Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation

What does Cognizant own?

Cognizant operates a single masterbrand for its services, supported by platform names including Cognizant TriZetto for healthcare payer technology, Neuro and Flowsource for AI delivery, and Skygrade for cloud. It has integrated dozens of acquisitions under the Cognizant name rather than maintaining separate product brands.

Is Cognizant publicly traded?

Yes. Cognizant trades on the Nasdaq under ticker CTSH and is a component of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. It completed its independence from Dun and Bradstreet through a Nasdaq listing in 1998.

Who founded Cognizant?

Cognizant began in 1994 as a software development unit inside Dun and Bradstreet in Chennai, India, and was spun out as an independent company under early leaders including Kumar Mahadeva and Francisco D'Souza. It has no single individual founder in the conventional sense.

Where is Cognizant headquartered?

Cognizant is headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. Its delivery workforce is concentrated in India, with major centers in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Pune, plus additional operations in the Philippines, Eastern Europe, and Latin America.

How many brands does Cognizant own?

Cognizant operates primarily under one masterbrand. Its named offerings, including Cognizant TriZetto, Neuro, Flowsource, and Skygrade, are platforms and practices inside the corporate brand rather than standalone brands with independent identities.

Who owns Cognizant?

Cognizant is publicly owned, with shares distributed among institutional investors and index funds led by Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street. No founder, family, or single investor controls the company.

What were Cognizant's 2025 results?

For 2025 Cognizant reported revenue of $21.1 billion, up 7.0 percent, GAAP operating margin of 16.1 percent, GAAP EPS of $4.56, adjusted EPS of $5.28, and trailing twelve-month bookings of $28.4 billion. It signed 28 large deals during the year and guided to 4.0 to 6.5 percent constant currency growth for 2026.

Cognizant originated inside Dun and Bradstreet in 1994, when the business information company assembled a software development unit in Chennai, India, to build and maintain its own applications. The operation became Cognizant Technology Solutions, serving D&B affiliates and then external clients under early leaders including Kumar Mahadeva and, from 1997, Francisco D'Souza.

Dun and Bradstreet spun Cognizant off in stages, and the company completed its independence with a Nasdaq listing in 1998. The offshore delivery model it helped pioneer, placing most delivery staff in India while client teams sat onsite in North America and Europe, drove hypergrowth through the 2000s as enterprises offshored application maintenance and development.

Under D'Souza's long tenure as CEO from 2007 to 2019, Cognizant grew from roughly $1.4 billion to more than $16 billion in annual revenue and built industry-focused segments, most notably a healthcare business that became its largest practice. The company crossed into the Fortune 500 and S&P 500 during this period.

The 2020s brought slower growth and margin pressure as automation and AI compressed demand for traditional services work. Brian Humphries led the company from 2019 until January 2023, when Ravi Kumar S, formerly president of Infosys, took over as CEO. Kumar launched a three-year plan to return Cognizant to industry-leading growth, investing in large-deal capability, partnerships with hyperscalers and AI platform vendors, and AI-assisted delivery.

The strategy showed results in 2025: full-year revenue of $21.1 billion grew 7.0 percent, the company's best rate since 2016, with trailing bookings of $28.4 billion and 28 large deals signed, including 12 in the fourth quarter. Operating margin expanded to 16.1 percent, and the company planned to return $1.6 billion to shareholders in 2026, including $1 billion in buybacks. Cognizant's 2026 guidance called for 4.0 to 6.5 percent constant currency revenue growth and adjusted operating margin of 15.9 to 16.1 percent.

Cognizant publishes an annual sustainability report covering emissions targets, including a net-zero commitment for its operations, renewable energy sourcing across Indian delivery centers, and diversity programs for a workforce exceeding 350,000. Its CSR arm funds STEM education and skilling programs in India and the United States.

The company is not B Corp certified, consistent with global IT services peers. Its most material governance commitments concern data protection and responsible AI delivery, areas where it publishes frameworks for client engagements.

Cognizant's public record includes periodic scrutiny over H-1B visa usage and offshore labor practices, the structural critique applied to the entire India-based services model. The company has faced lawsuits alleging visa fraud and discrimination in past years, settling or contesting them as routine for the sector.

In 2019, Cognizant paid $25 million to settle SEC charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act over payments to Indian government officials related to facilities in Chennai, one of the few FCPA cases in the industry. The company has also faced wage-and-hour and overtime class actions in the United States and India resolved through normal course settlements.