Accenture Q1 FY26 revenue increases 6% to $18.7bn

Core Insights - Accenture reported Q1 revenues of $18.74 billion for FY26, a 6% increase in US dollars and a 5% increase in local currency compared to $17.6 billion in the same period last year, aligning with the upper end of the company's guidance range [1] Financial Performance - Net income on a GAAP basis was $2.24 billion, down from $2.32 billion in Q1 FY25, while adjusted net income reached $2.49 billion [1] - Gross margin improved to 33.1% from 32.9% year-over-year, while selling, general, and administrative expenses were $3.02 billion, or 16.1% of revenues, compared to $2.87 billion (16.2% of revenues) last year [2] - New bookings totaled $20.9 billion, with advanced AI bookings contributing $2.2 billion [2] - GAAP operating margin decreased to 15.3% from 16.7% year-over-year, a decline of 140 basis points, while adjusted operating margin increased by 30 basis points to 17% [2][3] - Diluted earnings per share under GAAP fell by 1% to $3.54, while adjusted earnings per share rose by 10% to $3.94 [3] Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns - Free cash flow for the quarter was $1.5 billion, with a total of $3.3 billion returned to shareholders through share repurchases of $2.3 billion and dividends of $1 billion, equating to $1.63 per share [3] Future Outlook - For the full fiscal year, Accenture projects revenue growth of 2% to 5% in local currency, with an expected growth of 3% to 6% excluding a 1% impact from US federal business operations [4] - The company anticipates a GAAP operating margin between 15.2% and 15.4%, and maintains an adjusted operating margin outlook of 15.7% to 15.9% [5] - GAAP diluted earnings per share for the year is expected to be in the range of $13.12 to $13.50, reflecting an increase of 8% to 11% [5] - Adjusted earnings per share is projected to be between $13.52 and $13.90, representing an increase of 5% to 8% [6]