Accenture Q4 Revenue Grows 7% in Local Currency; FY2027 Growth Seen at 3%-6%

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) reported 7% local-currency revenue growth for its fiscal fourth quarter and forecast continued growth in fiscal 2027, supported by broad-based demand, large client relationships and increased acquisition spending. The company expects full-year local-currency revenue growth of 3% to 6%, adjusted operating margin of 15.9% to 16.1%, and adjusted earnings per share of $14.39 to $14.81.

Revenue for the quarter ended Aug. 31, 2026, rose 6% in U.S. dollars and 7% in local currency to $18.7 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion. Both consulting and managed services grew 7% in local currency, generating $9.3 billion and $9.4 billion, respectively.

Adjusted earnings per share increased 9% to $3.29. GAAP EPS also totaled $3.29 and rose 46%, with the year-over-year comparison affected by business optimization costs in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted operating margin expanded 20 basis points to 15.3%, while GAAP operating margin increased 370 basis points to the same level.

New bookings reached $22.2 billion, producing a quarterly book-to-bill ratio of 1.2 and a trailing 12-month ratio of 1.1. Managed services represented 58% of fourth-quarter bookings, with $12.77 billion, while consulting accounted for $9.40 billion.

Broad-Based Quarterly Growth

All three geographic markets posted 7% local-currency growth in the fourth quarter. Americas revenue was $9.4 billion, EMEA generated $6.6 billion and Asia Pacific contributed $2.7 billion.

Communications, Media & Technology recorded the strongest industry growth at 11%, with revenue of $3.3 billion. Health & Public Service grew 9% to $3.9 billion, Financial Services increased 6% to $3.5 billion, and Resources rose 6% to $2.5 billion. Products, Accenture’s largest industry group by quarterly revenue, grew 4% to $5.6 billion.

The company ended the fiscal year with 814,391 employees, up 5% from a year earlier and 2% sequentially. Utilization remained at 93%, while annualized quarterly voluntary attrition was 13%.

Full-Year Revenue Reaches $74.2 Billion

Fiscal 2026 revenue increased 5% in local currency and 6% in U.S. dollars to $74.2 billion, up $4.5 billion. Accenture said organic growth was 3% and that it met or exceeded every element of its original annual guidance.

Managed services revenue grew 6% in local currency to $37.3 billion, compared with 3% growth in consulting to $36.9 billion. By geography, Asia Pacific led with 8% growth to $10.7 billion. Americas and EMEA each grew 4%, generating $36.5 billion and $27.0 billion, respectively.

Communications, Media & Technology led the industry groups for the full year with 10% growth to $12.7 billion. Financial Services rose 7% to $14.0 billion, Products grew 4% to $22.5 billion and Resources increased 3% to $9.9 billion. Health & Public Service advanced 2% to $15.2 billion.

Full-year adjusted EPS increased 8% to $13.97, while GAAP EPS rose 12% to $13.56. Adjusted operating margin expanded 20 basis points to 15.8%; GAAP operating margin increased 70 basis points to 15.4%. Fiscal 2026 business optimization costs reduced EPS by $0.41 and operating margin by 40 basis points.

Bookings for the year totaled $84.5 billion, equivalent to a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1. Accenture recorded 141 quarterly client bookings exceeding $100 million during the year, 12 more than in fiscal 2025. Fixed-price work, including outcome-based arrangements, represented more than 65% of bookings.

Accenture said more than 60% of fiscal 2026 revenue was driven by its top 10 ecosystem partners, with that revenue growing 6%. Bookings associated with eight emerging AI and data partners more than tripled, while revenue tied to those partners more than doubled from fiscal 2025. The company had nearly 110,000 AI and data professionals at year-end, exceeding its three-year target of doubling that workforce from 40,000 to 80,000.

Cash Returns and Acquisition Spending

Free cash flow was $2.8 billion in the fourth quarter and $11.6 billion for the full year, up 7% year over year. Accenture returned $11.5 billion to shareholders during fiscal 2026, 38% more than in the prior year, through $4.0 billion of dividends and $7.5 billion of share repurchases. The total included $2 billion of additional repurchases in the fourth quarter and resulted in an approximately 2.5% reduction in share count.

The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, an increase of $0.08, or 5%, from the fiscal 2026 quarterly rate.

Accenture deployed $4.9 billion across 17 acquisitions in fiscal 2026. Approximately $3 billion of spending on cyber operational technology acquisitions, including Dragos, shifted into September because of regulatory timing, and the related transactions have now closed. The company estimates about $8 billion of acquisition spending in fiscal 2027, including the shifted transactions and approximately $5 billion of additional planned deployment.

Accenture also invested $1 billion in learning and development and another $1 billion in research and development during fiscal 2026.

Fiscal 2027 Outlook

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Accenture expects revenue growth of 2% to 6% in local currency. Its full-year forecast calls for local-currency revenue growth of 3% to 6%, with foreign-exchange rates assumed to be broadly neutral for the year. The company assumes an approximately 1% negative currency effect in the first quarter.

The projected adjusted operating margin of 15.9% to 16.1% would represent expansion of 10 to 30 basis points from fiscal 2026. Adjusted EPS is expected to rise 3% to 6% to between $14.39 and $14.81. Free cash flow is forecast at $11.0 billion to $11.8 billion, with at least $9.5 billion expected to be returned to shareholders.

Accenture expects its weighted average share count to decline by approximately 3% in fiscal 2027. Below operating income, the company anticipates roughly $250 million of incremental interest expense following a $5 billion bond offering completed in July 2026, along with about $100 million less interest income because of slightly lower average cash balances.

The outlook depends on Accenture’s stated currency assumptions and remains subject to the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements. Actual revenue, profitability, cash flow and acquisition deployment could differ from the company’s current expectations.