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COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORP

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Business Summary

Cognizant is one of the world's leading professional services companies, engineering modern businesses and delivering strategic outcomes for clients. The company helps clients modernize technology, reimagine processes and transform experiences, operating as an AI builder that provides deep expertise at the intersection of industry and technology. Cognizant tailors its services and solutions to specific industries with an integrated global delivery model that employs client service and delivery teams based at client locations and dedicated global and regional delivery centers. The company's services include consulting, application development, systems integration, quality engineering and assurance, engineering research and development, application maintenance, infrastructure and security as well as business process services and automation.

The markets for Cognizant's services are highly competitive, characterized by a large number of participants and subject to rapid change. Direct competitors named in the filing include Accenture, Atos, Capgemini, CGI, Deloitte Digital, DXC Technology, EPAM Systems, Genpact, HCL Technologies, IBM Consulting, Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. The principal competitive factors include the provider's reputation and experience, strategic advisory capabilities, digital and AI capabilities, performance and reliability, responsiveness to customer needs, financial stability, corporate governance and competitive pricing of services. Cognizant relies on investments to scale its AI capabilities, its recruiting, training and retention model, an entrepreneurial culture, a broad client referral base, investment in process improvement and knowledge capture, its global delivery model, financial stability and good corporate governance, its partnerships, continued focus on responsiveness to client needs, quality of services and competitive prices, and project management capabilities and technical expertise to compete effectively.

Cognizant generates revenue by providing professional services including consulting, application development, systems integration, quality engineering and assurance, engineering research and development, application maintenance, infrastructure and security as well as business process services and automation. The company also develops, licenses, implements and supports proprietary and third-party software products and platforms. Revenue is recognized as control of deliverables is transferred to clients, with fixed-price contracts for application development and systems integration services recognized using the cost-to-cost method, time-and-materials contracts recognized over the period services are provided, and transaction-based or volume-based contracts recognized over the period services are provided. For the year ended December 31, 2025, fixed-price contracts comprised $10,010 million of total revenues, time and materials contracts comprised $9,149 million , and transaction or volume-based contracts comprised $1,949 million .

Cognizant operates across four industry-based reportable business segments: Health Sciences, Financial Services, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology. The Health Sciences segment consists of healthcare providers and payers, and life sciences companies including pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies. For the year ended December 31, 2025, Health Sciences revenues were $6,347 million . The Financial Services segment includes banking, capital markets, payments and insurance companies, with revenues of $6,173 million for 2025. The Products and Resources segment includes manufacturers, automakers, retailers, consumer goods companies, aerospace and defense companies, and travel and hospitality companies, as well as businesses providing logistics, energy and utility services, with revenues of $5,285 million for 2025. The Communications, Media and Technology segment includes global communications, media and entertainment, education, publishing, information and professional services and technology companies, with revenues of $3,303 million for 2025.

Cognizant's services and solutions are organized into seven integrated practices: Core Technologies and Insights, Enterprise Platform Services, Industry Solutions, Intuitive Operations and Automation, Software and Platform Engineering, Cognizant Moment, and Security. Core Technologies and Insights helps clients build agile organizations applying AI, cloud, data and IoT. Enterprise Platform Services helps clients transform front- and back-office business processes implementing enterprise-wide platforms. Industry Solutions integrates industry technologists and thought leaders specialized in vertical micro-segments. Intuitive Operations and Automation helps clients build and run modern operations through AI-led automation and business process outsourcing services. Software and Platform Engineering helps clients develop modern enterprises through digital software engineering products, services and solutions. Cognizant Moment is the digital experience practice designed to help clients leverage AI to reimagine customer experiences. The Security practice, established in 2026, helps clients protect digital environments and maintain regulatory compliance through comprehensive cybersecurity solutions.

During the year ended December 31, 2025, Cognizant realized a gain of $62 million on the sale of an office complex in India. The company completed its NextGen program at the end of 2024, incurring no costs related to the program during 2025. In 2024, Cognizant acquired 100% ownership in Thirdera on January 22, 2024, and 100% ownership in Belcan on August 26, 2024, paying $1,195 million in cash, net of cash acquired, and issuing 1,470,589 shares of Class A common stock valued at $113 million for Belcan. On January 1, 2026, Cognizant acquired 100% ownership in 3Cloud, placing cash consideration of $733 million in escrow on December 31, 2025. During 2025, the company repurchased 19 million shares of common stock for $1,388 million and paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.31 per share , or $1.24 per share in total for the year. The stock repurchase program had a remaining balance of $1,918 million as of December 31, 2025.

