Stock fact sheet · data as of
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (CTSH): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score
Ticker symbol CTSH · Technology · Information Technology Services · United States · Class A common stock · Blend
CTSH is Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation's Class A common stock. The classes own the same business, share the same earnings report and trade within a few cents of each other; what differs is mainly the vote each share carries - the company's annual report sets out the voting rights.
Is CTSH undervalued?
CTSH closed at 65.78 on 5 Nov 2026 against a GLS average fair value of 69.93 - 5.9% below fair value, which our scans read as "fairly priced". 4 of 9 models are above the current price. There is no discount to lean on here, so the margin of safety is not the reason to look at the stock.
The 9 models disagree widely: Lynch gives 15.65 while 10 Cap gives 149.81. A spread that wide means the average is sensitive to which methods you trust; the model table below shows where each one lands, and the Quote page lets you switch any of them off.
Ranked against every other company we cover, neither cheapness nor growth clearly wins for CTSH, so the nightly engine files it under Blend (value score 50, growth score 41, out of 100).
Nine valuation models for CTSH
Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.
| Model | Value | vs price | What it measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCF | 103.39 | +57% | Present value of the projected free cash flows, discounted at the cost of capital |
| Graham Number | 64.88 | -1% | The most a defensive investor pays for the earnings and book value per share |
| Graham Growth | 78.12 | +19% | Graham's growth formula: EPS × (8.5 + 2 × growth), adjusted for bond yields |
| Lynch | 15.65 | -76% | EPS × the earnings growth rate (PEG of 1), growth capped at 25% |
| GLS Growth | 26.91 | -59% | EPS compounded ten years at the blended growth rate, discounted back at 15% a year |
| 10 Cap | 149.81 | +128% | Owner's earnings (operating cash flow less maintenance capex) capitalised at 10% |
| Payback Time | 107.95 | +64% | Eight years of compounded free cash flow: the price at which the business pays for itself |
| DDM | 19.13 | -71% | Dividend discount model: next year's dividend ÷ (10% − 3% growth); needs a dividend |
| EPV | 63.53 | -3% | Earnings power value: current EPS capitalised at 9% with no growth |
| Zombie (liquidation) | 6.43 | -90% | Current assets less all liabilities, per share: the balance-sheet floor. Not in the average |
| Wall St target | 66.17 | +1% | Analysts' average 12-month price target. Not in the average |
Quality and financial health
Financial health is average - CTSH passes 6 of the nine Piotroski tests, which passes the "Piotroski 6 or more" Wheel Trade Filter. The Financials tab on the Quote page shows which tests fail. The GLS Moat score is 8.8 out of 10 - high returns on capital, steady margins and growth that held up through bad years point to a durable business.
Returns on capital are high - ROIC 13.4%, ROE 14.9%, ROA 10.8% - with debt at 0.10 times equity and a free-cash-flow yield of 8.0%.
The dividend yield is 1.98% at a payout ratio of 24%; for a wheel trader holding assigned shares the dividend adds to the covered-call premium, and the ex-dividend date is worth knowing before a call is sold. Revenue comes mainly from Financial Services 31%, Healthcare 28%, Products and Resources 24% (quarter Q3 FY2026).
Institutional ownership scores 10/10, insider activity 1/10 and Congressional trading 10/10 on the GLS smart-money scales; the last recorded Congressional buy was on 25 Sep 2026.
| Piotroski F-score | 6 / 9 | ROIC | 13.4% |
|---|---|---|---|
| GLS Moat | 8.8 / 10 | ROE | 14.9% |
| Debt / equity | 0.10 | ROA | 10.8% |
| Free-cash-flow yield | 8.0% | Payout ratio | 24% |
| Institutions | 10 / 10 | Insiders · Congress | 1 · 10 / 10 |
Wheel Score 77: Good
CTSH scores 77 out of 100 on the Wheel Score (Good band, 70-84): it passes all 9 Wheel Trade Filters. How it ranks: value weak, premium strong, moat strong, health good, red flags strong, option trading good, stability strong; Value (weak) holds it back.
Implied volatility is 43% on the near-the-money contracts 20-60 days out - inside the 35-60% sweet spot the Wheel Score rewards most: enough premium to be worth selling, not so much that the risk is unpaid. The option chain is deep: 56,697 contracts of open interest across all expiries, which means tight fills at most strikes.
Volume runs at 10.8M shares a day on a market cap of $29.4B, with a beta of 0.83; the Stability part of the Wheel Score rates that strong.
