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With a market cap of $226.5 billion, Accenture plc (ACN) is a global leader in professional services, specializing in digital, cloud, and security transformation. The Dublin, Ireland-based company serves diverse industries worldwide, leveraging innovation hubs and cutting-edge technology to drive value and scale for its clients.
Companies valued at over $200 billion are generally considered “mega-cap” stocks and Accenture fits this criterion perfectly. Accenture is renowned for its ability to drive transformative change by combining deep industry expertise, cutting-edge technology, and human ingenuity to create 360° value for clients worldwide.
However, the consulting company is down 6.5% from its 52-week high of $387.51, achieved in March. Shares of ACN have risen 6.5% over the past three months, underperforming the broader Nasdaq Composite's ($NASX) 9.7% gain over the same time frame.
Longer term, ACN is up 3.3% on a YTD basis, lagging behind NASX's 28% return. Also, shares of Accenture have increased 8.7% over the past 52 weeks, compared to NASX's 34.8% return over the same time frame.
Yet, ACN has maintained its position above the 50-day moving average since early-July and has stayed above the 200-day moving average since late-August, with some fluctuations.
Accenture has underperformed partly due to a shift in client budgets from short-term discretionary spending to longer-term transformational projects, delaying revenue realization. However, the stock surged 5.6% on Sept. 26 due to the announcement of its better-than-expected Q4 adjusted EPS of $2.79 and revenue of $16.4 billion. The company also highlighted a 21% increase in new bookings to $20.1 billion, signaling strong future growth, with managed services bookings alone reaching $11.6 billion. Furthermore, its optimistic fiscal 2025 revenue guidance of $16.9 billion - $17.5 billion for Q1 and free cash flow projection of up to $9.5 billion further fueled investor confidence.
Nevertheless, in comparison, rival Gartner, Inc. (IT) has outpaced ACN, delivering a 14.8% return YTD and a 20.4% surge over the past 52 weeks.
Despite ACN’s weak price action over the past year, analysts remain moderately optimistic about its prospects. Among the 27 analysts covering the stock, there is a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” and it is currently trading below the mean price target of $381.04.
