Accenture shares surged more than 22% Thursday after the consulting giant beat fiscal fourth-quarter estimates on both earnings and revenue. Expanding margins pushed quarterly profit up 46%, and the company raised its dividend and posted a record in large client bookings.
Accenture stock surged more than 22% Thursday, putting shares on pace for the biggest one-day gain in the company's history, according to FactSet data.
Earnings and revenue beat estimates
Accenture earned $3.29 per share on revenue of $18.68 billion, beating LSEG consensus estimates of $3.18 per share and $18.03 billion. For the full fiscal 2026 year, revenue totaled $74.2 billion, a 6% increase, while adjusted earnings reached $13.97 per share, up 8% year on year.
Chair and CEO Julie Sweet attributed the results to client demand. According to CNBC: "the continued trust our clients place in us to help them reinvent and create value", Sweet said in a press release Thursday.
Margin expansion drives profit higher
Gross margin reached 15.3% in the fourth quarter, up 370 basis points, while the full-year gross margin came in at 15.4%, up 70 basis points versus fiscal 2025. That combination of sales growth and wider margins lifted quarterly profit by 46%.
Accenture also generated $2.8 billion in free cash flow for the quarter and $11.6 billion for the full year.
Record bookings, higher dividend, cautious outlook
The company posted a record in big-ticket client bookings — deals worth $100 million or more. Accenture also raised its quarterly dividend 5% to $1.71 per share, payable Nov. 13.
For fiscal 2027, Accenture guided to 3%-6% year-over-year growth in both revenue and adjusted earnings per share. Yet despite Thursday's surge, the stock remains down more than 18% year to date amid concerns that artificial intelligence will disrupt key parts of the consulting business.
Sources: CNBC, The Motley Fool
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