CI&T (CINT) Q3 2025: AI-Driven Client Wins Fuel 51% Financial Services Growth
CI&T’s Q3 results highlight a decisive pivot toward AI-led digital transformation, as the company’s proprietary Flow platform and agent-based delivery model drive outperformance in key verticals, notably financial services. With a sustained double-digit organic growth streak, disciplined cost control, and a robust commercial pipeline, CI&T signals strong momentum into 2026. Investors should focus on the scalability of new value-based engagement models and the durability of large client relationships as the company repositions for the agentic AI era.
Summary
- AI Monetization Shift: Transition to value-based and agent-driven contracts is gaining client traction, with scalable upside over 12-18 months.
- Vertical Expansion: Financial services and retail drive outsize growth, validating sector-specific AI adoption strategy.
- Pipeline Conversion: Improved sales conversion and deepening client relationships underpin management’s confidence in sustained growth.
Performance Analysis
CI&T delivered another quarter of double-digit organic revenue growth, with Q3 revenue reaching $127.3 million, up 13.4% YoY on a reported basis and 12.1% at constant currency. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of such growth, reflecting both robust demand for AI-powered digital transformation and disciplined execution. Adjusted EBITDA margin landed at 18.5%, a slight contraction from the prior year, primarily due to investments in workforce expansion and adverse FX movements. Adjusted net profit rose 10.6% YoY, with a margin of 8.9%, while operating cash flow conversion remained strong at 72% of adjusted EBITDA.
Regional and sectoral performance was notably uneven, with Latin America accelerating 35% YoY, North America growing 6%, and new markets (Europe and APAC) showing sequential gains. Financial services was the clear standout, surging 51% YoY and now a material driver of overall performance, while retail and industrial goods grew 11%. The company’s top 10 clients, each generating over $10 million in revenue, expanded 19.5% YoY, underscoring the success of CI&T’s land-and-expand strategy and its ability to deepen wallet share through AI-led offerings.
- Margin Dynamics: Gross margin compression traced to upfront hiring for pipeline support and FX headwinds, partially offset by SG&A discipline.
- Client Concentration: Top client now represents 12% of sales, with eight of the top ten clients growing sequentially, supporting recurring revenue visibility.
- Cash Generation: Consistent cash conversion provides flexibility for reinvestment and share repurchases, reinforcing capital allocation discipline.
CI&T’s performance signals a business transitioning from experimentation to scalable AI impact, with strong recurring revenue and expanding strategic client relationships forming the backbone for future growth.
Executive Commentary
"Our AI strategy is effectively bridging the GenAI divide for our clients, transforming their AI investments into tangible efficiencies and high-impact solutions. These AI-powered offerings have expanded our sales pipeline, increased our wallet share with clients, and reinforced our role as a key partner in their digital and AI transformation journeys."
Cesar Ghosn, Founder and CEO
"We've maintained a disciplined approach towards our operating expenses. This is evident in our reduced SG&A as a percentage of sales. For the first nine months of 2025, we generated 46.5 million in cash from operating activities, translating to a robust 72% cash conversion rate from adjusted EBITDA to operating cash."
Stanley Rodrigues, Chief Financial Officer
Strategic Positioning
1. Proprietary AI Platform as Differentiator
CI&T Flow, the company’s AI management system, is central to its strategy—enabling the creation and deployment of thousands of AI agents that automate and optimize client operations. With 85% internal adoption and a 15-fold increase in agent deployment over 18 months, CI&T is turning its own operations into a showcase for clients, accelerating both internal productivity and external credibility.
2. Client Engagement Model Evolution
The shift from time-and-materials to value-based and output-driven contracts is underway, with early client acceptance and a clear path to monetizing intellectual property embedded in AI agents and solutions. Management expects these models to become a relevant share of revenue within 12-18 months, unlocking both margin and scalability as clients move beyond traditional procurement frameworks.
3. Sector-Focused Go-to-Market
Financial services and retail verticals are clear growth engines, as clients in these sectors prioritize digital and AI transformation. The company’s ability to deliver measurable business outcomes—such as improved efficiency, risk management, and customer experience—has driven wallet share gains and positioned CI&T as a strategic partner rather than a transactional vendor.
