Cover and table of contents
25K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown
Cover and table of contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
| ☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||||||||||
| For the fiscal year ended | December 31, 2025 | |||||||||||||
| OR | ||||||||||||||
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||||||||||
| For the transition period from to |
Commission File Number 0-24429
COGNIZANT TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS CORPORATION
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)
| Delaware | 13-3728359 | ||||||||||
| (State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | ||||||||||
300 Frank W. Burr Blvd., Suite 36, 6th Floor
Teaneck, New Jersey 07666
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (201) 801-0233
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
| Class A Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share | CTSH | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ☐ Yes ☒ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large Accelerated Filer | ☒ | Accelerated Filer | ☐ | ||||||||
| Non-accelerated Filer | ☐ | Smaller Reporting Company | ☐ | ||||||||
| Emerging Growth Company | ☐ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). ☐ Yes ☒ No
The aggregate market value of the registrant’s voting shares of common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant on June 30, 2025, based on $78 per share, the last reported sale price on the Nasdaq Global Select Market of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on that date, was $38.1 billion.
The number of shares of Class A common stock, $0.01 par value, of the registrant outstanding as of February 6, 2026 was 478,246,920 shares.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
The following documents are incorporated by reference into the Annual Report on Form 10-K: Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for its 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Report.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| GLOSSARY |
| Defined Term | Definition | ||||
| 10b5-1 Plan | Trading plan adopted pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act | ||||
| 2009 Incentive Plan | Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation Amended and Restated 2009 Incentive Compensation Plan | ||||
| 2017 Incentive Plan | Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation 2017 Incentive Award Plan | ||||
| 2023 Incentive Plan | Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation 2023 Incentive Award Plan | ||||
| 2026 Proxy Statement | Definitive proxy statement for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders | ||||
| Adjusted Diluted EPS | Adjusted diluted earnings per share | ||||
| AI | Artificial Intelligence | ||||
| APA | Advance Pricing Agreement | ||||
| ASC | Accounting Standards Codification | ||||
| CC | Constant Currency | ||||
| CE | Continental Europe | ||||
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
| CIO | Chief Information Officer | ||||
| CITA | Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) in India | ||||
| CLO | Chief Legal Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary | ||||
| CMT | Communications, Media and Technology | ||||
| CODM | Chief Operating Decision Maker | ||||
| CPI | Consumer Price Index | ||||
| Credit Agreement | Credit agreement with a commercial bank syndicate dated April 18, 2024, as amended | ||||
| CSO | Chief Security Officer | ||||
| CTS India | Our principal operating subsidiary in India | ||||
| DSO | Days Sales Outstanding | ||||
| DTSA | Defend Trade Secrets Act | ||||
| EPS | Earnings Per Share | ||||
| ENS | The National Security Scheme | ||||
| EU | European Union | ||||
| EU AI Act | European Union Artificial Intelligence Act | ||||
| EVP | Executive Vice President | ||||
| Exchange Act | Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended | ||||
| FCPA | Foreign Corrupt Practices Act | ||||
| FS | Financial Services | ||||
| GAAP | Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America | ||||
| GCCs | Global Capability Centers | ||||
| GenAI | Generative Artificial Intelligence | ||||
| High Court | Madras, India High Court | ||||
| HR | Human Resources | ||||
| HS | Health Sciences | ||||
| India Defined Contribution Obligation | Certain statutory defined contribution obligations of employees and employers in India | ||||
| IP | Intellectual property | ||||
| IoT | Internet of Things | ||||
| IRS | Internal Revenue Service | ||||
| ISO | An international standard for information security management |
| Cognizant | 1 | December 31, 2025 Form 10-K |
| Defined Term | Definition | ||||
| IT | Information Technology | ||||
| ITAT | Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in India | ||||
| ITD | Indian Income Tax Department | ||||
| Labor Code | Labor law reforms implemented by the Government of India effective November 21, 2025, including the Code on Social Security, 2020. | ||||
| NA | North America | ||||
| Nasscom | National Association of Software and Services Companies | ||||
| NextGen program | Our 2023-2024 program to simplify our operating model, optimize corporate functions and consolidate and realign office space | ||||
| Ninth Circuit | United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit | ||||
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology | ||||
| OBBBA | One Big Beautiful Bill Act | ||||
| PSU | Performance Stock Units | ||||
| Purchase Plan | Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation 2004 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended | ||||
| P&R | Products and Resources | ||||
| R&E | Research and experimental | ||||
| Recently completed acquisitions | Acquisitions that were completed in the 12 months preceding the beginning of the reporting period (in order to identify the impact of such acquisitions for the first twelve months of ownership) | ||||
| ROU | Right of Use | ||||
| RoW | Rest of World | ||||
| RSU | Restricted Stock Units | ||||
| SCI | Supreme Court of India | ||||
| SEC | United States Securities and Exchange Commission | ||||
| Second Circuit | United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit | ||||
| SG&A | Selling, general and administrative | ||||
| SVP | Senior Vice President | ||||
| Syntel | Syntel Sterling Best Shores Mauritius Ltd. | ||||
| Tax Reform Act | Tax Cuts and Jobs Act | ||||
| Term Loan | Unsecured term loan under the Credit Agreement | ||||
| Third Circuit | United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit | ||||
| Title VII | Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C § 2000e et seq. | ||||
| TriZetto | The TriZetto Group, Inc., now known as Cognizant Technology Software Group, Inc. | ||||
| UK | United Kingdom | ||||
| USDC-CDCA | United States District Court for the Central District of California | ||||
| USDC-NJ | United States District Court for the District of New Jersey | ||||
| USDC-SDNY | United States District Court for the Southern District of New York | ||||
| Voluntary Attrition - Tech Services | Attrition metric that includes all voluntary separations with the exception of employees in our Intuitive Operations and Automation practice | ||||
| VP | Vice President |
| Cognizant | 2 | December 31, 2025 Form 10-K |
| Forward Looking Statements |
The statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act) that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “should” or “anticipate” or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy that involve risks and uncertainties. From time to time, we or our representatives have made or may make forward-looking statements, orally or in writing.
