Accenture’s Bookings Growth Recovers. Thank AI Demand, Says CEO.

Accenture posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings and revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter. (Pau Barrena /AFP via Getty Images)

Key Points

About This Summary

• Accenture’s fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.03 a share surpass forecasts of $2.98.
• Revenue increases 7% to $17.6 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $17.4 billion.
• Fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings guidance of $13.52 to $13.90 a share is above the $12.89 anticipated.

Accenture posted fourth-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ forecasts and issued an upbeat outlook for the fiscal year.

The global consulting company posted adjusted quarterly earnings 0f $3.03 a share, which beat the $2.98 a share Wall Street was anticipating, according to FactSet. Revenue rose 7% to $17.6 billion in the quarter, ahead of analysts’ calls for $17.4 billion.

Bookings, which represent the company’s potential for future revenue, showed signs of recovery. The metric came in at $21.3 billion, up sequentially from $20.9 billion and up from $20.1 billion in the same period a year ago. Bookings attributed to generative artificial-intelligence offerings rose to $1.8 billion from $1.5 billion in the last quarter and $1 billion last year.

In a statement, CEO Julie Sweet said Accenture’s growth in the quarter evidenced its ability “to deliver for our clients as they seek our help to reinvent and lead with AI.”

For fiscal 2026, management guided for adjusted earnings in the range of $13.52 to $13.90 a share. Analysts were expecting $13.78 a share. Accenture said it expects fiscal-year revenue growth of 2% to 5%, or 3% to 6% excluding the impact of its U.S. federal business.

Accenture stock has slumped 32% this year, with concerns over federal spending cuts weighing on shares during the first half of the year and, more recently, broader uncertainty within the IT and consulting sectors.

There have been more transitory, company-specific issues as well, such as a leadership shake-up and restructuring push that impacted shares at the time of fiscal third-quarter earnings. Sweet noted that attrition, or a measure of departures from the organization, had “ticked up a little bit” in the third quarter.

Edward Jones analyst Logan Purk noted ahead of the fourth-quarter report that Accenture has lagged behind the technology sector over the longer term, “as the company has not participated in the rapid acceleration of AI growth.”

While CEO Sweet attempted to frame AI as a catalyst, investors weren’t buying it. Shares were down 1.5% in morning trading, while the benchmark S&P 500 was down 0.5%.

Fears that the technology will disrupt consulting are nothing new. Uber co-founder Travis Kalanack remarked earlier this year that traditional consultants were in “big trouble,” saying clients would someday be able to “push a button, get a consultant.”

“The overall demand environment appears to be mostly unchanged, neither materially better nor worse,” Jefferies analyst Surinder Thind wrote Thursday. He cited the company’s ongoing restructuring efforts “as it continues to try and evolve the skillset of its people to be more AI native.”

While quarterly results beat the firm’s forecasts, the fiscal outlook was consistent with expectations, including margin guidance. Accenture sees operating margins in the range of 15.7% to 15.9%, which would represent an expansion of anywhere from 10 to 30 basis points year over year.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com