Accenture $ACN reported its quarterly results this week, and it looks like another warning for the consulting sector.
Accenture lowered its revenue growth outlook for 2026 from 3–5% to 3–4%. Earnings did beat estimates at $3.80 per share, but revenue and new bookings missed expectations, with new contracts down 3% year‑over‑year.
The stock has plunged nearly 40% over the past year.
The weakness is mainly due to a slowdown in the U.S. federal segment and more cautious corporate IT spending. Accenture is trying to reverse the trend with cybersecurity acquisitions. With $4.2 billion in acquisitions, it aims to lift margins where traditional consulting is stagnating.
Does anyone have $ACN in their portfolio? Will you be adding to this stock?
It's funny that it was in almost every buy recommendation I've read or heard in the past month. That reinforces my conviction not to buy shares of companies whose price has been falling for a long time, especially when those recommending them can't convincingly document why the price is falling, citing market sentiment while still treating the company as if it were as high quality as when its shares were much higher. There's also the popular folklore of buying the stock of anything that used to be a quality company and has fallen, refusing to admit it may no longer be a quality company and that there are reasons why the price dropped.