Accenture (ACN) shares closed at $127.98 on Thursday, tumbling 17.97% after the consulting giant slashed its fiscal 2026 sales growth forecast and issued fourth-quarter revenue guidance that fell short of analyst expectations. The sharp decline, which pushed the stock to a 52-week low of $125.60 during the session, has put the company's artificial intelligence strategy under intense scrutiny as markets prepare to reopen following the Juneteenth holiday.
The sell-off extended beyond Accenture, dragging down the broader IT services sector. According to Reuters, shares of Infosys, Cognizant, and IBM declined between 5.7% and 10.5%, while Capgemini fell 8.9%. The moves underscore growing investor skepticism about the pace of AI-driven revenue growth and its ability to offset weakness in traditional consulting and transformation projects.
Accenture reported third-quarter revenue of $18.72 billion, up 6% in U.S. dollars and 3% in local currency. New bookings totaled $19.32 billion, down 2% in dollar terms and 3% in local currency. While the quarterly results were not a complete miss, the forward guidance proved far more damaging. The company lowered its fiscal 2026 local-currency sales growth forecast to a range of 3% to 4%, down from the prior 3% to 5% range. Fourth-quarter revenue is expected between $17.75 billion and $18.4 billion, below the $18.47 billion consensus estimate from LSEG.
Chief Executive Julie Sweet acknowledged that the anticipated AI boom will not materialize overnight. "AI scaling will take some time," she told CNBC, as reported by Business Insider. Sweet added that the company is seeing increased consulting work as clients pursue broader digital reinvention, but the market reaction suggests that investors are not convinced that AI-related activity is translating into meaningful growth.
Analysts echoed these concerns. Phil Fersht, chief analyst at HFS Research, told Reuters that Accenture's results indicate demand is shifting toward focused AI work, but large-scale consulting and transformation projects remain under pressure. "AI is generating activity but hasn't delivered enough clear growth to calm worries about pressure on legacy consulting business," he said.
The stock's decline occurred even as the broader market rallied. The S&P 500 rose 1.08% and the Nasdaq added 1.91% on Thursday, making Accenture the biggest loser on the Investing.com market-movers table. The divergence highlights that the sell-off is company-specific and sector-related rather than a reflection of broader market sentiment.
Accenture has been actively expanding its cybersecurity capabilities, announcing plans to acquire a majority stake in Dragos, as well as runZero and NetRise, to create a platform for industrial cybersecurity. The combined enterprise value of these deals is approximately $4.175 billion, with an expected addition of about $208 million in annual recurring revenue. However, these strategic moves have done little to offset the immediate concerns about the company's growth trajectory.
Looking ahead, traders will be closely watching Monday's market open to see if the $125.60 low holds and whether IT services peers can recover. There is also the risk that analysts may trim their fiscal 2027 estimates following the recent slowdown in bookings. The Juneteenth holiday on Friday has delayed the market's response, making Monday's session a critical test of investor conviction.
Key risks remain, including ongoing instability in the Middle East, potential delays in large client transformation projects, and the possibility that the cybersecurity acquisitions may take longer to integrate than expected. If these headwinds persist, Accenture's current valuation may not be sufficient to support the stock.