Such forward-looking statements may be included in various filings made by us with the SEC, in press releases or in oral statements made by or with the approval of one of our authorized executive officers. These forward-looking statements, such as statements regarding our anticipated future revenues, operating margin, earnings, capital expenditures, impacts to our business, financial results and financial condition as a result of the competitive marketplace for talent and future attrition trends, anticipated effective income tax rate and income tax expense, liquidity, financing strategy, access to capital, capital return strategy, investment strategies, cost management, plans and objectives, investment in our business, potential acquisitions, industry trends, client behaviors and trends, the outcome of and costs associated with regulatory and litigation matters, the appropriateness of the accrual related to the India Defined Contribution Obligation and other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections, management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. Actual results, performance, achievements and outcomes could differ materially from the results expressed in, or anticipated or implied by, these forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including:
-
macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions globally, in particular in the markets in which our clients and operations are concentrated;
-
intense and evolving competition and significant technological advances that our service offerings must keep pace with in the rapidly changing markets we compete in;
-
our ability to successfully use AI-based technologies in our client offerings and our own internal operations and the impact AI-based technologies may have on the demand for our services or our ability to obtain favorable pricing or other terms for our services;
-
our ability to attract, train and retain skilled employees, including highly skilled technical personnel and personnel with experience in key AI and digital areas and senior management to lead our business globally, at an acceptable cost;
-
unexpected terminations of client contracts on short notice or reduced spending by clients;
-
our ability to meet specified service levels or milestones required by certain of our contracts;
-
our ability to achieve our profitability goals and maintain our capital return strategy;
-
challenges related to growing our business organically as well as inorganically through acquisitions, and our ability to achieve our targeted growth rates and successfully integrate acquired businesses;
-
legal, reputation and financial risks if we fail to protect client and/or our data from security breaches and/or cyber attacks;
-
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, or the failure of our hedging strategies to mitigate such fluctuations;
-
the impact of future pandemics, epidemics or other outbreaks of disease, on our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition;
-
the impact of extreme weather on our business;
-
our ability to meet sustainability and societal related expectations and ambitions;
-
the effectiveness of our risk management, business resilience and disaster recovery plans and the potential that our global delivery capabilities could be impacted;
-
restrictions on visas, in particular in the United States, UK and EU, or immigration more generally or increased costs of such visas or the wages we are required to pay employees on visas, which may affect our ability to compete for and provide services to our clients;
-
risks related to anti-outsourcing legislation, if adopted, and negative perceptions associated with offshore outsourcing, both of which could impair our ability to serve our clients;
-
risks and costs related to complying with numerous and evolving legal and regulatory requirements and client expectations in the many jurisdictions in which we operate;
| Cognizant | 3 | December 31, 2025 Form 10-K |
-
actual and potential changes in tax laws, or in their interpretation or enforcement, failure by us to adapt our corporate structure and intercompany arrangements, or adverse outcomes of tax audits, investigations or proceedings;
-
actual and potential exposure to litigation and legal claims in the conduct of our business;
-
risks related to infringement upon the IP rights of others or having our IP rights infringed upon; and
-
the factors set forth in "Part 1, Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this report.
You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in the reports we file with the SEC, including this report in the sections titled “Part I, Item 1. Business,” “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
| Cognizant | 4 | December 31, 2025 Form 10-K |
PART I