Cognizant to Pay 100% Bonus After Hitting Growth Target Two Years Early

Teaneck-based IT services giant Cognizant Technology Solutions is reportedly rolling out its discretionary bonus payout for 2025 after the company hit an internal industry performance benchmark known as the “Winner’s Circle”.

During its quarterly results announcement, CEO Ravi Kumar S said, “I am deeply grateful to our over 350,000 employees who helped make 2025 a defining year for Cognizant, in which we put our AI builder strategy in motion and returned to the ‘Winner’s Circle’ two years ahead of the target we set at our Investor Day.”

Separately, in an internal message to employees, Kumar said, “To recognise this effort, I am pleased to share that we have authorised funding our discretionary bonus programme at 100 percent.”

The text was reported by Moneycontrol. An email sent to Cognizant on the matter remained unanswered at the time of publication.

The Teaneck-based firm uses “Winner’s Circle” as an internal yardstick to signal that it has entered the top rung of performance among global peers, measured across revenue growth, margins and execution. While the company had earlier indicated it was aiming to reach this level by 2027, it said it achieved the target in 2025. The peer set includes Accenture, Capgemini, CGI Group, DXC, EPAM, Genpact, HCLTech, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro.

According to the company, this improvement translated into “Top Tier” status in 2025, which it defines as ranking among the top four performers on revenue growth within its peer group. This classification reflects relative performance against competitors rather than absolute growth in isolation.

Cognizant Q4 Performance

On Wednesday, Cognizant reported fourth-quarter revenue of $5.33 billion, up 3.8% year-on-year in constant currency, beating its guidance of 2.5–3.5% growth. The performance was led by North America, where revenue rose 4.2%, while financial services was the fastest-growing segment with a 9.3% increase. Adjusted EBIT margin improved to 16%, up 30 basis points from a year ago and above expectations, while adjusted diluted EPS jumped about 22% to $1.34.

For FY25, revenue growth came in at 6.4% in constant currency, slightly ahead of guidance, supported in part by acquisitions. Looking ahead, the company has guided for 4–6.5% constant-currency growth in FY26, including contributions from inorganic growth, even as it flagged ongoing macro uncertainty. Cognizant said client demand is being driven by cost optimisation, vendor consolidation and productivity-focused deals, with discretionary spending improving in financial services but remaining weak in sectors affected by tariffs.

Utilisation during the quarter declined 200 basis points quarter-on-quarter to 83%, though it was up 100 basis points from a year ago. Headcount increased marginally by about 0.5% sequentially to around 352,000. The company said margin performance going forward will be driven by AI-led productivity gains and improvements in its employee pyramid through higher fresher hiring, and it expects margins to improve by 10–30 basis points in FY26.

2026 Hiring Plan

Cognizant plans to hire 24,000–25,000 fresh graduates in 2026, stepping up campus hiring as AI-led delivery boosts entry-level productivity. The intake is about 20% higher than in 2025, when the company hired around 20,000 freshers, most of whom are already deployed on client projects.

“We hired close to 20,000 school graduates in 2025. For next year, we plan to increase this by about 20%. So we would be very happy to land around 24,000–25,000 for 2026,” CFO Jatin Dalal said during the post-earnings press conference.