EPAM shares tumble as cautious quarterly outlook disappoints

Feb 19 (Reuters) - EPAM Systems EPAM.N forecast first-quarter results in line with estimates on Thursday, but its cautious outlook disappointed investors, sending the company's shares down more than 16% in premarket trading.

Jefferies analysts said the "2026 revenue guidance of +3-6% year-over-year organic (constant currency) likely reflects some conservatism, but will also likely be viewed with some disappointment given organic constant currency growth in 2025 was 5% y-o-y."

EPAM provides a wide range of IT services including consulting, cloud and AI transformation and software engineering.

Despite broader economic uncertainty, businesses have kept up spending on software development and AI-driven transformation projects, to catch up in the AI race.

EPAM sees first-quarter revenue in the range of $1.38 billion to $1.40 billion, the mid-point of which is in line with analysts' estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG.

On an adjusted basis, EPAM expects profit per share in the range of $2.70 to $2.78, also in line with estimates.

For the fourth quarter, the company posted revenue of $1.41 billion, above analysts' estimates of $1.39 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.26 were, also above estimates.