AI threats intensify, Accenture's stock price drops to its lowest level since 2017

BlockBeats News, June 20 — According to the UK Financial Times, consulting firm Accenture's stock price fell 18% on Thursday, closing at its lowest level since 2017. Previously, the company lowered its revenue outlook, sparking investor concerns that the rapid development of AI is undermining traditional IT consulting and outsourcing business models.

Accenture stated that in the three months ending in May, the company's new orders dropped to $19.3 billion, a 3% year-over-year decrease. The company expects full-year revenue growth to be no more than 4%, below the previous guidance range of 3% to 5%. Accenture's market value has fallen from over $200 billion after the post-pandemic consulting boom to less than $80 billion.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said that the company is still winning enterprise adoption of AI-related consulting services, but investors are worried that AI will reduce clients' reliance on consultants or bring new competition from AI startups. She also mentioned that the impact of the Middle East war on revenue in the most recent quarter was $100 million more than expected and has caused decision-making delays among clients in other regions.

Accenture is seeking new growth areas and significantly increasing its acquisition budget, which will reach $9 billion this fiscal year. On Thursday, the company announced three cybersecurity-related acquisitions, including the purchase of vulnerability assessment company runZero, device security firm NetRise, and a majority stake in operational technology cybersecurity company Dragos, with a total enterprise value of $4.2 billion.

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