[UPDATE] Cognizant re-rates roughly 37% in a month, cutting against the AI-dissolves-IT-services thesis
Cognizant rose 5.5% on 19 August to $60.93 and is up about 37% over thirty days, a move traced to its 29 July Q2 report: revenue up 4.5% year over year to $5.48bn, adjusted operating margin at 16.0%, adjusted EPS of $1.37, raised full-year EPS guidance and a $2bn buyback authorisation. Financial Services revenue grew close to 12% in constant currency, a second consecutive double-digit quarter. Coverage attributes the re-rating to evidence that the AI strategy is producing larger deals and better margins rather than compressing them.