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It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Cognizant (CTSH - Free Report) . Shares have added about 18.3% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.

But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Cognizant due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important drivers.

Cognizant Q2 Earnings Miss Estimates, Revenues Beat, Rise Y/YCognizant reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.37 per share, up 4.6% year over year, but lagging the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.7%. Higher interest expense related to Astreya acquisition funding and share repurchases weighed on earnings.

Revenues of $5.48 billion increased 4.5% year over year and surpassed the consensus mark by 0.03%. The revenue figure reflected 4.1% growth in constant currency (cc). Financial Services revenues jumped 12% year over year, while trailing 12-month bookings rose 5% to $29.1 billion. This represented a book-to-bill ratio of approximately 1.3X. However, second-quarter bookings declined 6% year over year.

Cognizant signed seven deals with total contract values exceeding $100 million, including three new-logo contracts. Management noted stronger activity in the $25-million-to-$100-million deal range and said new and expansion bookings grew in the mid-teens during the first half.

CTSH’s Financial Services Momentum ContinuesFinancial Services revenues hit $1.73 billion, which reflected 11.7% growth at cc. Growth remained broad-based across banking, capital markets and insurance clients as large contracts moved into execution.

North American Financial Services revenues climbed 15.2% year over year to $1.26 billion. Europe and Rest of World revenues rose 4.1% and 4.5%, respectively. Management also highlighted demand for legacy modernization, data services and AI-led transformation.

Health Sciences revenues totaled $1.57 billion, up 1.4% year over year and 1% in cc. Demand remained cautious and cost-focused as clients prioritized vendor consolidation, compliance and modernization projects with measurable returns.

Products and Resources revenues rose 1.2% year over year to $1.32 billion, while growth at cc was 0.7%. Communications, Media and Technology revenues increased 1.5% year over year to $854 million, reflecting strength in technology customers despite muted demand across communications and media.

CTSH’s North American Business Leads GrowthNorth America revenues advanced 5.5% year over year to $4.13 billion, with the same growth rate at cc. Large-deal ramps, third-party product sales and demand for AI infrastructure supported performance in the region.

Europe revenues increased 2.5% year over year to $1.03 billion but rose only 0.8% in cc. Rest of World revenues declined 1.2% year over year to $327 million and fell 1.5% in cc. Third-party product sales contributed about 170 basis points (bps) to overall revenue growth.

CTSH’s Q2 Operating DetailsSelling, general & administrative expenses, as a percentage of revenues, contracted 220 bps year over year to 13.3%.

Total headcount at the end of the second quarter was 356,700, a decrease of 900 from March 31, 2026 and an increase of 12,900 from June 30, 2025.

Voluntary attrition - Tech Services on a trailing 12-month basis was 13% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with 12.3% and 12.6% for the periods ended March 31, 2026, and June 30, 2025, respectively.

Adjusted operating margin expanded 40 bps year over year to 16%. Operational efficiencies and favorable currency movements more than offset higher compensation, third-party costs and the impact of recent acquisitions.

CTSH’s Balance Sheet DetailsCTSH had cash and short-term investments of $1.05 billion as of June 30, 2026, compared with $1.52 billion as of March 31, 2026. As of June 30, 2026, the company had a total debt of $1.56 billion, up from $568 million reported as of March 31, 2026.

Operating cash flow increased to $558 million from $398 million a year earlier. Free cash flow rose to $459 million from $331 million, bringing the first-half total to $657 million.

Cognizant repurchased 22.5 million shares for $1.15 billion during the reported quarter and completed the $634-million Astreya acquisition. The company had $2.338 billion remaining under its repurchase authorization at the end of the reported quarter.

Cognizant Raises Earnings View, Trims Revenue OutlookFor the third quarter of 2026, Cognizant expects revenues between $5.60 billion and $5.68 billion. This implies reported growth of 3.4-4.9% and growth between 3.8% and 5.3% at cc, including an inorganic contribution of roughly 200 bps.

For 2026, the company now expects revenues of $22.04-$22.35 billion, representing growth between 4%-5.5% at cc. The revised range reflects continued pressure on discretionary spending. Adjusted operating margin guidance remains in the 16%-16.2% range, which reflects expansion between 20 bps and 40 bps.

Adjusted earnings guidance was raised to $5.70-$5.82 per share from $5.63-$5.77, implying growth of 8-10%. The increase reflects a lower expected share count following aggressive repurchases, partly offset by higher interest expense.

How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?Since the earnings release, investors have witnessed a downward trend in estimates revision.

VGM ScoresCurrently, Cognizant has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with a D. However, the stock was allocated a score of A on the value side, putting it in the top quintile for value investors.

Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of A. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.

OutlookEstimates have been trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Cognizant has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.

Performance of an Industry PlayerCognizant belongs to the Zacks Computers - IT Services industry. Another stock from the same industry, Roper Technologies (ROP - Free Report) , has gained 8.6% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended June 2026.

Roper Technologies reported revenues of $2.11 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +8.5%. EPS of $5.38 for the same period compares with $4.87 a year ago.

Roper Technologies is expected to post earnings of $5.79 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +12.7%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +0.1%.

Roper Technologies has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of D.

12% year-over-year revenue growth in Financial Services; $1.1 billion deployed on share repurchases

Revenue of $5.5 billion increased 4.5% year-over-year or 4.1% in constant currency1 Operating margin of 15.9% increased 30 basis points year-over-year; Adjusted Operating Margin1 of 16.0% increased 40 basis points year-over-year GAAP EPS of $1.36 increased 3.8% year-over-year; Adjusted EPS1 of $1.37 increased 4.6% year-over-year Trailing 12-month bookings of $29.1 billion increased 5% year-over-year 2026 constant currency revenue growth guidance is revised to 4.0% to 5.5% year-over-year growth 2026 Adjusted Operating Margin guidance is unchanged at 16.0% to 16.2%, year-over-year expansion of 20 to 40 basis points 2026 Adjusted Diluted EPS guidance is increased to $5.70 to $5.82, year-over-year growth of 8% to 10% , /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), a leading AI builder and technology services provider, today announced its second quarter 2026 financial results.

Q2 2026 Infographic. Cognizant is an AI Builder company www.cognizant.ai. "Our organic revenue growth momentum continued in the second quarter and was at the high end of our expectations," said Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer. "We are helping our clients close the AI velocity gap by pairing deep industry expertise with engineering, infrastructure and data modernization capabilities while safeguarding their data and IP. We are doing this by scaling our Frontier workforce and reskilling for the future. We are confident our strategy is resonating with clients, as reflected in a second consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year growth in Financial Services, our largest and most mature segment. As organizations shift from AI experimentation to enterprise-scale execution, we believe the market opportunity ahead is larger than ever, and we're positioning Cognizant to lead in this next era."

