Shares of information technology services company, Accenture (NYSE: ACN) fell in pre-market trading at the time of publishing on Thursday even as the company announced adjusted earnings of $3.19 per share in fiscal Q3, up by 14% year-over-year and exceeding consensus estimates of $3.01 per share.
The company posted revenues of $16.6 billion in the third quarter, up by 3% year-over-year in U.S. dollars as compared to analysts’ estimates of $16.5 billion. ACN’s new bookings grew 2% year-over-year to $17.2 billion in the third quarter.
During the fiscal third quarter, ACN bought back or redeemed 2.8 million shares for a total of $789 million. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.12 per share for shareholders of record at the close of business on July 13, up by 15% year-over-year.
Accenture also updated its FY23 revenue outlook and now expects its revenues to grow in the range of 8% to 9% in local currency versus its previously projected growth rate between 8% and 10%. The company stated that it now expects the impact of foreign currency fluctuations will be a negative 4% in FY23 as compared to its prior expected impact of a negative 4.5%. In FY23, Accenture has projected adjusted EPS to be in the range of $11.52 to $11.63, a growth of 8% to 9% year-over-year as compared to consensus estimates of $11.54 per share.
In Q4, the company anticipates revenues between $15.75 billion to $16.35 billion, up by 2% to 6% year-over-year in local currency versus Street estimates of $16.3 billion.
Analysts remain cautiously optimistic about ACN stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on 11 Buys and four Holds.
