Our digital services is work we doand solutions are designed to help our customers win in the digital economy by applying technology and analytics to change consumer experiences to drive sustainable growth, deploying systems of intelligence to automate and improve core business processes, and improving technology systems by deploying cloud and cyber security solutions and as-a-service models to make them simpler, more modern and secure.

Our global consulting team provides business, process, operations and technology consulting services to bring together the capabilities of all three of our digital practice areas into effective solutions for our customers. Our Cognizant Business Consulting, or CBC,consulting professionals and domain experts from our industry-focused business segments work closely with our digital practice areas to create frameworks, platforms and solutions that customers are findingfind valuable as they pursue next-level savingsnew efficiencies and new revenue streams.

We are investing to scale our digital practice areas across our business segments and geographies. We seek to drive organic growth through the extensive training and re-skilling of our existing technical teams and the expansion of our local workforces in the United States and other local markets around the world where we operate. Additionally, we pursue select strategic acquisitions, joint ventures, investments and alliances that can expand our intellectual property portfolio, industry expertise, geographic reach, and platform and technology capabilities.

Our core business is an important foundation that supports our ability to provide digital services and solutions to our customers. In many cases, our customers' new digital systems are built upon the backbone of their core, traditional systems. Our deep knowledge of our customers'their infrastructure and core systems can provideprovides us with a significant advantage as we work with our customersthem to build new digital capabilities. Customers often look for efficiencies in the way they run their core operations so they can fund investments in new digital capabilities. We work with them to analyze and identify opportunities to apply advanced automation and deliver new efficiencies. We deploy a variety of commercial and delivery models, including managed services, fixed priced, output- and outcome-based pricing and platforms to meet their varied needs.

Our services include consulting and technology services and outsourcing services and are delivered to our customers across our four business segments in a standardized, high-quality manner through our global delivery model.services. Consulting and technology services include business, process, operations and technology consulting, application development and systems integrations, application testing, enterprise information management and software solutions and related services. Outsourcing services include application maintenance, IT infrastructure services and business process services.

Customers often look for efficienciesWe deliver services to our customers across our four business segments in the running of their core operationsa standardized, high-quality manner through our global delivery model. During 2017, we invested to broaden and deepen our services and capabilities and have created new tools to help them fund investments in new digital capabilities. We work with them to analyze and identify opportunities for advanced automation and delivery efficiencies. We deploy a variety of commercial and delivery models, including managed services, fixed bid, output and outcome based pricing and platforms to addressour sales teams more crisply convey the varied needsdistinctive value of our customers.services to clients. At the same time, we have intensified our focus on developing industry-specific solutions across technologies.

Additionally, we seek to expand the geographic reach of our core portfolio of services. We believe that Europe, the Middle East, the Asia Pacific region and Latin America will continue to be areas of significant investments for us as we see these regions as long termpresent long-term growth opportunities.

Our deep domain expertise in the industries we serve is central to our ability to understandunderstanding our customers' challenges and designdesigning effective solutions to address them. We hire professionals with in-depthwho are industry experienceexperts and continually invest in continual industry training for our staff andteams as we build out our portfolio of industry-specific services and solutions. This approach is key to our high levels of on-time delivery and customer satisfaction.ability to develop relevant solutions that deliver measurable business results.

We utilize a global delivery model, with delivery centers worldwide, to provide high qualityrespond quickly to customers with high-quality services and responsiveness to our customers at competitive rates. We have aOur four-tiered global architecture for service delivery and operations consistingconsists of employees co-located at customers’ sites, at local or in-country delivery centers, at regional delivery centers and at offshore delivery centers. As we develop our digital services, we are focused on hiring in the United States and other countries to expand

We put our customer’scustomers' priorities first and continuously seek to deliver not only what they need today but also what we believe they will need in the customerfuture. Our Global Technology Office and Cognizant Accelerator focus on developing innovative offerings for customers' emerging needs by thinking beyond what the customer asks and providing smartsupport our business segments and innovative solutions.practice areas. A cornerstone of our success is the interconnectivitycollaboration of our associates and teams across segments and practice areas. We believe that when we share knowledge and work together, we can achieve more for our customers and ourselves.our Company.

