What to Expect from Accenture

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Accenture (NYS: ACN) is expected to report Q1 earnings on Dec. 19. 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 grow 3.0% and EPS will increase 8.3%.

The average estimate for revenue is $7.29 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $1.04.


Revenue details
 Last quarter, Accenture reported revenue of $6.84 billion. GAAP reported sales were 2.2% higher than the prior-year quarter's $6.69 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, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.88. GAAP EPS of $0.55 for Q4 were 5.2% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.58 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 32.9%, 20 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.8%, 110 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.5%, 70 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $29.46 billion. The average EPS estimate is $4.27.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,250 members out of 1,315 rating the stock outperform, and 65 members rating it underperform. Among 374 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 363 give Accenture a green thumbs-up, and 11 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 $65.93.

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The article What to Expect from Accenture 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. The Motley Fool has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Accenture Ltd. 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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