Accenture Tops Fiscal Fourth-Quarter Views; Forecasts Annual Growth in Fiscal 2027

09:13 AM EDT, 10/01/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Accenture (ACN) reported stronger-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results on Thursday, while the consulting firm forecast earnings and revenue in the ongoing fiscal year to rise annually. The company's earnings came in at $3.29 per share for the quarter ended August, up from $2.25 the year before, ahead of the FactSet-polled consensus of $3.18. Revenue improved 6% to $18.68 billion, topping the Street's view for $18.03 billion. In local currency terms, revenue gained 7%. "We exceeded our fourth-quarter revenue guidance range and capped off another year of broad-based growth across our business," Chief Executive Julie Sweet said in a statement. The stock spiked 17% in the most recent premarket activity. For fiscal 2027, Accenture anticipates EPS to be in a range of $14.39 to $14.81, representing annual growth of 6% to 9%. On an adjusted basis, the company projects the metric to rise 3% to 6% from fiscal 2026's result of $13.97. The average analyst estimate on FactSet is for EPS of $14.62 and non-GAAP EPS of $14.64. Revenue is pegged to grow by 3% to 6% in local currency for the ongoing fiscal year. In fiscal 2026, revenue advanced 5% in local currency terms. Foreign exchange is forecast to have a flat impact on current full-year results, the firm said. Consulting revenue increased 6% to $9.28 billion in the fourth quarter, while sales in the managed services division climbed 7% to $9.40 billion. New bookings grew 4% to $22.17 billion, comprising $9.4 billion in consulting and $12.77 billion in managed services. The company reached a "new high" of 141 client bookings of $100 million or more in the quarter, according to Sweet. Earlier in the week, UBS Securities said in a client note that Accenture was on track to more than double bookings amid its emerging partnerships with Nvidia (NVDA), OpenAI and Palantir (PLTR), reinforcing the brokerage's view that the company is not being "disintermediated." Accenture expects revenue to come in between $18.95 billion and $19.6 billion for the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year. The guidance implies growth of 2% to 6% in local currency terms. The Street is looking for $19.35 billion. In July, IBM (IBM) reported second-quarter results that fell short of analysts' estimates. In the same month, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) lifted its full-year earnings outlook.