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Accenture’s fourth-quarter results have given global technology investors a fresh reason to look beyond the immediate concerns around artificial intelligence-driven disruption. Strong bookings, accelerating adoption of advanced AI projects and better-than-expected revenue growth sent Accenture shares sharply higher, while US-listed shares of Indian IT companies Infosys and Wipro also rallied overnight. The reaction matters for Indian IT because Accenture is often viewed as an important read-through for technology spending by global enterprises. Its latest numbers suggested that companies were moving beyond AI experimentation and increasingly committing to larger transformation projects. However, the outlook for Indian IT remained more measured, with pricing pressure, AI-led productivity gains and subdued discretionary spending still expected to constrain reported growth. The IT sector has taken a sharp beating in September, with the Nifty IT index falling 11% and emerging as the worst-performing sectoral index during the month. The sell-off was broad-based, with several large and mid-cap IT stocks witnessing significant declines. LTM fell around 13%, while TCS declined around 12%. Wipro and Infosys dropped around 10% each, followed by Mphasis with a 9% fall. Coforge declined around 7%, L&T Tech, HCL Technologies slipped 6%, while Persistent Systems and Tech Mahindra fell more than 5%. Accenture reported 7% year-on-year growth in fourth-quarter revenue in constant currency, while full-year revenue growth stood at 5%, ahead of its earlier 3–4% guidance. For FY27, the company guided for constant-currency revenue growth of 3–6%, indicating continued growth but also reflecting a still-dynamic macro environment. The strongest signal came from bookings. Accenture recorded 141 bookings worth more than $100 million during the quarter, while total new bookings stood at $22.4 billion, up 4% year-on-year. The company also said more than 400 clients had initiated advanced AI projects during FY26, including nearly 100 new clients in the fourth quarter. The commentary suggested that AI was increasingly creating new technology spending rather than simply replacing existing work. Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said: “We continue to believe the opportunities related to AI are greater than the impact of AI-related efficiencies in our business, and we expect that to continue as AI enables enterprises to do much more.” The company’s results also indicated that AI adoption was progressing from pilot programmes towards broader enterprise implementation. Strong bookings and the increase in advanced AI engagements pointed to greater willingness among clients to invest in transformation projects, even as the broader spending environment remained uneven. The strong Accenture performance could provide a positive read-through for Indian IT companies, particularly because it suggested that global enterprises were continuing to spend on technology transformation and increasingly moving AI projects into larger-scale deployments. Infosys and Wipro ADRs rose sharply in overnight trading following the results, while other global technology companies also gained. However, the read-through for Indian IT was not entirely straightforward. Choice Broking said Accenture’s commentary pointed towards improving demand signals, particularly around AI-led transformation, but stressed that the conversion of this demand into reported revenue would remain an important factor to watch. “Overall, we believe Accenture’s commentary points to improving demand signals, particularly around AI-led transformation, but the pace of conversion into reported revenues remains the key monitor. We, therefore, forecast FY27 to remain another subdued growth year for Indian IT, with AI-led productivity pass-throughs, pricing pressure and continued softness in discretionary spending projected to constrain reported growth,” stated the brokerage. At the same time, the brokerage viewed stronger bookings, sustained managed-services growth and accelerating AI adoption as constructive signals for the sector. Choice Broking said the stronger bookings and rising number of advanced AI engagements indicated that enterprises were progressing from experimentation towards scaled adoption, although the 3–6% growth outlook for Accenture still reflected a dynamic macro environment. Nomura similarly highlighted the two-sided impact of AI, with productivity gains creating a deflationary effect while additional technology work and broader project scope could offset that pressure. The brokerage said: “While AI is driving client productivity gains, which is a deflationary force, the same is being offset by incremental work and broader scope.” For Indian IT stocks, this means Accenture’s results offer evidence of improving technology demand, particularly in AI-led transformation, but do not eliminate concerns around pricing and revenue growth. Choice Broking said it preferred Tier-1 names such as TCS and Tech Mahindra, along with mid-cap companies Coforge and Mphasis, while Nomura maintained buy ratings on Infosys and Cognizant among large caps and Coforge among mid-caps. Overall, Accenture’s quarter showed that AI spending was increasingly translating into enterprise projects and bookings. For Indian IT, the key question will be whether this rising demand ultimately translates into sustainable revenue growth despite productivity-led pricing pressure and cautious discretionary spending. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions. Pranati Deva is a seasoned financial journalist with over a decade of experience in high-pressure newsroom environments, currently working as a Senior Sub Editor at LiveMint. Over the years, she has developed a reputation for sharp editorial judgement, a strong grasp of market dynamics, and the ability to translate complex financial developments into clear, engaging stories for a wide audience. <br><br> Her core areas of coverage include stock markets, leading listed companies, currencies, and commodities, with a particular strength in fast-paced, real-time market reporting. She is known for handling breaking market news, earnings-driven stock movements, and macroeconomic developments with speed, accuracy, and context—qualities that are essential in financial journalism. <br><br> Pranati has built a diverse and credible professional track record across some of India’s most respected news organisations, including MintGenie, CNBC-TV18, Business Standard and EconomicTimes.com. During her stints at these platforms, she produced data-driven market stories, curated and steered live blogs during volatile trading sessions, and conducted interviews with market veterans, fund managers, economists, and industry experts. Her work often combines on-ground reporting with analytical depth, helping readers make sense of daily market fluctuations and longer-term trends. An alumnus of the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communications and Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Pranati brings a strong academic foundation to her journalism. 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