Accenture Stock Falls Over 14%, Reaches 52-Week Low After Weak Outlook

Shares of consulting giant Accenture slumped over 14% on Thursday, reaching a 52-week low and sparking an industry sell-off.

The company's quarterly sales were below Wall Street estimates, Reuters reported.

Shares of rivals Infosys, IBM, Cognizant and Capgemini also fell between 5.5% and 10.8% after Accenture lowered its annual sales expectations.

The Iran war has hampered Accenture's consulting business in ‌the Middle East and other regions. The stock also came under pressure due to a hawkish Federal Reserve stance, missed earnings estimates and its planned cybersecurity acquisition spree worth $4.18 billion.

For fiscal 2026, Accenture lowered its revenue guidance from the earlier range of $71.763 billion to $73.157 billion to $71.763 billion to $72.460 billion. The updated outlook was far below what analysts predicted - $74.006 billion.

Accenture raised adjusted earnings prediction to $13.78 to $13.90 per equity. Analysts had predicted adjusted earnings of $13.85 per stock.

The Dublin-based company now expects annual revenue growth in the range of 3% to 4%.

The consulting giant also upped its expected fiscal 2026 capital return from its previous forecast of at least $9.3 billion to $9.5 billion.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, Accenture expects revenue in the range of $17.75 billion to $18.40 billion, while analysts' estimated $18.47 billion.

The IT consulting giant lost $400 million in the third quarter in its Middle East business from the US-Israeli conflict with Iran. Accenture warned of "more impact in the fourth". CEO Julie Sweet said on a post-earnings call, "It's not clear ⁠how fast things will change, particularly because some of the industries are dealing with kind of longer-term issues."

Economic and geopolitical uncertainty have impacted demand for IT projects in recent months. Across the consulting sector, concerns over autonomous AI tools replacing traditional software services have weighed on valuations.

To cushion the impact on its consulting business, Accenture is making a big bet on industrial cybersecurity. Its recent acquisitions will expand its $10 billion cybersecurity business.

Accenture will take a majority stake in industrial cybersecurity firm Dragos. It will fully acquire runZero, an asset intelligence company, as well as device security specialist NetRise.

While IT systems remain a big focus of cybersecurity budgets, better internet connectivity and use of artificial intelligence are making power grids,factories and other critical infrastructure more vulnerable to hackers, leading to greater attention on tools that ⁠protect them.