$ in millions, except per share data

Q2 2026

Q2 2025

Revenue

$5,481

$5,245

Y/Y Change

4.5 %

8.1 %

Y/Y Change CC1

4.1 %

7.2 %

GAAP Operating Margin

15.9 %

15.6 %

Adjusted Operating Margin1

16.0 %

15.6 %

GAAP Diluted EPS

$1.36

$1.31

Adjusted Diluted EPS1

$1.37

$1.31

See "Revenue by Business Segment and Geography" section for additional revenue details and drivers of growth.

"Our second quarter results reflect disciplined execution and the resilience of our operating model. We delivered 4.1% constant currency revenue growth and 40 basis points of adjusted operating margin expansion year-over-year, despite a complex environment," said Jatin Dalal, Chief Financial Officer. "In the first half of 2026, we deployed $1.6 billion on share repurchases and $1.3 billion on acquisitions aligned with our AI builder strategy. We remain focused on operational rigor and consistent margin expansion while funding growth investments and deploying capital strategically."

Bookings

On a trailing-twelve-month basis, bookings increased 5% year-over-year to $29.1 billion, which represented a book-to-bill of approximately 1.3x. Bookings in the second quarter declined 6% year-over-year. Second quarter bookings included seven large deals, which are deals with total contract value of $100 million or greater.

Employee Metrics

On a trailing-twelve months basis, Voluntary Attrition - Tech Services was 13.0% for the period ended June 30, 2026, as compared to 12.3% and 12.6% for the periods ended March 31, 2026 and June 30, 2025, respectively. Total headcount as of June 30, 2026 was 356,700, a decrease of 900 from March 31, 2026 and an increase of 12,900 from June 30, 2025. 

Capital Allocation

The Company repurchased 22.5 million shares for $1,153 million during the second quarter under its share repurchase program, including 9.7 million shares through its previously announced $500 million accelerated share repurchase (ASR) as well as another 12.8 million shares for $653 million through open market transactions. As of June 30, 2026, there was $2.3 billion remaining under the share repurchase authorization. In July 2026, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per share for shareholders of record on August 18, 2026. This dividend will be payable on August 25, 2026. 

During the second quarter of 2026, the company completed its acquisition of Astreya for a purchase price of $634 million, including contingent consideration of $25 million, net of cash acquired, while borrowing $1.0 billion under its revolving credit facility.

Third Quarter and Full-Year 2026 Guidance2 

(all growth rates year-over-year)

Third quarter revenue is expected to be $5.60 to $5.68 billion, growth of 3.4% to 4.9%, or 3.8% to 5.3% in constant currency. Full-year 2026 revenue is expected to be $22.04 to $22.35 billion, growth of 4.4% to 5.9%, or 4.0% to 5.5% in constant currency. Full-year 2026 Adjusted Operating Margin3 is expected to be approximately 16.0% to 16.2%, or 20 to 40 basis points of expansion. Full-year 2026 Adjusted Diluted EPS3 is expected to be in the range of $5.70 to $5.82, growth of 8% to 10%. Select Company, Client and Partnership Announcements

Cognizant is building a portfolio of capabilities combined with deep domain expertise to harness and advance an AI-led future. Cognizant's progress has been accelerated through client agreements, platform enhancements, and partnerships. Recent announcements include:

Client Announcements

Announced it is working with Travelport on a strategic AI transformation that will deploy Anthropic's Claude to modernize the way Travelport builds, tests and maintains software across its travel retailing and distribution platforms. The work aims to accelerate the delivery of AI-led innovation to airlines, hoteliers, travel management companies and online travel agencies worldwide, while embedding AI features within Travelport's platform. Named as Global AI Services Partner of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ (AMF1) Team, marking an evolution of the collaboration to advance performance, innovation, and operational excellence across its Formula 1™ program. Under the new designation, Cognizant and the team will work to operationalize AI - bridging the gap between experimentation and sustained value. Cognizant will also help the team identify how context-enabled AI can manage, support, and define the team's fan database. Selected by UK public service broadcaster Channel 4 to transform its advertising campaign delivery operations, which are responsible for booking, scheduling, and airing adverts across Channel 4 and its partner channels. As part of the project, Cognizant looks to enhance Channel 4's account management hub, campaign operations and traffic functions, which are responsible for ensuring that advertising reaches the right audiences at the right time, meets advertisers' objectives, and supports compliance with applicable regulations under Channel 4's oversight. Chosen by JG Summit Holdings, Inc., one of the Philippines' largest and more diversified conglomerates, for a ServiceNow implementation and managed services engagement supporting its IT modernization journey. Cognizant is expected to deploy ServiceNow IT Service Management (ITSM) Professional, IT Asset Management and Strategic Portfolio Management (SPM) capabilities to establish a unified platform for helping automate IT service processes, track hardware and software assets, and govern project demand and portfolios. Selected by Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD), a public utility in the state of Washington, to lead SAP S/4 HANA transformation to modernize utility operations. Cognizant is expected to migrate the PUD's SAP on‑premise environment to SAP's cloud platform, implement Cognizant's Finance4U SAP S/4 HANA‑certified Asset Lifecycle Accounting solution and deploy SAP mobility capabilities to support field and warehouse operations. Selected by The Andover Companies, Inc., one of the longest-standing mutual property and casualty insurance groups in the Northeast, to scale its core and portal systems, unify its data and help lay the foundation for responsible AI adoption in underwriting and claims. Under the agreement, Cognizant will modernize integration of Andover's core policy administration platform to its digital properties, build a new enterprise data platform and strengthen the security of Andover's policyholder- and agent-facing digital portals. Platform Enhancements and Partnerships

