Fundamentals snapshot
ACN · NYQ · Technology · Information Technology Services
Current price
$174.43
52-week range
$155.82 - $321.77
Market cap
$107.35B
One-glance verdict
Fair-value range $317.51 – $527.79 (cautious → optimistic — tap the ? for the math)
Wall Street consensus: $237.82 (-40.4% lower than our fair-value estimate)
Buy below $318.99 for a 20% safety cushion
Balance sheet
Net cash $1.06B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
Quick scan of the biggest positives and negatives from the detailed checklist below.
What this company does
Accenture is a consulting firm that large companies hire to help them improve their business, often by using new technology like AI and cloud computing. The company makes money by charging for this expert advice and by taking over and running entire departments for its clients, like their customer service or supply chain (the complex system of getting a product from the factory to a customer's hands). This matters because as technology evolves, many businesses need to pay for outside expertise to keep up, creating a steady demand for Accenture's services.
Accenture started in the 1950s as a technology consulting division of an accounting firm, Arthur Andersen. A key moment was helping General Electric use one of the first commercial computers. In 1989, it became a separate unit called Andersen Consulting, and after a major disagreement, it split completely from its parent in 2000. The company renamed itself Accenture, meaning "Accent on the future," in 2001 and became a public company that same year.
Accenture is a large professional services company that other businesses hire to help them improve their performance. Think of them as expert advisors and problem-solvers for big companies and governments. They help clients with everything from developing a business strategy and updating their technology to running parts of their business for them, like customer service or supply chain (the network of people and companies that get a product from creation to the customer). Their goal is to help companies operate more efficiently and find new ways to grow in a digital world.
This is the advisory part of Accenture's business, where they help top executives at large companies solve their biggest challenges. They provide advice on major decisions, like how to grow the company, how to be more profitable, or how to restructure the business to work better. For example, they might help a retail company figure out how to compete with online stores or advise a bank on how to use new financial technology. This is a significant part of the business, setting the stage for bigger technology and operations projects.
This is the largest part of Accenture, focused on putting technology to work for clients. This includes services like moving a company's data and software to the cloud (storing and accessing information over the internet instead of on local computers), building custom applications, and protecting against cybersecurity threats. They partner with major tech companies like Microsoft, AWS (Amazon's cloud computing division), and Google to build and manage these complex systems. Essentially, if a company needs a major technology upgrade or a new digital system built, they might hire Accenture's technology division.
In this segment, Accenture takes over and runs specific business functions for its clients on a long-term basis. This is often called managed services or outsourcing. For instance, a company might hire Accenture to manage its finance and accounting department, run its customer service call centers, or manage its procurement (the process of buying goods and services). This provides a steady, recurring stream of revenue (income a company receives) for Accenture, as these are often multi-year contracts.
This part of the company is like a creative agency and digital marketing firm combined. Accenture Song helps clients with everything related to the customer experience, from creating advertising campaigns and designing websites to managing e-commerce and marketing strategies. They aim to help companies grow by improving how they connect with their customers in a digital world. This segment has grown through the acquisition (the purchase of one company by another) of various creative and marketing agencies.
Industry X focuses on combining digital technology with the physical world of manufacturing and engineering. They help companies that make physical products to digitize their factories, create "smart" products that are connected to the internet, and make their supply chains more efficient. For example, they might help a car manufacturer build a smarter factory or an energy company use sensors and data to better manage its equipment. This is a newer but important area of growth for Accenture.
Accenture's leadership is heavily focused on becoming a leader in enterprise reinvention, helping clients transform their entire businesses at once. A huge part of this strategy is a major investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI), with the company committing $3 billion to expand its AI services and double its AI-focused staff. They are also continuing to make numerous acquisitions to quickly gain new skills and talent in high-growth areas like cloud computing, cybersecurity, and data analytics. The goal is to be the go-to partner for large organizations looking to navigate major technological changes and find new ways to grow.
Price history
Earnings history
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
Is it cheap or expensive?
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $237.82 (-40.4% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Buy below $318.99 for a 20% safety cushion. That means buying at least 20% below our fair value, as a buffer in case our estimate turns out too rosy.
Our most-likely fair value is $398.74 a share — about 128.6% above today's price of $174.43, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Net cash $1.1B - more cash than debt. Interest coverage 47.4x.
Accenture plc's profit covers its interest bill about 47.4 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here.
Total debt $8.35B Interest coverage 47.43x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $69.80B Interest coverage 6.46x -86% vs ACN Carries about 7.3x less debt cushion than ACN.
Total debt $967.00M Interest coverage 86.91x +83% vs ACN Carries about 1.8x more debt cushion than ACN.
Total debt $1.09B Interest coverage 89.92x +90% vs ACN Carries about 1.9x more debt cushion than ACN.
Total debt $3.17B Interest coverage 21.94x -54% vs ACN Carries about 2.2x less debt cushion than ACN.
Total debt $2.12B Interest coverage 18.86x -60% vs ACN Carries about 2.5x less debt cushion than ACN.
What you should know
The numbers
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
Profitability
Health
Growth
Cash flow
Dividend
Metric explainer
Debt comparison
What you should know