Accenture (NYSE: ACN) reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year ended August 31, 2024.

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4QFY24 Performance Infographic (Graphic: Business Wire)

Julie Sweet, chair and CEO, Accenture, said, “Our performance in fiscal year 2024 demonstrates the resilience and agility of our business model, the power of our scale and reinvention in action. We delivered full-fiscal year new bookings of $81 billion, including a record 125 quarterly client bookings of more than $100 million, and now have 310 Diamond clients, our largest relationships. We continue to accelerate our leadership in Generative AI, which we believe is the most transformative technology of the next decade, delivering $3 billion in new bookings for the year. Our successful strategy to lead reinvention for clients and continued investments in our business have positioned Accenture for strong growth in fiscal 2025. I want to thank our 774,000 people around the world who work every day to deeply understand the needs of our clients, allowing us to achieve profitable growth and create even more 360° value for all our stakeholders.”

¹Adjusted financial measures presented in this release are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude business optimization costs recorded in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, and a gain related to our investment in Duck Creek Technologies recorded in fiscal 2023, as further described in this release.

For the fourth quarter, revenues were $16.4 billion, an increase of 3% in U.S. dollars and 5% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. GAAP operating income was $2.35 billion, compared to $1.91 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, and operating margin was 14.3%, compared to 12.0% for the fourth quarter last year. Adjusted operating income was $2.46 billion compared to $2.38 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 and adjusted operating margin was 15.0%, compared to 14.9% for the fourth quarter last year. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $2.66, an increase of 24% over $2.15 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Adjusted EPS were $2.79, an increase of 3% over $2.71 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Operating cash flow was $3.39 billion and free cash flow was $3.18 billion. New bookings were $20.1 billion.

For the full fiscal year, revenues were $64.9 billion, an increase of 1% in U.S. dollars and 2% in local currency compared with fiscal 2023. GAAP operating income was $9.60 billion, compared to $8.81 billion in fiscal 2023, and operating margin was 14.8%, compared to 13.7% in fiscal 2023. Adjusted operating income was $10.03 billion compared to $9.87 billion in fiscal 2023 and adjusted operating margin was 15.5%, compared to 15.4% in fiscal 2023. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $11.44, an increase of 6% over $10.77 in fiscal 2023. Adjusted EPS were $11.95, an increase of 2% over $11.67 in fiscal 2023. Operating cash flow was $9.13 billion and free cash flow was $8.61 billion. New bookings were $81.2 billion.

Financial Review

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2024

Revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 were $16.41 billion, compared with $15.99 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, an increase of 3% in U.S. dollars and 5% in local currency, and were above the midpoint of the company’s guided range of $16.05 billion to $16.65 billion, or 2% to 6% growth in local currency. The foreign-exchange impact for the quarter was approximately negative 2%, consistent with the assumption provided in the company’s third-quarter earnings release.

• Consulting revenues were $8.26 billion, an increase of 1% in U.S. dollars and 3% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
• Managed Services revenues were $8.15 billion, an increase of 5% in U.S. dollars and 7% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

GAAP diluted EPS for the quarter were $2.66, a 24% increase over $2.15 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Excluding a $0.13 and $0.56 decrease for business optimization costs in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively, adjusted EPS were $2.79, a 3% increase over $2.71 last year. The $0.08 increase in EPS on an adjusted basis reflects:

• a $0.09 increase from higher revenue and operating results;
• a $0.05 increase from a lower effective tax rate; and
• a $0.02 increase from lower share count;
  
  partially offset by
  
  
• a $0.08 decrease from lower non-operating income.

Gross margin (gross profit as a percentage of revenues) for the fourth quarter was 32.5%, compared with 32.4% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the fourth quarter were $2.88 billion, or 17.5% of revenues, compared with $2.80 billion, or 17.5% of revenues, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

GAAP operating income for the quarter increased 23%, to $2.35 billion, or 14.3% of revenues, compared with $1.91 billion, or 12.0% of revenues, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Adjusted operating income for the quarter was $2.46 billion, or 15.0% of revenues, compared with $2.38 billion, or 14.9% of revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

The company's GAAP effective tax rate for the quarter was 26.3%, compared with 28.1% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. The adjusted effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 was 26.2%, compared with 27.4% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

GAAP net income for the quarter was $1.72 billion, compared with $1.41 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $1.80 billion, compared with $1.76 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

Operating cash flow for the quarter was $3.39 billion, and property and equipment additions were $214 million. Free cash flow, defined as operating cash flow net of property and equipment additions, was $3.18 billion. For the same period last year, operating cash flow was $3.41 billion, property and equipment additions were $180 million, and free cash flow was $3.23 billion.

