Computer Sciences Corporation Stock: What Really Happened

Computer Sciences Corporation Stock: What Really Happened

You might be looking at an old ticker symbol on a dusty spreadsheet or stumbled across a reference to a tech titan that seems to have vanished into thin air. Honestly, it’s a weird feeling when a company that basically built the modern outsourcing industry just... stops existing. If you’re hunting for Computer Sciences Corporation stock (the old NYSE: CSC), you’ve probably realized by now that you can't actually buy it. Not anymore.

It’s gone. But not in the "bankrupt and burned to the ground" way. It’s more of a corporate metamorphosis.

Back in 2017, the world of IT services hit a massive crossroads. CSC, which had been a powerhouse since 1959, realized that being "big" wasn't enough to survive the cloud revolution. They needed to be massive. So, they pulled the trigger on a "spin-merger" with the Enterprise Services segment of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). The result? A brand-new entity called DXC Technology.

If you held CSC shares on March 31, 2017, you didn't lose your money. Your Computer Sciences Corporation stock simply woke up the next Monday as DXC. One for one. Simple as that.

The $25 Billion Marriage That Changed Everything

When the merger was finalized on April 3, 2017, it created the world’s third-largest independent IT services firm. We're talking about a company that started its first day with $25 billion in annual revenue and roughly 170,000 employees. Mike Lawrie, who was the CEO of CSC at the time, took the reins of this new giant.

It was a bold move. Maybe too bold?

The logic was straightforward: CSC had the agility and the commercial footprint, while HPE's enterprise arm brought the scale and the legacy "Big Tech" relationships. Together, they were supposed to be the "Pure Play" alternative to IBM. Wall Street initially loved it. On the announcement day in 2016, CSC stock shot up more than 25%. People thought they were seeing the birth of a legend.

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But the reality of merging two massive, aging bureaucracies is messy. It's like trying to weld two cruise ships together while they're both moving at 30 knots.

Why the Ticker CSC Still Shows Up

You’ll still see "CSC" pop up on financial sites today, which is super confusing for new investors. Usually, it’s one of three things:

  1. The Ghost Ticker: Many platforms keep historical data for the old NYSE: CSC for researchers. It usually shows a final price around $69.01 from March 2017.
  2. The "Other" CSCs: There are companies like Capstone Copper Corp (traded in Australia) or Crown Seal Public Co. in Thailand that use the CSC ticker. They have zero to do with the American IT firm.
  3. CSC Financial Co.: A Chinese investment bank (ticker 6066.HK or 601066.SS) that often clutters up Google searches when you’re looking for the old Virginia-based tech company.

What Happened to the Money?

If you’re digging through an old portfolio and found Computer Sciences Corporation stock, you need to look at DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC). That is the legal successor.

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Since the merger, the ride has been... bumpy. Let's be real. DXC has spent the last several years trying to shed "non-core" assets and pay down a mountain of debt. In 2024, they were still doing massive share buybacks—to the tune of $898 million—to try and keep investors happy while they navigated a shrinking revenue base.

As of early 2026, the company is still a major player, but it’s a different beast. They’ve pivoted hard into something they call the "Xponential AI" framework. They’re basically trying to help old-school companies use generative AI without breaking their entire infrastructure. It’s a far cry from the 1960s when CSC was writing software for Honeywell and NASA.

Key Dates for the History Books

  • 1959: Founded with just $100 by Roy Nutt and Fletcher Jones.
  • 1963: First software company to go public.
  • 1968: Listed on the NYSE.
  • 2015: Spun off its government business (CSRA), which later got swallowed by General Dynamics.
  • 2017: The final curtain. The merger with HPE Enterprise Services ends the CSC ticker forever.

Is the "New" Stock a Good Bet?

Analysts are pretty split on the successor. Some look at the P/E ratio (which has hovered around 7.3 recently) and see a bargain. Others look at the declining revenue—down about 6.8% over the last few years—and see a company that is still struggling to find its footing in a world dominated by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

It's a classic "value trap" vs. "turnaround" debate.

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DXC doesn't pay a dividend anymore; they stopped that in 2021 to save cash. So, if you’re looking for income, the legacy of Computer Sciences Corporation stock won't give it to you. You're betting entirely on the management's ability to trim the fat and ride the AI wave.

Actionable Steps for Investors

If you discover you still own these shares through an old brokerage account or a physical certificate, here is what you actually need to do:

  • Check for DXC Shares: Your broker should have automatically converted your CSC shares to DXC. If you don't see them, look for a corporate action in your account history dated April 2017.
  • Physical Certificates: If you have a paper certificate for Computer Sciences Corporation, it’s not "worthless" paper, but it’s no longer a valid trading document. You’ll need to contact DXC’s transfer agent (usually Computershare) to have them exchanged for electronic shares of the new company.
  • Evaluate the New Entity: Don't hold DXC just because you liked CSC in the 90s. The business model is significantly different now. Research their recent earnings—specifically their "Global Business Services" segment—to see if the growth there outweighs the decline in their legacy "Global Infrastructure Services."
  • Tax Basis: If you eventually sell, remember that your cost basis might be tied to your original CSC purchase. This can get complicated because of the 2015 CSRA spinoff and the 2017 merger. Digging up those old statements now will save you a massive headache during tax season.

The era of Computer Sciences Corporation as a standalone stock is a closed chapter in Wall Street history. It was a pioneer that survived for nearly 60 years, but in the end, it chose to merge rather than fade away. Whether that was the right move for shareholders is still being decided by the ticker symbols of today.