TCS junks UK media report on $1-bn Marks & Spencer contract, calls it 'misleading'

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has junked a UK media report, which claimed that Marks & Spencer (M&S) ended a $1 billion contract with the IT services major after a cyberattack failure, calling the report "misleading".

TCS, in a stock exchange filing on Sunday evening, said the report is misleading, with factual inaccuracies including the size of the contract and the continuity of TCS’s work for M&S.

"In response to the article published by ‘The Telegraph’ Newspaper in the UK on October 26, 2025, titled “M&S ousts Indian outsourcer accused of £300m cyberattack failures”,  a statement of the Company is given below: “The report published by The Telegraph is misleading, with factual inaccuracies including the size of the contract and the continuity of TCS’ work for Marks & Spencer (M&S).  As both M&S and TCS have clarified, the service desk contract with M&S followed a regular competitive RFP process initiated in January 2025, with M&S opting to proceed with other partners much before the cyber incident in April 2025."

TCS says these matters are, hence, clearly unrelated.  "The commercial aspect of the service desk area also represents an insignificant part of TCS’s overall engagement with M&S. TCS continues to work on numerous other areas, in its role as a strategic partner for M&S and is proud of this longstanding partnership."

On the cyber incident itself, as clarified previously, TCS said it conducted a scan of its own networks and systems and has concluded that the vulnerabilities have not originated from there. "TCS does not provide cybersecurity services to M&S. This is a service that another partner provides.”

The TCS clarification came after The Telegraph reported that M&S ended its technology helpdesk contract with TCS after a cyberattack led to around 300 million pounds loss to the company. However, both companies have stated that the contract ended before the cyberattack occurred.

TCS shares are currently trading 0.90% higher at ₹3,088.70 on the BSE, taking its market capitalisation to ₹11.17 lakh crore. India's biggest IT services company this month reported a consolidated net profit of ₹12,075 crore for the second quarter of financial year 2025-26 (Q2 FY26), up 1.4% from ₹11,909 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The company's revenue stood at ₹65,799 crore, up 2.4% from ₹64,259 crore in the year-ago period. It also announced a dividend per share at ₹11 per equity share, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.