Accenture plc
Orin's own judgment of how firmly the evidence points one way — not the chance the price goes up.
Accenture's FY2026 (ended 31 Aug) results are genuinely strong — revenue of $74.18B grew 6.5% YoY, EPS of $13.56 rose 11.6%, operating margin expanded to 15.4%, and free cash flow reached $11.62B at a 15.7% FCF margin — but the stock has rallied to $229.68 with RSI at 72.17, trading at a ~38% premium on price-to-sales and ~32% premium on EV/EBITDA versus peer medians.
Total debt has surged to $13.4B from $4.12B two years ago, insider activity is net negative (-94,628 shares over 24 months with the COO selling in October 2026), and smart money scores have declined to 0.03 as of Q2 2026. The Investor Day AI growth narrative and $8B FY2027 acquisition plan are compelling catalysts, but the risk/reward is balanced at current levels given stretched technicals, rising leverage, and elevated valuations.
What could go wrong
- Valuation stretch. Stock trades at 1.89x price-to-sales (~38% above peer median) and 10.6x EV/EBITDA (~32% above peer median) with RSI at 72.17, limiting upside from already-elevated levels.
- Debt accumulation. Total debt rose to $13.4B as of FY2026 from $4.12B in FY2024 and $8.18B in FY2025, a rapid leverage build that could pressure returns if growth disappoints.
- Insider and smart money divergence. Net insider selling of 94,628 shares over 24 months with zero acquisitions in the summary window, and smart money score declining from 0.058 to 0.03 as of Q2 2026.
- Acquisition integration risk. Planned $8B in FY2027 acquisitions per recent news could strain execution and balance sheet further, especially with debt already at $13.4B.
What would change my mind
Where this comes from: fundamentals, year to 31 Aug · FY24 and FY26 fundamentals · technicals, 16 Oct · peer comparison. Orin's read on ACN; not advice.
How has the share price moved?
Down 6.2% over twelve months, from $250.77 on 27 Oct 2025 to $235.16 at the Tue 27 Oct 2026 close. Its highest close in that time was $288.54 on 14 Jan 2026; the last close is 18.5% below it.
- Green line: the closing price each trading day.
- Grey line: the average closing price over the last 50 trading days.
- Dashed amber line: the same over the last 200 trading days — a slower, smoother line.
- Bars along the bottom: shares traded each day — green when it closed higher than the day before, rose when lower (the most, 44.3M, on 20 Mar 2026).
- Flags: the company's filings, on the day they were made (a 10-Q is the quarterly report and a 10-K the annual report; an 8-K reports a major event).
On file
All ACN filingsLargest holders · 13F Q2 2026
Money flow| Filer | Position | Of fund |
|---|---|---|
| BlackRock | $7.7B | 0.1% |
| Vanguard Capital Management | $5.0B | 0.1% |
| State Street | $3.8B | 0.1% |
| Charles Schwab Investment Management | $2.7B | 0.4% |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | $2.5B | 0.1% |
| Geode Capital Management | $2.0B | 0.1% |
| Morgan Stanley | $1.5B | 0.1% |
| JPMorgan Chase | $1.2B | 0.1% |
| Franklin Resources | $972.8M | 0.2% |
| Northern Trust | $900.0M | 0.1% |
127 of the 815 filers we track · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows
Insiders, last 24 months: 529 Form 4 filings; open-market trades net −$25.0M. Of the 50 on hand, 0 were open-market purchases and 9 sales — the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.
Ask Orin about ACN
Orin answers questions about ACN from its filings, transcripts and numbers — with the source behind every claim. Your own desk starts with 3 free days, card required.
Start 3 free days →How is it priced, against its own past and its sector?
