Who This Helps
Investors checking whether a famous long-term stock story still holds up under real return math.
Arthalekh Deep Dossier
Published 2026-02-28
Infosys Story: Global Delivery Moat vs Market Valuation Cycles
An investor-grade breakdown of Infosys using unadjusted closes, cycle drawdowns, and current-LTP anchored return windows.
4 min read1 sourceQuant-backed analysis
Stock Deep Dive
Reader Guide
You will leave with a cleaner separation between price path, corporate-action uplift, and dividend cash.
Best used as a pre-decision brief
Best Use
Use this before quoting a multibagger narrative, comparing entry regimes, or deciding whether a drawdown actually broke the thesis.
Core Value
You will leave with a cleaner separation between price path, corporate-action uplift, and dividend cash.
Do Not Miss
Do not confuse share-count multiplication or price-only charts with rupee-investment outcome.
Evidence Trail
Evidence inside: 5 key stats, 1 source links, and 4 structured proof blocks.
In This Article
Jump straight to the sections that matter most for your decision, audit, or comparison work.
At a Glance
These are the fastest anchors for understanding the article before you move into charts, narrative, and source checks.
Current LTP (Unadjusted)
₹1,605.20
Feb 27, 2026 monthly close (BSE)
5Y Drawdown (Unadjusted)
18.74%
From 2021 monthly close to current LTP (Feb 27, 2026)
5Y Annualized Move (Unadjusted)
4.06% / year decline
Computed to current LTP (Feb 27, 2026)
10Y Return (Unadjusted)
58.33% gain
From 2016 monthly close to current LTP (Feb 27, 2026)
10Y Annualized Move (Unadjusted)
4.67% / year gain
Computed to current LTP (Feb 27, 2026)
Quant Dossier
Computed directly from the historical series shown in this article.
Total Return
+58.40%
2016 to 2026
What this means: net capital change across the full window, before any storytelling overlays.
CAGR
+4.71%
Annualized pace
What this means: smoothed yearly growth/decline rate, useful for apples-to-apples asset comparison.
Max Drawdown
-34.79%
2016 to 2018
What this means: worst peak-to-trough pain an investor had to survive in this dataset.
Hit Ratio
5/10
Positive years / total years
What this means: consistency score of annual outcomes, not the size of returns.
Yearly Volatility
+31.25%
Std. dev. of yearly returns
What this means: higher values imply bumpier return path and tougher holding experience.
Current Drawdown
-18.74%
From peak year 2021
What this means: remaining distance from the prior high-water mark as of the latest data point.
Return Regime Graphics
Year-on-Year Return Map
How to read: green bars are expansion years and red bars are contraction years, with the dashed line marking 0% return.
What this says here: 5 of 10 years were positive (50.0%). Best year: 2020 (+72.00%), worst year: 2018 (-34.36%).
Wealth Index (Start = 100)
How to read: index starts at 100; values above 100 mean net gains from start, below 100 mean net loss versus start.
What this says here: peak index occurred in 2021 (195). Latest index is 158, matching total return +58.40%.
Risk Path Graphics
Drawdown Curve
How to read: 0% means the series is at a fresh high; negative values show distance below prior peak.
What this says here: maximum drawdown was -34.79% (2016 to 2018). Current drawdown is -18.74% as of 2026, implying 16.05 percentage points recovery from worst trough.
Regime Matrix
| Period | YoY Return | Regime |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 → 2017 | -0.66% | Compression |
| 2017 → 2018 | -34.36% | Compression |
| 2018 → 2019 | +10.67% | Expansion |
| 2019 → 2020 | +72.00% | Expansion |
| 2020 → 2021 | +57.05% | Expansion |
| 2021 → 2022 | -24.46% | Compression |
| 2022 → 2023 | +5.09% | Expansion |
| 2023 → 2024 | +12.39% | Expansion |
| 2024 → 2025 | -4.20% | Compression |
| 2025 → 2026 | -4.93% | Compression |
Infosys Yearly Close Data (Unadjusted, BSE)
| Year | Close (₹) |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1,013.4 |
| 2017 | 1,006.7 |
| 2018 | 660.8 |
| 2019 | 731.3 |
| 2020 | 1,257.8 |
| 2021 | 1,975.4 |
| 2022 | 1,492.3 |
| 2023 | 1,568.2 |
| 2024 | 1,762.5 |
| 2025 | 1,688.4 |
| 2026 | 1,605.2 |
Infosys demonstrates how a durable delivery model can coexist with intense valuation cycles.
The long window still shows gains to current LTP, but peak-to-current windows show material drawdown pressure after euphoric phases.
This is why investors should evaluate both entry multiple and operating consistency, not only revenue growth headlines.
Arthalekh keeps this transparent by fixing each calculation endpoint to current LTP and preserving unadjusted price history.
Extended context: An investor-grade breakdown of Infosys using unadjusted closes, cycle drawdowns, and current-LTP anchored return windows. This section expands the article so readers can move from headline insight to an actionable framework without switching pages.
Key interpretation anchors for this topic: Current LTP (Unadjusted): ₹1,605.20 (Feb 27, 2026 monthly close (BSE)) | 5Y Drawdown (Unadjusted): 18.74% (From 2021 monthly close to current LTP (Feb 27, 2026)) | 5Y Annualized Move (Unadjusted): 4.06% / year decline (Computed to current LTP (Feb 27, 2026)). Read these as decision inputs, not standalone predictions.
Chart-reading note: focus on regime changes and endpoint dependence, not only smooth long-window averages. A strong early period can hide weak recent windows and vice versa.
Table use-case: convert the framework into a checklist and run it before each major allocation change. The goal is repeatability, not one-time optimization.
For stock stories, separate business quality, valuation paid, and realized return path. Mixing these layers is the most common source of misleading conclusions.
Decision checkpoint: before repeating the headline or acting on it, confirm the start date, the current price anchor, the treatment of splits and bonuses, and whether dividend cash is included or ignored.
How to Use This Article
Use this before quoting a multibagger narrative, comparing entry regimes, or deciding whether a drawdown actually broke the thesis.
1
Confirm the exact start date, end date, and whether the article is showing price-only or owner outcome.
2
Compare the price-only endpoint with the action-aware and dividend-aware outcome before drawing conclusions.
3
Use drawdown, payout, and valuation context together instead of relying on the terminal multiple alone.
Reader to action path
Continue with a linked workflow.
Move from reading to action with consistent routing across guide, blog, stock, and tool surfaces.
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