bengaluru, July 30 -- Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. is bracing for a slower 2026, with the delayed revival of non-essential technology spending prompting the company to cut its growth outlook to the lowest in more than a year. The Teaneck, New Jersey-based company, which grew 7% last fiscal year, had previously set a target of 7.3% for the current year. However, as clients continue to sit on the fence, the company cut its guidance to at best 5.9%, the lowest outlook since the final quarter of 2024, and underlining the demand challenge over the broader IT services sector. The Indian-heritage company, larger than Infosys in revenue, ended the June quarter with $5.48 billion in revenue, up 1.3% sequentially and 4.5% year over year. While it marginally missed analysts' revenue estimate of $5.49 billion, investors cheered Cognizant's earnings with its shares soaring 10% in morning trade on Nasdaq, as the company beat peers Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Infosys. Net profit fell 3.9% from the preceding quarter to $636 million. Cognizant follows a January-March fiscal year. In its comments on the demand outlook, the management was guarded. "We delivered these results against the cautious demand environment, while growing at the top of our peer group. While we expect that caution to persist in the near term, AI is driving fundamental change in our industry that we believe creates significant long-term growth opportunities," chief executive Ravi Kumar said at a post-earnings analysts' call. Much of Cognizant's growth came from financial institutions, which make up almost a third of its revenue. Revenue from financial institutions offset the decline in revenue from life sciences and healthcare, as well as the communication, media, and technology segment. Of the 5.9% growth targeted for 2026, Cognizant expects 1.5% to come from acquisitions. "As we discussed on our last earnings call, our prior guidance range contemplated an improved discretionary spending environment at the midpoint," chief financial officer Jatin Dalal said during the call....