Accenture CEO Flags Gap Between AI Talk and Action
In earnings call, Julie Sweet says boardroom enthusiasm has raced ahead of companies’ ability to modernize systems and organizations needed to make AI pay off.
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AI has captured the attention of CEOs and boards faster than any technology in decades, but most companies are struggling to turn that enthusiasm into results as their systems and organizations aren’t ready, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said on last week’s earnings call.
“It is well recognized that advanced AI has taken the mindshare of CEOs, the C-suite and boards faster than any technology development we’ve seen in the past two decades. At the same time, as reported widely, value realization has been underwhelming for many and enterprise adoption at scale is slow other than with digital natives,” Sweet said.
She added that the gap comes from the “enterprise reinvention” required to unlock value from AI, which carries significant cost, and that there is a “huge difference” between easy consumer use of AI and deploying it inside large companies.
Accenture reported fourth-quarter revenue of $17.6 billion, up 7%, and new bookings of $21.3 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) was $3.03. For the full year, revenue rose 7% to $69.7 billion and free cash flow reached $10.9 billion.
Sweet said Accenture’s early push into AI is paying off. The company tripled advanced AI revenue to $2.7 billion in fiscal 2025 and nearly doubled advanced AI bookings to $5.9 billion, figures that exclude broader data and “classical AI” work.
Accenture’s fiscal year runs from 1 September to 31 August.
CFO Angie Park outlined a six-month business optimization program totaling about $865 million, including a $615 million charge in the August quarter and about $250 million expected in the November quarter, tied to rapid talent rotation and two divestitures. The company said savings will be reinvested in people and the business.
Guidance was steady. For fiscal 2026 Accenture forecast revenue growth of 2% to 5% in local currency, or 3% to 6% excluding the expected drag from its US federal business, adjusted operating margin of 15.7% to 15.9%, and adjusted EPS of $13.52 to $13.90. The company plans to return at least $9.3 billion via dividends and buybacks, and its board approved a quarterly dividend of $1.63 per share.
Sweet said clients are asking Accenture to help them get “AI ready” by modernizing cloud, ERP and security, cleaning and organizing data, and retraining teams.
She argued AI will be expansionary rather than deflationary because efficiency gains are being reinvested in new priorities.
“Almost every CEO that I’ve talked to says they pivoted way too far toward productivity and not enough to growth,” she said.
Accenture also emphasized its ecosystem strength, saying 60% of revenue comes through top technology partners and grew 9% last year, and highlighted record large-deal momentum with $80.6 billion in total bookings and 129 clients with quarterly bookings over $100 million.
Sweet’s bottom line was blunt. The opportunity sits at the intersection of business strategy and “tech and org readiness,” and most companies lag on the latter. Until those foundations are fixed, AI talk at the top will keep outrunning adoption on the ground.
