Accenture reported fiscal fourth-quarter results before the market opened on October 1, with earnings of $3.29 per share and revenue of $18.7 billion. The results topped Wall Street expectations of $3.19 per share on revenue of $18.05 billion and marked a 46% year-over-year jump in earnings. New bookings reached $22.2 billion, powered by strong enterprise AI deployment.
The company has now beaten EPS estimates for five consecutive quarters. Accenture shares climbed 3.5% to $183.31 on September 30 and have risen roughly 38% over the past three months. Despite the strong quarter, TD Cowen analyst Bryan Bergin maintained a Hold rating with a $173 price target, arguing that the stock is overvalued and that the earnings pop may reflect a cyclical bounce rather than a structural rebound in organic consulting growth.
Bergin pointed to tightly scrutinized enterprise IT budgets, secular headwinds in discretionary IT spending, and extended implementation timelines for large-scale AI transformation deals. He also highlighted technical overbought conditions, with the relative strength index sitting in the mid-70s after the post-earnings surge.
Accenture's full-year guidance calls for fiscal 2027 local-currency revenue growth of 3% to 6%, in line with mid-single-digit pacing but not the rapid expansion some investors expect. The balance sheet is also facing pressure from a $5 billion debt issuance completed in July 2026, which is expected to add about $250 million in annual interest expenses. Projected interest income is set to decline by around $100 million due to lower average cash reserves after $4.9 billion in fiscal 2026 acquisitions and shareholder returns.
Wall Street's consensus rating remains Overweight, with a consensus price target near $193.03, implying roughly 9% upside from recent levels. However, Guggenheim and Wells Fargo downgraded Accenture in September. Management has an Investor Day scheduled for October 14, giving the company another opportunity to address AI demand, bookings trends, and margin concerns.
