Accenture shares dropped nearly 14% in premarket trading on Thursday after the consulting giant unveiled cybersecurity acquisitions worth $4.18 billion and issued a softer revenue outlook that fell short of market expectations.
The company trimmed its full-year revenue growth guidance to 3%–4%, down from the previously projected 3%–5% range. For the fourth quarter, Accenture expects revenue of between $17.75 billion and $18.4 billion, below analysts’ consensus estimate of $18.47 billion, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
Accenture is buying three cybersecurity companies, including Dragos, an industrial cybersecurity company, runZero, an asset intelligence company, and NetRise, a company that focuses on device security.
The acquisitions are expected to expand Accenture’s cybersecurity business, which now generates about $10 billion in annual revenue, as per the official press release by Accenture. The three companies together are expected to add about $208 million in annual recurring revenue, as per Reuters report.
Accenture sees cybersecurity as a major growth area despite slower demand in some other consulting businesses. The company expects the OT cybersecurity software market to grow at roughly 16% annually, reaching nearly $59 billion by 2031.