This industry focus has been central to our revenue growth and high customer satisfaction. As the technology services industry continues to mature and shift from supporting the business to becoming one of the main sources of value, customers are requiringrequire service providers withto have a deep understanding of their businesses, industry initiatives, customers, markets and cultures who canand the ability to create solutions tailored to meet their customers’ individual business needs. For the year ended December 31, 2016,2017, the distribution of our revenues across our four industry-orientedindustry-focused business segments werewas as follows:

These markets also include numerous smaller local competitors in the various geographic markets in which we operate or intend to operate which may have more experience with operations in these markets or be able to provide services and solutions at lower costs or on terms more attractive to customers than we can. Additionally, these companies may have long-standing or well-established relationships with desired customers which may put us at a competitive disadvantage. Our direct competitors include, among others, Accenture, Atos, Origin, Capgemini, Computer Sciences Corporation, Deloitte Digital, DXC Technology, EPAM Systems, Genpact, HCL Technologies, HP Enterprise, IBM Global Services, Infosys Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro. In certain markets, our competitors may have greater financial, technical and marketing resources and greater name recognition and, therefore, may be better able to compete for new work and skilled professionals. Some of our competitors may be more successful than us at capturing the increasing customer demand for digital services. Increased competition in any of the various market segments in which we compete may put downward pressure on the prices we can charge for our services and, in turn, on our operating margins. Similarly, if our competitors develop and implement processes and methodologies that yield greater efficiency and productivity, they may be able to offer services similar to ours at lower prices without adversely affecting their profit margins. If we are unable to provide our customers with superior services and solutions at competitive prices or successfully market those services to current and prospective customers, our business, results of operations and financial condition may suffer.

We may also face competition from companies that increase in size or scope as the result of strategic mergers or acquisitions. These transactions may include consolidation activity among hardware manufacturers, software companies and vendors, and service providers, which could result in the convergence of products and services. If buyers of products and services in the markets we serve favor using a single provider of integrated products and services, such buyers may direct more business to such providers, which could have a variety of negative effects on our competitive position and, in turn, adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our operating margin, and therefore our profitability, is dependent on the rates we are able to recover for our services. If we are not able to maintain favorable pricing for our services, our operating margin and our profitability could suffer. The rates we are able to recover for our services are affected by a number of factors, including:

We are dependent on information technology networks and systems to process, transmit, host and securely store electronic information and to communicate among our locations around the world and with our customers.customers, suppliers and partners. Security breaches, of this infrastructureemployee malfeasance, or human or technological error could lead to shutdowns or disruptions of our systemsoperations and potential unauthorized disclosure of confidential information orsensitive data, including personal data. In addition, many of our engagements involvewhich in turn could jeopardize projects that are critical to the operations of our customers’ businesses. The theft and/or unauthorized use or publication of our, or our customers’, confidential information or other proprietary business information as a result of such an incident could adversely affect our competitive position and reduce marketplace acceptance of our services. Any failure in the networks or computer systems used by us or our customers could result in a claim for substantial damages against us and significant reputational harm, regardless of our responsibility for the failure.

In addition, as a global service provider with customers in a broad range of industries, we often have access to or are required to manage, utilize, collect and store sensitive or confidential customer or employee data including personal data. As a result, we are subject to numerous U.S. and non-U.S. laws and regulations designedvarious regulatory regimes, including but not limited to protect this information, such as the European Union Directive on Data Protection and various U.S. federal and state laws governing the protection of personal data.financial and health and the European Union Directive on Data Protection (to be superseded by the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation in May 2018). If any person, including any of our employees, negligently disregards or intentionally breaches controls or procedures with which we are responsible for complying with respect to such data or otherwise mismanages or misappropriates that data, or if unauthorized access to or disclosure of such data in our possession or control occurs or we otherwise fail to comply with applicable laws and regulations in this regard, we could be subjectexposed to liabilitycivil or criminal enforcement actions and penalties in connection with any violation of applicable privacydata protection laws, and/or criminal prosecution, as well as significant liability tolawsuits brought by our customers, or our customers’ customers, their clients or others for breaching contractual

We may be the target of significant cybersecurity attacks in the future. These risks will increase as we continue to grow our cloud-based offerings and services, and store and process increasingly large amounts of our customers’ confidential information and data and host or manage parts of our customers’ businesses, especially in industries involving particularly sensitive data such as the financial services industry and the healthcare industry. Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential customer or employee data, including personal data, whether through breach of computer systems, systems failure, employee negligence, fraud or misappropriation, or otherwise, could damage our reputation and cause us to lose customers. Similarly, unauthorized access to or through our information systems and networks or those we develop or manage for our customers, whether by our employees or third parties, could result in negative publicity, legal liability and damage to our reputation, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may experience significant quarterly fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations. Among the factors that could cause these variations are:

As a result of these or other factors, it is possible that in some future periods, our revenues and results of operations may be significantly below the expectations of public market analysts and investors. In such an event, the price of our common stock would likely be materially and adversely affected.

