Accenture (NYSE:ACN) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.11 EPS

Accenture (NYSE:ACN) released its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The information technology services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.11, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.03 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.53% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period 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 4.3%

Shares of ACN traded down $11.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $247.57. The stock had a trading volume of 4,623,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,995,124. The company has a market cap of $165.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.11. Accenture has a 52 week low of $118.15 and a 52 week high of $291.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $194.57 and a 200 day moving average of $175.64.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Accenture’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Accenture’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ACN has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $242.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Evercore set a $250.00 target price on Accenture and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. UBS Group set a $278.00 target price on Accenture in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price target on Accenture from $180.00 to $130.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Accenture from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Catherine Hogan sold 700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.24, for a total transaction of $149,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 11,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,540,029.44. This represents a 5.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Melissa A. Burgum sold 811 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $202,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 9,820 shares in the company, valued at $2,455,000. The trade was a 7.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,173 shares of company stock valued at $3,758,527 over the last ninety days. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Accenture this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised Accenture’s consensus price target by 12.22% to $238.14, reflecting improved expectations despite a generally cautious rating profile. Accenture consensus price target increased
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture Federal Services is working with Google Public Sector on Gemini launchpads for U.S. federal agencies. The initiative could expand Accenture’s government AI pipeline and reinforce its position in generative-AI implementation. Accenture federal AI push
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish investment analysis projects roughly 23% additional upside through December 2027, supported by Accenture’s AI capabilities, earnings growth, and long-term digital-transformation demand. Accenture long-term return outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Accenture recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.29 in EPS versus $3.18 expected and $18.68 billion in revenue versus $18.03 billion expected. Revenue increased 6.2% year over year, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.71 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: Accenture is reviewing strategic options for its Greater China operations, including a possible divestiture. A sale could reduce geopolitical exposure and simplify the business, but the review introduces uncertainty around regional revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: Asia-Pacific Co-CEO Atsushi Egawa acquired 3,194 shares at no cost. Because the shares were not purchased with cash, the transaction provides limited information about management’s valuation outlook. Accenture executive share acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Robert W. Baird downgraded Accenture from Outperform to Neutral, citing the stock’s sharp rally and concern that its valuation may already reflect much of the expected growth. Baird nevertheless raised its target to $252 from $245. Baird downgrades Accenture
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 5,844 shares valued at approximately $1.43 million, while CAO Melissa Burgum sold 811 shares worth $202,750. Both trades were disclosed as planned or routine transactions, but the insider selling may weigh on investor sentiment.

About Accenture

Accenture plc is a global professional services company that helps organizations transform their businesses through consulting, technology and managed services. Its work spans strategy and consulting, technology implementation, operations, and interactive customer experiences.

The company provides services in areas including cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and analytics, digital engineering, enterprise software, systems integration and business process outsourcing.