Revealed new headless API model that treats AI agents as first-tier consumers of TriZetto Unify, Cognizant's platform strategy that spans payer and provider workflows. Electronic Prior Authorization is the first solution to go live, following the rollout of TriZetto Assistant and TriZetto Autonomous Workflow Agents to existing customers. Announced an expanded partnership with Anthropic, with Cognizant becoming one of a small number of Global Premier Partners in the Claude Partner Network. Cognizant is embedding Claude across its own business and engineering platforms, while scaling a Claude-certified workforce as part of its new Frontier Certified workforce model. Cognizant is already applying Claude in client work spanning manufacturing, life sciences and insurance, delivering measurable results in production. Expanded its partnership with Google Cloud, broadening how the companies bring Gemini Enterprise to clients and deepening Cognizant's own internal use of the technology. Through the expanded partnership, Cognizant and Google Cloud are bringing together jointly delivered solutions, a portfolio of reusable agents and certified Cognizant Frontier Certified Engineers who work directly within client environments to accelerate time to value on Gemini deployments. Announced it is applying OpenAI's GPT-5.5 with Trusted Access for Cyber, through Cognizant's Frontier AI Cyber Defense services, to help enterprises move faster from vulnerability discovery to validated, tested fixes. As a member of the OpenAI Daybreak Cyber Partner Program, Cognizant is putting frontier AI capability into its security experts' hands, helping strengthen how clients defend the software they build and operate. Deepened its partnership with CrowdStrike by bringing the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform to Cognizant's AI Factory and its Managed Cybersecurity Services, powered by the Cognizant Neuro® Cybersecurity platform. Expanded cross-platform agentic AI with new ServiceNow AI Agent interoperability. ServiceNow AI Agents now work with the Cognizant Neuro® AI Multi-Agent Accelerator, giving enterprises a unified environment to orchestrate AI agents across the platforms they already run. Enterprises can coordinate ServiceNow agents alongside custom-built systems and other third-party agent platforms. Announced the integration of Cognizant Neuro® AI Trust with ServiceNow, pairing ServiceNow's visibility and governance with Cognizant's agentic intelligence and control platform. The integration is designed to give organizations a single, interoperable environment in which AI governance is actively enforced through responsible AI agents operating across every stage of the AI lifecycle. Expanded its partnership with Snowflake, an AI data cloud company, through the Snowflake CoCo platform. As a Preferred Launch Partner for CoCo and Snowflake's 2026 CoCo Catalyst Partner of the Year for Impactful Customer Story, Cognizant is deploying a growing portfolio of AI-powered intelligent agents that support and enhance data engineering, analytics and business decision workflows. Announced an expanded strategic alliance with Rubrik to help enterprises run autonomous AI safely at scale. As a launch partner for Rubrik's Project Hourglass, an alliance with leading Global Systems Integrators (GSIs) to deliver agentic resilience for enterprise AI coding agents, Cognizant intends to be one of the first global systems integrators to operationalize the offering as a governance layer within its delivery platforms. Partnered with Domyn, a European leader in sovereign AI infrastructure for regulated industries, to bring sovereign AI capabilities to enterprises in highly regulated sectors across the EMEA region. Under the partnership, Domyn will provide the AI infrastructure layer, delivering LLMs that can be deployed within client environments, on-premise or in private cloud configurations, while Cognizant will serve as the application, integration, and domain execution layer. Launched Cognizant Neuro® AI Trust, a new platform designed to provide enterprises with continuous governance and real-time assurance across AI systems. As AI environments grow more autonomous and complex, Neuro AI Trust empowers enterprises to monitor, manage and help control AI behavior and performance in real time. Launched its sovereign Physical AI Platform-as-a-Service, an integrated capability that moves autonomous systems from experimentation into core enterprise infrastructure. Built on the Cognizant Intelligence Spine, the offering connects disparate physical systems, including industrial sensors, IoT devices, factory automation and energy infrastructure, into a single coherent intelligence fabric. Select Company Announcements and Recognition

Launched Cognizant Secure AI Services, a new integrated offering designed to help enterprises secure, govern and scale AI and agentic systems across their operations. The offering is designed to help enterprises move from assumed trust toward "provable trust" – an approach grounded in evidence, traceability and continuous assurance. Announced the creation of two new job categories; Frontier Certified Engineer and Frontier Business Operator, and announced plans to scale its Frontier-certified workforce, the human and operational infrastructure enterprises need to convert AI capability into measurable business results, to 5,000 Frontier Certified Engineers and 10,000 Frontier Business Operators. Cognizant expects its people investment will yield its first cohort by fourth quarter, 2026. Cognizant also plans to augment its own Frontier talent pipeline through annual direct hires of Frontier-native talent from American and global universities. Launched its Ace Team Program, a strategic initiative designed to build a cohort of top engineering minds who will deliver cutting-edge digital transformation for clients and play a central role in the company's evolution into an AI builder organization. The Cognizant Ace Team is structured as a combination of a selective hiring program, an elite talent pathway and a centrally governed engineering community aligned to Cognizant's advanced capability strategy. Completed its acquisition of Astreya, a global AI-first IT managed services and solutions provider, effective June 22, 2026. The combination is expected to strengthen Cognizant's AI infrastructure and managed services capabilities by bringing together Cognizant's global delivery model and AI builder approach with Astreya's deep expertise supporting complex technology environments for many of the world's largest technology companies, including six of the "Magnificent Seven" hyperscalers. Was named to TIME's list of America's Best Companies 2026 in the ranking's inaugural edition. TIME and Statista evaluated America's Best Companies 2026 across three dimensions: employee satisfaction, financial performance and sustainability transparency.  Earned a place on the Fortune 500 list, marking its 16th consecutive year of recognition. The annual ranking by Fortune Magazine evaluates companies based on total revenues for their respective fiscal years. In the 2026 edition, Cognizant ranked 216 overall and third in the IT services industry. Released new research showing that AI's real-world results depend less on the technology itself than on the maturity of a company's tech infrastructure and where it directs its investment. The study, "Closing the AI Execution Gap: A $2 Billion Business Boost," revealed $4.7 trillion in untapped AI value across Global 2000 companies. Unveiled a new report focused on India titled "Smarter IT spend: From cost control to cost intelligence." The report revealed that while technology investments are rising across industries, only 12% of organizations have an enterprise-wide unified view of IT spend, limiting their ability to translate technology investments into measurable business outcomes. Revealed new findings from a joint study with Pearson, The AI Workforce Pulse, signaling that entry-level roles are being reimagined by AI, and work is evolving faster than organizations can redesign how they hire, develop and support talent. Released findings from a joint study with Pearson, The AI Workforce Pulse: The Adaptability Imperative, highlighting how AI is transforming India's entry-level workforce at a faster pace than the global average, while simultaneously creating new career pathways and urgent skilling challenges. Recognized as a Leader by Everest Group® in: Healthcare Payer Digital Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 Marketing Transformation Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 Guidewire Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 Agentic Process Automation (APA) Solutions PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 Oracle Cloud Applications Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 Healthcare Customer Experience Management (CXM) Intelligent Operations PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 Software Product Engineering Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 – Global Google Cloud Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 Mainframe Modernization Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 Market Leader in HFS Horizons:  Financial Crime Compliance (FCC) in Financial Services, 2026 Report Data Modernization and AI, 2026 Report HCP Service Providers, 2026 Report SAP S/4HANA Transformation Services, 2026 Report Global Capability Centers (GCC) Services, 2026 Report Leadership in Avasant's RadarView:    Clinical and Care Management Services Business Process Transformation, 2026 Higher Education Digital Services, 2026 Advanced Network Services, 2026 High-Tech Digital Services, 2026 Airlines and Airports Digital Services, 2026 Manufacturing Digital Services, 2026 Banking Process Transformation, 2026 Healthcare Payer Business Process Transformation, 2026 Property and Casualty Insurance Digital Services, 2026 Banking Digital Services, 2026 Global Competency Center (GCC) Setup and Scale Services, 2026 Digital Commerce Services, 2026 Cybersecurity Services, 2026 Leadership in ISG Provider Lens® Global Capability Center (GCC) Services, 2026 - Global Named to the Leading Pack in TechMarketView's Market Readiness Index 2026 Conference Call

Cognizant will host a conference call on July 29, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern) to discuss the Company's second quarter 2026 results. To listen to the conference call, please dial (877) 810-9510 (domestic) or +1 (201) 493-6778 (international) and provide the following conference passcode: "Cognizant Call."