The markets for technology, consultingdigital and business processoutsourcing services markets are characterized by rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, changing customer preferences and new product and service introductions. We are currently in the midst of a shift towards increasing customer demand for digital technologies and services. Our future success will depend on our ability to develop digital and other services and solutions that keep pace with changes in the markets in which we operate. We cannot be sure that we will be successful in developing digital and other new services and solutions addressing evolving technologies in a timely or cost-effective manner or that any services and solutions we do develop will be successful in the marketplace. Our failure to address the demands of the rapidly evolving technological environment could have a material adverse effect on our ability to retain and attract customers and on our competitive position, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business depends, in part, upon continued growth in the use of technology in business by our customers and prospective customers as well as their customers and suppliers. In challenging economic environments, our customers may reduce or defer their spending on new technologies in order to focus on other priorities, or may choose to use their own internal resources rather than engage an outside firm to perform the types of services and solutions we provide. In addition, many companies have already invested substantial resources in their current means of conducting commerce and exchanging information, and they may be reluctantunwilling or slow to adopt new approaches that could disrupt existing personnel, processes and infrastructures. If the growth of technology usage in business, or our customers’ spending on technology, in business, declines, or if we cannot convince our customers or potential customers to embrace new technological solutions, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Consistent with industry practice, most of our contracts with our customers are short-term. A majority of our contracts can be terminated by our customers with short notice and without significant early termination cost. Terminations may occur as a result of, among other things, any failure on our part to satisfy our contractual commitments or more broadly satisfy our customers’ expectations with respect to the services we provide. Our customers may also decide at any time to switch to a different provider or undertake the work themselves due to cost or other considerations. Terminations may also result from factors that are beyond our control and unrelated to our work product or the progress of the project, including the business or financial condition of a customer, changes in ownership, management or the strategy of a customer or economic or market conditions generally or specific to a customer’s industry. When contracts are terminated, we lose the anticipated revenues and might not be able to eliminate our associated costs in a timely manner. Consequently, our operating margins in subsequent periods could be lower than expected. If we are unable to replace the lost revenues with other work on terms we find acceptable or effectively eliminate costs, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

We negotiate pricing terms with our customers utilizing a range of pricing structures and conditions. We predominantly contract to provide services either on a time-and-materials basis, or on a fixed-price basis or volume basis. Fixed-price contracts accounted for approximately 37.9% of our revenues for the year ended December 31, 2016. Our pricing is highly dependent on our internal forecasts and predictions about our projects and the marketplace, which might be based on limited data and could turn out to be inaccurate. We face a number of risks when pricing our contracts as many of our projects entail the coordination of operations and workforces in multiple locations and utilizing workforces with different skill sets and competencies across geographically diverse service locations. Our pricing, cost and operating margin estimates for the work that we perform frequently include anticipated long-term cost savings from transformational and other initiatives that we expect to achieve and sustain over the life of the contract. There is a risk, particularly for our fixed-price and transaction or volume-based priced contracts, that we will underprice our projects, fail to accurately estimate the costs of performing the work or fail to accurately assess the risks associated with potential contracts. In particular, any increased or unexpected costs, delays, failures to achieve anticipated cost savings, or unexpected risks we encounter in connection with the performance of this work,

Further, we are required to integrate any acquired businesses into our system of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Companies we acquire, prior to being acquired by us, may not be required to implement or maintain the disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting that are required of public companies, prior to being acquired by us and wecompanies. We cannot provide assurance as to how long the integration process may take.

Internal control over financial reporting has inherent limitations, including human error and the possibility that controls could be circumvented or becomebe inadequate because of changed conditions andor fraud. If we are unable to maintain effective internal controls, we may not have adequate, accurate or timely financial information, and we may be unable to meet our reporting obligations as a publicly traded company or comply with the requirements of the SEC or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This could result in a restatement of our financial statements, the imposition of sanctions, or investigation by regulatory authorities, and could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information. Any such consequence or other negative effect ofresulting from our inability to meet our reporting requirements or comply with legal and regulatory requirements, as well as any disclosure of an accounting, reporting or control issue, could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock and our business.

