Cognizant

Cognizant’s moat is multi-faceted but not impregnable. Intangible assets/brand (score 75/100): trusted enterprise brand in North America and Europe with long histories in Health Sciences and Financial Services and recognition as a top employer, supporting recruiting and client confidence.

Switching costs (80/100): embedded teams, multi‑year large deals, and domain/process knowledge make vendor changes disruptive; TTM bookings of 27.5 billion dollars and book‑to‑bill ~1.3x reflect durable demand.

Cost advantage (78/100): scaled global delivery with roughly 350k associates and improving attrition supports competitive rates and utilization. Efficient scale (70/100): in many accounts, only a handful of global vendors can meet compliance and delivery needs, though rivalry is intense. Network effects (40/100): limited beyond partner ecosystems.

Weighted view (switching costs 35%, cost advantage 25%, brand 25%, efficient scale 10%, network 5%) yields a composite around mid‑70s. Risks to moat include AI automation compressing hours/rates, aggressive peers, and client vendor consolidation; targeted acquisitions and IP-led offerings aim to offset these.