Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. increased third-quarter revenue 4.6% year over year to $5.664 billion, with Financial Services leading growth as the company forecast 4.0% to 4.4% constant-currency revenue growth for 2026.
Financial Services revenue climbed 12% to $1.767 billion, and Communications, Media and Technology grew 10.5% to $939 million. Health Sciences revenue slipped 1.1% to $1.587 billion, while Products and Resources fell 0.9% to $1.371 billion.
Net income reached $627 million, compared with $274 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share under generally accepted accounting principles rose to $1.39 from 56 cents. A one-time $0.80 noncash income tax expense weighed on diluted EPS in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted diluted EPS, which excludes certain items, gained 7.2% to $1.49.
The company’s GAAP operating margin narrowed to 15.4% from 16%. Its adjusted operating margin expanded to 16.3% from 16%.
Bookings were down 7% from the year-earlier quarter. Over the trailing 12 months, bookings increased 4% to $28.7 billion, with a book-to-bill ratio of about 1.3x.
Cognizant projected full-year revenue of $22.05 billion to $22.14 billion, equal to reported growth of 4.5% to 4.9%. Its fourth-quarter revenue forecast is $5.49 billion to $5.57 billion. The company disclosed the results in a Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 29.
Project Leap is expected to cost $180 million to $250 million. The estimate includes $150 million to $200 million for severance and other personnel costs and $30 million to $50 million in other charges. Cognizant projects about $200 million in savings from the program during 2026, with most of that amount directed to integrated offerings, AI capabilities and partnerships. The company also lists workforce upskilling as a program aim.