If we are unable to complete acquisitions of the number, magnitude and kind of acquisitions for whichnature we plan,have targeted, or if we are inefficient or unsuccessful at integrating any acquired businesses into our operations, we may not be able to achieve our planned rates of growth or improve our market share, profitability or competitive position in specific markets or services. The process of acquiring and integrating an acquireda company, business, or technology has created, and will continue to create, operating difficulties. The risks we face include:

Although we conduct due diligence in connection with each of our acquisitions, there may be liabilities that we fail to discover, that we inadequately assess or that are not properly disclosed to us.us, that we fail to discover or that we inadequately or incorrectly assess. In particular, to the extent that any acquired business (i) failed to comply with or otherwise violated applicable laws or regulations, (ii) failed to fulfill contractual obligations to customers or (iii) incurred material liabilities or obligations to customers that are not identified during the diligence process, we, as the successor owner, may be financially responsible for these violations, failures and liabilities and may suffer financial and/or reputational harm or otherwise be adversely affected. In addition, as part of an acquisition, we may assume responsibilities and obligations of the acquired business pursuant to the terms and conditions of agreements entered into by the acquired entity that are not consistent with the terms and conditions that we typically accept and require. We also have been and may in the future be subject to litigation or other claims in connection with an acquired business, including claims from employees, customers, stockholders, or other third parties. Any material liabilities associated with our acquisitions could harm our business, results of operations and financial condition.

To deliver our services and solutions to our customers, we must maintain arely upon high speed network ofnetworks, including satellite, fiber optic and land lines andoperated by third parties, to provide active voice and data communications 24 hours aper day between our main operating offices in India, our other global delivery centers, and the offices of our customers and our associates worldwide. Any systems failure or outage or a significant disruption in our ability to transmit voice and data through satellite and telephonesuch communications or in our information technology systems and infrastructure could result in curtailed operations, and a loss of customers and reputational damage, which would have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our future performance depends upon the continued service of the key members of our management team. Competition for experienced executive officers and other key employees in the industries in which we compete is intense, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to retain key persons, or that we will be successful in attracting and retaining replacements in the future. The loss of any one or more of our executive officers or significant employees, or the failure to attract, integrate and retain additional talent, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We do not maintain key man life insurance on any of our executive officers or significant employees.

In addition, our business could be harmed if any key member of our management team leaves our employment and joins one of our competitors. Currently, we have entered into non-competition agreements with the majoritymost of our executive officers. We cannot be certain, however, that the restrictions in these agreements prohibiting such executive officers from engaging in competitive activities arewould be enforceable. Any defection by a key member of our management team could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If we fail to meet our contractual obligations or otherwise breach obligations to our customers, we could be subject to legal liability. We may enter into non-standard agreements because we perceive an important financial opportunity by doing so or because our personnel did not adequately adhere to our guidelines. In addition, the contracting practices of our competitors may cause contract terms and conditions that are unfavorable to us to become standard in the marketplace. If we cannot, or do not, meet our contractual obligations to provide services and solutions, and if our exposure is not adequately limited through the enforceable terms of our agreements, we might face significant legal liability and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

In the normal course of business and in conjunction with certain customer engagements, we have entered into contractual arrangements through which we may be obligated to indemnify customers or other parties with whom we conduct business with respect to certain matters. These arrangements can include provisions whereby we agree to hold the indemnified party and certain of their affiliated entities harmlessprovide indemnification with respect to third-party claims, including matters such as our breach of certain representations or covenants, our infringement of the intellectual property of others, our violation of laws or our gross negligence or willful misconduct. Payments by us under any of these arrangements are generally conditioned on the customer making a claim and providing us with full control over the defense and settlement of such claim. It is not possible to determine our maximum potential exposure under these indemnification agreementsarrangements due to the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. If events arise requiring us to make payment for indemnification claims under our contractual indemnification obligations, such payments could have a material impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Additionally, our customers may perform audits or require us to perform audits and provide audit reports with respect to the controls and procedures that we use in the performance of services for such customers, especially when we process data belonging to them. Our ability to acquire new customers and retain existing customers may be adversely affected and our reputation could be harmed if we receive a qualified opinion, or if we cannot obtain an unqualified opinion in a timely manner, with respect to our controls and procedures in connection with any such audit in a timely manner.audit. We could also incur liability if our controls and procedures, or the controls and procedures we manage for a customer, were to result in an internal control failure or impair our customer’s ability to comply with its own internal control requirements.

