Accenture unveils $4 bn share buyback as AI powers strong quarterly revenue

IT services firm Accenture on Thursday unveiled a $4.0 billion share buyback and reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue thanks to demand from companies looking to adopt generative artificial intelligence technology.
 

Shares of the company were up nearly 7% in premarket trading.
 

The Dublin-based company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $16.41 billion, compared with analysts expectations of $16.38 billion, according to LSEG data.
 

Its generative AI business, which helped the company offset the slowdown in demand for IT services, continued to grow for a fourth successive quarter.
 

Accenture's new bookings, a key metric indicating the value of customer contracts with spending commitments, rose to $20.1 billion for the fourth quarter, up from $17.25 billion in the third quarter.
 

Generative AI bookings contributed $1 billion to the company's new bookings, compared to $900 million in the previous quarter.


KEY HIGHLIGHTS 

- Generative AI bookings shown robust Q-o-Q acceleration, reaching $3 bn for the year

- Firm earned $2.79 per share, beating estimates of $2.78 per share, according to LSEG data

- Company's growth forecast between 3% and 6% missed analysts' average estimate of 5.9% growth

- Shares rose 3.3% before closing, rebounding from a near 4% decline over the year