The conference call will also be available live on the Investor Relations section of the Cognizant website at http://investors.cognizant.com. An earnings supplement will also be available on the Cognizant website at the time of the conference call. For those who cannot access the live broadcast, a replay will be available. To listen to the replay, please dial (877) 660-6853 (domestically) or +1 (201) 612-7415 (internationally) and enter 13760925 beginning two hours after the end of the call until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. The replay will also be available at Cognizant's website www.cognizant.com for 60 days following the call.

About Cognizant

Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization's unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.ai or @cognizant.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which is necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. These statements include, but are not limited to, express or implied forward-looking statements relating to our strategy, strategic partnerships and collaborations, competitive position and opportunities in the marketplace, investment in and growth of our business, the pace and magnitude of change and client needs related to AI, the effectiveness of and plans related to our recruiting and talent efforts and related costs, labor market trends, the anticipated amount of capital to be returned to shareholders, our anticipated financial performance, matters related to Project Leap, expected benefits resulting from our acquisition of Astreya and other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions, the competitive and rapidly changing nature of the markets we compete in, our ability to successfully use AI-based technologies and the impact those technologies may have on the demand and terms for our services, the competitive marketplace for talent and its impact on employee recruitment and retention, legal, reputational and financial risks resulting from cyberattacks, changes in the regulatory environment, including with respect to immigration, trade and taxes, and the other factors discussed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cognizant undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Performance Metrics

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our financial results presented in accordance with GAAP, this press release includes references to the following measures defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission as non-GAAP financial measures: Adjusted Operating Margin, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted EPS (or Adjusted EPS), free cash flow, net cash and constant currency revenue growth. These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures should be read in conjunction with our financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. The reconciliations of our non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures should be carefully evaluated.

Our non-GAAP financial measures Adjusted Operating Margin and Adjusted Income from Operations exclude unusual items, such as Project Leap charges and the partial reversal of the India Defined Contribution Obligation in 2026 and the gain on sale of property and equipment in 2025. Our non-GAAP financial measures Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS exclude unusual items, such as Project Leap charges, the partial reversal of the India Defined Contribution Obligation and the gain on sale of property and equipment, net non-operating foreign currency exchange gains or losses and the tax impact of all the applicable adjustments. The income tax impact of each item excluded from Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted EPS is calculated by applying the statutory rate and local tax regulations in the jurisdiction in which the item was incurred. Free cash flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities plus proceeds from sale of property and equipment, net of purchases of property and equipment. Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments less short-term and long-term debt. Constant currency revenue growth is defined as revenues for a given period restated at the comparative period's foreign currency exchange rates measured against the comparative period's reported revenues.

Management believes providing investors with an operating view consistent with how we manage the Company provides enhanced transparency into our operating results. For our internal management reporting and budgeting purposes, we use various GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision-making, to evaluate period-to-period comparisons, to determine portions of the compensation for our executive officers and for making comparisons of our operating results to those of our competitors. Accordingly, we believe that the presentation of our non-GAAP measures, which exclude certain costs, when read in conjunction with our reported GAAP results, can provide useful supplemental information to our management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to our financial condition and results of operations.

A limitation of using non-GAAP financial measures versus financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP is that non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect all of the amounts associated with our operating results as determined in accordance with GAAP and may exclude costs that are recurring such as our net non-operating foreign currency exchange gains or losses. In addition, other companies may calculate non-GAAP financial measures differently than us, thereby limiting the usefulness of these non-GAAP financial measures as a comparative tool. We compensate for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from our non-GAAP financial measures to allow investors to evaluate such non-GAAP financial measures.

Performance Metrics

Bookings are defined as total contract value (or TCV) of new contracts, including new contract sales as well as renewals and expansions of existing contracts. Bookings can vary significantly quarter to quarter depending in part on the timing of the signing of a small number of large contracts. Our book-to-bill ratio is defined as bookings for the trailing twelve months divided by revenue for the same period. Measuring bookings involves the use of estimates and judgments and there are no independent standards or requirements governing the calculation of bookings. The extent and timing of conversion of bookings to revenues may be impacted by, among other factors, the types of services and solutions sold, contract duration, the pace of client spending, actual volumes of services delivered as compared to the volumes anticipated at the time of sale, and contract modifications, including terminations, over the lifetime of a contract. The majority of our contracts are terminable by the client on short notice often without penalty, and some without notice. We do not update our bookings for subsequent terminations, reductions or foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Information regarding our bookings is not comparable to, nor should it be substituted for, an analysis of our reported revenues. However, management believes that it is a key indicator of potential future revenues and provides a useful indicator of the volume of our business over time. Large deals and mega deals are defined as deals with a total contract value of $100 million or greater and $500 million or greater, respectively.

Investor Relations Contact:

Media Contact:

Tyler Scott

Jeff DeMarrais

SVP, Investor Relations

SVP, Corporate Communications

 +1 551-220-8246

 +1 475-223-2298

[email protected] 

[email protected] 

- tables to follow -

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

 (in millions, except per share data)

Three Months Ended
June 30,

Six Months Ended
June 30,

2026

2025

2026

2025

 Revenues

$   5,481

$   5,245

$ 10,894

$ 10,360

 Operating expenses:

Cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization expense
shown separately below)

3,652

3,479

7,290

6,876

 Selling, general and administrative expenses

728

810

1,519

1,601

 Restructuring charges

84

—

84

—

 Depreciation and amortization expense

143

139

284

275

(Gain) on sale of property and equipment

—

—

—

(62)

 Income from operations

874

817

1,717

1,670

 Other income (expense), net:

 Interest income

18

23

40

53

 Interest expense

(13)

(9)

(20)

(21)

 Foreign currency exchange gains (losses), net

7

7

25

9

 Other, net

(11)

4

(20)

3

 Total other income (expense), net

1

25

25

44

 Income before provision for income taxes

875

842

1,742

1,714

 Provision for income taxes

(231)

(197)

