To The Moon

$Accenture PLC(ACN)$ is scheduled to report its fiscal Q4 2025 earnings on Thursday, September 25, 2025, before the market opens.

Here is an analysis of what investors should be looking for and potential short-term trading opportunities.

EPS and Revenue: Analysts are forecasting Accenture to report quarterly earnings of approximately $2.98 per share, representing a 6.8% year-over-year increase. The consensus revenue estimate is around $17.3 billion, a 5.6% increase from the same quarter last year. It is important to compare the actual results to these consensus figures. A significant beat or miss on either metric could lead to a volatile stock price reaction.

Summary of Accenture (ACN) Fiscal Q3 2025 Earnings

Accenture reported its fiscal Q3 2025 earnings on June 20, 2025, and the results presented a mixed picture for investors. While the company beat analyst expectations on both revenue and earnings per share (EPS), the key forward-looking metric of new bookings disappointed the market, leading to a negative stock reaction.

Key Financial Highlights:

Revenue: Accenture's revenue for Q3 came in at $17.7 billion, an increase of 7% in local currency year-over-year. This figure exceeded the company's own guidance and analyst consensus estimates.

Earnings per Share (EPS): The company reported an EPS of $3.49, a 12% year-over-year increase on an adjusted basis, and significantly higher than what analysts were expecting.

Bookings: This was the main area of concern. New bookings for the quarter were $19.7 billion, a 6% decrease in USD and 7% in local currency from the same period last year. This missed the analyst consensus and signaled a potential slowdown in future business.

Generative AI: The company highlighted strong performance in its Generative AI (GenAI) business. GenAI bookings reached $1.5 billion for the quarter, bringing the year-to-date total to $4.1 billion, a positive sign of client interest in this strategic area.

The Lesson Learned from the Guidance

Despite the strong top- and bottom-line beats, the stock's negative reaction to the Q3 report, and the subsequent underperformance, provides a critical lesson for investors:

The market prioritizes forward-looking indicators (bookings and guidance) over past performance (revenue and EPS beats), especially for a company like Accenture.

Here's a breakdown of the key takeaways from the guidance:

Bookings are a leading indicator of future growth. While Accenture reported strong revenue for the quarter, the decline in new bookings suggested that the growth trajectory might slow down in the coming quarters. For a professional services firm, bookings represent the signed contracts and a pipeline of future work. A decline in this metric, even in the face of a good quarter, implies that a weaker economic or client spending environment is affecting the company's ability to secure new business.

Uncertainty is a key factor. The company's guidance and commentary on the earnings call reflected a cautious tone due to economic and geopolitical uncertainties. CEO Julie Sweet noted that clients had shifted "from pause to focus and leapfrog," indicating that while clients were still investing, they were more selective and focused on large-scale "reinvention" projects. This confirms that a broad-based, high-growth environment for consulting and managed services is not a given.

GenAI is a bright spot but not a full counterbalance. Accenture's strong performance in GenAI bookings and revenue showed that it is successfully capitalizing on the AI trend. However, the overall weak bookings figure suggests that while GenAI is a significant tailwind, it has not yet been powerful enough to fully offset the headwinds from a more challenging macroeconomic environment and client spending patterns.

In summary, the lesson from Accenture's Q3 2025 earnings is that in the current market, investors are keenly focused on the health of the business pipeline. A strong earnings report is not enough to satisfy the market if there are signs of a slowdown in new business, as evidenced by a decline in bookings. For investors, this means a thorough analysis of forward-looking metrics and management commentary is just as, if not more, important than the headline numbers.

Analysis of Upcoming Earnings and Key Metrics to Watch

Bookings: This is a crucial forward-looking metric that investors will be watching closely. In a prior quarter, a miss on bookings despite an earnings beat led to a negative market reaction, as it signaled a potential slowdown in future business. Analysts are predicting total new bookings to reach around $20.97 billion, with managed services bookings at $12.02 billion and consulting bookings at $8.95 billion. Any deviation from these figures will be a key indicator of future growth.

Segment Performance:

Managed Services vs. Consulting: Pay close attention to the breakdown between these two revenue streams. The managed services segment is expected to show stronger growth (around 7.5% YoY) compared to consulting (around 3.8% YoY). A shift towards managed services could indicate a more cautious spending environment for clients who prefer long-term contracts over one-off projects.

