New York, Jan 15, 2026, 12:24 EST — Regular session
- Accenture (ACN) up about 0.1% midday, after a 4.2% rise in the prior session
- Wells Fargo lifts its price target to $275 but keeps an equal-weight view
- Infosys forecast upgrade adds to optimism around IT-services demand
Accenture plc shares (ACN) were up about 0.1% at $288.87 on Thursday, holding most of Wednesday’s 4.2% jump. The stock closed the prior session at $288.54. (MarketWatch)
The move matters because investors are trying to pin down whether corporate tech budgets are finally thawing, after a year of stop-start spending on big projects. For Accenture, bookings and discretionary work are the tell, not the chatter.
Analyst notes are landing in a market that wants evidence, fast. Any hint that CIOs are reopening wallets can move the group, even if the day-to-day tape looks calm.
Wells Fargo analyst Jason Kupferberg lifted his 12-month price target for Accenture to $275 from $251 on Wednesday, while keeping an “Equal Weight” rating. Kupferberg wrote that a CIO survey suggested a “neutral/modestly positive” 2026 demand backdrop and said AI “will also likely be a net tailwind” to services revenue. (TipRanks)
That sits below where ACN stock is trading, a reminder that even the optimists are still leaning on “better than feared,” not “all clear.”
Sentiment in the outsourcing and consulting group also got a lift after Infosys beat quarterly revenue expectations and raised its fiscal 2026 revenue growth outlook to 3%–3.5%. “There is an industry-wide recovery as certain tech spends can’t be postponed beyond a point,” said Centrum Broking analyst Piyush Pandey; Infosys CEO Salil Parekh also pointed to AI demand, and Reuters noted Accenture’s recent revenue beat on AI-driven services. (Reuters)
Broader U.S. equities were higher, helped by a chip-led rally after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s results and growth forecast. The bounce followed a two-day slide, with investors rotating in and out of tech as earnings season picks up. (Reuters)
Accenture’s own last quarterly update in December showed first-quarter revenue of $18.74 billion, topping estimates, and CEO Julie Sweet said, “I am very pleased with our $21 billion in new bookings.” The company forecast second-quarter revenue of $17.35 billion to $18 billion and flagged uneven demand from public-sector and government clients amid a federal drive to cut spending. (Reuters)
Accenture has also been adding AI capacity through deals. On Jan. 6, it said it had agreed to acquire UK-based applied AI firm Faculty to expand decision intelligence and technical AI skills. (Accenture Newsroom)
But the downside case is still sitting on the desk: budgets can tighten again if clients keep delaying discretionary work, and the industry is wrestling with whether AI tools reduce the amount of billable labor needed for some projects. Accenture’s OpenAI partnership to roll out ChatGPT Enterprise to tens of thousands of staff underscored both the AI push and the pressure to stay ahead as the tools change the work itself. (Reuters)
Next up is Accenture’s calendar: the company’s annual shareholder meeting on Jan. 28, then its March 19 conference call on second-quarter fiscal 2026 results. Traders will listen for bookings — a measure of future work — and whether management’s tone on discretionary spending shifts at all. (Accenture)