(439)

(410)

 Income (loss) from equity method investments

(8)

—

(5)

4

Net income

$     636

$     645

$   1,298

$   1,308

 Basic earnings per share

$    1.36

$    1.31

$     2.76

$     2.65

 Diluted earnings per share

$    1.36

$    1.31

$     2.75

$     2.65

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - Basic

466

492

471

493

Dilutive effect of shares issuable under stock-based compensation plans

—

—

1

—

Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - Diluted

466

492

472

493

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION

(Unaudited)

(in millions, except par values)

June 30,
2026

December 31,
2025

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$      1,038

$      1,901

Short-term investments

13

13

Trade accounts receivable, net

4,780

4,439

Other current assets

1,728

1,465

Total current assets

7,559

7,818

Property and equipment, net

981

933

Operating lease assets, net

555

573

Goodwill

8,083

7,106

Intangible assets, net

1,675

1,417

Deferred income tax assets, net

764

967

Long-term investments

106

111

Other noncurrent assets

1,102

1,767

Total assets

$    20,825

$    20,692

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

$         357

$         308

Deferred revenue

490

501

Short-term debt

33

33

Operating lease liabilities

145

153

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

2,439

2,664

Total current liabilities

3,464

3,659

Deferred revenue, noncurrent

31

37

Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent

389

423

Deferred income tax liabilities, net

177

168

Long-term debt

1,527

543

Other noncurrent liabilities

775

847

Total liabilities

6,363

5,677

Stockholders' equity:

Preferred stock, $0.10 par value, 15 shares authorized, none issued

—

—

Class A common stock, $0.01 par value, 1,000 shares authorized, 452 and 479 shares issued
and outstanding as of June 30, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively

5

5

Additional paid-in capital

11

12

Retained earnings

14,647

15,158

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

(201)

(160)

Total stockholders' equity

14,462

15,015

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$    20,825

$    20,692

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORPORATION

Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

(Unaudited)

 (dollars in millions, except per share amounts)

Three Months Ended
June 30,

Six Months Ended
June 30,

Guidance

2026

2025

2026

2025

Full Year 2026 (1)

GAAP income from operations

$  874

$  817

$ 1,717

$ 1,670

Project Leap charges(a)

84

—

84

—

$230 - $320

India Defined Contribution Obligation(b)

(81)

—

(81)

—

$(81)

(Gain) on sale of property and equipment(c)

—

—

—

(62)

—

Adjusted Income From Operations

$  877

$  817

$ 1,720

$ 1,608

GAAP operating margin

15.9 %

15.6 %

15.8 %

16.1 %

Project Leap charges(a)

1.5

—

0.8

—

1.0% - 1.5%

India Defined Contribution Obligation(b)

(1.4)

—

(0.8)

—

(0.4) %

(Gain) on sale of property and equipment(c)

—

—

—

(0.6)

—

Adjusted Operating Margin

16.0 %

15.6 %

15.8 %

15.5 %

16.0% - 16.2%

GAAP net income

$  636

$  645

$ 1,298

$ 1,308

Effect of adjustments to income from operations, pre-tax

3

—

3

(62)

Non-operating foreign currency exchange (gains) losses, pre-tax(d)

(7)

(7)

(25)

(9)

Tax effect of above adjustments(e)

7

7

29

19

Adjusted Net Income

$  639

$  645

$ 1,305

$ 1,256

GAAP diluted earnings per share

$  1.36

$  1.31

$  2.75

$  2.65

Effect of adjustments to income from operations, pre-tax

0.01

—

0.01

(0.13)

(a)(b)(c)

Non-operating foreign currency exchange (gains) losses, pre-tax(d)

(0.02)

(0.01)

(0.05)

(0.02)

(d)

Tax effect of above adjustments(e)

0.02

0.01

0.05

0.05

(d)

Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share

$  1.37

$  1.31

$  2.76

$  2.55

$5.70 - $5.82

(1) A full reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Margin and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share guidance to the corresponding GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis cannot be provided without unreasonable efforts, as we are unable to provide reconciling information with respect to unusual items, net non-operating foreign currency exchange gains or losses and the tax effects of these adjustments, and such adjustments may be significant.

Notes:

(a)

Project Leap charges for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 were $84 million and included $56 million of employee separation costs and $28 million of other costs. We expect to incur costs of $230 million to $320 million in connection with Project Leap, with substantially all of the costs expected to be incurred in 2026. The total costs related to Project Leap are reported in "Restructuring charges" in our unaudited consolidated statements of operations. Our guidance anticipates pre-tax charges of approximately $0.50 to $0.70 per diluted share for the full year 2026. The tax benefit of these charges is expected to be approximately ($0.13) to ($0.18) per diluted share for the full year 2026.

(b)

On February 28, 2019, a ruling of the Supreme Court of India interpreting certain statutory defined contribution obligations of employees and employers (the "India Defined Contribution Obligation") altered historical understandings of the obligation under the Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952, extending it to cover additional portions of the employee's income. As a result, the ongoing contributions of our affected employees and the Company were required to be increased. In the first quarter of 2019, we accrued $117 million with respect to prior periods, assuming retroactive application of the SCI's ruling, in "Selling, general and administrative expenses" in our unaudited consolidated statement of operations.

Labor law reforms implemented by the Government of India effective November 21, 2025, including the Code on Social Security, 2020, were designed to repeal and replace the Employees' Provident fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, subject to the issuance of applicable rules. The Social Security Rules were notified by the government of India in May 2026. Additionally, the government of India published the Employees Provident Fund Scheme of 2026 in June 2026. As a result of these developments, management concluded that the liability relating to periods where no proceedings had been initiated by the government is no longer required. Thus, in the second quarter of 2026, management recorded a benefit of $81 million in "Selling, general and administrative expenses" in our unaudited consolidated statement of operations. Our guidance anticipates a pre-tax benefit of approximately ($0.18) per diluted share with a corresponding tax expense of approximately $0.05 per diluted share for the full year 2026.

(c)

During the three months ended March 31, 2025, we realized a gain on the sale of an office complex in India, which was reported in "(Gain) on sale of property and equipment" on our unaudited consolidated statement of operations.

(d)

Non-operating foreign currency exchange gains and losses, inclusive of gains and losses related to foreign exchange forward contracts not designated as hedging instruments for accounting purposes, are reported in "Foreign currency exchange gains (losses), net" in our unaudited consolidated statements of operations. Non-operating foreign currency exchange gains and losses are subject to high variability and low visibility and therefore cannot be provided on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable efforts.

