© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Irish consulting and services company Accenture is seen at a temporary office during the World Economic Forum 2022 (WEF) in the alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland, May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File photo
(Reuters) – IT services provider Accenture (NYSE ) on Tuesday forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street targets, anticipating cautious spending by clients as macroeconomic uncertainty remains dominant.
The company's shares fell 3% in pre-bell trading. They have gained more than 28% so far this year, outperforming the benchmark index.
Analysts expect spending on IT services to remain subdued in the short term, as companies typically decide their annual budgets only after February. Accenture itself had flagged slower budget decision-making, especially at technology and media companies.
The Indian IT services giant Tata Consulting Services (NS:) reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results in October, while infosys (NS:) cut the top end of its annual revenue forecast as clients were still hesitant to spend on discretionary projects. Both companies are competitors of Accenture in the outsourcing business.
Accenture expects revenue in the range of $15.4 billion to $16 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had forecast revenue of $16.29 billion.
Its revenue in the first quarter ended Nov. 30 rose 3% to $16.2 billion.
