Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Second quarter revenue grew 7.2% year over year in constant currency to $5.2 billion, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year organic growth [6][26] - Adjusted operating margin improved by 40 basis points year over year to 15.6%, on track to achieve a margin expansion goal of 20 to 40 basis points for 2025 [8][34] - Bookings grew 18% year over year, with trailing twelve months growth of 6%, and the total contract value (TCV) of large deals more than doubled year over year [7][34] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Financial Services grew 6% year over year, driven by digital engineering and legacy modernization initiatives [27] - Health Sciences grew 5% year over year, supported by organic growth across payers, providers, and life sciences customers [28] - Communication, Media, and Technology returned to organic growth, led by the technology sector, with robust demand for cost reduction and capital reallocation [31] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - North America led revenue growth with 8%, driven by financial services and health sciences [32] - Europe grew 4%, supported by life sciences and financial services clients [33] - The Rest of the World increased by about 6%, with growth driven by financial services and health sciences [33] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI-led opportunities and disciplined execution to build a resilient and durable business [4][20] - The three-vector AI strategy includes productivity, industrializing AI, and agentifying the enterprise, with a strong emphasis on innovation-led projects [5][11] - The company is expanding its talent investments in emerging technology hubs and enhancing its AI capabilities through strategic partnerships [12][18] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism about the demand environment, noting strong large deal momentum and a growing number of new spend cycles [24][40] - The company expects revenue growth of 4% to 6% in constant currency for 2025, reflecting improved confidence in the second half of the year [38] - Management highlighted the importance of AI in driving productivity and innovation, positioning the company for future growth [20][21] Other Important Information - The company plans to return $2 billion to shareholders in 2025, with $1.4 billion allocated for share repurchases [42] - A one-time non-cash tax expense of approximately $400 million is expected in Q3 due to changes in US tax laws [36] Q&A Session Summary Question: Clarification on bookings and pipeline outlook - Management confirmed a balanced mix of renewals and new business, with a healthy outlook for bookings in the second half of the year [46][50] Question: Gross margin outlook - Management indicated that gross margin will be shaped by resource utilization and investments in large deals, with stable margins expected [51][53] Question: Pricing and incorporation of AI agents into deals - Management discussed the potential for outcome-based pricing and the differentiation created by their AI capabilities [58][60] Question: Healthcare segment headwinds and offsets - Management noted that while there are headwinds in healthcare, there are also opportunities for productivity-led growth [90][91] Question: Convergence of IT services and BPM - Management highlighted the unique opportunity presented by the convergence of operations and technology, emphasizing the role of AI in transforming client operations [92][93]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Second quarter revenue grew 7.2% year over year in constant currency to $5.2 billion, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year organic growth [6][26] - Adjusted operating margin improved by 40 basis points year over year to 15.6%, on track to achieve a margin expansion goal of 20 to 40 basis points for 2025 [7][35] - Bookings grew 18% year over year, translating to trailing twelve months growth of 6% [6][34] - Free cash flow for the second quarter was $331 million, compared to $183 million a year ago [36] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Financial Services grew 6% year over year, driven by digital engineering and legacy modernization [27] - Health Sciences grew 5% year over year, supported by organic growth across payers, providers, and life sciences customers [28] - Communication, Media, and Technology returned to organic growth, led by the technology sector [31] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - North America led revenue growth with 8%, driven by financial services and health sciences [32] - Europe grew 4%, supported by life sciences and financial services clients [33] - The Rest of the World increased by about 6%, driven by financial services and health sciences [33] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on AI-led opportunities and disciplined execution to build a resilient and durable business [4] - The strategy includes a three-vector approach: enabling hyper productivity, industrializing AI, and identifying the enterprise [81] - The company is expanding its talent investments in emerging technology hubs and enhancing its AI capabilities [12][13] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed optimism about the ability to drive large deal momentum and win new spend cycles in AI opportunities [23] - The demand environment remains dynamic, but the company is encouraged by its performance and pipeline [23][40] - The company expects revenue growth of 4% to 6% in constant currency for the full year 2025 [39] Other Important Information - The company plans to return $2 billion to shareholders in 2025, an increase from previous guidance [42] - A one-time non-cash tax expense of approximately $400 million is expected in Q3 due to changes in US tax laws [37] Q&A Session Summary Question: Clarification on bookings and pipeline outlook - Management confirmed a balanced mix of renewals and new business, with a healthy pipeline for the second half of the year [49][53] Question: Gross margin outlook - Management indicated that gross margin will be shaped by resource utilization and investments in large deals [54][57] Question: Pricing and business opportunities related to AI agents - Management discussed the potential for outcome-based pricing and the differentiation created by their AI capabilities [62][66] Question: Capital allocation and M&A pipeline - Management provided an update on capital allocation plans, indicating a decent pipeline for M&A in the second half of the year [69] Question: Healthcare segment headwinds and offsets - Management noted that their exposure to Medicaid and Medicare is limited, with a focus on productivity-led opportunities in healthcare [95] Question: Convergence of IT services and BPM - Management highlighted the unique opportunity presented by the convergence of operations, data, and AI [96] Question: Headcount increase and outlook for the second half - Management acknowledged the increase in headcount and its implications for resource management moving forward [101]

Core Insights - Cognizant reported strong second quarter 2025 financial results, with revenue exceeding guidance and demonstrating effective strategy execution in the AI era [2][9] - The company achieved organic year-over-year revenue growth for the fourth consecutive quarter, alongside margin expansion and significant bookings, including two deals worth over $1 billion each [2][5] Financial Performance - Q2 2025 revenue reached $5,245 million, an increase of 8.1% year-over-year, with constant currency growth of 7.2% [3][9] - GAAP operating margin improved to 15.6%, up 100 basis points from the previous year, while adjusted operating margin also increased to 15.6% [3][9] - GAAP diluted EPS was $1.31, reflecting a 15% increase year-over-year, and adjusted diluted EPS was also $1.31, up 12% [3][9] Growth Drivers - Recent acquisitions contributed approximately 400 basis points to year-over-year revenue growth in both Q2 2025 and year-to-date [3][40] - Bookings for the trailing twelve months rose 6% year-over-year to $27.8 billion, with a book-to-bill ratio of approximately 1.4x [5][9] Shareholder Returns - The company repurchased 4.5 million shares for $354 million in Q2 2025, with a total of 6.8 million shares repurchased year-to-date for $544 million [7][9] - Cognizant plans to return approximately $2.0 billion to shareholders in 2025, an increase from the previous estimate of $1.7 billion [4][9] Future Guidance - For Q3 2025, revenue is expected to be between $5.27 billion and $5.35 billion, representing growth of 4.6% to 6.1% [8][9] - Full-year 2025 revenue guidance is narrowed to $20.7 billion to $21.1 billion, with expected growth of 4.7% to 6.7% [13][9] Operational Metrics - Voluntary attrition in tech services was 15.2% in Q2 2025, a slight decrease from 15.8% in Q1 2025 [6] - Total headcount as of June 30, 2025, was 343,800, an increase of 7,500 from both Q1 2025 and Q2 2024 [6] Strategic Initiatives - Cognizant is focusing on building a portfolio of capabilities to advance an AI-led future through client agreements and platform enhancements [11][12] - The company launched Cognizant Agent Foundry, designed to help enterprises deploy autonomous AI agents at scale [14][15]