Accenture vs Cognizant
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KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Accenture and Cognizant side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Accenture is the larger business, with $74.2B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $21.1B for Cognizant, about 3.5 times as much.
- Cognizant kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (16.1% operating margin, against 15.4%).
- Accenture turned more of its sales into free cash flow (15.7% FCF margin, against 12.3%).
- Accenture earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (30.6%, against 16.2%).
Who comes out ahead
Of the 10 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Accenture
ACN
6/10
5-year growthNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityShare count change
Cognizant
CTSH
3/10
Revenue growthOperating marginNet debt / EBITDA
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | ACN FY26 | CTSH FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $152.7B | $33.1B |
| Revenue | $74.2B | $21.1B |
| Free cash flow | $11.6B | $2.6B |
| Net income | $8.4B | $2.2B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 6.5% | 7.0% |
| 5-year growth | 8.0% | 4.9% |
| Share count change | −2.4% | −1.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 32.1% | — |
| Operating margin | 15.4% | 16.1% |
| Net margin | 11.3% | 10.6% |
| FCF margin | 15.7% | 12.3% |
| Return on capital | 30.6% | 16.2% |
| Return on equity | 26.7% | 15.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$2.7B | −$1.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.2x | −0.3x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $11.5B | $2.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 15.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 6 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.