Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.48 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $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 Trading Down 7.0%

NASDAQ:CTSH traded down $3.92 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $52.05. 1,869,358 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,288,748. The company has a market capitalization of $24.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 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’s 50 day moving average is $47.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.80. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $37.08 and a twelve month high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s payout ratio is 28.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 191.6% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 218,371 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $18,125,000 after purchasing an additional 143,488 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 349,752 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $29,030,000 after purchasing an additional 5,788 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 161,542 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $13,256,000 after purchasing an additional 7,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at about $779,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

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

Cognizant Technology Solutions News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Higher full-year EPS outlook and solid Q2 execution: Cognizant reported $5.48 billion in second-quarter revenue, up 4.5% year over year and in line with expectations. Adjusted EPS was $1.37, just below the $1.38 consensus, while operating margin improved to 16.0%. The company raised its 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $5.70–$5.82 from a prior outlook that was lower, supporting the bullish reaction. Cognizant Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Bookings and financial-services growth point to demand resilience: Trailing 12-month bookings increased 5% to $29.1 billion, while Financial Services revenue grew 12%. Cognizant also repurchased approximately $1.1 billion of stock during the quarter, providing additional support for per-share results. Cognizant Q2 Revenue Rises
• Positive Sentiment: AI-related catalysts are attracting investor interest: Cognizant’s expanded partnership with Anthropic and efforts to help enterprises adopt agentic AI strengthen the company’s positioning in a growing services market. William Blair also initiated coverage with a Buy rating, citing margin expansion, financial-services growth and AI-driven demand. Cognizant Anthropic Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholder returns remain a support: Cognizant declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, equivalent to an approximately 2.4% annualized yield at the referenced price level. Cognizant Dividend Information
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term spending caution limits the upside: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $5.6–$5.7 billion was at or below analyst expectations as clients remain cautious on discretionary IT spending. The small EPS miss and revised 2026 revenue-growth outlook of 4.0%–5.5% also indicate that AI investment is not yet fully offsetting softer traditional technology-services demand. Cognizant Forecasts Weak Quarterly Revenue

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $42.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Nomura dropped their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.35.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.