Accenture shares surge as consulting giant shrugs off worst of AI fears
Shares in consulting giant Accenture surged on Thursday after the firm topped its own revenue targets and shrugged off the worst fears of an AI-induced slowdown.
The New-York listed consultant said fourth-quarter revenues rose by six per cent to $18.7bn [£14.1bn], outpacing its own target of between $17.7bn [£13.4bn] to $18.4bn [£13.9bn]. Wall Street analysts had expected the firm to hit around $18bn [£13.6bn] for the fourth quarter.
Adjusted earnings per share for the 2026 financial year also beat analyst estimates and grew by 8 per cent to $13.97 [£10.57] compared to $12.93 [£9.78] in the 2025 financial year.
Shares in the company surged beyond 22 per cent in early trading to mark the company’s biggest one day gain on record, after a year in which billions has been wiped from its value on fears over the threat of AI to the consulting industry.
Chair and chief executive, Julie Sweet, said the company had capped off “another year of broad-based growth across our business.”
The consulting giant said it expects to hit full-year revenue growth of between three and six per cent for the 2027 financial year and predicts to return at least $9.5bn [£7.2bn] in cash to shareholders.
For its consulting practice, Accenture said it had booked six per cent more this quarter compared to the same period last year, hitting $9.3bn in revenue [£7bn].
AI ‘reckoning’ for consulting giants
Over the past 12 months, Accenture’s stock has plunged around 25 per cent, in part due to softer quarterly results, falling returns on invested capital and growing concerns around AI’s impact on the consultancy sector.
Analysts at Morningstar have downgraded firms like Accenture and Capgemini due to AI-fuelled uncertainty about their future sales pipelines.
“Professional services firms are in a tough position currently, with an AI disruption cloud hanging over their heads,” Michael Field, chief equity strategist at Morningstar, previously told City AM.