The comparison becomes much clearer if investors use three different denominators.

Mixing these lenses produces bad conclusions.

A smaller company can have greater order-book intensity even with lower absolute bookings.

A broader AI category can produce a larger percentage without representing more pure-AI revenue.

For related Bull Run research, see LTM / legacy LTIMindtree stock page, Coforge, How to Analyse IT Services Stocks, HCLTech vs LTM, Wipro vs LTM and Infosys vs Coforge.

Q1 FY27 operating comparison

LTM's biggest advantage is scale without mega-cap inertia

LTM generated approximately $1.2235 billion of quarterly revenue.

That places it in a useful middle zone.

It is large enough to compete for major global transformation programmes but still small enough that a $100-million programme can materially influence growth.

Coforge is smaller still.

That gives Coforge greater percentage-growth sensitivity to large contracts and acquisitions.

Revenue per quarter is roughly 2.1x higher at LTM

The simple calculation is:

$1.2235 billion ÷ $592.2 million ≈ 2.07x.

This scale gap matters when evaluating:

• large-deal impact,
• client concentration,
• margin volatility,
• acquisition significance.

A $100-million annual contract has a much larger impact on Coforge.

LTM's Q1 growth was healthy but not explosive

LTM reported:

• 6.1% YoY reported USD growth,
• 6.4% YoY CC growth,
• 0.3% QoQ CC growth.

The YoY number is solid.

The sequential number is modest.

That tells investors the company entered FY27 with a good annual growth trajectory but only mild immediate-quarter acceleration.

Coforge has the opposite growth profile

Reported revenue rose:

• 21.1% sequentially in USD,
• 33.3% year on year in USD,
• 49% year on year in INR under its press release.

Those numbers look dramatically better.

But Q1 included Encora for May and June.

Encora contributed $100.7 million

That is approximately:

$100.7 million ÷ $592.2 million ≈ 17% of Coforge's Q1 consolidated revenue.

It is therefore impossible to evaluate Q1 headline growth without discussing the acquisition.

The organic growth bridge is the more useful measure

Coforge reported or disclosed through its Q1 materials:

• 1.1% organic sequential CC growth,
• approximately 5.2% sequential CC growth after excluding planned exits.

The planned exits included lower-margin government and data-centre-linked work.

The 5.2% number therefore better reflects the continuing portfolio.

Order intake is where LTM's scale advantage reappears

LTM's $1.68-billion quarterly order inflow is substantially larger than Coforge's $691 million.

But this does not automatically mean LTM has superior forward visibility.

Coforge's forward executable book is the more unusual statistic

The company disclosed $2.23 billion of signed revenue expected to be executable over the next 12 months.

Annualising Q1 Coforge revenue gives approximately:

$592.2 million × 4 = $2.37 billion.

The executable order book is therefore close to one year of current annualised quarterly revenue.

That is exceptional visibility relative to size.

Do not call either ratio a standardised book-to-bill

LTM's order inflow and Coforge's order intake use company-specific definitions.

Coforge's executable order book is yet another separate measure.

The definitions may differ around:

• renewals,
• contract extensions,
• variable scope,
• termination clauses,
• framework agreements.

Therefore exact book-to-bill ratios would create false comparability.

LTM's $150-million AI disclosure is one of the cleanest in Indian IT

This distinction is crucial.

A direct:

12% versus 86%

comparison would be analytically wrong.

Why LTM's AI number is comparatively conservative

LTM's CEO said the $150-million quarterly figure covers pure-AI native categories.

It excludes some enterprise programmes where AI is integrated as one enabling technology.

That means actual AI-influenced revenue is probably larger than the disclosed pure-AI number.

But investors should not estimate an undisclosed percentage themselves.

Coforge's 86% tells investors something different

It says the overwhelming majority of Coforge's revenue now sits within:

• AI-led engineering,
• data,
• cloud.

This is useful for assessing modern-service exposure.

It does not tell investors how many dollars come solely from AI.

Coforge's business has become much more engineering-heavy

Encora adds engineering depth while the existing Coforge franchise remains strong in:

• banking and financial services,
• insurance,
• travel, transportation and hospitality,
• enterprise platforms.