For the year ended December 31, 2025, Cognizant reported total revenues of $21,108 million , an increase of $1,372 million or 7.0% from 2024, and an increase of 6.4% in constant currency. Income from operations was $3,389 million with an operating margin of 16.1% , compared to $2,892 million and 14.7% in 2024. Net income was $2,230 million compared to $2,240 million in 2024. Diluted EPS was $4.56 compared to $4.51 in 2024. Adjusted Diluted EPS was $5.28 compared to $4.75 in 2024. The GAAP operating margin was positively impacted by 30 basis points , or $62 million , from the gain on sale of property and equipment. The effective income tax rate for 2025 was negatively impacted by a one-time, non-cash income tax expense of $390 million related to the enactment of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Business Outlook

Cognizant is focused on accelerating growth through investments in digital and AI capabilities across industries and geographies, including extensive training and reskilling of technical teams and expansion of local workforces in the United States and other markets. The company plans to continue to make significant investments in its AI capabilities to meet client needs and harness AI's value in a flexible, secure, scalable and responsible way. Cognizant is focused on expanding its partner ecosystem across a broad range of technology companies, including hyperscalers, cloud providers, enterprise software companies, best-in-class digital software enterprises and emerging start-ups. The company pursues select strategic acquisitions to expand talent, experience and capabilities in key technologies or in particular geographies or industries, as demonstrated by the acquisition of 3Cloud on January 1, 2026, for which cash consideration of $733 million was placed in escrow on December 31, 2025.

Cognizant's growth strategy includes expanding its global operations, particularly with respect to AI and digital, and scaling its infrastructure to support business growth. The company is focused on driving organic growth through investments in digital and AI capabilities, including the extensive training and reskilling of its technical teams. From July 2023 to the end of 2025, Cognizant upskilled more than 330,000 associates on GenAI via more than 1,000 learning programs. The company is redesigning career paths to transition roles highly impacted by AI to higher value roles by building adjacent skills. Cognizant doubled its Synapse program commitment, having achieved its original goal early, and is now targeting upskilling 2 million future workers by 2030. The company has strengthened its North America talent strategy with expanded recruiting, training, a revitalized internship program, and increased office presence across multiple locations, while in India it is scaling operations into tier two cities to access emerging talent pools.

Cognizant's operating margin and Adjusted Operating Margin increased to 16.1% and 15.8% , respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2025, from 14.7% and 15.3% , respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2024. The 2025 GAAP and Adjusted Operating Margins were positively impacted by net savings generated from the NextGen program, operational efficiencies and the beneficial impact of foreign currency exchange rate movements, partially offset by increased compensation costs and the dilutive impact of the acquisition of Belcan. The GAAP operating margin for 2025 was positively impacted by 30 basis points , or $62 million , from the gain on sale of property and equipment. Including the impact of hedges, the depreciation of the Indian rupee positively impacted the operating margin for the year ended December 31, 2025 by 50 basis points as compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. Each additional 1.0% change in exchange rate between the Indian rupee and the U.S. dollar will have the effect of moving the operating margin by approximately 17 basis points (excluding the impact of cash flow hedges).

Cognizant's capital allocation framework anticipates the deployment of approximately 50% of its free cash flow for acquisitions and 50% for share repurchases and dividend payments. The company reviews its capital allocation on an ongoing basis, considering financial performance and liquidity position, investments required to execute strategic plans and initiatives, acquisition opportunities, the economic outlook, regulatory changes and other relevant factors. As of December 31, 2025, Cognizant had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $1,914 million and restricted cash of $733 million . The company had available capacity under its credit facilities of approximately $1.85 billion . The stock repurchase program had a remaining balance of $1,918 million as of December 31, 2025. In February 2026, the Board of Directors approved a cash dividend of $0.33 per share with a record date of February 18, 2026 and a payment date of February 26, 2026.

Cognizant faces structural headwinds from macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions globally, particularly in the markets where its clients and operations are concentrated. Volatile, negative or uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions, including recession or slowing economic growth, inflation, higher interest rates, tightening of credit markets and changes in trade policy, have in the past and could in the future cause clients to reduce, postpone or cancel spending. The company's business is particularly susceptible to economic and political conditions in the United States and Europe, where its revenues are highly dependent. Many clients are in the financial services and healthcare industries, so any decrease in growth or significant consolidation in these industries or regulatory policies that restrict these industries may reduce demand for services. Economic and political developments in India, where a significant majority of operations and technical personnel are located, may also have a significant impact on business and costs of operations.

Cognizant faces headwinds from intense and evolving competition and the need for its service offerings to keep pace with significant technological advances in rapidly changing markets. The company expects the proliferation of AI will have a significant impact on its industry, and its ability to compete in this space will be critical to financial performance. AI technology and services are part of a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market, and some services historically performed for clients have been and will continue to be replaced by AI or other forms of automation, including Cognizant's own AI-enabled client offerings. The company faces competition from traditional competitors as well as other third parties, including those new to the market, and clients may develop their own AI-related capabilities. The legal and regulatory landscape surrounding AI technologies is rapidly evolving, uncertain and varies significantly by jurisdiction, which may impose significant operational costs or necessitate changes to service offerings or business practices.

