Cognizant occupies an interesting position in the IT services world: it’s headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, but the vast majority of its workforce is based in India. Founded in 1994 as an in-house technology unit of Dun & Bradstreet, it became a separate company and went public on NASDAQ in 1998.
The company has grown to over 340,000 employees and reported revenue of $19.4 billion in 2023. Cognizant’s US headquarters gives it certain advantages in the American market — it’s perceived as a domestic company by some clients, even though its delivery model relies heavily on offshore teams in India.
Cognizant’s strongest verticals are healthcare and financial services, where it has deep domain expertise. The company handles everything from application modernization and cloud migration to digital experience platforms and AI implementations. Its healthcare practice manages IT systems for hospitals, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies.
The company went through a turbulent period from 2019-2020 under CEO Brian Humphries, including a ransomware attack in April 2020 that cost the company $50-70 million. A voluntary separation program in 2020 saw over 10,000 employees leave as part of a workforce restructuring aimed at shifting the skills mix.
Under current CEO Ravi Kumar S., who joined from Infosys in 2023, Cognizant has been focusing on its large deals pipeline and expanding its generative AI capabilities. The company acquired several firms to strengthen its portfolio, including Belcan (engineering services) for $1.3 billion in 2024.
Cognizant’s challenge has been reigniting growth after several years of underperformance relative to peers. The company has been investing in platforming its solutions, building AI capabilities, and expanding into new geographies to diversify beyond its US-centric revenue base.
