NEW DELHI: Accenture announced a substantial $4 billion share buyback on Thursday, concluding the fourth quarter with results surpassing expectations. The strong performance can be attributed to the high demand for Accenture’s services that assist businesses in adopting generative AI technology.
The IT majors generative AI business has been growing rapidly, outperforming its other core businesses.
Generative AI bookings have recorded impressive quarter-on-quarter growth over the past four quarters, amounting to a total of $3 billion for the year.
Meanwhile, Accenture’s shares surged 3.3 per cent in pre-market trading, recovering from a nearly 4 per cent decline throughout the year. The company reported earnings of $2.79 per share, excluding items, surpassing the estimated $2.78 per share, according to LSEG data.
However, despite the positive results, Accenture’s projected growth of 3% to 6% fell short of the analysts’ average estimate of 5.9 per cent growth. Analysts anticipate a recovery in the IT services sector, but expectations for the upcoming year remain modest.
Additionally, JP Morgan analysts expressed a more cautious outlook compared to the previous year, suggesting that clients will continue to limit discretionary spending on projects.