The increased breadth of our service and solution offerings has resulted and may continue to result in larger and more complex projects with our customers. This requires us to establish closer relationships with our customers and achieve a thorough understanding of their operations. Our ability to establish such relationships depends on a number of factors, including the proficiency of our professionals and our management personnel. Our failure to understand our customer requirements or our failure to deliver services and solutions that meet the requirements specified by our customers could result in termination of customer contracts and we could be liable to our customerspotential liability for significant penalties or damages, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Larger projects often involve multiple engagements or stages, and there is a risk that a customer may choose not to retain us for additionallater stages or may cancel or delay additional planned engagements. These terminations, cancellations or delays may result from factors that have little or nothing to do with the quality of our services, such as the business or financial condition of our customers or the economy generally. Such cancellations or delays make it difficult to plan for project resource requirements and inaccuracies in such resource planning and allocation may have a negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business depends on our ability to successfully obtain payment from our customers of the amounts they owe us for work performed. We evaluate the financial condition of our customers and usually bill and collect on relatively short cycles. There is no guarantee that we will accurately assess the creditworthiness of our customers. We maintain allowances against receivablestrade accounts receivable and unbilled services.accounts receivable. Actual losses on customer balances could differ from those that we currently anticipate and, as a result, we might need to adjust our allowances. There is no guarantee that we will accurately assess the creditworthiness of our customers. Macroeconomic conditions could also result in financial difficulties for our customers, including limited access to the credit markets, insolvency or bankruptcy, and, as a result, could cause customers to delay payments to us, request modifications to their payment arrangements that could increase our receivables balance, or default on their payment obligations to us. Timely collection of customer balances also depends on our ability to complete our contractual commitments and bill and collect our contracted revenues.fees. If we do work for a customer but are nevertheless unable to meet our contractual requirements,commitments, we mightmay not be entitled to collect for our work or may collect reduced amounts and/or experience delays in collection of and/collection. Any delay or be unableinability to collect from our customer balances, and if this occurs, our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected. In addition, if we experience an increase in the time to bill and collectcustomers for our services, our cash flows could bework may adversely affected.

Certain of our software products contain components that are developed by third parties. In addition, we resell certain software products of third parties and we use third-party software products to deliver our services and solutions. We may not be able to replace the functions provided by these third-party software components or products if they become obsolete, defective, or incompatible with future versions of our products or with our services and solutions, or if they are not adequately maintained or updated. Any defects in or significant interruption in the availability of these third-party software products or components could harm the sale of our products and our delivery of services and solutions to our customers unless and until we can secure or develop an alternative source. If we fail to comply with the license terms applicable to third party software, we could be liable to the owners of the software for damages. In addition, third-party suppliers of software or other intellectual property assets could be unwilling to permit us to use or to continue to use their intellectual property and this could impede or disrupt use of their products or services by usour customers and our customers.us. If our ability to provide services and solutions to our customers is impaired as a result of any such denial, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Any deterioration of the credit and capital markets in the United States, Europe or other regions of the world could result in volatility of our investment earnings and impairments to our investment portfolio, which could negatively impact our financial condition and reported income. Changes in economic conditions could adversely affect the ability of counterparties, including counterparties to our foreign exchange forward contracts, to meet their obligations to us.

During the year ended December 31, 2016,2017, we earned 39.8%38.1% of our revenues from our financial services business segment, which includes banking and insurance customers, and 28.7%28.8% from our healthcare business segment, which includes healthcare and life sciences customers. Significant consolidation or a decrease in growth in the financial services industry or the healthcare industry may reduce the demand for our services and negatively affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. For example, two or more of our current customers may merge or consolidate and combine their operations, which may cause us to lose work or lose the opportunity to gain additional work. The increased market power of larger companies may also increase pricingcompetitive and competitivepricing pressures on us. Any of these possible results of industry consolidation could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.operations and financial condition. In addition, if we are unable to successfully anticipate changing regulatory, economic and political conditions affecting the industries in which we operate, we may be unable to effectively plan for or respond to those changes, and our business, results of operations and financial condition could be negatively affected.

During the year ended December 31, 2016, 78.2%2017, 77.3% of our revenues were derived from customers located in North America while 15.9%and 16.2% of our revenues were derived from customers located in Europe. Any weakening of economic conditions in the U.S. or European economies could depress the pricing for our services and cause our customers to reduce or postpone their technology spending, significantly, which may in turn lower the demand for our services and negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our historic and anticipated growth will continue to place significant demands on our management and other resources, and will require us to continue to develop and improve our operational, financial and other internal controls. In particular, our growth has presented and will increase thecontinue to present challenges involved in:with respect to:

