Accenture Earnings Miss Estimates in Q2, Revenues Increase Y/Y

Accenture plc ACN reported mixed second-quarter fiscal 2025 results, wherein earnings missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate, while revenues beat the same.See Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.ACN’s earnings were $2.82 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a slight margin. The metric increased 1.8% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $16.7 billion beat the consensus estimate by a slight margin and gained 5.4% on a year-over-year basis.The company’s shares have declined 9.6% in the past three months compared with the industry’s 12.9% fall and the 5.5% decline of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.Accenture PLC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise  Accenture PLC price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Accenture PLC QuoteACN’s Revenues in DetailBased on the type of work, managed services’ revenues of $8.4 billion increased 8% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and 11% in local currency, surpassing our estimate of $8 billion. Consulting revenues gained 3% year over year on a reported basis and 6% in local currency to $8.3 billion, missing our projection of $8.4 billion.Segment-wise, health and public service revenues of $3.6 billion grew 8% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and 10% in local currency. The figure beat our expectation of $3.5 billion. Revenues from the resources segment amounted to $2.3 billion, rising 1% from the year-ago quarter on a reported and 5% in a local currency basis. The figure met our estimate. Revenues from the product segment amounted to $5.1 billion, increasing 6% year over year on a reported basis and 9% on a local currency basis. The figure outpaced our estimation of $5 billion.Communications, media and technology revenues of $2.7 billion increased 3% year over year on a reported basis and 6% in terms of local currency, meeting our estimate. Financial services revenues of $3 billion grew 7% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and 11% in local currency. The figure surpassed our estimate of $2.9 billion.Geographically, revenues of $8.6 billion from the Americas rose 9% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and 11% on a local currency basis. The figure beat our projection of $8.2 billion. Revenues of $5.8 billion from the EMEA gained 4% on a reported basis and 8% in local currency, meeting our estimate. Revenues of $2.3 billion from the Asia Pacific decreased 3% year over year on a reported basis while increasing 1% in local currency, meeting our projection.Booking Trends of AccentureThe company reported bookings worth $20.9 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, decreasing 3% from the year-ago quarter on a reported basis and flat in local currency. Consulting bookings were $10.5 billion and managed services bookings were $10.4 billion.ACN’s Operating ResultsThe gross margin (gross profit as a percentage of net revenues) for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 was 29.9%, down 100 basis points (bps) from the year-ago quarter. Adjusted operating income was $2.2 billion, flat with the year-ago quarter. The adjusted operating margin of 16.7% moved up 120 bps from second-quarter fiscal 2024.Balance Sheet & Cash Flow of AccentureACN exited second-quarter fiscal 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $8.5 billion compared with $8.3 billion at the end of first-quarter fiscal 2025. The company generated $2.9 billion in cash from operating activities. Capital expenditure in the reported quarter was $170.8 million.The free cash flow was $2.7 billion. Accenture repurchased 4 million shares for $1.4 billion, including 2.4 million shares repurchased in the open market. The company paid out a dividend of $929 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.ACN’s Q3 & FY25 GuidanceFor the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Accenture expects revenues of $16.9-$17.5 billion. The company’s guided range is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $16.6 billion.For fiscal 2025, ACN updated its revenue growth guidance to 5-7% compared with the preceding quarter’s view of 4-7% in local currency. The company expects an operating cash flow of $9.4-$10.1 billion. The free cash flow is anticipated between $8.8 billion and $9.5 billion.Accenture carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Earnings SnapshotTransUnion TRU reported impressive fourth-quarter 2024 results.TRU’s quarterly adjusted earnings (adjusting 63 cents from non-recurring items) of 97 cents per share surpassed the consensus mark by 1% and increased 21.3% year over year. Total revenues of $1 billion outpaced the consensus mark by 8.7% and increased marginally from the year-ago quarter.Insperity, Inc. NSP posted fourth-quarter 2024 results.NSP’s adjusted earnings (excluding 27 cents from non-recurring items) of 5 cents per share outpaced the consensus estimate by more than 100% but decreased 93.3% year over year. Revenues of $1.6 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1% and increased 2.1% from the year-ago quarter.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Accenture PLC (ACN): Free Stock Analysis Report Insperity, Inc. (NSP): Free Stock Analysis Report TransUnion (TRU): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks