Cognizant management check
CTSH · Information Technology · IT Consulting & Other Services · CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti
Filings as of
5 good · 0 to watch · 2 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $109, against $196 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.92 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
1.0% of net income$21.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $2.2bn of net income.
- Good
Do they own the stock?
Insiders are buyingThe CEO holds 135,550 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 0.4 years of pay. 1 insider bought $210k on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows. Sales: $1.0m.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.6% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.9% of revenue in the latest year.
- Flag
Is leadership stable?
3 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Mr. Humphries, Mr. Kumar, Brian Humphries. 7 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 0 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 96 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 51 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | 35 | 47 | |
| Dilution | 70 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 10 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in IT Consulting & Other Services, by management score. Cognizant is 58th of 73 in its sector.
- 15IBMIBM86
- 158ITGartner72
- 363ACNAccenture57
- 405TYLTyler Technologies52
- 410CTSHCognizant52
- 412TERTeradyne52
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 17, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Mr. Kumar | $21.5m | $26.7m | $5.5m | $109 | $196 | $2.2bn |
| 2024 | Mr. Kumar | $16.8m | $14.3m | $5.8m | $100 | $166 | $2.2bn |
| 2023 | Mr. Kumar, Brian Humphries | $22.6m | $23.1m | $4.2m | $96 | $133 | $2.1bn |
| 2022 | Mr. Humphries | $17.9m | $0 | $4.3m | $72 | $105 | $2.3bn |
| 2021 | Mr. Humphries | $19.7m | $22.4m | $5.7m | $110 | $129 | $2.1bn |
The board says pay is tied most to revenue. Its other key measures: Revenue, Adjusted operating margin, Adjusted diluted earnings per share, Relative total shareholder return.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Ravi Kumar Singisetti (Chief Executive Officer) held 135,550 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 15, 2026, roughly $8.7m at that filing's price.
1 insider bought $210k on the open market in the last six months, with their own money, near the lows. Sales: $1.0m.
- BoughtStephen J RohlederDirector$210kJun 10, 2026
- SoldJatin P DalalChief Financial Officer · 10b5-1 plan$669kAug 3, 2026
- SoldJohn Sunshin KimCLO, CAO & Corporate Secretary · 10b5-1 plan$301kSep 2, 2026
- SoldAlina KerdmanSVP, Controller & CAO · 10b5-1 plan$53kSep 30, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Feb 26, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 28, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 10, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Jul 11, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 9, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 17, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 21, 2023Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Sep 28, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 2, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 9, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 19, 2023Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Mar 31, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 3, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $8.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 74% of net income, and $1.0bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $18.5bn | $19.4bn | $19.4bn | $19.7bn | $21.1bn |
| Net income | $2.1bn | $2.3bn | $2.1bn | $2.2bn | $2.2bn |
| Stock-based pay | $246.0m | $261.0m | $176.0m | $175.0m | $181.0m |
| Buybacks | $771.0m | $1.4bn | $1.1bn | $605.0m | $1.4bn |
| Dividends | $509.0m | $564.0m | $591.0m | $600.0m | $610.0m |
| Diluted shares | 528m | 519m | 505m | 497m | 489m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.