In addition, the increasing size and scope of our operations increase the possibility that a member of our personnel will engage in unlawful or fraudulent activity, breach our contractual obligations, or otherwise expose us to unacceptable business risks, despite our efforts to train our people and maintain internal controls to prevent such instances. If we do not continue to develop and implement the right processes and tools to manage our enterprise, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

We haveIn February 2017 we announced a plan to return $3.4 billion to stockholders overby the next two yearsend of 2018 through a combination of stock repurchases and cash dividends. As part of this plan, we have indicated thatundertaken accelerated stock repurchase programs to repurchase a total of $1.8 billion of our Class A common stock and paid $265 million for dividends in 2017. Following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Reform Act, and due in part to the benefits we expect to commence a $1.5 billion accelerated stock repurchase programreceive under such act, in the first quarter of 2017, initiate a regularFebruary 2018 we announced an increase in our quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per share commencing in the second quarter of 2017, and repurchase stock of $1.2 billion in the open market during 2017 and 2018. We have also announced that we intend to return to stockholders approximately 75% of our U.S. free cash flow, defined as net cash provided from operating activities of our U.S. operating subsidiaries less cash purchases of property and equipment by our U.S. operating subsidiaries, in 2019 and beyond through a combination of cash dividends and stock repurchases. We have also indicated that our Board of Directors intends to continue to review the capital return plan for potential future increases, including through an increase in the dividend, subject to our financial performance, economic outlook and any other relevant considerations.

The Board of Directors’ determinations regarding dividends and share repurchases will depend on a variety of factors, including amount and location of our cash and investment balances, in the United States, net income, cash flow generated from operations, or other sources in the United States and elsewhere, overall liquidity position and potential alternative uses of cash, such as acquisitions, as well as economic conditions and expected future financial results. There can be no guarantee that we will achieve our announced capital return plan in the amounts or onwithin the expected time frame that we have indicated, or at all. Our ability to declare future dividends will depend on our future financial performance, which in turn depends on the successful implementation of our strategy and on financial, competitive, regulatory, technical and other factors, general economic conditions, demand and selling prices for our services and other factors specific to our industry or specific projects, many of which are beyond our control. Therefore, our ability to generate cash flow depends on the performance of our operations and could be limited by decreases in our profitability or increases in costs, regulatory changes, capital expenditures or debt servicing requirements.

Any failure to achieve our announced capital return plan could negatively impact our reputation, harm investor confidence in us, and cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

We have offices and operations in various countries around the world and provide services to customers globally. In 2016, 78.2%2017, 77.3% of our revenues were attributable to the North American region, 15.9%16.2% were attributable to the European region, and the remainder was attributable to the rest of the world, primarily the Asia Pacific region.Pacific. We anticipate that revenues from customers outside North America will continue to account for a material portion of our revenues in the foreseeable future and may increase as we expand our international presence, particularly in Europe, the Asia Pacific region and the Latin America region.presence.

Although we report our operating results in U.S. dollars, a portion of our revenues and expenses are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates can have a number of adverse effects on us. Because our consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, we must translate revenues, expenses and income, as well as assets and liabilities, into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect during or at the end of each reporting period. Therefore, changes in the value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies will affect our revenues, income from operations, net income and the value of balance sheet items originally denominated in other currencies. There is no guarantee that our financial results will not be adversely affected by currency exchange rate fluctuations. In addition, in some countries we could be subject to strict restrictions on the movement of cash and the exchange of foreign currencies, which could limit our ability to use these funds across our global operations. Further, as we leverage our global delivery model, a portion of our expenses is incurred in currencies other than those in which we bill for the related services. An increase in the value of certain currencies, such as the Indian rupee, against the U.S. dollar could increase costs for delivery of services at offshore sites by increasing labor and other costs that are denominated in local currency.

