Orin
ACNNYSE·Information Technology Services

Accenture plc ACN

Market cap $112.5BP/E 14.5× trailingGross margin 32.0%Reports Thu 24 Sep, before the open
$183.52
−0.20 (−0.11%)Wed close 16:00 ET
52-wk $118.15 – $291.09
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 30 Aug · take v7. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Accenture trades at 15.0x earnings and 9.0x EV/EBITDA — roughly 60–63% below peer medians of 38.3x and 24.7x — while FY2025 (ended 2025-08-31) delivered 7.4% revenue growth to $69.7B, a 15.6% FCF margin, and $10.87B in free cash flow, making the valuation difficult to argue against. However, the stock has rallied from the mid-$140s to $189.61 as of 2026-08-28, RSI sits at 66.5, and it remains below its 200-day MA of $204.29, suggesting much of the recovery is already priced in.

Smart money has turned slightly negative (score -0.07 as of 2026-06-30, down from +0.135 in Q4 2025) and total debt nearly doubled to $8.18B from $4.12B year-over-year, tempering enthusiasm despite the cheap multiple and active mid-market M&A strategy (COMWARE, McCoy acquisitions). The call is hold: the fundamental floor is solid, but the near-term setup is mixed enough that waiting for a better entry or clearer FY2026 acceleration is prudent.

What could go wrong

  • Debt expansion. Total debt rose from $4.12B in FY2024 to $8.18B in FY2025, nearly doubling; if M&A integration underperforms, leverage could pressure returns.
  • Margin compression. Gross margin slipped from 32.6% in FY2024 to 31.9% in FY2025, and operating margin dipped from 14.8% to 14.7%, a subtle but concerning trend if wage inflation or AI-driven pricing pressure accelerates.
  • Smart money outflow. Smart money score deteriorated from +0.135 (Q4 2025) to -0.0706 (Q2 2026) with fund count dropping from 64 to 61, indicating institutional positioning is softening.
  • Overbought technicals. RSI at 66.5 and the stock trading well above its 50-day MA of $155.49 but below its 200-day MA of $204.29 creates a vulnerable setup for a pullback.

What would change my mind

FY2026 bookings reacceleration. Q1 or Q2 FY2026 results show bookings growth above high-single digits with commentary confirming AI-led demand pipeline expansionbullish
Margin stabilization. Gross margin holds at or above 32% in the next reported quarter, reversing the FY2025 compression trendbullish
Smart money reversal. Smart money score turns positive in the next 13F filing (Q3 2026, available ~2026-11-14) with fund count increasingbullish
Further margin erosion. Operating margin falls below 14% in the next reported quarter, signaling structural pricing pressure from AI disruption to consulting servicesbearish

Where this comes from: FMP FY2025 annual + derived_metrics · peer_relative composite · FMP FY2024 and FY2025 annuals · derived_metrics FY2024 vs FY2025. Orin's read on ACN; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Vanguard Capital Management$5.0B0.1% of fund
State Street$3.8B0.1% of fund
Charles Schwab Investment Management$2.7B0.4% of fund
Vanguard Portfolio Management$2.5B0.1% of fund
Geode Capital Management$2.0B0.1% of fund
Morgan Stanley$1.5B0.1% of fund

124 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 494 Form 4 filings, net −$33.0M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 6 sales— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

vs its own 5y · Technology
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/E14.5×29.6×53.3×
EV/EBITDA8.7×19.3×
P/S1.54×3.18×
P/B3.5×7.9×

Its P/E sits below all 5 of the last 5 years (−2.89σ from its own mean).

What the price assumes

-1.4%

free-cash-flow growth every year for 10 years, discounted at 10%, is what today’s price implies — starting from $10.9B of trailing free cash flow. It is an assumption the market is making, not a forecast Orin is making.

What Wall Street published

53 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$204

$140$275 · +11% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 34 buy or overweight
  • 18 hold
  • 1 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 39.1× of 7 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
ACNAccenture plc$112B14.5×8.7×32.0%10.7%25%
ADBEAdobe Inc.$96B13.4×9.6×89.1%28.0%63%
AMATApplied Materials, Inc.$377B40.6×33.1×49.4%30.1%40%
APHAmphenol Corporation$203B39.1×23.1×38.5%17.8%37%
KLACKLA Corporation$245B51.0×43.4×61.3%35.6%85%
LDOSLeidos Holdings, Inc.$16B11.5×9.4×17.4%7.9%28%
PANWPalo Alto Networks, Inc.$321B70.4%2.7%2%
QCOMQUALCOMM Incorporated$207B22.5×16.2×54.2%21.0%37%
TXNTexas Instruments Incorporated$249B41.2×28.5×58.3%31.1%36%

The median is of the 7 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. This company trades 62.8% below it. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year
FY14 17.5×FY25 21.2×

What its sector has traded at

Technology
FY14 9.0×FY26 48.0×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Every estimate on one scale

price $183.52
52-week range$118 – $291
Analyst targets$140 – $275
At own 5y-median P/E (30×)$373
At 5y P/E range (21–36×)$267 – $456
At sector P/E (53×)$672

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.