(e)

Presented below are the tax impacts of our non-GAAP adjustment to pre-tax income for the: 

(in millions)

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

2026

2025

2026

2025

Non-GAAP income tax benefit (expense) related to:

Project Leap charges

22

—

22

—

India Defined Contribution Obligation

(21)

—

(21)

—

Gain on sale of property and equipment

—

—

—

(9)

Foreign currency exchange gains and losses

(8)

(7)

(30)

(10)

The effective tax rate related to non-operating foreign currency exchange gains and losses varies depending on the jurisdictions in which such income and expenses are generated and the statutory rates applicable in those jurisdictions. As such, the income tax effect of non-operating foreign currency exchange gains and losses shown in the above table may not appear proportionate to the net pre-tax foreign currency exchange gains and losses reported in our unaudited consolidated statements of operations.

The above tables serve to reconcile the Non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. Refer to the "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Performance Metrics" section of our press release for further information on the use of these Non-GAAP measures.

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORPORATION

Revenue by Business Segment and Geography

(Unaudited)

 (dollars in millions)

Three Months Ended June 30, 2026

Year over Year

$

 % of total

 % Change

Constant
Currency 
% Change (a)

Revenues by Segment:

Health Sciences

$     1,572

28.7 %

1.4 %

1.0 %

Financial Services (c)

1,733

31.6 %

12.0 %

11.7 %

Products and Resources (c)

1,322

24.1 %

1.2 %

0.7 %

Communications, Media and Technology (c)

854

15.6 %

1.5 %

1.4 %

Total Revenues (b)(c)

$     5,481

4.5 %

4.1 %

Revenues by Geography:

North America (b)(c)

$     4,127

75.3 %

5.5 %

5.5 %

United Kingdom

492

9.0 %

2.1 %

1.5 %

Continental Europe

535

9.7 %

2.9 %

0.1 %

Europe - Total

1,027

18.7 %

2.5 %

0.8 %

Rest of World

327

6.0 %

(1.2) %

(1.5) %

Total Revenues (b)(c)

$     5,481

4.5 %

4.1 %

Six Months Ended June 30, 2026

Year over Year

$

 % of total

 % Change

Constant
Currency
% Change (a)

Revenues by Segment:

Health Sciences

$     3,151

28.9 %

0.9 %

— %

Financial Services (c)

3,377

31.0 %

12.2 %

11.0 %

Products and Resources (c)

2,643

24.3 %

2.3 %

0.9 %

Communications, Media and Technology (c)

1,723

15.8 %

4.7 %

3.9 %

Total Revenues (b)(c)

$    10,894

5.2 %

4.0 %

Revenues by Geography:

North America (b)(c)

$     8,179

75.0 %

5.3 %

5.2 %

United Kingdom

1,001

9.2 %

6.6 %

3.0 %

Continental Europe

1,065

9.8 %

5.1 %

(1.5) %

Europe - Total

2,066

19.0 %

5.8 %

0.7 %

Rest of World

649

6.0 %

1.1 %

(0.1) %

Total Revenues (b)(c)

$    10,894

5.2 %

4.0 %

Notes:

(a)

Constant currency revenue growth is not a measure of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. See "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Performance Metrics" section of our press release for further information.

(b)

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, revenues from our recently completed acquisitions contributed approximately 100 basis points and 90 basis points, respectively, to overall revenue growth, across all segments in North America.

(c)

For the quarter ended June 30, 2026, the sale of third-party products in connection with our integrated offerings strategy contributed approximately 170 basis points to overall revenue growth. These sales contributed 175 basis points of growth to our North America region and 350 basis points of growth to our Continental Europe region. These sales contributed 350 basis points of growth to our Communications Media and Technology segment, 250 basis points of growth to our Financial Services segment and 125 basis points of growth to our Products and Resources segment. For the six months ended June 30, 2026, the sale of third-party products, primarily in North America and Europe, in connection with our integrated offerings strategy, contributed approximately 160 basis points to overall revenue growth. These sales contributed 675 basis points of growth to our Communications Media and Technology segment and 250 basis points growth to our Financial Services segment.

COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORPORATION

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

(in millions)

Three Months Ended

June 30,

Six Months Ended

June 30,

2026

2025

2026

2025

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

$     636

$     645

$  1,298

$  1,308

Adjustments for non-cash income and expenses

224

133

516

297

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of businesses acquired

(302)

(380)

(982)

(807)

Net cash provided by operating activities

558

398

832

798

Cash flows from investing activities:

Purchases of property and equipment

(99)

(67)

(175)

(144)

Proceeds from sale of property and equipment

—

—

—

70

Net (purchases) of investments

—

(15)

—

(15)

Payments for business combinations, net of cash acquired

(604)

—

(1,334)

—

Net cash (used in) investing activities

(703)

(82)

(1,509)

(89)

Cash flows from financing activities:

Issuance of common stock under stock-based compensation plans

12

14

29

33

Repurchases of common stock

(1,163)

(368)

(1,607)

(577)

Net change in term loan borrowings and finance leases

(12)

(9)

(23)

(21)

Proceeds from borrowing under the revolving credit facility

1,000

—

1,000

—

Repayment of notes outstanding under the revolving credit facility

—

—

—

(300)

Dividends paid

(157)

(153)

(316)

(308)

Net cash (used in) financing activities

(320)

(516)

(917)

(1,173)

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

(1)

16

(2)

29

(Decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

(466)

(184)

(1,596)

(435)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period

1,504

1,980

2,634

2,231

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$  1,038

$  1,796

$  1,038

$  1,796

SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION

(in millions)

Three Months Ended

June 30,

Stock Repurchases under Board of Directors' authorized stock repurchase program:

2026

2025

Number of shares repurchased

22.5

4.5

Remaining authorized balance as of June 30, 2026

$    2,338

Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow Non-GAAP Financial Measure

(in millions)

Three Months Ended

June 30,

Six Months Ended

June 30,

2026

2025

2026

2025

Net cash provided by operating activities

$       558

$       398

$     832

$      798

Purchases of property and equipment

(99)

(67)

(175)

(144)

Proceeds from sale of property and equipment

—

—

—

70

Free cash flow

$       459

$       331

$     657

$      724

1

Constant currency ("CC") revenue growth, Adjusted Operating Margin and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share ("Adjusted Diluted EPS" or "Adjusted EPS") are not measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). A full reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Margin guidance to the corresponding GAAP measure on a forward-looking basis cannot be provided without unreasonable efforts. See "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Performance Metrics" for more information and a partial reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure at the end of this release.

2

Guidance as of July 29, 2026

3

A full reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Margin and Adjusted Diluted EPS guidance to the corresponding GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis cannot be provided without unreasonable efforts. See "About Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Performance Metrics" for more information and a partial reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures at the end of this release.

