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Cognizant Set to Report Q3 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?

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Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH - Free Report) is scheduled to report its third-quarter 2024 results on Oct. 30.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.15 per share, unchanged in the past 30 days. This indicates a decline of 0.86% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. 

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Cognizant expects third-quarter 2024 revenues between $4.89 billion and $4.96 billion, indicating a decline of 0.2% to an increase of 1.3% (an increase of 1.5% on a cc basis). Acquisitions are expected to have contributed 70 bps in the to-be-reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues is pegged at $5 billion, indicating a year-over-year increase of 2.17%.

Cognizant’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 6.56%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement.

Factors to Note

Cognizant’s third-quarter 2024 performance is likely to have benefited from an expanding clientele and a robust pipeline that includes a favorable mix of new opportunities.

Cognizant signed five agreements with a total contract value of $100 million or more in second-quarter 2024, indicating strong demand for large deals. This is likely to have contributed to the to-be-reported quarter’s performance as well.

The company’s robust network of partners, which includes Gentherm (THRM - Free Report) , Microsoft (MSFT - Free Report) and CNO Financial Group (CNO - Free Report) , is likely to have driven growth during the third quarter.

CTSH recently collaborated with Gentherm to provide engineering services, including systems engineering, validation and model-based development, aiming to enhance agility and scalability in product development through cloud-native technologies and virtualization. Benefits from this partnership are likely to have been reflected in the to-be-reported quarter’s performance.

Cognizant, in collaboration with Microsoft, announced an expanded partnership aiming to leverage generative AI and Copilots to drive innovation across industries. The partnership will focus on transforming enterprise operations and enhancing employee experiences.

Cognizant announced the continuation of its partnership with CNO Financial, a leading provider of insurance, financial services and workforce benefits solutions for middle-income Americans. The company will help optimize and enhance CNO Financials’ technology-based services and solutions with cloud and digital technologies.

Cognizant’s investments in generative AI, including its collaboration with Microsoft and NVIDIA, are expected to have positioned it well in the market. The advanced AI capabilities and training initiatives are likely to have enhanced its service offerings and drive future growth.

CTSH’s NextGen initiative is expected to have played a pivotal role in enhancing operational efficiency in the to-be-reported quarter.

However, Cognizant’s weakness in the Financial Services segment and unfavorable foreign exchange are expected to have hurt spending rates and affected top-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter.

Cognizant currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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