We have entered into a series of foreign exchange forward contracts that are designated as cash flow hedges of certain rupee denominated payments in India. These contracts are intended to partially offset the impact of the movement of the exchange rates on future operating costs. In addition, we have also entered into foreign exchange forward contracts in order to mitigate foreign currency risk on foreign currency denominated net monetary assets. The hedging strategies that we have implemented, or may in the future implement, to mitigate foreign currency exchange rate risks may not reduce or completely offset our exposure to foreign exchange rate fluctuations and may expose our business to unexpected market, operational and counterparty credit risks. Accordingly, we may incur losses from our use of derivative financial instruments that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Because we provide services to customers throughout the world, we are subject to numerous, and sometimes conflicting, legal rules on matters as diverse as import/export controls, content requirements, trade restrictions, tariffs, taxation, sanctions, government affairs, internal and disclosure control obligations, data privacy and labor relations. Violations of these laws or regulations in the conduct of our business could result in fines, criminal sanctions against us or our officers, prohibitions on doing business, damage to our reputation and other unintended consequences such as liability for monetary damages, fines and/or criminal prosecution, unfavorable publicity, restrictions on our ability to process information and allegations by our customers that we have not performed our contractual obligations. Due to the varying degrees of development of the legal systems of the countries in which we operate, local laws might be insufficient to protect our rights. Our failure to comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Among other anti-corruption laws and regulations, we are subject to the FCPA, which prohibits improper payments or offers of improper payments to foreign officials to obtain business or any other benefit, and the U.K. Bribery Act. Violations of these laws or regulations could subject us to criminal or civil enforcement actions, including fines and suspension or disqualification from government contracting or contracting with private entities in certain highly regulated industries, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Hostilities involving acts of terrorism, violence or war, natural disasters, global health risks or pandemics or the threat or perceived potential for these events could materially adversely affect our operations and our ability to provide services to our customers. Such events may cause customers to delay their decisions on spending for information technology, consulting, and business process services and give rise to sudden significant changes in regional and global economic conditions and cycles. These events also pose significant risks to our personnel and to our and our customers’ physical facilities and operations around the world. Additionally, by disrupting communications and travel, giving rise to travel restrictions, and increasing the difficulty of obtaining and retaining highly-skilled and qualified personnel, these events could make it difficult or impossible for us to deliver services to some or all of our customers. The majority of our employees are located in India, and the vast majority of our technical professionals in the United States and Europe are Indian nationals who are able to work in the United States and Europe only because they hold currentcurrently valid visas and work permits. Any inability to travel could cause us to incur additional unexpected costs and expenses or could impair our ability to retain the skilled professionals we need for our operations. In addition, any extended disruptions of electricity, other public utilities or network services at our facilities could also adversely affect our ability to serve our customers.

Hostilities involving the United States, the United Kingdom, India and other countries in which we provide services to our customers, and otheras well as acts of terrorism, violence or war, natural disasters, global health risks or pandemics may reduce the demand for our services and negatively affect our revenues. If we fail to defend against any of these occurrences, we might be unable to protect our people, facilities and systems. If these disruptions prevent us from effectively serving our customers, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to protect our software products and other solutions, data, proprietary methodologies and other valuable IP. We presently hold a limited number of issued patents, and we have filed and intend to continue to file patent applications. There is no guarantee that any patents will issuebe issued in the United States or in any other country where we may seek protection or that they will serve as a barrier from competition from other organizations.

Unauthorized use of our IP may result in development of technology,software products or services that compete with our products and services and unauthorized parties may infringe upon or misappropriate our products, services or proprietary information. If we are unable to protect our IP, our business may be adversely affected and our ability to compete may be impaired.

Depending on the circumstances, we might need to grant a specific customer greater rights in IP developed or used in connection with a contract than we normally do. In certain situations, we might forego all rightsthe right to the use ofreuse new IP we create and intend to reuse across multiplefor a customer, engagements, which would limitlimits our ability to reuse that IP for other customers. Any limitation on our ability to provide a service or solution could cause us to lose revenue-generating opportunities and require us to incur additional expenses to develop new or modified solutions for future projects.

Our ability to enforce our software license agreements, service agreements, and other IP rights is subject to general litigation risks, as well as uncertainty as to the enforceability of our IP rights in various countries. To the extent that we seek to enforce our rights, we could be subject to claims that an IP right is invalid, otherwise not enforceable, or is licensed to the party against whom we are pursuing a claim. In addition, our assertion of IP rights may result in the other party seeking to assert alleged IP rights or assert other claims against us, which could harm our business. If we are not successful in defending such claims in litigation, we may not be able to sell or license a particular service or solution due to an injunction, or we may have to pay damages that could, in turn, harm our results of operations. In addition, governments may adopt regulations, or courts may render decisions, requiring compulsory licensing of intellectual property to others, or governments may require that products meet specified standards that serve to favor local companies. Our inability to enforce our IP rights under these circumstances may harm our competitive position and our business.

The occurrence of any of the foregoing could result in unexpected expenses or require us to recognize an impairment of our assets, which would reduce the value of our assets and increase expenses. In addition, if we alter or discontinue our offering of affected items or services, our revenues could be affected. If a claim of infringement were successful against us or our customers, an injunction might be ordered against our customer or our own services or operations, causing further damages.

