Signal Ledger LabSignal Ledger valuation · ACN
Accenture plc
What the shares are worth today on our research (cited consensus, company plans and peers, since management sets no usable targets): every line valued at the end of FY2030, net debt rolled forward, then discounted back to Aug 31, 2026.
- Business value at FY2030
- $200B
- FY2030 revenue
- $89B
- FY2030 EPS · P/E
- $22.38 · 17×
- Discount rate (WACC · equity)
- 8.85% · 9.24%
How this is built. No verified long-range revenue target; FY2027 company sales and margin guidance plus normalized regional trends and rule 7 margin path. Each input below shows its basis: consensus, company plan, peer or rule.
Latest quarter in this research: Q4 FY2026
Reported Oct 1, 2026 for the quarter to Aug 31, 2026 (company release ↗). This valuation already reflects these results (researched Oct 23, 2026).
| Segment | Revenue | vs a year ago | Operating income | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | $9.43B | +7% | $1.62B | 17.1% |
| EMEA | $6.58B | +6% | $0.86B | 13.1% |
| Asia Pacific | $2.67B | +3% | $0.38B | 14.3% |
- FY2026 revenue$74.183B.
- FY2027 sales growth guidance 3-6% local currency with flatFX.
- FY2027 operating-margin outlook 15.9-16.1%.
What each business is worth
| Business | Model | FY2030 revenue | Value today | Per share | 2030 multiple | Value from beyond FY2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | Margin | $42B | $93B | $157.99 | 11.7× EBIT | 61% |
| EMEA | Margin | $34B | $61B | $103.65 | 12.3× EBIT | 63% |
| Asia Pacific | Margin | $12B | $24B | $39.86 | 11.3× EBIT | 60% |
| All businesses | $89B | $178B | $301.50 |
From 2030 back to today
- Enterprise value at end of FY2030$200B
- Plus net cash at FY2030$29B
- Equity value at FY2030$230B
- ÷ (1 + 9.24%)^4.0 years at the cost of equity$161B
- + dividends paid on the way, discounted$13B
This reconciliation checks the published Signal Ledger valuation against the net-debt path. The difference is 2.8%, inside our 5% tolerance.
From businesses to one share
- All businesses, valued today$178B
- − borrowings$10B
- − finance leases$0B
- − preferred and minority claims$1.7B
- + cash and short-term investments$13B
- ÷ diluted shares0.591B
- Signal Ledger valuation$303.25
Year by year to FY2030
| Fiscal year | Revenue | EBITDA | Capex | Free cash flow | Net debt at year end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2027 | $78B | $13B | $0.9B | $8.9B | $6.2B cash |
| FY2028 | $81B | $14B | $0.9B | $10B | $12B cash |
| FY2029 | $85B | $16B | $1B | $11B | $20B cash |
| FY2030 | $89B | $18B | $1B | $12B | $29B cash |
What must be true
- Americas grows revenue from $37.9B in FY2027 to $42.5B in FY2030 (1.1×).
- EMEA grows revenue from $28.6B in FY2027 to $34.0B in FY2030 (1.2×).
- Asia Pacific grows revenue from $11.0B in FY2027 to $12.0B in FY2030 (1.1×).
- Americas raises its EBIT margin from 17.7% to 21.1%.
- EMEA raises its EBIT margin from 13.4% to 16.7%.
- Asia Pacific raises its EBIT margin from 16.8% to 19.2%.
- The company spends $3.9B of capital expenditure through FY2030.
- The company stays net cash throughout (lowest point $1.0B of net cash in FY2026).
What the price implies
At our discount rate, the price assumes less than our research overall: one combination matching $258.74 is about $74B of FY2030 sales (a decline of about 0.0% a year from FY2026) with 19.2% GAAP EBIT margin — versus $88.5B and 19.2% GAAP EBIT margin in our research.
At the research price of $258.74 (2026-10-23), the price asks less than our assumptions overall. These are operating requirements at that price, not additional valuations or forecasts.
