Cognizant Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates: Will Raised View Aid Shares?

Core Insights - Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) reported non-GAAP earnings of $1.23 per share for Q1 2025, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.36% and reflecting a year-over-year increase of 9.8% [1] - Revenues reached $5.12 billion, surpassing the consensus mark by 0.95%, with a year-over-year growth of 7.5% and 8.2% at constant currency [1] - The Belcan acquisition contributed approximately 400 basis points to revenue growth, while bookings increased 3% year over year to $26.7 billion, indicating a book-to-bill ratio of about 1.3 times [2] Financial Performance - Financial services revenues, accounting for 28.6% of total revenues, grew 5.6% year over year to $1.462 billion, driven by increased discretionary spending and investments in cloud and AI [4] - Health Sciences revenues, making up 30.7% of total revenues, rose 10.9% year over year to $1.571 billion, supported by strong demand across various sectors [5] - Products and Resources revenues increased 12.8% year over year to $1.27 billion, while Communications, Media and Technology revenues decreased 2.7% to $804 million [5] Regional Performance - North America contributed 75.3% to total revenues, with a year-over-year increase of 9.5% [6] - Revenues from Europe grew 1.2% year over year, contributing 18.6% to total revenues, while the Rest of the World saw a 3.7% increase [6] Operational Metrics - Selling, general & administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues decreased by 60 basis points year over year to 15.5% [7] - The company reported a GAAP operating margin of 16.7%, expanding 210 basis points year over year, and a non-GAAP operating margin of 15.5%, which expanded 40 basis points [8] Balance Sheet Overview - As of March 31, 2025, cash and short-term investments totaled $1.99 billion, down from $2.24 billion at the end of 2024 [9] - Total debt decreased to $600 million from $908 million, while cash generated from operations was $400 million compared to $920 million in the previous quarter [9] Future Guidance - For Q2 2025, revenues are expected to be between $5.14 billion and $5.21 billion, indicating growth of 5.9%-7.4% [10] - For the full year 2025, revenues are projected to be in the range of $20.5-$21 billion, reflecting an increase of 3.9-6.4% [10] - Adjusted earnings per share for 2025 are anticipated to be between $4.98 and $5.14 [11]