Zacks Research Has Negative Outlook of Accenture Q2 Earnings

14 Jan 2026, 06:12 by Tristan Rich · The Markets Daily

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN – Free Report) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for Accenture in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the information technology services provider will post earnings of $2.88 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.97. The consensus estimate for Accenture’s current full-year earnings is $12.73 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Accenture’s Q3 2026 earnings at $3.62 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.34 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $13.77 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.88 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $3.39 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $3.83 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $3.55 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $14.66 EPS, Q1 2028 earnings at $4.43 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $16.00 EPS.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ACN. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Accenture from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Accenture from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Accenture in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $295.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.84.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Accenture

Accenture Stock Down 1.5%

ACN stock opened at $276.61 on Monday. Accenture has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $398.35. The company has a market capitalization of $170.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.25. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $261.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a current ratio of 1.41.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The information technology services provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.73 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $18.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.51 billion. Accenture had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.59 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.520-13.900 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Accenture

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ACN. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new position in Accenture during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,637,640,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Accenture during the second quarter valued at about $2,216,850,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Accenture by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 17,128,134 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $4,223,839,000 after acquiring an additional 4,984,930 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Accenture by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,129,782 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $19,466,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Accenture during the third quarter valued at $311,694,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Accenture news, CEO Ryoji Sekido sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.47, for a total value of $623,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,763.30. This represents a 64.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mauro Macchi sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $140,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 7,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,134,440. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 35,151 shares of company stock valued at $8,841,525 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.02% of the company’s stock.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 13th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Accenture’s payout ratio is currently 53.88%.

About Accenture

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Accenture is a global professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. The firm works with organizations across industries to design and implement business transformation programs, deploy and manage enterprise technology, optimize operations, and develop customer and digital experiences. Its offerings encompass management and technology consulting, systems integration, application and infrastructure services, cloud migration and managed services, as well as security and analytics capabilities.