4. Talent and Delivery Model Resilience
CI&T’s systematic talent pipeline and AI-enabled hiring process support rapid scaling and sustain a healthy voluntary attrition rate (10.9%). The company’s ability to reskill and upskill talent internally, coupled with robust training programs, underpins its delivery model and ensures readiness for evolving client needs in an AI-first landscape.
5. Recurring Revenue and Diversification
Revenue concentration risk is mitigated by expanding the client base and deepening relationships across multiple verticals, with net revenue retention remaining high and top client revenue recurring by design. The company’s land-and-expand approach is yielding predictable growth while gradually reducing reliance on the top ten clients (now 43% of revenue, down from 67% four years ago).
Key Considerations
CI&T’s Q3 quarter demonstrates the company’s ability to operationalize AI at scale, but the next phase of growth will depend on the successful transition to new engagement models and continued vertical expansion.
Key Considerations:
- AI Agent Commercialization: Scaling value-based and agent-driven contracts will be key to margin expansion and differentiation from legacy IT services peers.
- Vertical Mix: Outsized growth in financial services and retail validates sector prioritization, but broader sectoral diversification will be needed for sustained outperformance.
- Client Concentration Management: Recurring revenue from top clients is robust, but continued diversification and wallet share expansion are essential to mitigate single-client risk.
- Margin Levers: SG&A discipline and operating leverage provide a buffer against wage inflation and FX volatility, but further margin gains hinge on successful adoption of new pricing models.
Risks
Risks center on the pace of client adoption for new engagement models, potential delays in procurement education, and the possibility of revenue concentration with top clients. FX volatility and wage inflation could pressure margins if not offset by efficiency gains or successful contract renegotiation. Competitive intensity in AI consulting and digital transformation remains high, requiring ongoing innovation and differentiation.
Forward Outlook
For Q4 2025, CI&T guided to:
- Revenue between $130.4 million and $132.6 million, implying 16.8% YoY reported growth at the midpoint and 12.5% at constant currency.
For full-year 2025, management maintained guidance:
- Organic revenue growth at constant currency between 12.5% and 13%.
- Adjusted EBITDA margin in the range of 18% to 20%.
Management emphasized:
- “A robust commercial pipeline, ongoing expansion with our largest clients, and the evolution of our AI-boosted offerings.”
- Strong sales conversion and improved demand environment, especially in Latin America and financial services.
Takeaways
CI&T is executing on a clear AI-led growth strategy, with sector-specific wins, disciplined cost management, and a growing pipeline of high-value contracts. The business is positioned to benefit from the secular shift to AI-powered digital transformation, but the scalability of new engagement models and the durability of large client relationships will be critical watchpoints.
- AI Monetization Path: Early traction in value-based contracts offers margin and scalability upside if client adoption accelerates as anticipated.
- Sector Leadership: Financial services and retail expansion validate the company’s vertical focus and AI differentiation, but broader sectoral growth will be needed to sustain momentum.
- 2026 Watchpoint: Investors should monitor the pace of agent-based contract adoption, client concentration trends, and margin progression as CI&T enters the next phase of its AI pivot.
Conclusion
CI&T’s Q3 results reinforce its position as an AI-driven transformation partner, with strong sector wins, disciplined execution, and a credible path to scalable, value-based revenue models. The company’s operational model and robust pipeline support continued growth, but execution on new commercial constructs and client diversification will determine long-term upside.
Industry Read-Through
CI&T’s results highlight the accelerating enterprise shift from AI experimentation to operationalization, with clients demanding measurable business outcomes and partners able to deliver at scale. The adoption of value-based and agent-driven contracts signals a broader industry move away from traditional time-and-materials models, pressuring legacy IT services firms to adapt. Sectoral outperformance in financial services and retail suggests these industries are leading AI adoption, offering a roadmap for peers. The real test will be whether other consultancies can match CI&T’s pace in internal AI adoption, talent reskilling, and commercial innovation.