Accenture misses Q4 revenue, EPS targets

Accenture reported a decline in earnings and revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter, citing the loss of reimbursable travel costs. The tech services firm said its Q4 net income was $1.12 billion, with non-GAAP earnings of $1.70 cents a share on revenue of $10.8 billion.

Wall Street was expecting Accenture to report earnings of $1.73 a share on revenue of $10.91 billion. Shares of Accenture were down by over 5% in early trading. 

Meanwhile, the company said consulting revenues for the quarter were down 8% to $5.68 billion. Outsourcing revenues came to $5.15 billion.

For the year, Accenture said earnings came to $7.89 per share on revenue of $44.3 billion, up from $43.2 billion in fiscal 2019. Fiscal 2020 consulting revenues were $24.2 billion, while outsourcing revenues were $20.1 billion.

"Our ability to pivot rapidly to meet the needs of our clients and new ways of operating is reflected in our record new bookings of $50 billion for fiscal 2020," said Accenture CEO Julia Sweet. "We also continued to deliver revenue growth ahead of the market as well as strong profitability and superior cash flow. As we turn the page to fiscal 2021, we are better positioned than ever to continue gaining market share and delivering tangible value for our clients and shared success for all our stakeholders."

For the outlook, Accenture is predicting a revenue of $11.15 billion to $11.55 billion, a decrease of 3% to flat, for the first fiscal quarter of 2021. Wall Street expects Accenture to report Q1 earnings of $2.09 a share on revenue of $11.52 billion. For fiscal 2021, the company expects diluted EPS to be in the range of $7.80 to $8.10, below analyst estimates for $8.13 a share.