Days services outstanding, or DSOs, were 46 days at August 31, 2024, compared with 42 days at August 31, 2023.

Accenture’s total cash balance at August 31, 2024 was $5.0 billion, compared with $9.0 billion at August 31, 2023.

New Bookings

New bookings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 were $20.1 billion, an increase of 21% in U.S. dollars and 24% in local currency over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

• Consulting new bookings were $8.6 billion, or 43% of total new bookings.
• Managed Services new bookings were $11.6 billion, or 57% of total new bookings.

Revenues by Geographic Market²

Revenues by geographic market were as follows:

• North America: $7.97 billion, an increase of 5% in U.S. dollars and 6% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
• EMEA: $5.64 billion, an increase of 2% in both U.S. dollars and local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

²During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, we revised the reporting of our geographic markets for the movement of our Middle East and Africa market units from Growth Markets to Europe, and the Europe market became our EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) geographic market.

• Growth Markets: $2.80 billion, a decrease of 3% in U.S. dollars and an increase of 9% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

Revenues by Industry Group

Revenues by industry group were as follows:

• Communications, Media & Technology: $2.75 billion, an increase of 2% in U.S. dollars and 5% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
• Financial Services: $2.87 billion, a decrease of 5% in U.S. dollars and 2% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
• Health & Public Service: $3.61 billion, an increase of 10% in U.S. dollars and 11% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
• Products: $4.95 billion, an increase of 4% in U.S. dollars and 6% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
• Resources: $2.22 billion, flat in U.S. dollars and an increase of 3% in local currency compared with the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.

Full Year Fiscal 2024

Revenues for fiscal 2024 were $64.90 billion, compared with $64.11 billion for fiscal 2023, an increase of 1% in U.S. dollars and 2% in local currency. Revenues for fiscal 2024 reflect a foreign-exchange impact of approximately negative 1% compared with fiscal 2023.

• Consulting revenues were $33.20 billion, a decrease of 1% in both U.S. dollars and local currency compared with fiscal 2023.
• Managed Services revenues were $31.70 billion, an increase of 4% in U.S. dollars and 5% in local currency compared with fiscal 2023.

GAAP diluted EPS for fiscal 2024 were $11.44, a 6% increase over $10.77 for fiscal 2023. Excluding a $0.51 and $1.28 decrease for business optimization costs in fiscal 2024 and 2023, respectively, and a $0.38 increase for a gain on an investment in fiscal 2023, adjusted EPS were $11.95, a 2% increase over $11.67 in fiscal 2023. The $0.28 increase in EPS on an adjusted basis reflects:

• a $0.19 increase from higher revenue and operating results;
• a $0.05 increase from lower share count;
• a $0.05 increase from a lower effective tax rate; and
• a $0.02 increase from higher non-operating income;
  
  partially offset by
  
  
• a $0.03 decrease from higher noncontrolling interests.

Gross margin (gross profit as a percentage of revenues) for fiscal 2024 was 32.6%, compared with 32.3% for fiscal 2023. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses for the full fiscal year were $11.13 billion or 17.1% of revenues, compared with $10.86 billion, or 16.9% of revenues, for fiscal 2023.

GAAP operating income for fiscal 2024 increased 9%, to $9.60 billion, or 14.8% of revenues, compared with $8.81 billion, or 13.7% of revenues, in fiscal 2023. Adjusted operating income for the full fiscal year was $10.03 billion, or 15.5% of revenues, compared with $9.87 billion, or 15.4% of revenues for fiscal 2023.

The company's GAAP annual effective tax rate for fiscal 2024 was 23.5%, compared with 23.4% in fiscal 2023. The adjusted effective tax rate for fiscal 2024 was 23.6%, compared with 23.9% for fiscal 2023.

GAAP net income for the full fiscal year was $7.42 billion, compared with $7.00 billion in fiscal 2023. Adjusted net income for fiscal 2024 was $7.75 billion, compared with $7.58 billion for fiscal 2023.

For fiscal 2024, operating cash flow was $9.13 billion, and property and equipment additions were $517 million. Free cash flow, defined as operating cash flow net of property and equipment additions, was $8.61 billion. For fiscal 2023, operating cash flow was $9.52 billion, property and equipment additions were $528 million, and free cash flow was $9.00 billion.

