Accenture Just Had Its Worst Day in Years. Is AI Coming for the Consulting Business?
The consulting giant posted solid results, yet a cautious outlook and a multibillion-dollar acquisition bet sent its stock to the lowest level in years.
Overview
Shares of tech consulting giant Accenture (NYSE: ACN) sank about 18% on Thursday, the stock's worst single-day drop in years, after the company reported results for its fiscal third quarter (the period ended May 31, 2026). The slide left the stock trading around $128 as of this writing, and down more than 50% so far this year.
What's strange is that the quarter itself looked healthy. Accenture's earnings per share rose 9% year over year to $3.80, and revenue grew 6% to $18.7 billion. The company's operating margin even ticked higher.
Details
But the selling likely had little to do with the quarter Accenture just posted and a lot to do with what comes next -- and with a question that has shadowed the stock all year. Is artificial intelligence (AI) starting to eat into demand for the work that built Accenture into a consulting powerhouse?
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.