Accenture's stock jumps 7% as AI bookings boost offsets an earnings miss

By Ciara Linnane

Accenture says it had more than $900 million in generative AI bookings in its latest quarter

Accenture PLC's stock rose 6% early Thursday, after the consulting firm posted fiscal third-quarter earnings showing more than $900 million in bookings from generative AI, offsetting a profit and revenue miss.

New York-based Accenture had net income of $1.934 billion, or $3.04 a share, for the quarter to May 31, down from $2.012 billion, or $3.15 a share, in the year-earlier period.

Adjusted for one-time items, EPS came to $3.13, just below the $3.16 FactSet consensus.

Revenue rose to $16.467 billion from $16.565 billion, just below the $16.548 billion FactSet consensus.

The company said generative AI new bookings rose above $900 million and totaled $2 billion in the fiscal year to date.

"We achieved strong new bookings of over $21 billion, up 22% over last year, and continued to accelerate our strategy to be the reinvention partner of choice, with another 23 clients with quarterly bookings of over $100 million, bringing the total of such bookings to 92 year-to-date," CEO Julie Sweet said in prepared remarks.

"We also achieved two significant milestones this quarter-with $2 billion in Generative AI sales year-to-date and $500 million in revenue year-to-date-which demonstrate our early lead in this critical technology."

The company is now expecting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to range from $16.05 billion to $16.65 billion, while FactSet is expecting $16.53 billion.

For the full year, it expects adjusted EPS to range from $11.85 to $12.00, while FactSet is expecting $12.09.

The stock has fallen 18.7% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

-Ciara Linnane

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06-20-24 0822ET

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