Shares of Accenture PLC ACN, -7.03% dropped 4.1% in premarket trading Thursday, after the professional services and consulting company reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit and revenue that fell shy of expectations.
Net income for the quarter to Aug. 31 rose to $1.29 billion, or $1.99 a share, from $1.13 billion, or $1.74 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding non-recurring items, such as gains on investments, adjusted earnings per share fell 2% to $1.70, below the FactSet consensus of $1.73. Revenue declined 2% to $10.84 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $10.93 billion, amid a decline in revenue from reimbursable travel costs and the negative effects of foreign currency translation. New bookings increased 8% to $14.0 billion, including consulting new bookings of $6.5 billion and outsourcing new bookings of $7.5 billion. For 2021, Accenture expects EPS of $7.80 to $8.10, while the FactSet EPS consensus is $8.13. The stock has gained 9.5% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX, +0.29% has edged up 0.2%.