Risk Factors

Cognizant faces material risks from macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions globally, particularly in the United States and Europe where its revenues are highly dependent, which could cause clients to reduce, postpone or cancel spending. The company is subject to intense and evolving competition from named competitors including Accenture, Atos, Capgemini, CGI, Deloitte Digital, DXC Technology, EPAM Systems, Genpact, HCL Technologies, IBM Consulting, Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, and its service offerings must keep pace with significant technological advances in rapidly changing markets. The use of AI technologies presents business, financial, legal and reputational risks, including the potential that some services historically performed for clients will be replaced by AI or other forms of automation, which could lead to reduced demand or harm the ability to obtain favorable pricing. The company faces legal, reputational and financial risks if it fails to protect client and Cognizant data from cybersecurity incidents, as security breaches could cause shutdowns or disruptions of operations and potential unauthorized access to sensitive data. A substantial portion of employees in the United States, United Kingdom, EU and other jurisdictions rely on visas, making the business particularly vulnerable to changes in immigration laws and regulations, with the principal operating subsidiary in the United States utilizing a high number of skilled workers holding H-1B and L-1 visas.

Management Priorities

Management's message emphasizes Cognizant's position as one of the world's leading professional services companies, engineering modern businesses and delivering strategic outcomes for clients. The tone is forward-looking, focusing on the company's role as an AI builder providing deep expertise at the intersection of industry and technology. Management highlights three strategic priorities: accelerating growth, becoming an employer of choice, and simplifying operations through modernization and an AI-enabled IT roadmap. The company is focusing on driving organic growth through investments in digital and AI capabilities across industries and geographies, including extensive training and reskilling of technical teams and expansion of local workforces. Management notes that from July 2023 to the end of 2025, the company upskilled more than 330,000 associates on GenAI via more than 1,000 learning programs. The company is redesigning career paths to transition roles highly impacted by AI to higher value roles and has doubled its Synapse program commitment, now targeting upskilling 2 million future workers by 2030. Management also emphasizes the pursuit of select strategic acquisitions to expand talent, experience and capabilities in key technologies or particular geographies or industries.

View Source Annual Report on SEC.gov ↗

References

  1. [1] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  2. [2] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  3. [3] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  4. [4] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  5. [5] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  6. [6] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  7. [7] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  8. [8] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations, Gain on Sale of Property and Equipment
  9. [9] Item 8, Note 3 — Business Combinations
  10. [10] Item 8, Note 3 — Business Combinations
  11. [11] Item 8, Note 3 — Business Combinations
  12. [12] Item 8, Note 3 — Business Combinations
  13. [13] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity
  14. [14] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity
  15. [15] Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
  16. [16] Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
  17. [17] Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
  18. [18] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  19. [19] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  20. [20] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  21. [21] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  22. [22] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  23. [23] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  24. [24] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  25. [25] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  26. [26] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  27. [27] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  28. [28] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  29. [29] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  30. [30] Item 7, MD&A — Non-GAAP Financial Measures
  31. [31] Item 7, MD&A — Non-GAAP Financial Measures
  32. [32] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  33. [33] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  34. [34] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  35. [35] Item 8, Note 3 — Business Combinations
  36. [36] Item 1, Business — Our People and Culture
  37. [37] Item 1, Business — Our People and Culture
  38. [38] Item 1, Business — Our People and Culture
  39. [39] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  40. [40] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  41. [41] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  42. [42] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  43. [43] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  44. [44] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  45. [45] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations, Operating Margin and Adjusted Operating Margin
  46. [46] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations, Operating Margin and Adjusted Operating Margin
  47. [47] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations, Operating Margin and Adjusted Operating Margin
  48. [48] Item 7, MD&A — Liquidity and Capital Resources, Capital Allocation Framework
  49. [49] Item 7, MD&A — Liquidity and Capital Resources, Capital Allocation Framework
  50. [50] Item 7, MD&A — Liquidity and Capital Resources
  51. [51] Item 7, MD&A — Liquidity and Capital Resources
  52. [52] Item 7, MD&A — Liquidity and Capital Resources
  53. [53] Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
  54. [54] Item 5, Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
  55. [55] Item 1, Business — Our People and Culture
  56. [56] Item 1, Business — Our People and Culture
  57. [57] Item 1, Business — Our People and Culture
  58. [58] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  59. [59] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  60. [60] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  61. [61] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  62. [62] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  63. [63] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  64. [64] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  65. [65] Item 8, Consolidated Statements of Operations
  66. [66] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  67. [67] Item 7, MD&A — Results of Operations
  68. [68] Item 7, MD&A — Non-GAAP Financial Measures
  69. [69] Item 7, MD&A — Non-GAAP Financial Measures
  70. [70] Item 7, MD&A — Non-GAAP Financial Measures
  71. [71] Item 7, MD&A — Non-GAAP Financial Measures
  72. [72] Item 7, MD&A — Non-GAAP Financial Measures
  73. [73] Item 7, MD&A — Non-GAAP Financial Measures
  74. [74] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  75. [75] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  76. [76] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  77. [77] Item 7, MD&A — Executive Summary, 2025 Financial Results
  78. [78] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  79. [79] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  80. [80] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues
  81. [81] Item 8, Note 2 — Revenues and Trade Accounts Receivable, Disaggregation of Revenues

Analysis on 6/21/2026