What Happened?
Shares of global professional services company Accenture (NYSE: ACN) fell 7% in the afternoon session after the company reported weak first quarter 2025 (fiscal Q3) results: bookings in the quarter (a leading indicator of revenue) missed and EPS guidance was just in line.
There were likely concerns about the sales pipeline as the number of new bookings (leading revenue indicator) fell 7%, compared to the more modest decline in the previous quarter.
On the other hand, Accenture's revenue beat expectations. Revenue guidance for next quarter also topped Wall Street's estimates. Despite raising its full-year guidance for both revenue and EPS, the market's focus remained on the deceleration in bookings, suggesting concerns about the company's near-term growth prospects and the competitive landscape for IT services.
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What The Market Is Telling Us
Accenture’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 6 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
Accenture is down 18.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $284.07 per share, it is trading 28.7% below its 52-week high of $398.25 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Accenture’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,402.
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