Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The information technology service provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.38 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $5.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions updated its FY 2026 guidance to 5.700-5.820 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Cognizant Technology Solutions’ conference call:

• Second-quarter revenue grew 4.1% year over year in constant currency to $5.5 billion, with financial services leading at nearly 12% growth and adjusted operating margin expanding to 16% excluding special items.
• Bookings momentum remained solid, with seven deals above $100 million in total contract value, including three new logos; trailing-12-month bookings rose 5% with a 1.3 book-to-bill ratio, while financial-services demand continued to strengthen.
• Cognizant reported expanding AI traction, including more than 8,000 AI engagements, over 40% of software development being AI-assisted, and plans to scale its frontier workforce to 5,000 certified engineers and 10,000 frontier business operators.
• The company reduced full-year revenue growth guidance to 4%-5.5% in constant currency from its prior outlook, citing persistently elevated macro uncertainty and pressured discretionary spending, although it expects large deals to ramp in the second half.
• Adjusted EPS guidance increased to $5.70-$5.82, and Cognizant returned $1.1 billion through second-quarter share repurchases while remaining on pace to return approximately $2.6 billion to shareholders this year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock traded up $5.51 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $55.82. 7,385,414 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,255,271. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a one year low of $37.08 and a one year high of $87.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $47.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.01.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Compound Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 5,695 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,397 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 191.6% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 218,371 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $18,125,000 after purchasing an additional 143,488 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 349,752 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $29,030,000 after buying an additional 5,788 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 161,542 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $13,256,000 after buying an additional 7,122 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $779,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, June 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $44.00 target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $63.00 in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore decreased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $100.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.35.

Cognizant Technology Solutions declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, May 18th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology service provider to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

More Cognizant Technology Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognizant Technology Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Improved full-year earnings outlook: Cognizant raised its 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance to $5.70-$5.82 from $5.69 consensus, while maintaining adjusted operating-margin guidance of 16.0%-16.2%. Cognizant Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Solid second-quarter performance: Revenue rose 4.5% year over year to $5.481 billion, operating margin expanded to 15.9%, adjusted EPS increased 4.6% to $1.37, and trailing 12-month bookings grew 5% to $29.1 billion. Financial Services revenue was particularly strong, rising 12%. Cognizant Q2 Revenue Results
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns supported sentiment: The company deployed approximately $1.1 billion on share repurchases during the quarter, including 22.5 million shares, which can support per-share earnings and signal management’s confidence in valuation. Cognizant Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI growth catalysts: Cognizant launched an EMEA AI unit to help businesses scale agentic-AI projects and recently expanded its partnership with Anthropic. It also won a five-year technology and AI modernization engagement with The Andover Companies. Cognizant Launches EMEA AI Unit
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term revenue guidance was cautious: Third-quarter revenue is projected at $5.6-$5.7 billion, roughly in line with or below Wall Street expectations, as clients remain conservative on discretionary IT spending and prioritize data-center infrastructure over software investments. Cognizant Forecasts Weak Quarterly Revenue
• Negative Sentiment: Minor earnings miss: Adjusted quarterly EPS of $1.37 narrowly missed the $1.38 consensus estimate, although it improved from $1.31 a year earlier. Cognizant Lags Q2 Earnings Estimates

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.