Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Announces Earnings Results

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.11, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $18.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 26.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. Accenture updated its FY 2027 guidance to 14.390-14.810 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Accenture’s conference call:

• Q4 exceeded guidance: Revenue reached $18.7 billion, up 7% in local currency, with broad-based growth across regions, industries, consulting, and managed services. Bookings were strong at $22.2 billion, including 37 clients with bookings above $100 million.
• Accenture reported strong FY2026 profitability and cash generation, including 15.8% adjusted operating margin, 8% adjusted EPS growth to $13.97, and $11.6 billion of free cash flow. The company returned a record $11.5 billion to shareholders and expects share count to decline about 3% in FY2027.
• Management sees AI as a net growth tailwind, with nearly 100 additional clients starting advanced AI work in Q4 and more than 400 doing so during FY2026. Accenture ended the year with nearly 110,000 AI and data professionals and expects AI-related demand to expand as clients build digital cores, data foundations, and enterprise AI platforms.
• FY2027 guidance calls for 3%-6% local-currency revenue growth, 15.9%-16.1% operating margin, and 3%-6% EPS growth, while assuming broadly stable technology and discretionary spending. Management expects to invest approximately $5 billion in additional acquisitions, including roughly $3 billion of Cyber OT acquisitions shifted into Q1 due to regulatory timing.
• The outlook continues to reflect risks from the approximately $1 billion annualized Middle East business headwind, intense competition and lower pricing in some areas, and potential deterioration in discretionary spending. Management also expects hiring growth to slow and acknowledged that large managed-services bookings remain lumpy.

Accenture Trading Down 6.2%

Shares of NYSE ACN opened at $199.17 on Friday. Accenture has a 12-month low of $118.15 and a 12-month high of $291.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.64. The company has a market cap of $133.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.11.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Argus lifted their price target on Accenture from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Oppenheimer set a $201.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Accenture from $175.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.59.

Trending Headlines about Accenture

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly beat: Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $18.68 billion, exceeding the $18.03 billion consensus estimate, while EPS of $3.29 topped expectations of $3.18. Accenture fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Bookings eased AI-disruption fears: Quarterly bookings reached $22.17 billion, up 4%, contributing to record fiscal-year bookings of approximately $84.5 billion. Management said AI demand is broadening into fiscal 2027, supported by large-scale reinvention projects and managed services. Accenture Q4 earnings call and AI demand
• Positive Sentiment: Constructive fiscal 2027 outlook: Accenture forecast 3%–6% revenue growth in local currency, a 15.9%–16.1% operating margin and $14.39–$14.81 in EPS. The company also plans roughly $5 billion of acquisitions, signaling continued investment in growth. Accenture fiscal 2027 outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target increases: Argus raised its target to $260 with a Buy rating, while RBC lifted its target to $240 and upgraded the stock to Outperform. Truist also raised its target to $220, though it retained a Hold rating.
• Positive Sentiment: Higher shareholder returns: Accenture increased its quarterly dividend 4.9% to $1.71 per share, or $6.84 annually, representing a yield of about 3.4%.

Accenture declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 23rd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to buy up to 2.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Accenture

In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 10,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.98, for a total value of $1,710,964.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 17,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,450.30. This represents a 37.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Company Profile

Accenture plc (NYSE: ACN) is a global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance, modernize operations and respond to technological and market changes. Its services span strategy and consulting, technology, operations, and managed services, with expertise across industries including communications, financial services, health care, public service, retail, manufacturing and resources.

The company provides digital transformation, cloud migration, data and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, systems integration and technology implementation services.