Key Highlights

  • Cognizant reported second-quarter 2026 Revenue of $5.48 billion, up 4.5 per cent year on year, with Financial Services growing 12 per cent to $1.73 billion.
  • Free Cash Flow was $459 million, up 39 per cent from $331 million a year earlier, and adjusted Earnings Per Share were $1.37.
  • Third-quarter 2026 results are scheduled for Thursday 29 October 2026, before the market opens.

The latest reported quarter

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) reported second-quarter 2026 results on 29 July 2026. Revenue was $5.48 billion, up 4.5 per cent year on year, or 4.1 per cent in constant currency. Financial Services grew 12 per cent to $1.73 billion, and chief executive Ravi Kumar S described it as a second consecutive quarter of double-digit growth in that segment.

The company said organic growth was at the high end of its expectations. Because the headline growth rate is modest, the concentration of momentum in one vertical is a useful detail for assessing how broad the recovery is. Constant-currency growth of 4.1 per cent sits very close to the lower end of the 4.0 per cent to 5.5 per cent range the company now guides for the full year.

Margins, earnings and cash

GAAP operating Margin was 15.9 per cent and adjusted Operating Margin was 16.0 per cent, up 40 basis points. GAAP Diluted Earnings per Share were $1.36, up 3.8 per cent, while adjusted earnings per share were $1.37, up 4.6 per cent. The small gap between GAAP and adjusted figures reflects offsetting items: $84 million of Project Leap restructuring charges against an $81 million benefit from a partial Reversal of an India defined contribution obligation.

Free cash flow was $459 million, compared with $331 million a year earlier, an increase of 39 per cent. The quarter's 16.0 per cent adjusted margin is at the bottom of the 16.0 to 16.2 per cent full-year guidance. The company also declared a quarterly Dividend of $0.33 per share.

Bookings, Buybacks and acquisition

Trailing-twelve-month bookings rose 5 per cent to $29.1 billion, a book-to-bill ratio of about 1.3 times. However, second-quarter bookings alone fell 6 per cent year on year, which is the less favourable data point and one to watch closely.

The company reported share repurchases of 22.5 million shares for $1.15 billion, including a $500 million accelerated repurchase, leaving $2.3 billion of authorisation. Cognizant also completed the $634 million Acquisition of Astreya, partly funded by a $1.0 billion draw on its revolving Credit facility. Buybacks and acquisition spending therefore both draw on the balance sheet, and the revolver draw means net Leverage is higher than it would otherwise have been.

Guidance reflects management forecasts

For the third quarter, Cognizant guided to revenue of $5.60 billion to $5.68 billion. For full-year 2026, it expects revenue of $22.04 billion to $22.35 billion, representing constant-currency growth of 4.0 per cent to 5.5 per cent, a range that was revised. The adjusted operating margin outlook was unchanged at 16.0 per cent to 16.2 per cent, and adjusted earnings per share guidance was raised to $5.70 to $5.82.

The company has scheduled its third-quarter 2026 results for Thursday 29 October 2026, before the market opens, with a conference call at 8.30am Eastern Time.

What to watch on 29 October

Several items will be of interest when the results are published. First, whether revenue lands within the guided range. Second, whether Financial Services keeps growing at a double-digit rate. Third, whether bookings recover after the second-quarter decline. Fourth, how the Astreya acquisition contributes to revenue and how the revolver balance is managed. Fifth, whether further Project Leap charges appear.