Accenture, a U.S.-listed global professional services company offering a wide range of solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology, and operations, saw its shares fall on Thursday. Despite reporting strong financial results for its second quarter, the decline was attributed to concerns over potential U.S. government spending cuts.
Shares of the consulting firm dropped 7.3 percent, making it the biggest decliner on the S&P 500. The drop followed comments from CEO Julie Sweet, who highlighted a negative revenue impact due to the Trump administration’s decision to prioritize reducing government spending.
The U.S. government represents 8 percent of Accenture’s global revenue and around one-sixth of its revenue in the Americas.
Accenture reported a 5 percent increase in second-quarter revenue, reaching USD 16.7 billion. Diluted earnings per share rose 7 percent to USD 2.82. The company’s operating margin stood at 13.5 percent, reflecting a 50-basis-point increase, though adjusted operating margin dropped by 20 basis points.
“Our second-quarter results demonstrate that we continue to deliver on our strategy to lead reinvention for our clients and return to strong growth in FY25, with broad-based growth across markets, industries, and the types of work our clients seek from us,” Sweet said in a statement. “The trust and confidence in our unique strengths and capabilities are reflected in 32 clients with quarterly bookings greater than $100 million, and we are very pleased to have another milestone quarter in Gen AI with $1.4 billion in new bookings. Our continued growth is made possible by the extraordinary work of our more than 800,000 people around the world who focus on delivering value to our clients every day.”
Around 10 percent of Accenture’s workforce is based in the Philippines, where it operates as the second-largest business process outsourcing firm.
