Cognizant Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

 

Revenue growth in upper half of guidance range; double digit adjusted EPS growth year-over-year; 21% quarterly bookings growth, driven by seven large deals

 

•        Revenue of $5.4 billion increased 5.8% year-over-year or 3.9% in constant currency¹

•        Operating margin of 15.6% decreased 110 basis points year-over-year; Adjusted Operating Margin¹ of 15.6% increased 10 basis points year-over-year

•        GAAP EPS of $1.39 increased 3.7% year-over-year; Adjusted EPS¹ of $1.40 increased 13.8% year-over-year

•        Trailing 12-month bookings of $29.6 billion increased 11% year-over-year, driven by 21% growth in the first quarter; 7 large deals signed in the first quarter

•        2026 constant currency revenue growth guidance is unchanged at 4.0% to 6.5%

•        2026 Adjusted Operating Margin guidance is increased to 16.0% to 16.2%, year-over-year expansion of 20 to 40 basis points compared to prior guidance of 10 to 30 basis points of expansion

 

TEANECK, N.J., April 29, 2026 - Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), a leading AI builder and technology services provider, today announced its first quarter 2026 financial results.

 

$ in millions, except per share data	Q1 2026	Q1 2025
Revenue	$5,413	$5,115
Y/Y Change	5.8%	7.5%
Y/Y Change CC¹	3.9%	8.2%
GAAP Operating Margin	15.6%	16.7%
Adjusted Operating Margin¹	15.6%	15.5%
GAAP Diluted EPS	$1.39	$1.34
Adjusted Diluted EPS¹	$1.40	$1.23

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

 

"In a complex macroeconomic environment, we delivered first quarter revenue growth in the upper half of our guidance range, with sustained bookings momentum and Financial Services again leading performance. We signed seven large deals in the quarter and delivered over 70% large deal total contract value growth year-over-year," said Ravi Kumar S, Chief Executive Officer. "We believe our AI builder strategy, deep industry expertise and scaled partnership ecosystem uniquely position us to bridge the 'AI Velocity Gap' by helping clients convert their significant AI investments into tangible business outcomes."

 

Bookings

On a trailing-twelve-month basis, bookings increased 11% year-over-year to $29.6 billion, which represented a book-to-bill of approximately 1.4x. Bookings in the first quarter increased 21% year-over-year. First quarter bookings included seven large deals, which are deals with total contract value of $100 million or greater, of which one was a mega deal, which is a deal with total contract value of $500 million or greater.

Employee Metrics

On a trailing-twelve months basis, Voluntary Attrition - Tech Services was 12.3% for the period ended March 31, 2026, as compared to 12.3% and 12.0% for the periods ended December 31, 2025 and March 31, 2025, respectively. Total headcount as of March 31, 2026 was 357,600, an increase of 6,000 from December 31, 2025 and 21,300 from March 31, 2025.

 

In the first quarter of 2026, we modified our definition of 'Voluntary Attrition - Tech Services' to exclude certain categories of negotiated separations. Prior periods disclosed have been recast to conform to the new definition.

Return of Capital to Shareholders

The Company repurchased 6.3 million shares for $427 million during the first quarter under its share repurchase program. As of March 31, 2026, there was $1.5 billion remaining under the share repurchase authorization. In April 2026, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per share for shareholders of record on May 18, 2026. This dividend will be payable on May 27, 2026.

Project Leap

In the second quarter of 2026, we introduced Project Leap, a program designed to accelerate our transformation to the operating model of the future by funding investments in our integrated offerings, AI capabilities and partnerships, reshaping productivity through competitive offerings and upskilling our workforce. By fostering a workforce that is properly sized, AI-enabled and possesses the skills required for success as well as optimizing our technology footprint, we aim to streamline operations and enhance productivity through AI-led efficiencies, creating a more agile and cost-effective operating model. This program is expected to generate in-year savings of approximately $200 million to $300 million in 2026. These expected savings, net of the investments described above, are enabling us to raise our 2026 adjusted operating margin guidance from expansion of 10 to 30 basis points to expansion of 20 to 40 basis points, in-line with our long-term aspiration to expand margins.

 

In connection with Project Leap, we expect to record costs of $230 million to $320 million, with substantially all of the costs expected to be incurred in 2026. This consists of $200 million to $270 million of employee severance and other personnel related costs and $30 million to $50 million of other charges.

Second Quarter and Full-Year 2026 Guidance²

(all growth rates year-over-year)

•        Second quarter revenue is expected to be $5.45 to $5.52 billion, growth of 3.8% to 5.3%, or 3.2% to 4.7% in constant currency.

•        Full-year 2026 revenue is expected to be $22.11 to $22.64 billion, growth of 4.8% to 7.3%, or 4.0% to 6.5% 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 $5.63 to $5.77, growth of 7% to 9%.

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

•        Joined the J.P. Morgan Payments Consultant Implementation Program (PCIP), a trusted network of resources that helps J.P. Morgan clients modernize their business by unifying technology and treasury with implementations guided by the expertise of J.P. Morgan and its partners. Cognizant will offer enhanced connectivity to help mutual clients connect J.P. Morgan Payments solutions to their treasury management system (TMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms.

