Cognizant (CTSH) Stock Buyback History
TTM buyback yield 3.45% · Shareholder yield (TTM) 3.45%.
Cognizant
CTSH
TTM buyback yield
3.45%
Shareholder yield (TTM)
3.45%
5Y share count change
-10.9%
TTM buyback spend
$1.38B
SBC coverage (TTM)
7.61x
Diluted vs basic shares (annual)
Weighted average shares from the income statement: diluted (EPS denominator and typical buyback-yield basis) compared with basic.
Shares outstanding (annual)
Year-over-year change in diluted weighted average shares (industry-standard for EPS and per-share capital return). Green is fewer shares vs the prior fiscal year; red is growth (dilution). The earliest year shown has no prior year to compare.
Dividend & buyback yield
Buybacks vs stock-based compensation
TTM coverage: 7.61x (buybacks ÷ SBC). Bars are fiscal-year totals.
Buyback spending history
| Year | Buybacks | SBC | Net | Shares (dil.) | YoY shares | Buyback yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $1.38B | $181.00M | $1.20B | 0.48B | -3.0% | 3.45% |
| 2024 | $605.00M | $0.00 | $605.00M | 0.50B | -1.6% | 1.59% |
| 2023 | $1.06B | $0.00 | $1.06B | 0.51B | -2.7% | 2.82% |
| 2022 | $1.42B | $261.00M | $1.16B | 0.52B | -1.7% | 4.86% |
| 2021 | $771.00M | $246.00M | $525.00M | 0.53B | -2.4% | 1.66% |
| 2020 | $1.62B | $232.00M | $1.39B | 0.54B | -3.4% | 3.71% |
| 2019 | $2.25B | $217.00M | $2.03B | 0.56B | -4.1% | 6.62% |
| 2018 | $1.26B | $267.00M | $994.00M | 0.58B | -1.8% | 3.44% |
| 2017 | $1.89B | $221.00M | $1.67B | 0.59B | -2.5% | 4.52% |
| 2016 | $512.00M | $0.00 | $512.00M | 0.61B | -0.5% | 1.51% |
| 2015 | $460.00M | $0.00 | $460.00M | 0.61B | 0.1% | 1.26% |
| 2014 | $248.32M | $0.00 | $248.32M | 0.61B | 0.5% | 0.77% |
| 2013 | $179.00M | $0.00 | $179.00M | 0.61B | -0.3% | 0.59% |
| 2012 | $520.85M | $107.36M | $413.49M | 0.61B | -1.4% | 2.35% |
| 2011 | $374.15M | $90.23M | $283.92M | 0.62B | 0.4% | 1.92% |
| 2010 | $59.00M | $56.98M | $2.02M | 0.62B | 2.7% | 0.27% |
| 2009 | $16.26M | $13.26M | $3.00M | 0.60B | 0.7% | 0.12% |
| 2008 | $27.84M | $26.91M | $928.00K | 0.60B | -1.5% | 0.53% |
| 2007 | $105.36M | $0.00 | $105.36M | 0.61B | 0.8% | 1.08% |
| 2006 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.60B | 2.5% | — |
| 2005 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.59B | 3.0% | — |
| 2004 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.57B | 5.0% | — |
| 2003 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.54B | 6.6% | — |
| 2002 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.51B | 4.2% | — |
| 2001 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.49B | 0.6% | — |
| 2000 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.49B | 4.3% | — |
| 1999 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.47B | 2.4% | — |
| 1998 | $800.00K | $0.00 | $800.00K | 0.46B | — | — |
Buybacks vs dividends (share of cash returned)
Buyback capacity (TTM)
TTM buybacks vs headroom (FCF − dividends, TTM)69% of headroom
Headroom $1.99B (TTM FCF − TTM dividends, clamped at zero).
Frequently asked questions
Does Cognizant buy back its own stock?
- Yes, Cognizant (CTSH) has repurchased shares in recent periods. See the history table and charts on this page for amounts and trends.
How much does Cognizant spend on share buybacks?
- Trailing twelve months (TTM) buyback spend is about $1.38B (sum of the last four quarterly cash-flow periods in our data). Figures are illustrative; verify in filings.
What is Cognizant's buyback yield?
- TTM buyback yield is about 3.45% (TTM buyback spend divided by market cap at the latest quarter-end in our data).
What is Cognizant's shareholder yield?
- Shareholder yield combines dividend yield and buyback yield. For the latest period we show approximately 3.45% combined (TTM-based where available).
Is Cognizant diluting shareholders?
- Compare stock-based compensation (SBC) to buybacks in the chart above. Net effect varies by year; see annual buyback vs SBC bars and the history table.
How has Cognizant's share count changed?
- Diluted weighted average shares changed by about -10.9% over roughly five fiscal years (annual income statement data).