Shares of Accenture PLC dropped 3.3% in premarket trading Thursday, after the consulting company reported a fiscal third-quarter profit that missed expectations while revenue beat, and provided a downbeat outlook. Net income for the quarter to May 31 rose to $1.79 billion, or $2.79 a share, from $1.55 billion, or $2.40 a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $2.86. Revenue grew 21.8% to $16.16 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $16.04 billion, as consulting revenue rose 24% to $9.03 billion and outsourcing revenue increased 19% to $7.13 billion. Gross margin contracted to 32.9% from 33.2%. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue of $15.0 billion to $15.5 billion, below the current FactSet consensus of $15.85 billion, and projects fiscal 2022 EPS of $10.61 to $10.70, compared with expectations of $10.80. Accenture repurchased $972 million worth of its shares during the third quarter. The stock has slid 30.9% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has declined 21.1%.
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