Accenture plc (ACN Quick QuoteACN - Free Report) has reported impressive results for fourth-quarter fiscal 2026, wherein earnings and revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

ACN's earnings of $3.29 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.19 by 3.1%. Earnings rose 8.6% from adjusted earnings of $3.03 in the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $18.7 billion topped the consensus mark of $18 billion by 3.7% and increased 6.2% year over year in U.S. dollars.

Broad-based growth across work types, industries and geographies supported the quarter. Bookings reached $22.17 billion, up 4% in U.S. dollars, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.2.

ACN's Work Mix Delivers Balanced Growth

Managed Services revenues were $9.40 billion, up 7% year over year in both U.S. dollars and local currency. The business remained slightly larger than consulting in the quarter and accounted for about half of total revenues.

Consulting revenues totaled $9.28 billion, increasing 6% in U.S. dollars and 7% in local currency. The similar local-currency growth rates across both work types underscored the broad nature of Accenture's top-line expansion.

CMT leads Accenture's Industry Growth

Communications, Media & Technology (CMT) revenues were $3.26 billion, up 10% in U.S. dollars and 11% in local currency. It posted the strongest local-currency increase among the company's industry groups.

Health & Public Service revenues rose 8% in U.S. dollars and 9% in local currency to $3.86 billion. Financial Services revenues increased 5% to $3.47 billion, while Products grew 3% to $5.56 billion. Resources revenues advanced 6% to $2.52 billion.

ACN's Geographic Growth Remains Broad-Based

Americas revenues were $9.43 billion, rising 7% year over year in both U.S. dollars and local currency. The region remained Accenture's largest geographic market.

EMEA revenues increased 6% in U.S. dollars and 7% in local currency to $6.58 billion. Asia Pacific revenues were $2.67 billion, up 3% on a reported basis and 7% in local currency.

Accenture's Margins & Profitability Advance

The GAAP operating income increased 40% year over year to $2.86 billion. The operating margin expanded to 15.3% from 11.6% on a reported basis and was 20 basis points above the year-ago adjusted margin of 15.1%.

The gross margin was 32% compared with 31.9% a year earlier. SG&A expenses were $3.12 billion, or 16.7% of revenues, unchanged as a percentage of revenues. GAAP net income rose to $2.03 billion from $1.45 billion, while the effective tax rate fell to 27.3% from 30.1%.

ACN's Bookings Mix Favors Managed Services

Consulting new bookings were $9.40 billion, with a book-to-bill ratio of 1.0. Managed Services bookings were higher at $12.77 billion, producing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.4.

Accenture recorded 141 quarterly client bookings above $100 million, 12 more than last year. Fixed-price work, including outcome-based arrangements, represented more than 65% of bookings, while the company ended fiscal 2026 with 317 Diamond Clients, its largest relationships.

The free cash flow was $2.85 billion, down from $3.81 billion in the prior-year quarter, as the operating cash flow fell to $3.10 billion from $3.91 billion. Accenture ended fiscal 2026 with $12.83 billion in cash and cash equivalents. During the quarter, it repurchased or redeemed 17.6 million shares for $2.3 billion.

Accenture's FY27 Outlook Targets Continued Growth

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Accenture expects revenues of $18.95-$19.60 billion. The midpoint ($19.23 billion) of the guided range is below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $19.38 billion.

Local-currency growth is expected to be 2-6%. The company assumes a 1% negative foreign-exchange impact.

For fiscal 2027, ACN projects local-currency revenue growth of 3-6% and an operating margin of 15.9-16.1%. Earnings are expected to be $14.39-$14.81 per share. The midpoint ($14.6) of the guided range is slightly below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $14.63.

The free cash flow is forecast at $11-$11.8 billion, and the company expects to return at least $9.5 billion to shareholders.

Accenture expects to reduce its weighted average share count 3% in fiscal 2027. It also estimates $8 billion of acquisition investment, including about $3 billion in Cyber OT acquisitions shifted from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 because of regulatory timing. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.71 per share, up 5% from the fiscal 2026 quarterly rate.

ACN carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings Snapshot

FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS Quick QuoteFDS - Free Report) reported impressive results for fourth-quarter fiscal 2026.

FDS’s adjusted earnings were $4.52 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.32 by 4.6%. The figure increased 11.6% from the year-ago quarter.

Revenues of $634.7 million topped the consensus mark of $628.2 million by 1% and rose 6.3% year over year.

Paychex (PAYX Quick QuotePAYX - Free Report) posted an impressive first-quarter fiscal 2027.

PAYX registered adjusted earnings of $1.34 per share, rising 9.8% year over year and beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33 by a slight margin. Total revenues rose 5.9% to $1.63 billion, topping the consensus mark of $1.62 billion by a small margin.