If sales and margins changed together
Each row matches the same research price at our unchanged discount rate, by scaling every operating line's margin by one common factor. Sales cover margin and capacity lines only; other valuation lines stay fixed. Margins are revenue-weighted within each metric, before separately modeled corporate costs and eliminations. The conclusion uses the row at our research margins when sales alone can match the price, otherwise the solved row needing the least sales growth; this is a trade-off between growth and profitability, not a forecast.
| FY2030 sales factor | FY2030 sales | FY2026–30 CAGR | Required FY2030 margin | Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.84×At research margins | $74B | −0.0% | 19.2% GAAP EBIT | Within margin guardrails |
| 1.50× | $132.8B | 15.7% | 11.5% GAAP EBIT | Within margin guardrails |
| 2.00× | $177.1B | 24.3% | 8.9% GAAP EBIT | Within margin guardrails |
| 3.00× | $265.6B | 37.6% | 6.2% GAAP EBIT | Within margin guardrails |
CAGR uses $74.2B of same-scope FY2026 sales from the published model or its sourced research base, over four fiscal years. “Within margin guardrails” checks numeric limits only, not commercial plausibility. Each line and year must stay at or below 50.0% GAAP EBIT and 100% EBITDA, or our research margin where that is higher; capacity EBIT uses the engine's equipment depreciation. Unsolved margins are not extrapolated.
- Implied discount rate
- 10.0%
- All-business FY2030 sales factor
- 0.84×
The WACC that makes model value equal the price, shifting WACC and cost of equity by the same amount. Model: 8.9% WACC · 9.2% cost of equity.
FY2030 revenue would need to reach $74B (model: $88.5B) across the margin and capacity businesses. FY1 stays fixed; the sales change ramps to FY2030 and stays at that factor thereafter.
If only one business changed
Businesses with margin or capacity revenue paths, ordered by value today. Revenue and margin are separate alternatives; these requirements are not added together.
Americas
- Revenue alone
- FY2030 revenue would need to reach $29.9B (model: $42.5B).
- Margin alone
FY2030 EBIT margin would need to reach 15.3% (model: 21.1%).
EMEA
- Revenue alone
- FY2030 revenue would need to reach $18.8B (model: $34B).
- Margin alone
FY2030 EBIT margin would need to reach 9.8% (model: 16.7%).
Asia Pacific
- Revenue alone
- This business alone cannot get there within the search range.
- Margin alone
- This business alone cannot get there within the search range.
Mechanical requirements, not forecasts. The separate sales-only and single-business factors are searched from 0.1× to 6×; an unsolved comparison means this business alone cannot get there within those bounds. Single-business revenue changes apply from FY2 onward; margin changes scale the full EBIT or EBITDA margin path. Mixed groups show revenue-weighted EBIT and EBITDA margins separately. Requirements above 100% are not feasible margins. Joint rows instead search non-negative uniform margin factors only up to the EBIT/EBITDA guardrails; the entire margin path scales, including post-FY2030 convergence. Sales and margins change together only in that table. The rate search runs from the largest terminal growth rate plus 0.5 percentage points to 30% WACC.
The discount rate
- Cost of equity
- 9.24%
- WACC
- 8.85%
- 10-year Treasury · model / spot
- 3.87% · 5.13%
r_f 3.87% (5-year average 10-year Treasury yield 3.87% (spot 5.13% on 2026-10-21)) + β 1.07 after Blume adjustment × 5%, rounded to 0.01% (1bp)
methodology §4.5: market-weighted WACC, not rounded
The model uses the recorded 5-year average Treasury yield. The spot yield is shown for context.
