Mumbai: The stock closed at ₹2,905.40, down 1.76% from the previous session, after touching an intraday low of ₹2,891.30—its weakest performance since March 2021. With the rout, TCS has wiped out over ₹4 lakh crore in market value this year, shrinking its market capitalization to ₹10.71 lakh crore from ₹14.81 lakh crore at the end of 2024.

The selloff was triggered by Washington’s announcement of a sweeping $100,000 annual fee for new H-1B visa applications, effective September 21, 2025. This marks a seismic jump from the earlier fee of ₹2,000–₹5,000, dramatically inflating operational costs for Indian IT majors that depend on U.S. work visas to deploy skilled engineers.

TCS was the second-largest recipient of H-1B visas in 2025 with 5,505 approvals, trailing only Amazon’s 10,044. Analysts warn that maintaining current application levels could cost TCS and peers hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The ripple effect has already battered the broader Nifty IT index, which slumped 2.45% on Friday and has now shed nearly ₹2 lakh crore in value since the visa fee hike was unveiled.

TCS has seen its shares slide 36% from a December 2024 peak of ₹4,494.90, making it the worst performer on the index. Its Relative Strength Index has dropped to 32–33 levels, nearing oversold territory and suggesting room for a technical rebound.

Despite the meltdown, market opinion remains divided. Out of 52 analysts, 33 maintain a “buy” rating, 13 recommend “hold,” and six advise “sell.” JPMorgan has reaffirmed its “overweight” stance with a price target of ₹3,800, pointing to attractive valuations and potential recovery from the second half of FY2026. The brokerage noted that TCS’s forward P/E multiple of 19.7x is now two standard deviations below its five-year average.