SOURCE Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation

Key Takeaways Cognizant expects Q2 revenues of $5.45B-$5.52B, supported by large-deal ramps and AI demand. CTSH sees Astreya boosting Q2 growth, while AI engagements and platform-led delivery expand. CTSH faces macro uncertainty, softer discretionary demand and competition before Q2 results. Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH - Free Report) is scheduled to report its second-quarter 2026 results on July 29, 2026.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.38 per share, which has been unchanged over the past 30 days. This represents a 5.34% increase from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter.

For the second quarter of 2026, Cognizant expects revenues in the range of $5.45-$5.52 billion, implying year-over-year growth of 3.8%-5.3% (3.2%-4.7% at constant currency).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter revenues is pegged at $5.48 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of 4.54%.

Cognizant’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 4.81%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement.

Factors to NoteCognizant’s second-quarter performance is expected to have benefited from the ramp-up of large deals and strong bookings momentum achieved in the previous quarters. In the first quarter of 2026, CTSH signed seven large deals, including one mega deal valued at over $500 million. Bookings grew 21% year over year, and trailing 12-month bookings reached $29.6 billion, for a book-to-bill of about 1.4x, reflecting continued large-deal activity. Management emphasized that many of these large-deal transitions, initiated in the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, will begin to unlock revenues in the second quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2026 as they move from transition to production phases.

The company continues to gain traction in AI-led services and platform-driven delivery, supported by large-deal ramps and steady constant-currency growth. In the first quarter of 2026, the company reported more than 5,000 AI engagements and said nearly 40% of its code is AI-assisted, supported by partnerships that include Anthropic, Google Gemini and OpenAI Codex.

Another significant benefit for the second quarter of 2026 is the partial quarter contribution from recent acquisitions, particularly Astreya. CTSH completed the acquisition of Astreya, a specialist in AI infrastructure and managed services, which is expected to add a critical layer to CTSH’s AI Builder technology stack. The second-quarter guidance includes approximately 150 basis points of revenue growth from recently completed acquisitions, with Astreya providing a partial quarter contribution.

CTSH’s strong position in key verticals such as Financial Services and Health Sciences, along with healthy demand for AI, analytics, and integrated offerings, is expected to have supported second-quarter growth. Financial Services, in particular, delivered double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2026 and continues to benefit from robust investment cycles and innovation budgets. The company is also capitalizing on opportunities in predictive supply chains, agentic commerce and hyper-personalization, especially as clients seek to consolidate vendors and modernize legacy systems.

However, the company is suffering from challenging macroeconomic uncertainty, softening discretionary demand and stiff competition. These challenges are expected to have affected CTSH’s performance in the to-be-reported quarter.

What Our Model SaysPer the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy), or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that is not the case here.

Cognizant has an Earnings ESP of -1.34% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks to ConsiderHere are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in their upcoming releases:

Amphenol (APH - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.12% and a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Amphenol shares have gained 13% year to date. Amphenol is scheduled to report its second-quarter 2026 results on July 29.

ASE Technology (ASX - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +21.21% and a Zacks Rank #1.

ASE Technology shares have surged 128.9% year to date. ASE Technology is set to report its second-quarter 2026 results on July 30.

Fortive (FTV - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.82% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Fortive shares have gained 12.9% in the year-to-date period. Fortive is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on July 29.

Cognizant's Frontier workforce model to create the human infrastructure that turns AI investment into enterprise outcomes Backed by decades of running technology and operations at enterprise scale, Cognizant's human capital operating model embeds outcome-owning Frontier talent inside client operations Cognizant Frontier talent operates across any cloud, any model to help close the gap between AI capability and enterprise results , /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), a leading AI Builder and technology services provider, today announced it was committing to scaling its Frontier-certified workforce, the human and operational infrastructure enterprises need to convert AI capability into measurable business results, to 5,000 Frontier Certified Engineers and 10,000 Frontier Business Operators.

Cognizant's people investment will yield its first cohort, which will be both Frontier-assessed and deployment-ready, by fourth quarter, 2026. Cognizant also plans to augment its own Frontier talent pipeline through annual direct hires of Frontier-native talent from American and global universities.

This human capital investment is focused on solving an urgent problem facing enterprises today: most organizations have spent more on AI than on any technology in a generation, and most have little to show for it. Cognizant measures the gap between what AI can deliver and what enterprises actually realize at $4.5 trillion. That gap is not a compute problem. It is a people and process problem, and it will not be closed by provisioning more infrastructure. The required investment is skilling and deploying more Frontier-ready talent into client-oriented delivery to help clients realize a return on their technology investment.

"Closing the AI outcome gap demands talent who not only understands a client's industry deeply but can also reimagine the way work is structured and take end-to-end responsibility for delivering results in collaboration with clients, on any model or cloud the client selects," said Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S. "That is what a Frontier workforce does. By taking accountability for outcomes rather than stopping at technology deployment, we can help clients accelerate measurable results while managing risk. Cognizant's industry context and experience position us uniquely to unlock the value that has remained out of reach during this shift toward outcome-based delivery and a new chapter in human capital."

Cognizant's Frontier workforce is model- and cloud-agnostic by design. Its teams build an organization's unique context into whatever stack the client has already chosen, across a partnership footprint that spans Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, AWS, NVIDIA, Salesforce, and ServiceNow. The result is durable capability designed for enterprise ownership and portability across environments, otherwise known as solutions that are geared towards the problems being experienced by our client, not the closest thing a proprietary platform can accomplish.

"AI has exposed 93% of jobs to change, and the associated labor value remains untapped because the workforce architecture built for a pre-AI world cannot capture it. So we rebuilt the architecture for the world we are in now," said Cognizant Chief People Officer, Kathy Diaz. "Industry domain depth is a core strength of Cognizant, and we bring enterprise-scale experience across technology, processes and operations. We know how to take these powerful frontier tools and turn them into real business value, and we are training our workforce to do it at scale."

Cognizant Chief Learning Officer, Thiru Arohi said: "We are developing a new professional identity for the AI era. We are investing in the infrastructure behind this identity: the Academy, the assessment architecture, the certification pathway, and the talent pipeline from campus to senior practitioner. What we are scaling is not headcount, but a workforce capable of closing the outcome gap that no model, platform, or deployment engineer can close alone."

