Accenture shares plunged 9.6% in U.S. premarket trading after the IT services firm published fiscal third-quarter results that failed to meet revenue expectations and narrowed the upper bound of its full-year growth outlook. The reaction extended beyond Accenture, with European rival Capgemini tumbling more than 8% in Paris as investors treated the company’s update as a signal for the wider sector.
For the quarter, Accenture reported revenues of $18.7 billion, an increase of 6% when measured in U.S. dollars but only 3% on a local-currency basis. That top-line figure fell short of the $18.78 billion consensus estimate. Net income metrics showed strength: adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.80, ahead of the $3.72 forecast and up 9% year-over-year. Despite the EPS beat, the revenue miss and guidance revision were sufficient to unsettle investors.
Guidance revision and market reaction
Accenture reduced the upper end of its full-year fiscal 2026 revenue growth outlook to a range of 3%-4% in local currency, trimming the prior top end of 5% down to 4%. The company said that, excluding an estimated 1% drag from its U.S. federal business, it expects growth of 4%-5%. That exemption did little to calm markets already concerned about structural pressures on IT services demand in an era where generative AI is reshaping consulting needs.
Spillover to peers
The fallout quickly crossed the Atlantic. Capgemini shares fell 8.4% to €89.42 in Paris and hit an intraday 52-week low of €89.30. The stock has declined roughly 38% over the past year, and Thursday’s slide extended the move to the lower bound of its 52-week trading range. The market treated Accenture and Capgemini as closely comparable names in global IT services, making Accenture’s guidance shift an immediate valuation catalyst for Capgemini.
Other industry names also moved lower in U.S. premarket trading: Cognizant shares dropped 5.8%, Infosys slipped 3.2%, and IBM was down about 2%.
Acquisitions disclosed alongside results
Along with quarterly results, Accenture announced agreements to acquire a majority stake in industrial cybersecurity specialist Dragos, and to obtain full ownership of asset-discovery firms runZero and NetRise. The combined enterprise value for those transactions was stated as approximately $4.175 billion.
Investors responded to a mix of outcomes: an EPS beat on the one hand and a topline miss plus a narrowed growth forecast on the other. The market’s reaction underscores heightened sensitivity to revenue growth trajectories for established IT consulting firms amid shifts in demand dynamics.