Cognizant has once again adjusted its revenue growth forecast for 2026, lowering the expected constant currency growth to 4–4.4 percent. This decision was made against a backdrop of weakening discretionary spending, despite third-quarter revenue increasing by 4.6 percent and net profit reaching $627 million.
During the current year, the company has lowered its annual outlook for the second time, highlighting the complex macroeconomic environment, which has become even more complicated in the last three months, slowing growth prospects for IT service providers listed on Nasdaq.
The company now expects growth in the range of 4–4.4 percent in constant currency, which is lower than the previous forecast of 4–5.5 percent announced in July. At the beginning of the year, the forecast was 4–6.5 percent.
For the third quarter, ending September 30, Cognizant's net profit jumped to $627 million from $274 million the previous year, attributed to a reduction in income tax reserves. Revenue grew by 4.6 percent to $5.7 billion, and by 4.8 percent in constant currency.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ravi Kumar stated at a virtual event that 'a lot has changed in 2026, and the macroeconomic situation has not improved.' He added that while rising oil prices, inflation, and interest rates are factors, artificial intelligence is a positive factor that is gradually moving from simple productivity gains to creating new products, which should surpass the productivity benefits shared with clients. However, realizing this potential requires discretionary spending, which has not materialized adequately.
Cognizant's revenue forecast reduction followed a similar move by Infosys, which also adjusted its expectations, citing macroeconomic weakness, increased uncertainty, and lower-than-expected discretionary spending in AI.
Although Cognizant outperformed its Indian competitors in the weak quarter in both dollar and constant currency terms, it lagged behind Tech Mahindra, which showed growth of 6.8 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively, based on a smaller base.
However, a cause for concern is the weak organic growth and the decline in total contract value (TCV) deals for the second quarter in a row. Over the past 12 months, order volume increased by 4 percent year-over-year to $28.7 billion, but in the third quarter, orders fell by 7 percent compared to the previous year. The third quarter included three large deals, each with a TCV of $100 million or more.
Kumar, who had been counting on large contracts to improve the company's position, noted that over the past three years, deals have mainly consisted of large renewals as clients proactively updated agreements to take advantage of price competitiveness. This indicates that large deals in the industry have slowed down, and new orders have become smaller in size, putting pressure on revenue growth.
Third-quarter growth was driven primarily by financial services, which grew by 11.4 percent, marking the third consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. The employee turnover rate was 12.6 percent, while the company hired 3,200 people, bringing the total number of employees to 359,900. Cognizant does not expect recent US PERM rulings to affect its operations. As part of its talent localization strategy, the company has already hired 20,000 engineering graduates, 1,000 of whom are in the US.