Priced at 17.2× its last 12 months of profit (Tue 27 Oct close) — higher than in 1 of its last 5 fiscal years (middle 26.5×); the typical Technology company on the NYSE is at 39.5×.
| Measure | Now | Its usual | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | 17.2×below usual | 26.5× | 39.5× |
| P/S | 1.94×below usual | 2.96× | — |
| EV/EBITDA | 10.9×below usual | 17.3× | — |
| P/B | 4.5×below usual | 7.6× | — |
- "Its usual" is the middle of its own last 5 fiscal years.
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
P/S: the company's total market value divided by one year of revenue. Used when there is no profit to measure.
EV/EBITDA: the price of the whole company (its shares plus its debt, minus its cash) divided by one year of operating profit before interest, tax and write-downs.
P/B: the share price divided by the book value per share — what the company owns minus what it owes, as its accounts record it. When book value is tiny, P/B swings wildly and says little.
What do the analysts who cover it publish?
The analysts' average 12-month price target is $230 (from $175 to $278) — 2% below the Tue 27 Oct close price. That is their published opinion, not Orin's.
$230
$175 – $278 · −2% against the last close
- 10 buy or overweight
- 11 hold
- 0 underweight or sell
Price target: the share price an analyst publishes for about 12 months ahead. It is the opinion of the firm that wrote it; the average is across the firms that cover the company.
Overweight / underweight: analysts' rating words: overweight means the firm expects the stock to do better than the others it covers, underweight worse. Their words, not Orin's.
How is it priced next to the companies it is compared to?
Priced at 17.2× its last 12 months of profit; the middle P/E of the 3 companies it is compared to that made a profit is 20.7×.
| Company | Market value | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross margin | Net margin | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACNAccenture plc | $144B | 17.2× | 10.9× | 32.0% | 11.3% | 27% |
| CTSHCognizant Technology Solutions Corporation | $30B | 14.2× | 7.5× | 32.0% | 10.3% | 15% |
| EPAMEPAM Systems, Inc. | $9B | 20.7× | 10.5× | 29.3% | 7.5% | 12% |
| IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation | $237B | 21.0× | 16.6× | 58.0% | 16.0% | 33% |
- The list of companies is the data vendor's choice, so it can include a company a person would not have picked.
Market value: the share price times the number of shares — what the whole company is priced at.
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
EV/EBITDA: the price of the whole company (its shares plus its debt, minus its cash) divided by one year of operating profit before interest, tax and write-downs.
Gross margin: the share of each $1 of sales left after the direct cost of making what was sold.
Net margin: the share of each $1 of sales kept as profit after every cost. Below zero, the company lost money.
ROE: return on equity: one year of profit as a share of the shareholders' money in the business (its book value).
Is it priced high or low compared with its own past?
Priced at 17.2× its last 12 months of profit (Tue 27 Oct close). It has no full fiscal year on file since its history starts, so there is nothing of its own to compare with.
- Now17.2×
P/E: the share price divided by one year of profit per share — roughly how many years of today's profit the price pays for. A company that loses money has no P/E.
Fiscal year (FY): the company's own 12-month accounting year, which need not match the calendar year.
How has its sector been priced?
Technology companies on the NYSE were priced at a typical 39.5× their yearly profit (Tue 27 Oct close).
- Now39.5×
- Each year is the middle of that calendar year's daily sector P/E; "Now" is the Tue 27 Oct close figure, the same one in the table above.
Sector P/E: the middle P/E of the companies in the same sector on the same stock exchange, as the data vendor works it out each day.
What does a cash-flow model say a share is worth?
A standard cash-flow model puts it at $240 a share — 2% above the $235.66 price it was computed against (27 Oct).
| Model | Value a share | Against the price then |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $240 | 2% above $235.66 |
| Levered | $299 | 27% above $235.66 |
Discounted cash flow: a model's estimate of what the company is worth today, from the cash it is forecast to make in future years. Small changes in the forecast move it a lot, and it says little about a company that loses money.
Standard / levered: two versions of the cash-flow model: the standard one counts the cash before the company pays its lenders, the levered one after.