Accenture sees highest-ever quarterly drop in headcount, as numbers fall by ...; America's contributed largest to total revenue

Accenture, a global IT services and consulting giant with a significant workforce in India, reported an 8% year-on-year revenue increase to $7.7 billion for its March-May 2025 quarter, driven by strong demand for AI-related services. The Ireland-based company, which operates on a September-August fiscal calendar, noted a positive 0.5% foreign exchange impact on its quarterly revenues.

The company raised the lower end of its full-year revenue growth forecast to 6-7% in local currency, up from 5-7%, reflecting confidence in its performance. However, challenges persisted, with gross margin dipping to 32.9% from 33.4% a year earlier and a record quarterly headcount reduction of 10,337, bringing its global workforce to approximately 790,000. Despite a $2.15 billion year-on-year increase in generative AI (GenAI) bookings for the first nine months of FY25, overall bookings fell by $1.75 billion compared to the same period in FY24.

What Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said on earnings
Accenture continues to invest heavily in AI, growing its data and AI workforce to 75,000 and targeting 80,000 by the end of FY26. “We are a leader in GenAI, achieving another milestone quarter with $1.5 billion in bookings and over $700 million in revenues,” said Chair and CEO Julie Sweet during the earnings call. She highlighted total GenAI bookings of $4.1 billion and revenues of $1.8 billion for the year to date.

Americas contributed the largest share of the total revenue
The Americas led regional performance, contributing $8.97 billion to total revenue, followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) with $6.23 billion, and Asia-Pacific with $2.53 billion. New bookings for the quarter totaled $19.7 billion, down 6% in U.S. dollars, with $9.08 billion from consulting services and $10.62 billion from managed services.

Accenture’s cash balance stood at $9.6 billion at the end of third quarter. Looking ahead, the company projects Q4 FY25 revenues between $17 billion and $17.6 billion, signaling optimism for continued growth. “We remain focused on being our clients’ reinvention partner of choice, as evidenced by $19.7 billion in bookings, including 30 clients with quarterly bookings exceeding $100 million,” Sweet added, emphasizing Accenture’s leadership in large-scale transformations.