Global consulting company Accenture saw its shares rise 4.7% on the NYSE during intraday trade on March 19 to hit a day’s high of $204.20 apiece, as investors reacted positively to the company’s financial performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2026, driven by record bookings and margin expansion.
The Dublin, Ireland-based company reported an 8% jump in revenue in US dollar terms and 4% in local currency to $18.04 billion.
Revenue from the consulting segment came in at $8.86 billion, while managed services stood at $9.18 billion.
Meanwhile, operating income for the quarter increased 11% to $2.49 billion, compared with $2.24 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, while the operating margin expanded to 13.8%.
The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.93 per share for the quarter ended February 28, higher than $2.82 in the same period last year. Net income stood at $1.86 billion, compared with $1.82 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.
New bookings, a metric that measures future revenue based on contracts, for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 stood at $22.11 billion, an increase of 6% in US dollar terms and 1% in local currency compared to the year-ago period. Consulting bookings were $11.33 billion, while managed services bookings came in at $10.78 billion.
Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO, said, “We delivered record second-quarter bookings of $22.1 billion, including a record 41 clients with quarterly bookings greater than $100 million, with revenues at the top of our guided range, while continuing to take significant share in a competitive market.”
“We’re accelerating our critical work with clients to scale advanced AI across their enterprise, and we’re seeing strong AI-driven growth. Our new strategic acquisitions will further strengthen our capabilities and expand our scale to help clients create value and achieve AI-based transformation,” she added.
Accenture forecasts 3–5% revenue growth in FY26
Accenture now expects full-year revenue growth to be 3% to 5% in local currency. Excluding an estimated 1% impact from its US federal business, company now expects revenue growth to be 4% to 6% in local currency.
The company expects full-year GAAP diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $13.25 to $13.50, a 9% to 11% increase and sees full-year adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $13.65 to $13.90, a 6% to 8% increase.
It lifts full-year free cash flow expectation to be in the range of $10.8 billion to $11.5 billion.
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