Narayana Murthy and family’s fortune plunges by ₹6,875 crore as Infosys shares sink

Infosys shares tumbled as much as 5.8% on Wednesday, extending a two-day decline of over 8% and pushing the stock into bear market territory. The sharp fall wiped out ₹6,875 crore from co-founder NR Narayana Murthy and his family’s notional wealth. 

At its session low of ₹1,563.80 on the NSE, Infosys was down nearly 22% from its 52-week high of ₹2,006.45, hit in December 2024.

The latest slump follows downgrade by Morgan Stanley, citing concerns over slowing IT spending, global macroeconomic headwinds, and client indecisiveness amid U.S. economic uncertainty and trade tensions. Morgan Stanley downgraded the IT sector, citing risks to revenue growth and valuation pressures. The brokerage slashed Infosys’ rating to ‘equal weight’ from ‘overweight’ and cut its target price to ₹1,740 from ₹2,150.

Narayana Murthy’s family, which holds a 4.02% stake in Infosys, saw their holdings shrink to ₹26,287 crore on Wednesday, down ₹6,876 crore from ₹33,163 crore in mid-December when the stock hit its 52-week high.

Rohan Murthy, the largest shareholder in the family with a 1.62% stake, took the biggest hit of ₹2,771 crore, bringing his stake’s value to ₹13,378.5 crore.

Akshata Murthy, who holds 1.04%, saw a ₹1,779 crore decline, reducing her holding’s worth to ₹8,591 crore.

Sudha Murthy’s 0.92% stake fell by ₹1,574 crore to ₹7,600 crore, while Narayana Murthy’s 0.40% holding dropped ₹684 crore to ₹3,300 crore.

His grandson, Ekagrah Rohan Murthy, holds a marginal 0.04% stake, also impacted by the stock’s decline.

The IT sector saw heavy selling, with the Nifty IT index dropping 4% on Wednesday and over 21% from its peak. Despite a weakening rupee, Indian IT stocks have struggled in 2025 amid concerns over a U.S. slowdown and trade policy uncertainty. The BSE IT index is down 23% this year, with TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, and HCL Tech losing 16-20%

Despite the recent sell-off, some brokerages remain optimistic about Infosys. In its Q3 results, Infosys reported a return to positive growth in North America after four quarters, with a yearly increase of 4.8%, while Europe grew 12.2%—twice the company’s overall growth rate. North America, which accounts for over 60% of Infosys’ revenue, remains a key market.

However, concerns over a potential U.S. recession and AI-driven disruptions continue to cloud the outlook for Indian IT services, keeping investors wary of further volatility.