹1,865 crore.

The company’s commentary made it clear that AI is now central to both its growth narrative and operating model. CEO Sandeep Kalra said the company’s “AI-first strategy is strengthening our operating model and improving the quality and scale of delivery,” positioning AI not just as a service line but as a cross-functional capability embedded across deals.

This marks a continuation of the trend seen in Q3, where Persistent had highlighted the use of Agentic AI internally to improve productivity. In Q4, that narrative has shifted outward, with more visible AI-led client engagements across industries.

Deal wins in the quarter reflected the shift despite a slight dip. Persistent reported $600 million in total contract value bookings, lower than the previous quarter’s $674 million TCV. 

The company reported $445.1 million in annual contract value.

The composition of deals, however, shows a clear tilt toward AI-integrated transformation programs rather than standalone digital or cloud deals, as the CEO suggested.

In software and hi-tech, the company secured work involving GenAI innovation and AI-enabled platforms, including a social intelligence solution for a global risk intelligence firm. 

In healthcare and life sciences, deals focused on integrating AI with data and cloud systems to improve operational efficiency and margins. BFSI engagements included platform modernisation and workflow automation, areas increasingly tied to AI adoption.

Founder and Chairman Anand Deshpande framed the AI push as the result of long-term investments rather than a reactive shift. “Our approach has consistently been to build capabilities ahead of demand,” he said, adding that investments in engineering and data are now finding greater application as enterprise AI adoption scales.

This positioning matters in the current market, where Indian IT firms are navigating a transition from traditional outsourcing to AI-led transformation. Persistent’s numbers suggest that it is benefiting from early alignment with this shift, even as larger peers are still recalibrating.

Compared to Q3, the company’s performance shows more stability. In the December quarter, Persistent had reported a 6.8% sequential decline in profit despite revenue growth, largely due to the one-time labour code impact. 

Q4 reverses that pressure, with both profit and margins improving sequentially, indicating that the underlying business momentum remains intact.