Accenture PLC (ACN) stock analysis
Accenture PLC (ACN) clears 5 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 8 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 4 of 5 Lynch-style checks. At $258.74 it trades 27.1% below this site's neutral DCF value (a margin of safety of +27.1%). Its earnings quality rates Strong and it returns +6.5% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does Accenture do?
Accenture is a consulting and technology-services firm. Large companies and governments hire it to build and run software and cloud systems, outsource operations and carry out business-change programs, with a growing AI practice.
What stands out about Accenture?
- The share price implies 0.2% yearly growth. At $258.74, ACN's free cash flow of $20.78 per share would have to grow 0.2% a year, fading to 2.5% by year 10, for this site's DCF (10% discount rate) to match the price. This site's baseline starts at 8%, so the price asks for less growth than the baseline. Change the assumptions.
- Misses 1 of the 8 value filters. It fails PEG Ratio < 1.5 (2.24); the other 5 pass and 2 were not evaluated. See every filter.
- The margin of safety is falling. It went from +40% on Oct 7 to +27% on Oct 23 across 5 weekly readings. See the trend.
- Strongest against peers: dividend yield. At 2.76% (peer median 1.04%) it ranks 2nd of 17 among technology stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Weakest against peers: revenue growth. At 6.5% (peer median 19.1%) it ranks 41st of 44 among technology stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
How has Accenture's share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is Accenture undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) +27.1%
- P/E vs. its own history 17.3x · near the cheap end Real range: 14.0x–30.1x over 5 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 3.75/5 32 analysts this month: 6 strong buy, 12 buy, 14 hold, 0 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub). Down from 3.78 last month.
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Strong · all 5 checks clean Beneish M-score −2.67 · accruals −5.8% of assets · 141% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 2.8% of revenue · share count −1.5% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Aug 2026) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +6.5% net Latest fiscal year (2026): dividends 2.8% + buybacks 5.2% − stock comp 1.5%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count fell 15%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) $4.35 per $1 of new profit · Capital-hungry Operating profit $5.8B → $10B, capital needed $5.8B → $26B, 2017–2026 (3-year averages); return on capital now 40% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 2.24 · Well above fair P/E 17.3× ÷ 7.7% a year of growth behind it. 250th lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 2 of 4 · misses capital-light, price Capital-light growth: not cleared (profit grew 1.8×, under 2×); Profit is real: cleared; Cash to owners: cleared; Fair price (PEG): not cleared (PEG 2.24, over 1.5). See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Value trap check Clear
- Munger's Inversion Check 0 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 5 of 7 measures above the median Compared with the 43 other technology stocks this site tracks: 4 in the top third, 1 in the bottom third.
- Dividend payout sustainability 0/6 · clean
How does Accenture compare with its peers?
5 of 7 measures sit above the median of the 43 other technology stocks tracked here, 4 in the top third and 1 in the bottom third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 26.0× 17.3× ✓10th of 39
- Free-cash-flow yieldhigher is cheaper · peer median 3.8% 8.0% ✓7th of 44
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 24% 27% –21st of 44
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 16.9% 11.3% –29th of 44
- Revenue growthhigher is better, year on year · peer median 19.1% 6.5% ✕41st of 44
- Debt / equitylower is safer · peer median 0.60 0.32 ✓13th of 44
- Dividend yieldamong dividend payers · peer median 1.04% 2.76% ✓2nd of 17
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and ACN clears it. In its favor: ACN is currently earning a strong return on shareholders' equity, and has kept that profitability up over five years, not just this year, carries a conservative amount of debt relative to equity, converts sales into profit at healthy margins, has grown earnings per share at a solid clip over five years, earns many times its interest expense, so debt service isn't a worry, is trading below what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth - his own "price is what you pay, value is what you get" test, not a fixed multiple ceiling, and trades at a reasonable multiple of owner earnings, his own term for the real cash a business could pay out.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✓
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- Pretax margin > 15% ✓
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✓
- Interest coverage > 5x ✓
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✓
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✓
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2026
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and ACN falls short of his bar. In its favor: ACN is growing earnings at the steady 10-20% pace of a proper Stalwart, isn't over-leveraged for a company of its type, isn't asking investors to overpay for that growth, and is backing its growth up with real free cash flow. Where it comes up short: ACN fails his signature PEG test, he'd call this pricey for the growth on offer.
- PEG < 1 ✕
- EPS growth 10%-20% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.6 ✓
- P/E < 27 ✓
- Price/FCF < 30 ✓
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does Accenture pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $144.7B
- Trailing P/E < 25 17.29
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 2.24
- Price/Book < 8 4.58
- Price/Sales < 7 1.95
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% +46.5%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
What is Accenture's margin of safety?
+40% on 2026-10-07 → +27% on 2026-10-23 (5 weekly readings).
Where is Accenture in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in Accenture?
19,725,390 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily. This period's change looks like a stock split, not a real shift in short positions - share counts aren't split-adjusted at the source.
What could go wrong with Accenture? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case +57%
- Short interest under 5% of float 3.3%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 5/6 passed
- Price run-up backed by value, not just momentum +103% off 52wk low
- Debt/equity stable since 2017 0.00 → 0.32
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have Accenture shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from ACN's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do Accenture's 10-year financials show?
From ACN's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about Accenture
What kind of company is Accenture?
Accenture is a consulting and technology-services firm. Large companies and governments hire it to build and run software and cloud systems, outsource operations and carry out business-change programs, with a growing AI practice. This site groups it with Technology stocks.
Is Accenture trading above or below its DCF value?
At $258.74, ACN trades 27.1% below this site's neutral DCF value of $354.82 per share, a margin of safety of +27.1%. That DCF projects free cash flow for 10 years, with growth starting at 8% and fading to 2.5%, discounted at 10%; it is one set of assumptions, not a forecast. Test your own in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does Accenture pass?
ACN passes 5 of 8. It passes Market Cap > $25B ($144.7B), Trailing P/E < 25 (17.29), Price/Book < 8 (4.58), Price/Sales < 7 (1.95) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (+46.5%). It misses PEG Ratio < 1.5 (2.24). vs 50-day MA (±12%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) were not evaluated, because the moving-average checks only run on stocks that clear the fundamentals first. The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
What growth is Accenture's share price pricing in?
At $258.74, ACN's free cash flow of $20.78 per share would have to grow 0.2% a year, fading to 2.5% by year 10, for this site's DCF (10% discount rate) to match the price. This site's baseline starts at 8%, so the price asks for less growth than the baseline. Change the assumptions.
Does Accenture pass the Buffett-style and Lynch-style checklists?
On this site's Buffett-style checklist ACN clears 8 of 8 checks and leans yes. On the Lynch-style checklist it clears 4 of 5 and leans no, with Stalwart as its Lynch category; it misses PEG < 1. These are this site's own rules written in the style of each investor, not their personal views; the rules are in the Editorial Standards.
How much cash does Accenture return to shareholders?
ACN's net shareholder yield is +6.5%: the cash it returns through dividends and buybacks, minus stock-based compensation, as a share of its market value. Latest fiscal year (2026): dividends 2.8% + buybacks 5.2% − stock comp 1.5%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count fell 15%. Its trailing dividend yield is 2.76%, paid out of 32% of its free cash flow; the dividend-sustainability check raises 0 of 6 flags (a yield far above its sector's). See Shareholder Yield Leaders and the Sustainable Dividend Screener.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: Accenture's 10-K annual report for the year ended Aug 31, 2026, filed Oct 16, 2026 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this Accenture PLC analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on Accenture PLC (ACN) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.