Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) executives on the first-quarter earnings call said client demand has increased steadily over the past nine quarters, with roughly 100 incremental clients initiating AI projects during that period.
Management cautioned, however, that AI deployments remain in early stages for most customers, noting significant work is still required before these initiatives can scale across entire enterprises, and that AI projects currently represent only a small portion of the overall client base.
Against that backdrop, RBC Capital Markets analyst Daniel R. Perlin raised the company’s price forecast from $285 to $295, while keeping an Outperform rating.
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The analyst writes that this reflects the company’s evolving AI partnership ecosystem, which is a positive driver for long-term growth.
Perlin revised his revenue and adjusted EPS estimates to $73.8 billion and $13.87 for fiscal 2026, up slightly from $73.56 billion/$13.87, and to $77.6 billion/$14.95 for fiscal 2027 from $78.2 billion/$15.25.
Earnings Snapshot
On Thursday, the company reported first-quarter 2026 earnings of $3.94 per share, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $3.75 and sales of $18.700 billion, slightly exceeding the analyst consensus estimate of $18.523 billion.
New bookings for the quarter were $20.94 billion, an increase of 12% in U.S. dollars and 10% in local currency. Advanced AI new bookings reached $2.2 billion in the quarter.
It now expects fiscal 2026 GAAP EPS of $13.12-$13.50 (compared to its prior forecast of $13.19-$13.57) against an analyst consensus of $13.56.
ACN Price Action: Accenture shares were up 1.99% at $275.32 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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