ACN valuation is attractive due to low P/E and survival confirmation, but long-term growth is uncertain because of potential AI disruption to its business model.

today's earnings surprise, which is Accenture. The stock rose by about 19% during our recording of the episode thanks to better-than-expected earnings. Revenue and profits exceeded expectations, and their financial projections, as this was the end of their fiscal year 2026 , and they said that fiscal year 2027 also came in slightly above Wall Street expectations.

So, this is a company that has been on a slow downward trajectory recently, and the question for me is : what went right for a company that has lacked good news over the past two years?

Sorry to be that person, Tyler, but what went right was that Accenture didn't die. Accenture is not dead yet, but I wouldn't say that its business is necessarily thriving.

If you look at its fiscal year 2026, which it has just finished, revenues in local currency, which is a good measure because it is an international company, rose by only 5% year-on-year.

This is not prosperity in the literal sense. It's acceptable, but it's not something worth writing about for the homeland.

Looking ahead to fiscal year 2027, management expects growth of only 3% to 6%. Therefore, growth may slow down further next year. So, this isn't necessarily a huge victory for Accenture , but it's still alive.

And you know what? This may be enough because valuation is important here, and prior to earnings, the stock had fallen to less than 10 times the expected earnings. Just two years ago , the percentage was in the thirties.

I think you know, sometimes just announcing that the sky isn't actually falling is enough, at least in the short term.

They exceeded expectations. The outlook was bleak. If you look at the forecasts, you'll learn, like the way they lowered their guidance. But look, three months ago there was a debate about whether Accenture would be able to survive or not.

So, as you know, these results help answer those questions.

I don't know if it's going to be a massive growth stock going forward , but if it's not heading towards zero, and if there are indications that it isn't , then there's a reason to bounce off a single-digit P/E ratio. I think that's what we're seeing.

Look, guys, if they're not going to disappear , the stock is still at 14 times earnings today, which is kind of still cheap, but yeah, I think that's the hardest question right now .

Well, I think there are two other things that suggest it may be a little stronger than investors have been giving it credit for. Look at the operating margin. Look at the figures that are not in line with generally accepted accounting principles because they exclude some exceptional items that were more appropriate compared to last year.

Operating margin rose slightly on an annual basis. Therefore, an operating margin of 15.8%. This is a very respectable margin and slightly better than last year. So, that's good.

Also look at the cash you return to shareholders. Essentially , it returned all of the shareholders' free cash flow during the past year in the form of share buybacks and dividends.

I suppose you could be someone who looks at the glass as half empty and says that management has run out of ideas and is trying to solidify its shareholder base; But looking at the bright side , one really sees that its shares are attractively valued, and it puts its money where its words put it by employing that free cash flow in share buybacks.

Accenture has always been a cash-return story. It has always been that way for a long time . I would be more concerned about that if this was a new change that might indicate they've run out of ideas , but yes, that's the kind of work they do.

Yes, I would say when you are a consulting firm and all your assets are people, you know, your capital expenditure is on chairs and office equipment. It's not like you have to spend a lot to keep the business lights on in a business like this.

Over the past two months, we have either sold Accenture shares from our real portfolios or even frozen them in some of our recommendation services.

After seeing these results, I wonder if it is time to admit the mistake. I find it difficult to determine whether this report reflects a general trend or is merely a passing phenomenon.

Based on your perspective, a 5% dividend payout or 5% revenue growth isn't a big deal, but if you add good buybacks at a reasonable valuation, you can achieve 7 to 10% earnings per share growth, and with the current valuation, that's not a bad proposition considering the big picture.

We can look back to May 2025 when The Tradedesk stock rose by about 20% to reach about $70 per share, and one of the headlines that day said: "The Tradedesk's Cookie Platform Fuels a Stunning Recovery ."

But we've fallen by about 80 % since then. Therefore, a market reaction in one day to a single financial quarter does not necessarily mean that everything is fine.

There are still some outstanding questions. I mean, artificial intelligence is changing a lot of things , and I would say that Accenture's work still faces questions that have not yet been answered.

I will say this , there is one thing that has been very encouraging to me, and I would be very optimistic about it if I were a shareholder in Accenture.

Accenture says that 65% of new bookings came from results-driven, price-bound projects. This is extremely important. Look at the workloads that artificial intelligence is replacing.

It has no fixed costs. I'll tell you that now. It can be results-based, but AI often gets stuck in these loops, consuming tokens unnecessarily, and it's very difficult if you're trying to limit your expenses to get the result you want at the price you're paying.

In many cases, you don't know what artificial intelligence is doing. To me , this is the opposite of Accenture's positioning, where they say: " We can actually give you a price for the result you want."

This is huge to me, and the numbers here reflect that.

This is what its customers have in common. I never thought Accenture would go out of business. I am concerned about some of these smaller consulting firms , but again, the question is: Will it be a good investment, and will it outperform the market going forward?

First, their biggest expense is talent. This is a business that doesn't rely much on assets, says Tyler, but their real product is their talent. Throughout most of their history, they have competed for business school graduates against other sources of MBA degrees .

Now, they need programmers. They need talent in the field of artificial intelligence. To some extent , I don't think they're really competing with Zuckerberg on salary packages that reach $150 million, but the cost of their raw materials is increasing.

On the other hand , they have always relied on the clock in their accounting. With the integration of artificial intelligence into their business , there is at least a possibility that if the AI does what we hope, the number of hours required will decrease. Will this put downward pressure on revenues?

Add to that the simple fact that artificial intelligence is democratizing programming. I don't think it eliminates the need for a partner in many of these big matters, but is there a slight shift in what companies can do internally versus hiring a consultant?

Is this slight shift the difference between outperforming the market and being just an ordinary company that maintains its existence, but is not a remarkable growth story?

I think these questions still stand and are very much relevant, and that's what I'll be thinking about if I'm going to take advantage of this price drop. artificial intelligence in relation to consulting in a world like Accenture and Gartner will be one of the most challenging things for these companies and the biggest question for investors in the future.