Q1 external research based on company materials showed approximate revenue mix including:

• BFSI around one quarter,
• travel, transportation and hospitality around one quarter,
• insurance in the mid-teens,
• healthcare and hi-tech above 10%.

The acquisition therefore also diversifies industry exposure.

LTM's business is more diversified by scale

LTM operates across:

• banking,
• capital markets,
• insurance,
• communications and media,
• manufacturing,
• energy and utilities,
• retail and CPG,
• life sciences,
• travel.

Its larger revenue base reduces the impact of any single vertical.

LTM's margin is improving steadily

Q1 EBIT margin reached:

15.5%.

That was:

• 40 basis points above Q4 FY26,
• 120 basis points above Q1 FY26.

This is a healthy combination with 6.4% YoY CC growth.

Coforge has already moved slightly above LTM's margin

Coforge reported:

16.0% consolidated EBIT margin.

Its organic EBIT margin was approximately:

16.7%.

This is notable because acquisitions often depress margins initially.

Coforge instead entered the first Encora consolidation quarter ahead of its own full-year consolidated margin guidance.

Coforge's margin advantage must be judged after acquisition costs

EBIT captures depreciation and amortisation, which makes it more useful than EBITDA after an acquisition.

But shareholders must still consider below-EBIT financing costs.

The Encora deal included a $550-million loan at 4.6% fixed interest.

That creates a real earnings hurdle.

LTM carries less transformational acquisition risk

LTM's Q1 growth and AI metrics are largely generated inside its existing operating structure.

Coforge's current growth story includes a transformational acquisition.

This creates different risk:

LTM risk = execution at scale.

Coforge risk = execution + integration + financing.

Coforge's acquisition can still create much greater upside

If Encora generates:

• cross-selling,
• new engineering wins,
• greater nearshore access,
• G&A savings,
• higher client wallet share,

Coforge can grow faster than it could organically.

This is precisely why investors accept acquisition risk.

Workforce scale confirms LTM's current size advantage

LTM reported 87,886 employees at June 30, 2026.

Coforge's post-Encora corporate profile describes more than 45,000 professionals.

The revenue and workforce ratios both therefore place LTM at materially larger current scale.

LTM utilisation is already high

Utilisation excluding trainees was approximately 86.4%.

That limits how much future margin improvement can come simply from putting more existing employees onto billable work.

Further improvement increasingly depends on:

• AI productivity,
• pricing,
• employee mix,
• automation,
• commercial models.

Coforge may have more cost-synergy runway

An acquisition creates duplicated:

• finance,
• HR,
• sales support,
• facilities,
• corporate overhead.

Removing those duplications can increase margin even without dramatically higher utilisation.

This gives Coforge a different form of operating leverage.

Valuation strongly favours LTM

Coforge trades at approximately a 53% P/E premium to LTM.

Its P/B multiple is also roughly 61% higher.

The valuation premium is particularly interesting because LTM is larger

Normally larger IT businesses receive:

• greater client diversification,
• more predictable cash flow,
• lower execution risk.

Coforge nevertheless trades at the higher multiple.

The market is paying for faster expected future growth rather than current scale.

LTM's valuation requires fewer growth assumptions

At around 26.5x earnings, LTM needs solid execution but does not require Coforge-like growth.

A combination of:

• 6–8% CC growth,
• continued margin expansion,
• AI revenue growth,
• stable cash returns

can support respectable earnings compounding.

Coforge's 40x-plus multiple sets a higher bar

Coforge needs:

• continued strong organic growth,
• successful Encora integration,
• rapid order-book conversion,
• margin synergy,
• strong free cash flow,
• controlled debt.

If those occur, the premium may be justified.

If growth converges toward LTM before valuation converges, multiple compression becomes a major risk.

Bull Run market-data caveat for LTM

Bull Run's database contains:

• a fresh LTM row with June 2026 fundamentals but corrupted post-name-change technical price fields,
• an older LTIMindtree row with usable historical technical fields but stale FY25 financials.