This Frontier model is anchored in six principles: interdisciplinary capability; a direct linkage to customer value; building, deploying, or working alongside agents as routine; end-to-end accountability; delivery through a small operational pod; and a single, unified Cognizant experience for the client. The workforce will be organized as a single premium job family of seven roles across two complementary tracks, Frontier Certified Engineers and Frontier Business Operators:

Frontier Certified Engineers: Frontier Certified Engineers architect and build agentic systems, engineer the retrieval and context layers that keep those systems grounded in domain reality, and orchestrate multi-agent pipelines into live production, remaining accountable for every system they deploy, including ongoing monitoring, tuning and improvement cycles that follow go-live. They are where industry domain expertise, full-stack AI engineering and production accountability converge in a single practitioner. They enter a client environment already fluent in its regulatory constraints, operational failure modes and business logic, and use that fluency to determine not just what AI can do, but what it should do, and how it must be governed to be trusted in alignment with client requirements. Frontier Business Operators: Frontier Business Operators are responsible for delivering operational outcomes in collaboration with client stakeholders in environments where the workforce is simultaneously human and digital, managing agent fleets and human teams against a committed outcome, in real time, with no separation between the two. Their edge is not technical configuration; it is the judgment that comes from having run the operations floors, claims pipelines, and service workflows that AI agents are now being asked to take on. They know how to feed every exception and override back into agent calibration, so the system is continuously refined to improve reliability over time. What sets these roles apart from being forward deployed engineers is permanence, accountability and something that cannot be trained overnight: Cognizant's deep industry domain expertise and the hard-won experience of an AI builder running enterprise operations at scale. The model is already live — a two-person Engineer-and-Operator pod recently reimagined a large food service company's account-management workflow into seventeen production AI agents, reclaiming roughly eleven hours per account manager each week while cutting handoff cycles by about 60 percent and nearly tripling their revenue per engagement.

Underpinning the commitment is a model built to scale and to reach the client. Cognizant stands up local capacity inside client clusters so certified pods deploy close to the work they own, while its global capability centers supply the talent base behind them. The elevation funnel narrows at each stage: from a broad base of AI-fluency skilling across hundreds of thousands of associates, through structured AI-Bridge programs to 40,000 in Frontier certification, credentialed directly by the frontier-model companies, including GitHub Copilot, Google Gemini, Anthropic's Claude, and OpenAI's Codex. Today's announced investment will expand Cognizant's SkillSpring™ capacity, deliver AI-fluency and responsible-AI training across the workforce, and fund embedded client engagements worldwide.

For enterprises, the payoff is measured where it matters most: AI investment converted into business results, delivering value from the technology stack they already run, with accountability through an AI builder firm that lasts well beyond go-live. In committing to the people who deliver those outcomes, Cognizant is making a strategic bet that the defining edge of the AI era will be human and operational, and positioning its clients to pursue the financial return from their technology investment which has eluded them. That is the future of AI: not just capability, but outcomes that endure.

About Cognizant

Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, bridging the gap between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization's unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, drive tangible outcomes and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.ai or @cognizant.

For more information, contact:

SOURCE Cognizant Technology Solutions

Partnership combines Domyn's chip-to-application sovereign AI infrastructure with Cognizant's enterprise integration expertise and EMEA industry reach, enabling regulated organisations to deploy AI securely on-premise and within sovereign environments

, /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) and Domyn, the European leader in sovereign AI infrastructure for regulated industries, have announced a strategic partnership to bring sovereign AI capabilities to enterprises across the EMEA region. The partnership will help organisations in highly regulated sectors deploy powerful AI solutions that keep data within client-controlled environments and support compliance with European regulatory frameworks.

Domyn's end-to-end AI system — spanning compute, proprietary models, governance, and agents —is purpose-built for exactly this challenge, and Cognizant's role as an AI Builder and trusted global systems integrator, with deep EMEA enterprise relationships, makes it the ideal partner to bring these capabilities to scale.

Under the partnership, Domyn will provide the AI infrastructure layer, delivering LLMs that can be deployed within client environments, on-premise or in private cloud configurations, while Cognizant will serve as the application, integration, and domain execution layer. Cognizant will train and adapt Domyn's models into smaller, domain-specific models (SLMs), build agents and applications tailored to specific industry use cases, and manage the legacy data pipeline construction, data cleaning, and model-alignment work required for enterprise deployment. Together, the companies will execute a joint go-to-market strategy targeting organisations across UK & Ireland, DACH, Northern Europe, and Southern Europe and the Middle East.

For enterprise customers, the partnership unlocks a fully integrated sovereign AI proposition. Organisations gain access to cutting-edge AI models and infrastructure without sacrificing control over their data, while benefiting from Cognizant's proven ability to manage complex enterprise change, embed human-in-the-loop compliance frameworks, and deliver measurable business outcomes at scale. As per Gartner®, "Geopolitics is the key driver behind the demand for true sovereign AI solutions and services, which has a negative impact on global cloud providers offering AI services, such as hyperscale cloud providers. Considering the current geopolitical situation, local cloud providers offering AI services will increasingly become relevant competitors and will grow market share." By 2029, geopolitics will drive 50% of cloud AI workloads to sovereign cloud AI deployment models, up from 5% in 2025.1

"Sovereign AI is one of the most significant growth opportunities in EMEA, and one where Cognizant is uniquely positioned to lead," said Manoj Mehta, President, EMEA, Cognizant. "Regulated organisations across Europe need AI that delivers transformational outcomes without compromising on data sovereignty, regulatory compliance, or security. Our partnership with Domyn brings together world-class AI infrastructure and Cognizant's deep expertise in turning that infrastructure into real, industry-specific solutions. Together, we are giving enterprises the confidence to move fast on AI - on their terms and within their borders."

"The next wave of AI in Europe will be won by those who own and control the intelligence at the heart of their business," said Uljan Sharka, CEO at Domyn. "With Cognizant's extensive industry relationships across EMEA, we'll be able to scale our vision and give the most demanding institutions the foundation to move decisively on AI, and truly own the intelligence they're building on."

The partnership aligns with Cognizant's three-vector AI Builder strategy — enabling hyper productivity, industrialising AI, and agentifying the enterprise — bringing more than 60 AI patents, 1,500-plus industry-specific agents, and a dedicated AI Lab across San Francisco and Bengaluru. It also represents an important step in Domyn's mission to help regulated enterprises own, govern and trust the intelligence powering their most critical workflows, with the partnership initially focused on customers across EMEA.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is an AI builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for our clients. Our deep industry, process and engineering expertise enables us to build an organization's unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.ai or @cognizant.

About Domyn
Domyn develops responsible AI for regulated industries, across financial services, government and heavy industry. It supports enterprises with proprietary, fully governable solutions, based on a composable AI architecture, including Large Language Models and domain-specific AI Agents. The company is building one of the largest AI Supercomputers in Regulated Industries in partnership with NVIDIA and the UAE.

1 Gartner, AI Vendor Race: True Sovereign AI Will Define Winners and Losers in the Cloud AI Race by Rene Buest, Fernando Pereiro, 24 February 2026. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

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Europe / APAC     

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Name Ben Gorelick     

Name Sarah Douglas     

Name Vipin Nair

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SOURCE Cognizant Technology Solutions