New Bookings

New bookings for fiscal 2024 were $81.2 billion, an increase of 13% in U.S. dollars and 14% in local currency over fiscal 2023.

• Consulting new bookings were $37.0 billion, or 46% of total new bookings.
• Managed Services new bookings were $44.2 billion, or 54% of total new bookings.

Revenues by Geographic Market³

Revenues by geographic market for fiscal 2024 were as follows:

• North America: $30.74 billion, an increase of 1% in U.S. dollars and 2% in local currency compared with fiscal 2023.
• EMEA: $22.82 billion, an increase of 2% in U.S. dollars and flat in local currency compared with fiscal 2023.
• Growth Markets: $11.34 billion, a decrease of 2% in U.S. dollars and an increase of 7% in local currency compared with fiscal 2023.

³During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, we revised the reporting of our geographic markets for the movement of our Middle East and Africa market units from Growth Markets to Europe, and the Europe market became our EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) geographic market.

Revenues by Industry Group

Revenues by industry group for fiscal 2024 were as follows:

• Communications, Media & Technology: $10.84 billion, a decrease of 5% in U.S. dollars and 4% in local currency compared with fiscal 2023.
• Financial Services: $11.61 billion, a decrease of 4% in U.S. dollars and 3% in local currency compared with fiscal 2023.
• Health & Public Service: $13.84 billion, an increase of 10% in both U.S. dollars and local currency compared with fiscal 2023.
• Products: $19.55 billion, an increase of 2% in both U.S. dollars and local currency compared with fiscal 2023.
• Resources: $9.05 billion, an increase of 2% in U.S. dollars and 4% in local currency compared with fiscal 2023.

Returning Cash to Shareholders

Accenture continues to return cash to shareholders through cash dividends and share repurchases. In fiscal 2024, the company returned $7.8 billion to shareholders, including $4.5 billion in share repurchases and $3.2 billion in cash dividends.

Dividend

On August 15, 2024, a quarterly cash dividend of $1.29 per share was paid to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 11, 2024. These cash dividend payments totaled $808 million, bringing dividend payments for the full year to $3.24 billion, compared with $2.83 billion in fiscal 2023.

Accenture plc has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.48 per share for shareholders of record at the close of business on October 10, 2024. This dividend, which is payable on November 15, 2024, represents a 15% increase over the company’s previous quarterly dividend.

Share Repurchase Activity

During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, Accenture repurchased or redeemed 2.1 million shares, including 2.0 million shares repurchased in the open market, for a total of $628 million. This brought total share repurchases and redemptions for the full fiscal year to 14.0 million shares, including 11.8 million shares repurchased in the open market, for a total of $4.5 billion.

The company’s Board of Directors has approved $4.0 billion in additional share repurchase authority, bringing Accenture’s total outstanding authority to approximately $6.7 billion.

At August 31, 2024, Accenture had approximately 626 million total shares outstanding.

Business Outlook

First Quarter Fiscal 2025

Accenture expects revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to be in the range of $16.85 billion to $17.45 billion, or an increase of 2% to 6% in local currency, reflecting the company’s assumption of an approximately positive 1.5% foreign-exchange impact compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

Fiscal Year 2025

Accenture’s business outlook for the full 2025 fiscal year assumes that the foreign-exchange impact on its results in U.S. dollars will be approximately positive 1.5% compared with fiscal 2024. For fiscal 2025, the company expects revenue growth to be in the range of 3% to 6% in local currency.

Accenture expects GAAP operating margin for fiscal 2025 to be in the range of 15.6% to 15.8%, an expansion of 80 to 100 basis points from fiscal 2024 GAAP operating margin, and an expansion of 10 to 30 basis points from fiscal 2024 adjusted operating margin, which excluded $438 million for business optimization costs.

The company expects its GAAP annual effective tax rate to be in the range of 22.5% to 24.5%.

The company expects GAAP diluted EPS to be in the range of $12.55 to $12.91, an increase of 10% to 13% over fiscal 2024 GAAP diluted EPS of $11.44, and an increase of 5% to 8% over fiscal 2024 adjusted EPS of $11.95, which excluded $0.51 for business optimization costs.

For fiscal 2025, the company expects operating cash flow to be in the range of $9.4 billion to $10.1 billion; property and equipment additions to be $600 million; and free cash flow to be in the range of $8.8 billion to $9.5 billion.

