Accenture’s earnings shock sends Indian IT stocks tumbling

DUBLIN, IRELAND — The recent 6% drop in new bookings from global consulting firm Accenture sent shockwaves through Indian markets, with shares of Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), HCL Technologies, and Wipro falling by up to 2.5%. The decrease reveals just how tightly linked these tech powerhouses are.

Earnings set the tone for India’s IT sector

Mint reports that the revenue by vertical, along with guidance from Accenture, are the metrics that analysts use to make predictions about the demand of Indian IT firms, especially on the North American and European markets.

The relationship stems from commonalities in clients, particularly in the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) segment, which contributes 30% to 40% of the revenue of both Accenture and Indian IT giants. 

The fact that Accenture reports the earnings ahead of its Indian rivals by weeks means that its performance sometimes determines what investors expect of the industry. 

Scale, margins, and AI divide Accenture and Indian IT firms

Despite their interconnectedness, Accenture and Indian IT companies operate on vastly different scales. The consulting giant posted $17.7 billion in revenue last quarter—more than double that of TCS’s $7.5 billion and nearly quadruple Infosys’ $4.7 billion. 

This size advantage enables Accenture to dominate large transformation deals, with 92 contracts exceeding $100 million in fiscal year 2025, whereas Indian firms often label $30 million deals as “large.” 

Consulting drives over half of Accenture’s revenue, whereas Indian players still lean on managed services and cost-efficiency contracts.

Among Indian companies, TCS and Infosys have operating margins of 21% to 26%, which surpass those of Accenture, with margins of 16% to 17%, due to their offshore-based workforces. 

AI has become one of the primary arenas of the struggle; despite this, Accenture has already won $4.1 billion in GenAI bookings in the current financial year. 

TCS and Infosys are rushing to roll out solutions such as WisdomNext and Topaz. These differences may be more significant than quarterly profit comparisons, as AI is thriving in the industry.

Accenture was recently ranked #2 in the OA500 2025, an objective index of the world’s top 500 outsourcing companies, while TCS, Infosys, HCL Technologies, and Topaz ranked #8, #11, #12, and #446, respectively.