New York, Jan 8, 2026, 15:31 (EST) — Regular session
- Accenture shares rise about 4% in afternoon trade, beating peers
- Company lays out new AI push in retail and expands “safe AI” capability via a UK deal
Accenture plc shares rose about 4.1% to $285.18 in afternoon trading on Thursday, after opening at $272.25 and sliding to $270.53. The stock later touched $286.53, putting it ahead of other IT-services names. Cognizant gained 2.1%, IBM climbed 2.0% and DXC added 0.9%.
Accenture said it has invested, through Accenture Ventures, in Profitmind and will partner with the retail technology company to take its agentic AI platform to clients. Agentic AI uses software “agents” that can interpret data and trigger tasks — aimed here at pricing, inventory and merchandising decisions — and Accenture’s Jill Standish said “retailers are navigating relentless disruption.” Profitmind chief executive Mark Chrystal said the tie-up should broaden adoption; Accenture said it will show the tool at the National Retail Federation conference on Jan. 11-13 and did not disclose terms. 1
Two days earlier, Accenture said it agreed to buy London-based Faculty, an AI services and products firm with more than 400 employees, as it leans harder into work it says can deliver “safe and secure” AI. Faculty’s Frontier platform is a “decision intelligence” system — software that uses simulation and optimization to steer planning — and chair and CEO Julie Sweet said the deal would “accelerate our strategy to bring trusted, advanced AI” into client operations. Faculty CEO Marc Warner, who will become Accenture’s chief technology officer, said his team has worked with AI labs including OpenAI and Anthropic on safety; Accenture said terms were not disclosed and the deal still needs regulatory approvals. 2
Jefferies analyst Surinder Thind raised his price target on Accenture to $290 from $270 while keeping a Hold rating, according to StreetInsider. The new target sits close to where the shares traded on Thursday. 3
A securities filing showed Accenture general counsel Joel Unruch sold 1,332 shares on Jan. 6 at $275 each, leaving him with 28,207 shares. The filing said the sale was under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, a preset program companies use to schedule trades. 4
But the burst higher does not settle the bigger question for investors: whether AI work adds to growth or just reshuffles budgets, especially if clients stay cautious on big change programs. In its last quarterly report on Dec. 18, Accenture beat first-quarter revenue estimates but said demand from public sector and government clients was uneven and forecast second-quarter revenue of $17.35 billion to $18.0 billion, with the midpoint below analysts’ estimate of $17.78 billion. 5
Next up, Accenture’s annual shareholder meeting is set for Jan. 28, before the company reports fiscal second-quarter results on March 19. Investors will watch bookings, margin trends and any shift in guidance. 6
