Accenture Tempers Outlook After Headwinds Hit 3Q Results — Update
By Connor Hart
Accenture scaled back its sales outlook for the year, after the war in Iran and contract delays weighed on results during the recent quarter.
Chief Executive Julie Sweet said Thursday the conflict reduced revenue by about $100 million relative to expectations. Beyond the direct hit in the Middle East, the company saw slower decision making and a pullback in discretionary spending.
Accenture additionally saw several large managed-services opportunities delayed into the coming fiscal year for company-specific reasons, Sweet said on a call with analysts.
The near-term headwinds prompted the company to issue an underwhelming outlook for the current quarter, even as strong artificial-intelligence adoption continues to drive demand for its services.
Shares fell 17%, to $129.68, shortly after the opening bell, on pace for their largest percent decrease on record. Accenture's quarterly results came as it made a $4 billion push into industrial cybersecurity, acquiring a majority stake in Dragos and buying two other security firms outright.
For the current quarter, Accenture guided for revenue of $17.75 billion to $18.4 billion, below the $18.48 billion that analysts polled by FactSet are expecting.
The company also narrowed its outlook for local-currency revenue growth to between 3% to 4% for the year, from a prior forecast for growth of 3% to 5%. It additionally raised the floor of its adjusted earnings outlook to $13.78 a share from $13.52 a share, while maintaining the ceiling at $13.90 a share.
The outlooks came as Accenture reported mixed fiscal third-quarter results. Net income grew to $2.34 billion from $2.2 billion a year earlier, and quarterly earnings of $3.80 a share topped analysts' views for $3.71 a share.
Revenue for the three months ended May 31 climbed 5.6% to $18.72 billion, but missed Wall Street models for $18.78 billion. New bookings fell to $19.3 billion from $19.7 billion last year.
Longer term, Sweet said the company believes AI will be a tailwind for the company, "because it is a catalyst for reinvention and is creating new opportunities for growth and efficiency for our clients and for us."
Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 18, 2026 10:20 ET (14:20 GMT)
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