Accenture Shares Jump 18% as Earnings Beat Eases AI Fears
Accenture’s shares surged on Thursday after fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings beat forecasts and its outlook eased fears that artificial intelligence will erode demand for consulting.
Accenture (NYSE: ACN), the Dublin-domiciled consulting and technology services group, saw its shares jump about 18% in New York trading today after fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings beat estimates. CNBC reported that, based on FactSet data, the stock was on pace for its biggest one-day gain ever.
The shares reached $227.63 earlier, 24.1% above yesterday’s close of $183.37, then eased to $216.74, up 18.2%, in a delayed intraday quote at 5.15pm in London (12.15pm in New York). The session is still running, so the move is not final.
Revenue for the quarter to the 31st of August was $18.68bn, above the company’s own guidance of $17.75bn to $18.4bn. Adjusted earnings per share were $3.29, against an LSEG consensus of $3.18.
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New bookings, the value of new client contracts signed, reached $22.17bn, including a record 141 client deals above $100m, 12 more than a year earlier.
Earnings per share were up 8.6% from $3.03 a year earlier, and revenue rose 6.2% from about $17.6bn. The shares had slid on fears that AI will disrupt consulting, and traded between roughly $174 and $195 through September, so a clean beat brought relief.
Guidance for fiscal 2027 was roughly in line with consensus, so relief rather than a raised outlook drove the move. It points to revenue growth of 3% to 6% in local currency, meaning excluding currency moves, and earnings per share of $14.39 to $14.81.
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Accenture share price, daily closes from the 25th of June to yesterday, plus the intraday price at 5.15pm London time today.
IT-services peers IBM, Cognizant and Wipro also rose on the news. The weak spot was first-quarter revenue guidance: the range of $18.95bn to $19.60bn has a midpoint below the $19.38bn Zacks consensus.
For UK traders, ACN is a New York listing, so exposure runs through US hours. The move is intraday and has already faded from its high, and the shares are still down more than 18% this year even after the jump. With guidance only roughly in line, chasing it carries risk.
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