Cognizant Reports Q3 2026 Financial Results with 4.6% Revenue Growth

Executive Summary

On October 29, 2026, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation filed a Current Report on Form 8-K under Items 2.02 (Results of Operations and Financial Condition) and 7.01 (Regulation FD Disclosure) to report financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026.

Key Financial Results (Q3 2026)

• Revenue: Reported at $5.664 billion, up 4.6% year-over-year (4.8% in constant currency), beating the midpoint of company guidance. Revenue growth was led by a 12% year-over-year increase in Financial Services.
• Operating Margins:
  • GAAP Operating Margin was 15.4% (down 60 bps year-over-year).
  • Adjusted Operating Margin was 16.3% (up 30 bps year-over-year).
• Diluted EPS:
  • GAAP EPS reached $1.39, up significantly from $0.56 in Q3 2025 (which included a $0.80 one-time non-cash tax charge).
  • Adjusted Diluted EPS rose 7.2% year-over-year to $1.49.
• Cash Flow:
  • Year-to-date operating cash flow reached $1.836 billion (vs. $2.025 billion in YTD 2025).
  • Year-to-date free cash flow stood at $1.582 billion (vs. $1.884 billion in YTD 2025).

Operational & Capital Allocation Updates

• Bookings: Trailing 12-month bookings reached $28.7 billion (up 4% year-over-year), representing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.3x. Q3 bookings included three large deals with total contract values of $100M+.
• Headcount & Attrition: Total headcount ended at 359,900 (+3,200 sequentially; +10,100 year-over-year). Voluntary trailing 12-month attrition in Tech Services fell to 12.6%.
• Capital Return: The company repurchased 4.9 million shares for $258 million during Q3 ($2.1 billion remaining under authorization) and declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per share payable November 25, 2026.
• Project Leap: Total estimated transformation costs were revised to $180M–$250M ($140M–$160M in 2026), generating in-year savings of ~$200M in 2026 to fund AI capabilities and upskilling.

Guidance Summary

• Q4 2026: Revenue expected between $5.49B and $5.57B (3.2% to 4.7% constant currency growth).
• Full-Year 2026:
  • Revenue expected between $22.05B and $22.14B (4.0% to 4.4% CC growth).
  • Adjusted Operating Margin expected at ~16.1% (~30 bps expansion).
  • Adjusted Diluted EPS revised to $5.72 to $5.79 (growth of 8% to 10%).