This article therefore does not use Bull Run's broken LTM current price or RSI.

Fresh external August 31 data is used for current LTM valuation.

Bull Run's fresh June financial row still shows:

• ROE approximately 21.48%,
• ROCE approximately 27.14%.

Coforge's Bull Run market snapshot remains useful

As of August 25:

• price ₹1,892.80,
• 1-month return +27.49%,
• 3-month return +36.33%,
• 6-month return +57.68%,
• RSI 71.11,
• ROE 19.68%,
• ROCE 20.05%,
• Bull Run Score 69.2.

The strong share-price momentum indicates investors have already recognised a large part of the Encora and growth narrative.

LTM has the higher current ROE in fresh Bull Run fundamentals

LTM's June 2026 Bull Run fundamental row showed ROE around 21.48%.

Coforge's showed around 19.68%.

That is interesting because Coforge trades at the higher P/B multiple.

The premium therefore depends on expectations of future earnings growth rather than current ROE alone.

Which has greater revenue scale?

LTM.

Approximately $1.2235 billion quarterly revenue versus Coforge at $592.2 million.

Which has cleaner YoY organic growth?

LTM.

6.4% YoY CC is a directly reported clean measure.

Coforge's 33.3% YoY reported USD growth includes Encora.

Which has stronger continuing sequential growth?

Coforge.

Approximately 5.2% QoQ CC after planned exits versus LTM at 0.3%.

Which has the higher EBIT margin?

Coforge slightly.

16.0% versus LTM at 15.5%.

Which has the larger absolute Q1 order metric?

LTM.

$1.68 billion order inflow versus Coforge at $691 million.

Which has stronger forward order visibility relative to size?

Coforge.

Its next-12-month executable order book reached $2.23 billion.

Which has the cleaner AI monetisation disclosure?

LTM.

It directly reports approximately $150 million of quarterly pure-AI revenue.

Which has greater AI-led engineering intensity?

Coforge directionally.

It reports 86% of revenue in the combined AI-led engineering, data and cloud category.

This is not the same as pure AI revenue.

Which has lower integration risk?

LTM.

Coforge's current scale-up depends partly on successfully integrating Encora.

Which has the lower valuation?

LTM by a meaningful margin.

Approximately 26.5x P/E versus Coforge around 40.7x.

LTM vs Coforge: category-by-category

Which is stronger in 2026?

LTM currently offers the stronger balance of scale, organic growth, measurable AI monetisation and valuation.

It has:

• roughly twice Coforge's revenue scale,
• 6.4% YoY CC growth,
• 15.5% and rising EBIT margin,
• $1.68-billion Q1 order inflow,
• approximately $150 million of pure-AI quarterly revenue,
• a materially lower P/E and P/B.

Coforge offers more aggressive upside.

Its continuing portfolio grew approximately 5.2% sequentially after planned exits, EBIT margin reached 16%, the $2.23-billion forward signed book provides major visibility and Encora significantly expands engineering capabilities.

But that upside comes with:

• acquisition accounting,
• financing cost,
• integration execution,
• a much higher valuation.

The current trade-off is:

LTM = larger, organically growing AI-centric IT platform at the more moderate valuation.

Coforge = smaller, faster and more acquisition-driven AI-engineering platform with greater operating upside and a higher valuation hurdle.

What to monitor next

• LTM CC growth: sequential growth needs to accelerate from 0.3%.
• LTM EBIT margin: continued expansion improves earnings quality.
• LTM pure-AI revenue: monitor growth from the $150-million quarterly run-rate.
• LTM order inflow: $1.68 billion needs sustained conversion.
• LTM utilisation: already high at 86.4%, so future margin gains need productivity.
• Coforge organic CC growth: continue separating Encora from legacy growth.
• Coforge signed order book: $2.23 billion is the strongest forward indicator.
• Coforge EBIT margin: test whether 16%+ is sustainable.
• Encora synergies: cross-selling and G&A savings should show up in earnings.
• Coforge debt: acquisition growth should be measured after financing costs.

Frequently asked questions