Geographic and Industry Performance: Analysts are forecasting strong growth in the Americas (9.4% YoY) and EMEA (8.3% YoY). However, revenue in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to show a significant year-over-year decline of around 13.3%. This regional performance, along with the performance of key industry groups like financial services and communications, media & technology, will provide insight into client spending trends.

The Role of Generative AI:

Accenture has been heavily promoting its Generative AI (GenAI) capabilities. The company views GenAI as a major growth driver and a catalyst for "reinvention" for its clients.

Investors should pay attention to any updates on GenAI bookings and revenue figures. In a recent quarter, GenAI bookings hit the $1.5 billion mark, with revenues exceeding $700 million. Continued strong performance in this area could provide a positive surprise and build investor confidence in the company's long-term strategy.

Stock Performance and Valuation:

Accenture's stock has underperformed the broader market and its industry peers over the past year. It has declined significantly, in part due to investor concerns about economic and geopolitical uncertainties and their impact on client spending.

The stock is currently trading at a P/E ratio that is lower than the industry average but at a premium to some competitors. This could suggest that the market has already priced in some of the negative sentiment.

Analyst ratings for ACN are generally "Buy," with an average price target that suggests a significant upside from the current trading price. However, these targets and ratings can change quickly based on the earnings report.

Accenture (ACN) Price Target

Based on 22 analysts from Tiger Brokers offering 12 month price targets for Accenture in the last 3 months. The average price target is $308.25 with a high forecast of $372.00 and a low forecast of $240.00. The average price target represents a 30.89% change from the last price of $235.50.

Short-Term Trading Opportunities Post-Earnings

Trading ACN post-earnings can be volatile and risky. Here are some potential scenarios and strategies to consider:

Earnings and Bookings Beat: If Accenture reports strong results that exceed analyst expectations for both EPS and revenue, and more importantly, surprises with robust new bookings, the stock could see a significant positive reaction. This would alleviate concerns about a slowdown in client spending and could lead to a quick rally. This could present a short-term long opportunity.

Earnings Beat, Bookings Miss: This is a more complex scenario, as seen in a recent quarter. If ACN beats on the top and bottom lines but misses on new bookings, the market may focus on the negative forward-looking signal. The stock could experience a sell-off, despite the positive historical performance. A short-term short position might be considered in this case, but be prepared for high volatility.

Miss on Key Metrics: A significant miss on EPS, revenue, or a substantial decline in bookings could trigger a sharp sell-off. This would confirm market fears about a slowdown and could lead to a downgrade by analysts.

Guidance: Pay close attention to the company's guidance for the next quarter and the full fiscal year. Any change to the outlook for revenue growth or profitability will be a major driver of the stock's short-term price action, regardless of whether the current quarter's results beat or miss expectations.

Technical Analysis - Exponential Moving Average (EMA)

ACN share price have suffered a prolonged decline since its disappointing Q3 report, and we are not seeing any signs of recovery potential, it is currently trading below the 12-EMA and 50-EMA level, which present a bearish signal.

ACN would need to show a strong beat in its earnings and also the new bookings significant improvement in order to see a recovery to the upside.

Summary

Accenture (ACN) is scheduled to report its fiscal Q4 2025 earnings on September 25, 2025. Analysts are forecasting EPS of $2.98 on revenue of around $17.3 billion, representing a modest year-over-year increase.

Investors will be closely watching new bookings, a key forward-looking metric, especially after a disappointing Q3 report. The market's reaction will likely hinge more on bookings and future guidance than on the headline revenue and EPS figures. A strong performance in the Managed Services segment and continued growth in Generative AI bookings could be a positive catalyst.

However, the stock has underperformed, with investor sentiment weighed down by economic uncertainties and a cautious spending environment. Trading post-earnings is expected to be volatile, with a significant beat on bookings and a strong outlook potentially driving a short-term rally, while a miss could lead to further sell-offs.

Appreciate if you could share your thoughts in the comment section whether you think ACN would be able to show a significant improvement in its new bookings.

@TigerStars @Daily_Discussion @Tiger_Earnings @TigerWire @MillionaireTiger appreciate if you could feature this article so that fellow tiger would benefit from my investing and trading thoughts.

Disclaimer: The analysis and result presented does not recommend or suggest any investing in the said stock. This is purely for Analysis.