The company expects to return at least $8.3 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

360° Value Reporting

Accenture’s goal is to create 360° value for our clients, people, shareholders, partners, and communities. Our reporting captures how we deliver unique value across six vital dimensions and offers a comprehensive view of our financial and environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures, and our goals, progress and performance for each. Our full 360° Value Report and online 360° Value Reporting Experience provide customizable reporting. To access, please visit the Accenture 360° Value Reporting Experience at accenture.com/us-en/about/company/integrated-reporting.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

Accenture will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. EDT today to discuss its fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2024 financial results. To participate in the teleconference, please dial +1 (877) 692-8955 [+1 (234) 720-6979 outside the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada] and enter access code 5504138 approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the call. The conference call will also be accessible live via webcast on the Investor Relations section of the Accenture website at accenture.com.

A replay of the conference call will be available at accenture.com and at +1 (866) 207-1041 [ +1 (402) 970-0847 outside the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada] with access code 9225580 from 11:00 a.m. EDT today, through Wednesday, December 18, 2024.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with 774,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

This news release includes certain non-GAAP financial information as defined by Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation G. Pursuant to the requirements of this regulation, reconciliations of this non-GAAP financial information to Accenture’s financial statements as prepared under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) are included in this press release. Financial results “in local currency” are calculated by restating current-period activity into U.S. dollars using the comparable prior-year period’s foreign-currency exchange rates. Accenture’s management believes providing investors with this information gives additional insights into Accenture’s results of operations. While Accenture’s management believes that the non-GAAP financial measures herein are useful in evaluating Accenture’s operations, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and not as a substitute for the related financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Accenture provides full-year revenue guidance on a local-currency basis and not in U.S. dollars because the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations could vary significantly from the company’s stated assumptions.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements in this news release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “anticipates,” “aspires,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “positioned,” “outlook,” “goal,” “target,” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance nor promises that goals or targets will be met, and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These risks include, without limitation, risks that: Accenture’s results of operations have been, and may in the future be, adversely affected by volatile, negative or uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions and the effects of these conditions on the company’s clients’ businesses and levels of business activity; Accenture’s business depends on generating and maintaining client demand for the company’s services and solutions including through the adaptation and expansion of its services and solutions in response to ongoing changes in technology and offerings, and a significant reduction in such demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect the company’s results of operations; risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI could harm the company’s business, damage its reputation or give rise to legal or regulatory action; if Accenture is unable to match people and their skills with client demand around the world and attract and retain professionals with strong leadership skills, the company’s business, the utilization rate of the company’s professionals and the company’s results of operations may be materially adversely affected; Accenture faces legal, reputational and financial risks from any failure to protect client and/or company data from security incidents or cyberattacks; the markets in which Accenture operates are highly competitive, and Accenture might not be able to compete effectively; Accenture’s ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on its reputation in the marketplace; if Accenture does not successfully manage and develop its relationships with key ecosystem partners or fails to anticipate and establish new alliances in new technologies, the company’s results of operations could be adversely affected; Accenture’s profitability could materially suffer due to pricing pressure, if the company is unable to remain competitive, if its cost-management strategies are unsuccessful or if it experiences delivery inefficiencies or fail to satisfy certain agreed-upon targets or specific service levels; changes in Accenture’s level of taxes, as well as audits, investigations and tax proceedings, or changes in tax laws or in their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse effect on the company’s effective tax rate, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition; Accenture’s results of operations could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; Accenture’s debt obligations could adversely affect its business and financial condition; changes to accounting standards or in the estimates and assumptions Accenture makes in connection with the preparation of its consolidated financial statements could adversely affect its financial results; as a result of Accenture’s geographically diverse operations and strategy to continue to grow in key markets around the world, the company is more susceptible to certain risks; if Accenture is unable to manage the organizational challenges associated with its size, the company might be unable to achieve its business objectives; Accenture might not be successful at acquiring, investing in or integrating businesses, entering into joint ventures or divesting businesses; Accenture’s business could be materially adversely affected if the company incurs legal liability; Accenture’s global operations expose the company to numerous and sometimes conflicting legal and regulatory requirements; Accenture’s work with government clients exposes the company to additional risks inherent in the government contracting environment; if Accenture is unable to protect or enforce its intellectual property rights or if Accenture’s services or solutions infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others or the company loses its ability to utilize the intellectual property of others, its business could be adversely affected; Accenture may be subject to criticism and negative publicity related to its incorporation in Ireland; as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed under the “Risk Factors” heading in Accenture plc’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this news release speak only as of the date they were made, and Accenture undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements made in this news release or to conform such statements to actual results or changes in Accenture’s expectations.

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