Accenture Q4 Earnings Beat Lifts IT and Consulting Stocks Broadly on October 1

Accenture reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $18.68 billion, a 6% year-over-year increase, and earnings per share of $3.29, both surpassing analyst expectations of $18.03 billion in revenue and $3.18 EPS. New quarterly bookings reached $22.2 billion, a book-to-bill ratio of 1.2, while full-year bookings hit a record $84.5 billion including a quarterly record of 141 client engagements worth at least $100 million each. Accenture shares surged more than 22% on Thursday, their largest single-day gain on record, in what CEO Julie Sweet called a year of broad-based growth, with full-year revenue of $74.18 billion, adjusted EPS up 8% to $13.97, and a record $11.5 billion returned to shareholders.

The blowout results sent a wave of optimism through IT services and adjacent sectors. Infosys stock jumped, with analysts pointing directly to Accenture's top- and bottom-line beat as the catalyst signaling healthy enterprise technology spending. Lumentum, Innodata, GE Vernova, and Enerflex also climbed Thursday, with investors reading the Accenture report as a broader positive signal for technology and industrial services demand. Mattel, Aecon, and Veea were among other names that gained on the session, though their moves were tied to separate company-specific developments. Amphenol rose on the day but lagged its peer group despite the constructive market backdrop.