Buyback yield (TTM)
5.51%
Shareholder yield (TTM)
7.61%
5Y share count change
-10.9%
Buyback spend (TTM)
$1.61B
Cumulative buybacks
$14.76B
Key takeaways
- Cognizant (CTSH) repurchased about $1.61B of stock over the trailing twelve months.
- Diluted share count is down 10.9% over the last ~5 fiscal years — buybacks are net-shrinking the share base.
- TTM buyback ÷ stock-based-comp ratio of 8.72× — repurchases more than cover SBC dilution.
- Cash buyback spend has compounded at -3.2% per year over the latest 5-year window.
- TTM repurchases used about 87% of free cash flow remaining after dividends.
Dividend & buyback yield over time for Cognizant (CTSH)
Stacked annual yields — buyback yield (TTM cash repurchases ÷ market cap) plus dividend yield from the same fiscal-year-end key-metrics period — show how total cash return per dollar of equity has evolved.
Diluted vs basic shares (annual) for Cognizant (CTSH)
Diluted weighted-average shares are the EPS denominator — a falling count means buybacks are outpacing SBC dilution.
Year-over-year change in diluted shares for Cognizant (CTSH)
Green is fewer shares vs the prior fiscal year (net repurchase); red is growth (dilution). The earliest year shown has no prior year to compare.
Cash buyback spend over time for Cognizant (CTSH)
Latest: $1.38B
Overview
The 2025 reading of Cognizant (CTSH) buyback spend is $1.38B – surged 127.8% year-over-year.
Looking at the 2020–2025 (5 years) stretch, Cognizant buyback spend compounded at -3.2% per year, with a net decline across the window.
Between 2019 and 2025, Cognizant buyback spend plunged 38.7%, falling from $2.25B to $1.38B.
Across the available history, buyback spend reached its high of $2.25B in 2019 and its low of $0.00 in 1999.
Cognizant Buyback Spend 2025: $1.38B
Cognizant buyback spend in 2025 was $1.38B, surged 127.8% from 2024.
Cognizant Buyback Spend 2024: $605.00M
2024's buyback spend for Cognizant came in at $605.00M, plunged 43.1% below 2023.
Cognizant Buyback Spend 2023: $1.06B
Cognizant posted buyback spend of $1.06B in 2023, declined 25.2% below 2022.
Cognizant Buyback Spend 2022: $1.42B
In 2022, Cognizant reported buyback spend of $1.42B, surged 84.4% from 2021.
Cognizant Buyback Spend 2021: $771.00M
Cognizant buyback spend in 2021 was $771.00M.
See more financial history for Cognizant (CTSH).
Buyback, SBC & dilution history
Buyback spend, SBC, net dilution effect, and share count.
| 2025 | $1.38B | $181.00M | $1.20B | 3.45% | 0.48B | -3.0% | |
| 2024 | $605.00M | $175.00M | $430.00M | 1.59% | 0.50B | -1.6% | |
| 2023 | $1.06B | $176.00M | $888.00M | 2.82% | 0.51B | -2.7% | |
| 2022 | $1.42B | $261.00M | $1.16B | 4.86% | 0.52B | -1.7% | |
| 2021 | $771.00M | $246.00M | $525.00M | 1.66% | 0.53B | -2.4% | |
| 2020 | $1.62B | $232.00M | $1.39B | 3.71% | 0.54B | -3.4% | |
| 2019 | $2.25B | $217.00M | $2.03B | 6.62% | 0.56B | -4.1% | |
| 2018 | $1.26B | $267.00M | $994.00M | 3.44% | 0.58B | -1.8% | |
| 2017 | $1.89B | $221.00M | $1.67B | 4.52% | 0.59B | -2.5% | |
| 2016 | $512.00M | $0.00 | $512.00M | 1.51% | 0.61B | -0.5% | |
| 2015 | $460.00M | $0.00 | $460.00M | 1.26% | 0.61B | +0.1% | |
| 2014 | $248.32M | $0.00 | $248.32M | 0.77% | 0.61B | +0.5% | |
| 2013 | $179.00M | $0.00 | $179.00M | 0.59% | 0.61B | -0.3% | |
| 2012 | $520.85M | $107.36M | $413.49M | 2.35% | 0.61B | -1.4% | |
| 2011 | $374.15M | $90.23M | $283.92M | 1.92% | 0.62B | +0.4% | |
| 2010 | $59.00M | $56.98M | $2.02M | 0.27% | 0.62B | +2.7% | |
| 2009 | $16.26M | $13.26M | $3.00M | 0.12% | 0.60B | +0.7% | |
| 2008 | $27.84M | $26.91M | $928.00K | 0.53% | 0.60B | -1.5% | |
| 2007 | $105.36M | $0.00 | $105.36M | 1.08% | 0.61B | +0.8% | |
| 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 | — |
- 2025$1.38B
- 2024$605.00M
- 2023$1.06B
- 2022$1.42B
- 2021$771.00M
- 2020$1.62B
- 2019$2.25B
- 2018$1.26B
- 2017$1.89B
- 2016$512.00M
- 2015$460.00M
- 2014$248.32M
- 2013$179.00M
- 2012$520.85M
- 2011$374.15M
- 2010$59.00M
- 2009$16.26M
- 2008$27.84M
- 2007$105.36M
- 2006$0.00
- 2005$0.00
- 2004$0.00
- 2003$0.00
- 2002$0.00
- 2001$0.00
- 2000$0.00
- 1999$0.00
- 1998$800.00K
Buybacks vs stock-based compensation for Cognizant (CTSH)
Annual cash repurchases set against stock-based compensation. Coverage above 1× means buybacks fully offset the equity dilution from SBC. TTM coverage: 8.72×.
Buybacks vs dividends (share of cash returned) for Cognizant (CTSH)
How Cognizant splits cash returned to shareholders between dividends and buybacks.
Sector peers by buyback spend
Companies in the same sector as Cognizant, ranked by their latest buyback spend.
| $90.71B | |
| $40.09B | |
| $18.42B | |
| $6.65B | |
| $6.31B | |
| $1.32B | |
| $0.00 | |
| $0.00 |
- $90.71B
- $40.09B
- $18.42B
- $6.65B
- $6.31B
- $1.32B
- $0.00
Buyback capacity (TTM)
Free cash flow minus dividends paid versus actual TTM repurchases — the headroom bar shows how much of post-dividend FCF is still being deployed elsewhere.
Headroom $1.86B (TTM FCF − TTM dividends, clamped at zero).
Frequently asked questions
Data & methodology
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