Every input, with its source
Show 24 inputs · reported, guidance and rule-based
| Input | Value | Basis | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue FY2027Americas | $37.9B | Rule | hold moderate (methodology §4.2), growth 3.8% sec.gov ↗ |
| Revenue FY2030Americas | $42.5B | Rule | hold moderate (methodology §4.2), growth 3.8% sec.gov ↗ |
| EBIT margin FY2030Americas | 21.1% | Rule | linear path to 21.1% by FY2030 (§4.3 E2: 4.0000 points = 4pp × clamp((CAGR − 1.5%) / 2%, 0, 1); revenue CAGR 3.8% to FY2030; no cited expansion evidence) sec.gov ↗ |
| Maintenance capexAmericas | 1.2% | Guidance | FY2027 guidedcompanyPPEadditions$900M allocatedproportionallytosales; onecompanytotal, not$900Mpersegment. sec.gov ↗ |
| Terminal growthAmericas | 2.0% | Rule | methodology §4.2 terminal growth for a mature line Valuation methodology §4.2 · Read methodology ↗ |
| Revenue FY2027EMEA | $28.6B | Reported | hold moderate (methodology §4.2), growth 6.0% sec.gov ↗ |
| Revenue FY2030EMEA | $34.0B | Reported | hold moderate (methodology §4.2), growth 6.0% sec.gov ↗ |
| EBIT margin FY2030EMEA | 16.7% | Rule | linear path to 16.7% by FY2030 (§4.3 E2: 4.0000 points = 4pp × clamp((CAGR − 1.5%) / 2%, 0, 1); revenue CAGR 6.0% to FY2030; no cited expansion evidence) sec.gov ↗ |
| Maintenance capexEMEA | 1.2% | Guidance | FY2027 guidedcompanyPPEadditions$900M allocatedproportionallytosales; onecompanytotal, not$900Mpersegment. sec.gov ↗ |
| Terminal growthEMEA | 2.0% | Rule | methodology §4.2 terminal growth for a mature line Valuation methodology §4.2 · Read methodology ↗ |
| Revenue FY2027Asia Pacific | $11.0B | Reported | hold moderate (methodology §4.2), growth 3.0% sec.gov ↗ |
| Revenue FY2030Asia Pacific | $12.0B | Reported | hold moderate (methodology §4.2), growth 3.0% sec.gov ↗ |
| EBIT margin FY2030Asia Pacific | 19.2% | Rule | linear path to 19.2% by FY2030 (§4.3 E2: 3.0000 points = 4pp × clamp((CAGR − 1.5%) / 2%, 0, 1); revenue CAGR 3.0% to FY2030; no cited expansion evidence) sec.gov ↗ |
| Maintenance capexAsia Pacific | 1.2% | Guidance | FY2027 guidedcompanyPPEadditions$900M allocatedproportionallytosales; onecompanytotal, not$900Mpersegment. sec.gov ↗ |
| Terminal growthAsia Pacific | 2.0% | Rule | methodology §4.2 terminal growth for a mature line Valuation methodology §4.2 · Read methodology ↗ |
| WACCDiscount rates | 8.85% | Rule | methodology §4.5: market-weighted WACC, not rounded FRED DGS10 2021-10-20..2026-10-21 |
| Cost of equityDiscount rates | 9.24% | Rule | r_f 3.87% (5-year average 10-year Treasury yield 3.87% (spot 5.13% on 2026-10-21)) + β 1.07 after Blume adjustment × 5%, rounded to 0.01% (1bp) 60 monthly returns vs SPY, 2021-09..2026-09 (adjusted closes) |
| Tax rateDiscount rates | 25.5% | Guidance | FY2027 guided effective tax 24.5-26.5%, midpoint 25.5%. sec.gov ↗ |
| Cash and short-term investmentsBalance sheet | $12.8B | Reported | cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments; use consolidated short-term investment total once, including all security classes sec.gov ↗ |
| BorrowingsBalance sheet | $10.1B | Reported | borrowings due within a year plus long-term borrowings us-gaap:DebtCurrent · 0001467373-26-000049 + us-gaap:LongTermDebtAndCapitalLeaseObligations · 0001467373-26-000049 |
| Finance leasesBalance sheet | $0.0B | Reported | finance leases not separately tagged; retained inside combined debt, with no additional lease deduction balance sheet 2026-08-31 |
| Minority interestsBalance sheet | $1.7B | Reported | noncontrolling interests at book value, including separately reported redeemable noncontrolling equity (not preferred stock) us-gaap:MinorityInterest · 0001467373-26-000049 + us-gaap:RedeemableNoncontrollingInterestEquityCarryingAmount · 0001467373-26-000049 |
| SharesBalance sheet | 0.591B | Rule | Bounded approximation: 0.590737475B net common shares + 0.000580006B exchangeable-share proxy; full 1.68986B NCI retained. Authorized conservative approximation: add the largest recent disclosed Canada EPS exchangeable-share average, 580,006, to net Class A. It is not a reported period-end share count. Do not add EPS averages to an already diluted denominator. sec.gov ↗ |
