Accenture Beats Q4 Estimates as Shares Rise 16%

Accenture reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and earnings above analyst expectations, and its shares rose about 16% on Thursday after the results. The consulting company posted diluted earnings per share of $3.29 and revenue of $18.68 billion for the quarter ended Aug. 31, exceeding consensus estimates cited in reports of $3.18 per share and $18.03 billion in revenue. Chief Executive Julie Sweet attributed demand to large-scale client projects, including work to build data foundations and enterprise systems needed to use artificial intelligence. Accenture said nearly 100 additional clients began advanced AI projects during the quarter, bringing the fiscal-year total to more than 400. The company has not separately quantified how much revenue or bookings came from AI-related work. The quarter’s results reflected growth across markets, industries and service lines, according to the company. Revenue rose 7% in local currency to $9.3 billion in consulting and 7% to $9.4 billion in managed services. Bookings totaled $22.2 billion, including a record $12.8 billion in managed-services bookings. Accenture said 37 clients booked more than $100 million each during the quarter.