BofA ‘bit surprised’ by magnitude of Accenture reaction to promotion delay news

After Bloomberg reported that Accenture is planning to push back the bulk of staff promotions by six months this fiscal year, to June rather than December, BofA analyst Jason Kupferberg notes that shares are down about 4% on the news and is “a bit surprised by the magnitude of the reaction.” While “clearly not a bullish headline,” it is not necessarily a big bearish signal either, contends the firm, which argues that the alleged promotion delays could simply reflect Accenture preparing for a range of top-line scenarios in FY25 given that visibility on the pace of improvement is limited. The firm, which views the current valuation as attractive given year-to-date underperformance and continues to believe Accenture “remains a share taker regardless of macro conditions,” maintains a Buy rating on the shares.