| Filter | Wheel Trade Filter | Result | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Options that actually trade | Passes | Listed options with 1,000+ contracts of open interest and 100+ traded a day |
| 2 | A real business, not a gamble | Passes | Profitable over the last twelve months - not a speculative stock, fund or note |
| 3 | Below fair value | Passes | Trading below the nine-model average fair value (margin of safety above 0) |
| 4 | Financially healthy | Passes | Piotroski F-score 6 or more out of 9 (a company with no score on file passes) |
| 5 | Can repay its debt | Passes | Long-term debt repaid from 3 years of operating cash flow or less (6 for real estate and utilities; banks and insurers are not judged on it) |
| 6 | No serious red flags | Passes | Red Flags score 60 or more out of 100 (earnings, margins, debt, analysts, filings and price checked the same way for every stock) |
| 7 | A premium worth selling | Passes | Implied volatility 25-80% (enough premium, not a lottery ticket) |
| 8 | Big enough | Passes | Market cap $1 billion or more |
| 9 | Not a penny stock | Passes | Share price $5 or more |
| How it ranks | Rating | From | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Weak | 6% below fair value | |
| Premium | Strong | implied volatility 43% | |
| Moat | Strong | moat 8.8/10 | |
| Health | Good | Piotroski 6/9 | |
| Red Flags | Strong | Red Flags score 90/100 | |
| Option trading | Good | 1,040 contracts a day, 56,697 open interest | |
| Stability | Strong | beta 0.83, $29.4B company |
The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls: a stock must pass all 9 Wheel Trade Filters to score 70, and the score then ranks the ones that pass; the Sunday Scan is the top 10. It is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. How the Wheel Score works · the walkthrough lesson shows how it fits into a trade, start to finish.
Upcoming events
The next earnings report is due on 3 Feb 2027, 90 days away - outside the window of a 30-45-day put sold today. The shares go ex-dividend on 13 Nov 2026 (0.3300 per share), so a covered call sold before then carries a small early-assignment risk around that date.
No analyst upgrades or downgrades were recorded in the last 30 days.
Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.
Similar stocks in Information Technology Services
The 12 companies below are the closest to Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation by market cap within the Information Technology Services industry, each with its own fact sheet; the Compare page puts up to eight of them side by side.
| Stock | Close | Fair value | MoS | Wheel | Mkt cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FISV Fiserv, Inc. | 62.05 | 232.84 | +73% | 51Fair | $33.0B |
| BR Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. | 189.29 | 184.86 | -2% | 41Weak | $21.4B |
| WIT Wipro Limited | 2.16 | 2.42 | +11% | 42Weak | $21.4B |
| CDW CDW Corporation | 168.75 | 130.29 | -30% | 43Weak | $21.1B |
| INFY Infosys Limited | 12.24 | 241.50 | +95% | 92Prime | $50.8B |
| LDOS Leidos Holdings, Inc. | 135.68 | 220.25 | +38% | 54Fair | $17.0B |
| FIS Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. | 29.76 | 81.90 | +64% | 52Fair | $15.3B |
| GIB CGI Inc. | 82.26 | 123.11 | +33% | 50Fair | $15.0B |
| CACI CACI International Inc | 632.16 | 904.89 | +30% | 51Fair | $14.0B |
| IT Gartner, Inc. | 207.19 | 382.44 | +46% | 88Prime | $13.1B |
| JKHY Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. | 179.16 | 147.80 | -21% | 39Weak | $12.6B |
| WSE Wise plc | 11.58 | 37.63 | +69% | 78Good | $11.6B |
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A free GLS Equity account gets you nightly fair value and the Wheel Score on ~7,400 US stocks, a watchlist, the scanner preview and the Sunday Scan - the top 10 stocks that pass all 9 Wheel Trade Filters, emailed every week. Pro adds the full put and call scanners, unlimited watchlists with alerts and the trade journal.
Start free See the Sunday ScanQuestions about CTSH
What kind of share is CTSH?
CTSH is Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation's Class A common stock. The classes own the same business, share the same earnings report and trade within a few cents of each other; what differs is mainly the vote each share carries - the company's annual report sets out the voting rights.
Is CTSH undervalued right now?
Not meaningfully: at 65.78 the stock trades within a few percent of the GLS average fair value of 69.93 (5.9% below fair value, data as of 5 Nov 2026).
What is the Wheel Score of CTSH and what does it mean?
CTSH scores 77 out of 100 (Good). The Wheel Score ranks stocks for the wheel strategy - selling cash-secured puts, then covered calls if assigned - in two parts: the 9 pass/fail Wheel Trade Filters (busy options, a real business, below fair value, Piotroski 6 or more, debt it can repay, a Red Flags score of 60 or more, implied volatility of 25-80%, a $1 billion company, $5 a share) and a ranking of how strongly a stock passes on value, premium, moat, health, red flags, option trading and stability. A stock that fails any filter stays under 70; 70-84 is Good, 85 and above is Prime. The Sunday Scan is the top 10 that pass, sorted by Wheel Score.
What is the GLS fair value for CTSH?
69.93 per share as of 5 Nov 2026 - the simple average of the 9 valuation models (out of nine: DCF, Graham Number, Graham Growth, Lynch, GLS Growth, 10 Cap, Payback Time, DDM and EPV) that produced a positive value. The models run every night on the latest filings; the Quote page lets you switch any of them off and add a margin of safety of your own.
When does Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation report earnings next?
The next earnings report is due on 3 Feb 2027, 90 days from the data date of 5 Nov 2026. The Calendars page lists every upcoming report with its time of day.
Does CTSH have listed options, and how liquid are they?
Yes. The nightly snapshot found 114 listed contracts with 56,697 open interest across all expiries and implied volatility of 43% on the near-the-money contracts. The Options scanner lists the cash-secured put and covered call set-ups with premium and annualised yield worked out.