Does the Street Have Accenture Figured Out?

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Accenture (NYS: ACN) is expected to report Q3 earnings on June 28. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
 Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Accenture's revenues will expand 6.7% and EPS will improve 6.5%.

The average estimate for revenue is $7.17 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.99.


Revenue details
 Last quarter, Accenture tallied revenue of $6.80 billion. GAAP reported sales were 12% higher than the prior-year quarter's $6.05 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 Last quarter, EPS came in at $0.97. GAAP EPS of $0.97 for Q2 were 29% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.75 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
 For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 31.1%, 60 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.1%, 30 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 9.5%, 120 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $28.06 billion. The average EPS estimate is $3.85.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,267 members out of 1,333 rating the stock outperform, and 66 members rating it underperform. Among 350 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 337 give Accenture a green thumbs-up, and 13 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Accenture is outperform, with an average price target of $62.03.

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The article Does the Street Have Accenture Figured Out? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Accenture Class A Ordinary. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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