NEW YORK, June 27, 2026, 17:05 EDT
- Accenture ended higher Friday. Still, shares are down about 58% from the 52-week high.
- Accenture shares are trading at about 9.3x the midpoint of its adjusted EPS guidance for fiscal 2026.
- The $4.175 billion Dragos/runZero/NetRise deal puts expected ARR at roughly 20x.
- U.S. markets will see four normal sessions this week ahead of the NYSE holiday on July 3.
Accenture plc NYSE:ACN climbed 2.51% to $128.98 on Friday. The move outpaced the broader market, but the stock stayed deep in a hole—still 58.09% under its 52-week high. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) slipped 0.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) shed 0.24% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) edged down 0.09%.
NYSE is closed on weekends. This read covers last week and the week ahead. Normal trading is 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern. The exchange shows Friday, July 3, as the Independence Day observed holiday in 2026.
ACN’s multiple gap catches the eye. Accenture closed Friday at around 9.3 times the midpoint of its adjusted fiscal 2026 EPS target of $13.78 to $13.90. The company’s $4.175 billion buy for most of Dragos, plus the full purchase of runZero and NetRise, puts their forecast $208 million in annual recurring revenue at a multiple of about 20.1 times.
Accenture is putting cash and deal firepower into buying faster-growing software revenue even as the stock trades like a slower-growth services stock. The cyber deal makes up around 46% of Accenture’s increased $9 billion acquisition target and takes up about 36% to 39% of its fiscal 2026 free cash flow outlook.
Accenture’s third-quarter results were a mixed bag. Revenue was up 6% to $18.72 billion, but bookings dropped 2% to $19.32 billion. The company also trimmed its full-year revenue growth forecast in local currency to a range of 3% to 4%, down from 3% to 5%. Chair and CEO Julie Sweet said, “Demand for large-scale reinvention remains strong,” and noted there have been 104 client bookings of $100 million or more so far this year. Accenture Newsroom
Sweet called the selloff a timing problem linked to artificial intelligence projects. “AI scaling will take some time,” she told CNBC, per Business Insider. Now the question for the stock is if AI brings in big projects fast enough to balance out weaker demand from older consulting clients. Business Insider
Phil Fersht, chief analyst at HFS Research, told Reuters that clients are shifting to “targeted AI investments” while larger consulting and transformation budgets remain tight. Reuters also said Accenture booked a $400 million charge tied to its Middle East business after the Iran war. Reuters
Wall Street pulled back after the results. Barron’s said TD Cowen’s Bryan Bergin cut his rating on Accenture to Hold from Buy and took the price target down to $150 from $258. Jefferies’ Surinder Thind cut his target too, citing weaker demand and less discretionary spending.
Dragos is meant to be the offset management highlights for investors. Dragos CEO Robert M. Lee said, “Organizations need solutions, not a patchwork of software and services.” SecurityWeek said the deal puts Dragos’ value at $3.25 billion. runZero and NetRise will be under Dragos after the close, according to SecurityWeek.
Accenture finished Monday at $124.83 after dipping to $118.15, before rebounding to $128.98 by Friday. The last close before the break, on June 17, came in at $156.01. These are the levels traders will look at when Accenture reopens next week.
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