AI Threat Intensifies, Accenture Shares Drop to Lowest Level Since 2017

06/20 07:20

On June 20, the Financial Times reported that consulting firm Accenture's stock fell 18% on Thursday, reaching its lowest level since 2017. This decline followed the company's downward revision of revenue expectations, raising investor concerns that the rapid development of AI is undermining traditional IT consulting and outsourcing business models. Accenture stated that new orders fell to $19.3 billion in the three months ending in May, a 3% year-on-year decrease. The company expects annual revenue growth to be no more than 4%, down from the previous guidance range of 3% to 5%. Accenture's market value has dropped from over $200 billion following the post-pandemic consulting boom to less than $80 billion. CEO Julie Sweet noted that the company is still winning business in AI-related consulting, but investors are worried that AI will reduce clients' reliance on consultants or lead to new competition from AI startups. She also mentioned that the impact of the Middle East conflict on revenue in the most recent quarter was $100 million more than expected, causing a slowdown in client decision-making in other regions. Accenture is seeking new growth areas and has significantly increased its acquisition budget, which will reach $9 billion for the current fiscal year. On Thursday, the company announced three cybersecurity-related acquisitions, including the purchase of vulnerability assessment firm runZero, device security company NetRise, and a majority stake in operational technology cybersecurity firm Dragos, with a total enterprise value of $4.2 billion for the three transactions.

RialzistaRibassistaMi piaceCondividi

Disclaimer：Il contenuto di cui sopra non rappresenta le posizioni di HTX.，HTX non fornisce alcuna raccomandazione di trading.。