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Cognyte Software

CGNT
42
Software - Infrastructure · Technology
Price
$8.60
-0.02 (-0.23%)
Market Cap
$633.9M
Exchange
NASDAQ
Winston Score
42
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Apr 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Mixed
Growth
Mixed
Cash Flow
Weak
Stability
Good
Valuation
Data not available

Share count rising — dilution

+9.5% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 66.6M (2022) → 72.9M (2026)

Winston Score History

The full picture

Cognyte Software makes investigative analytics software used by governments and law enforcement agencies around the world. Its tools help security and intelligence organizations collect, analyze, and act on large amounts of data to investigate crimes and threats. The company was spun off from Verint Systems in 2021 and focuses specifically on what the industry calls "security intelligence" software.

Cognyte earns money by selling software licenses and related services, including maintenance and support contracts, to public-sector customers. It operates globally, with a significant presence in emerging markets alongside established ones, and generates roughly $300–350 million in annual revenue. Its competitive moat comes from deep relationships with government clients and the specialized, sensitive nature of its products, which makes switching difficult — but that same reliance on government budgets and geopolitical factors creates meaningful revenue unpredictability, and thin operating margins leave little room for error if contracts are delayed or lost.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+10.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady revenue growth

EPS Growth

-205.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$122M/ year

Rising (+13% vs prior year)

30.6% of revenue

2.0x the sector average (15%)

Investing heavily in future products and technology

Insider Activity

18.0%ownership

Declining

Insider ownership declining — could be dilution or selling

Cash Runway

~4 years

$109M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

$109M cash & investments at current burn rate

Heavy R&D investment

Cognyte Software is putting 31% of revenue into R&D and that number is rising. That's 2.0x the sector average. With 4+ years of cash runway, they have time to let it pay off.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
72.3%
Premium pricing power — 72.3% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
4.2%
Thin — 4.2% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
7.9%
Weak — 7.9% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+12.8%
Fast-growing sales (+12.8% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
N/A
Data not available
How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
5/8 quarters
Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
N/A
Data not available
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
6.6%
Modest free cash flow (6.6%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
N/A
Data not available
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
82.08x
Comfortably covers interest (82.1x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
N/M
Negative earnings — P/E not meaningful
Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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