Cognizant Third-Quarter Revenue Rises 4.6% as Financial Services Grows 12%; Outlook Revised

Cognizant revised its 2026 outlook on Thursday after third-quarter revenue rose 4.6% to $5.66 billion, landing above the midpoint of its own guidance range, as its Financial Services business grew 12%, according to its earnings release filed with an 8-K.

The technology services provider now expects full-year revenue of $22.05 billion to $22.14 billion, growth of 4.0% to 4.4% in constant currency, and adjusted diluted EPS of $5.72 to $5.79, growth of 8% to 10%. It sees adjusted operating margin of about 16.1%, 30 basis points of expansion.

Earnings outpace sales

Adjusted EPS rose 7.2% to $1.49 from $1.39. GAAP diluted EPS jumped 148% to $1.39 from $0.56, a comparison flattered by a one-time non-cash income tax charge that cut the year-ago figure by $0.80, the company said.

GAAP operating margin fell 60 basis points to 15.4%, while adjusted operating margin rose 30 basis points to 16.3%. CEO Ravi Kumar S said it was the company's "seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year adjusted operating margin expansion."

Constant-currency revenue growth was 4.8%. Recently completed acquisitions contributed about 210 basis points of growth, and sales of third-party products tied to its integrated offerings added about 190 basis points, according to the release.

Financial Services leads

Financial Services revenue rose 12.0% to $1.77 billion, making it the largest segment at 31.2% of sales. Communications, Media and Technology grew 10.5% to $939 million, helped largely by acquisitions.

Health Sciences slipped 1.1% to $1.59 billion, and Products and Resources dipped 0.9% to $1.37 billion. By region, North America revenue grew 5.7% to $4.26 billion while Continental Europe fell 2.6%.

Bookings and AI push

Trailing 12-month bookings rose 4% to $28.7 billion, a book-to-bill of about 1.3x, but third-quarter bookings fell 7% from a year earlier. The quarter included three deals with total contract value of $100 million or more.

Kumar said more than 50% of Cognizant's code is now AI-assisted. Headcount reached 359,900, up 10,100 from a year earlier.

Cognizant revised its estimates for Project Leap, the transformation program introduced in the second quarter, and now expects total costs of $180 million to $250 million. It expects $140 million to $160 million of those costs in 2026, mostly employee severance and other personnel costs, and about $200 million of in-year savings this year, used mainly to fund investments.

Capital return

The company bought back 4.9 million shares for $258 million in the quarter and had $2.1 billion left under its authorization at Sept. 30. It declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 a share, payable Nov. 25 to holders of record on Nov. 13. Through nine months it deployed $2.3 billion on buybacks and dividends, CFO Jatin Dalal said.

By the numbers

• $5.66 billion: third-quarter revenue, up 4.6%
• $1.49: adjusted EPS, up 7.2%
• 16.3%: adjusted operating margin
• $28.7 billion: trailing 12-month bookings
• $5.72 to $5.79: 2026 adjusted EPS outlook

Sources

1. Cognizant Form 8-K with third-quarter 2026 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 29, 2026 (accession 0001058290-26-000039)

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