•        Signed a three-year strategic agreement with DAMAC Group, a UAE-based global conglomerate encompassing a diverse portfolio across various industries, to transform IT operations and elevate customer experience. The engagement encompasses a wide spectrum of IT infrastructure services and application services across DAMAC's ecosystem, including digital and e-commerce platforms, CRM, core enterprise systems, data platforms, and AI-led initiatives.

•        Expanded its agreement with Wallenius Wilhelmsen, a leading global provider of shipping and vehicle logistics, to support the company with technology services covering core applications and infrastructure. By applying its expertise in modernizing legacy portfolios and introducing practical AI-driven efficiencies, Cognizant is working to support Wallenius Wilhelmsen's work to simplify its digital operations and build a stronger digital foundation.

Platform Enhancements and Partnerships

•        Announced it has been named among a select group of partners chosen by OpenAI to scale the impact of Codex across enterprise clients worldwide. Cognizant is embedding Codex directly into its engineering workflows across its Software Engineering Group, with the goal of making it a standardized capability for how Cognizant builds and delivers software.

•        Announced the launch of Agentic Retail CX, a new AI-powered contact center solution built on Google Cloud's Gemini Enterprise for Customer Experience (CX). Designed specifically for retailers, the solution helps brands deliver personalized, omnichannel experiences while reducing operational costs, improving employee productivity and accelerating the adoption of agentic AI across the retail value chain.

•        Established a dedicated Gemini Enterprise Practice, in collaboration with Google Cloud, to accelerate enterprise adoption of Gemini Enterprise at scale. Cognizant has also been designated by Google Cloud as a Diamond partner, the highest tier in the Google Cloud partner program, in recognition of its AI Builder approach.

•        Partnered with Palantir to accelerate AI-driven modernization in healthcare and enterprise operations. Cognizant will leverage Palantir Foundry and Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) to advance AI integration within Cognizant's TriZetto healthcare business, while jointly pursuing broader enterprise AI transformation opportunities for clients across industries.

•        Announced that its AI Lab has received three new U.S. patents, bringing its total number of patents to 65 in the U.S. and 88 globally. The newly granted patents build on the lab's work in areas such as human-AI collaboration for decision-making and deep learning for specialized tasks.

•        Cognizant AI Lab unveiled in four new research papers how the company is fine-tuning large language models (LLMs) using evolution strategies. The papers introduce training methods that help LLMs handle more complex reasoning tasks while running more efficiently with fewer computing resources.

•        Expanded AI infrastructure capabilities with launch of Cognizant AI Factory, a multi-tenant, enterprise-grade offering powered by Dell Technologies and NVIDIA AI infrastructure and software platform. Cognizant's proprietary Fractional GPU technology, interoperable with NVIDIA Multi-Instance GPU, enables secure, isolated GPU "slices" that allow multiple business units to run AI workloads concurrently in a unified environment.

•        Unveiled Cognizant Skillspring™, a multimodal, AI-native, conversational learning platform designed to redefine learning in the AI era and help businesses cultivate AI-ready talent at scale. Cognizant Skillspring uses AI agent-driven tutoring and content creation to deliver high-quality, personalized learning across large workforces while helping organizations manage learning and development costs more efficiently.

•        Belcan, a Cognizant company, announced that Belcan Government Solutions (BGS) was selected as one of America's outstanding Navy Reserve employers for 2026 in recognition of their exceptional support of reservists.

Select Company Recognition, Announcements, and Analyst Ratings

•        Announced the launch of the Cognizant Innovation Network, a corporate investment arm focused on backing early to mid-stage enterprise software startups.

•        Appointed by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) as an industry partner to the Government's TechFirst program, aimed at helping young people from all backgrounds find careers in technology as part of the UK AI Opportunities Action Plan.

•        Recognized on Fortune's list of "America's Most Innovative Companies 2026" for the fourth consecutive year.

•        Named one of America's Greatest Workplaces for Entry Level 2026 by Newsweek and Plant-A Insights Group.

•        Achieved recognition as one of the 2026 World's Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

•        Recognized as a Leader by Everest Group® in:

◦        Digital Workplace Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026 – Mid-Market Enterprises

◦        Healthcare Payer Intelligent Operations PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026

◦        Duck Creek Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment, 2026

•        Market Leader in HFS Horizons:

◦        Next-Gen IT Infrastructure Services, 2026 Report

◦        Agentic Services, 2026 Report

•        A Leader in IDC MarketScape:

◦        Worldwide Data Modernization Services Providers for Retail and Restaurants 2026 Vendor Assessment, doc #US53010625, March 2026

•        Leadership in ISG Provider Lens™:

◦        Oracle Ecosystem Partners, 2025 – US

•        A Leader in The Forrester Wave™⁴:

◦        Microsoft Business Application Services, Q1 2026

•        Leadership in Avasant's RadarView:

◦        End-User Computing Services, 2026

◦        Hybrid Enterprise Cloud Services, 2026

◦        Life Sciences Digital Services, 2026

◦        Benelux Digital Services, 2026

•        A Leader in NelsonHall GenAI & Process Automation in Banking NEAT Evaluation

Conference Call

Cognizant will host a conference call on April 29, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern) to discuss the Company's first 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 13759205 beginning two hours after the end of the call until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern) on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. The replay will also be available at Cognizant's website www.cognizant.com for 60 days following the call.