We expect that the risk of infringement claims against us will increase if our competitors are able to obtain patents or other intellectual property rights for software products and methods, technological solutions and processes. We may be subject

Our future success continues to depend on our ability to attract and retain employees with technical and project management skills, including those from developing countries, especially India. The ability of foreign nationals to work in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific and other regions in which we have customers depends on their and our ability to obtain the necessary visas and work permits for our personnel who need to travel internationally. If we are unable to obtain such visas or work permits, or if their issuance is delayed or if their length is shortened, we may not be able to provide services to our customers or to continue to provide services on a timely and cost-effective basis, receive revenues as early as expected or manage our delivery centers as efficiently as we otherwise could, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Immigration and work permit laws and regulations in the countries in which we have customers are subject to legislative and administrative changes as well as changes in the application of standards and enforcement. For example, the U.S. Congress has been actively considering various proposals that would make extensive changes to U.S. immigration laws regarding the admission of high-skilled temporary and permanent workers. Further, the current U.S. administration or Congress may seek to limit the admission of high-skilled temporary and permanent workers and has issued and may continue to issue executive orders designed to limit immigration. Any such provisions may increase our cost of doing business in the United States and may discourage customers from seeking our services. Our international expansion strategy and our business, results of operations and financial condition may be materially adversely affected if changes in immigration and work permit laws and regulations or the administration or enforcement of such laws or regulations impair our ability to staff projects with professionals who are not citizens of the country where the work is to be performed.

The industries in which our customers are concentrated, such as the financial services industry and the healthcare industry, are, or may be, increasingly subject to governmental regulation and intervention. For instance, the financial services industry is subject to extensive and complex federal and state regulation. As a provider of services to financial institutions, portions of our operations are examined by a number of regulatory agencies. These agencies regulate the services we provide and the manner in which we operate. For example, some financial services regulators have imposed guidelines for use of cloud computing services that mandate specific controls or require financial services enterprises to obtain regulatory approval prior to outsourcing certain functions. If we are unable to comply with these guidelines or controls, or if our customers are unable to obtain regulatory approval to use our services where required, our business may be harmed. In addition, customers in the financial services sector have been subject to increased regulation following the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in the United States. New or changing regulations under Dodd-Frank, as well as other regulations or legislation affecting our customers in the financial services industry, may reduce demand for our services or cause us to incur costly changes in our processes or personnel, thereby negatively affecting our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The healthcare industry is highly regulated at the federal, state and local levels and is subject to changing legislative, regulatory, political and other influences, particularly in light of uncertainties posed by the result of the recent presidential election in the United States. Many healthcare laws, such as the Affordable Care Act, are complex, subject to frequent change, and dependent on interpretation and enforcement decisions from government agencies with broad discretion. The application of these laws to us, our customers or the specific services and relationships we have with our customers is not always clear. Our failure to anticipate accurately any changes to or the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and similar or future laws and regulations, or our failure to comply with them, could create liability for us, result in adverse publicity and negatively affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Further, the growth of our business, results of operations and financial condition rely, in part, on customers in the healthcare industry that receive substantial revenues from governmental and other third-party payer programs. A reduction or less than expected increase in government funding for these programs, a change in allocation methodologies or the termination of our customers’ government contracts could negatively affect our customers’ businesses and, in turn, negatively impact our business, results of operations and financial condition. In addition, as a service provider to customers who are government contractors, we may in the future become involved in governmental investigations to evaluate our or our customers’ compliance with government healthcare programs, which could result in the assessment of damages, civil or criminal fines or penalties, or other sanctions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our stock has at times experienced substantial price volatility as a result of variations between our actual and anticipated financial results, announcements by us and our competitors, projections or speculation about our business or that of our competitors by the media or investment analysts or uncertainty about current global economic conditions. The stock market, as a whole, also has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price of many technology companies in ways that may have been unrelated to these companies’ operating performance. Furthermore, we believe our stock price should reflect future growth and profitability expectations and, if we fail to meet these expectations, our stock price may significantly decline.

Provisions in our charter and by-laws, each as amended, and Delaware General Corporate Law, or DGCL, may have the effect of deterring unsolicited takeover proposals or delaying or preventing changes in our control or management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares over then-current market prices. These provisions include:

These provisions could also discourage bids for our common stock at a premium as well as create a depressive effect on the market price of the shares of our common stock.

We operate out of ourOur executive offices are located in Teaneck, New Jersey, executive office where we lease 0.1 million square feet. In addition to our executive office and the above global and regional delivery centers, we have business development offices in approximately 7380 cities and 38 countries across the globe.

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