| Dividends per yearShareholders | $3.9B | Reported | Last four paid quarterly dividends; no future increase or buyback assumption. × 0.591B shares sec.gov ↗ |
Research notes
- Bounded approximation: Authorized conservative approximation: add the largest recent disclosed Canada EPS exchangeable-share average, 580,006, to net Class A. It is not a reported period-end share count. Do not add EPS averages to an already diluted denominator. Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467373/000146737326000032/acn-20260531.htm. Observed EPS-average bounds 0.000577325B–0.000580006B (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467373/000146737326000032/acn-20260531.htm; https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467373/000146737326000032/acn-20260531.htm); neither is a verified period-end count. August 31 balance sheet: permanent NCI 1.157098B + redeemable NCI 0.532762B. Retain both in full, including the unseparated Canada interest; no NCI addback or offset. Source: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467373/000146737326000049/acn-20260831.htm.
- cover count includes 77985339 treasury Class A shares; Class X has voting rights only; source https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1467373/000146737326000049/acn-20260831.htm
- share-count comparison: 0.605283767B quarter 2026-06-01..2026-08-31 · 0001467373-26-000049; point-in-time denominator retained
- cost of equity 9.24% (β 1.07 after Blume adjustment), WACC 8.9%
- Asia Pacific: FY2030 margin set to 19.2% instead of 20.2% (§4.3 E2: 3.0000 points = 4pp × clamp((CAGR − 1.5%) / 2%, 0, 1); revenue CAGR 3.0% to FY2030; no cited expansion evidence)
- Bounded share approximation (not a reported period-end count): full added proxy vs zero extra shares lowers per-share value by 0.103377%, within the declared 0.1200% bound and 0.5% policy limit; includes WACC/dividend feedback. All 1.68986B NCI remains deducted; Canada NCI is not separately added back. Entire proxy exposure: 580006 / 590737475 = 0.09818338% of net Class A; denominator-only value reduction = 580006 / (590737475 + 580006) = 0.09808707%. The declared 0.12% cap also covers the full-engine WACC/dividend change, checked at publication. The 577325–580006 interval describes disclosed EPS averages only; it does not establish actual period-end units. The impact bound isolates the added-share approximation with full reported NCI fixed, not total company valuation uncertainty or a separately quantified Canada NCI book value.
- Bounded share approximation (not a reported period-end count): full added proxy vs zero extra shares lowers per-share value by 0.103377%, within the declared 0.1200% bound and 0.5% policy limit; includes WACC/dividend feedback. All 1.68986B NCI remains deducted; Canada NCI is not separately added back. Entire proxy exposure: 580006 / 590737475 = 0.09818338% of net Class A; denominator-only value reduction = 580006 / (590737475 + 580006) = 0.09808707%. The declared 0.12% cap also covers the full-engine WACC/dividend change, checked at publication. The 577325–580006 interval describes disclosed EPS averages only; it does not establish actual period-end units. The impact bound isolates the added-share approximation with full reported NCI fixed, not total company valuation uncertainty or a separately quantified Canada NCI book value.
Signal Ledger research built from cited consensus, company plans and peer economics because management sets no usable targets — not a forecast and not investment advice. The research desk (GPT-6.1 (Codex)) gathers filings, guidance and targets; deterministic code applies the samepublished rules to every company and checks the result. Inputs may contain errors; follow the source links before relying on them. Read our valuation methodology →