Shares of information technology companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra tumbled up to 8% on Friday after Accenture lowered the upper end of its annual revenue growth forecast, reigniting concerns over weakness in discretionary technology spending.

TCS, India's largest IT company, dipped 5.4% to their day's low of Rs 2,083, while Infosys tumbled 8% to their day's low of Rs 1,041 on the BSE. Wipro shares were down over 4%, while HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra were down over 5% each. Nifty IT index tumbled 6%, the worst performing index on June 19. Overnight, Infosys ADRs fell 10%, while Wipro ADRs dropped nearly 4%.


Accenture Q3 results, guidance

The sell-off followed an 11% plunge in Accenture's shares after the consulting major revised its FY26 revenue growth guidance to 3%-4%, compared with its earlier outlook of 3%-5%. The company also projected fourth-quarter revenue of $17.75 billion-$18.4 billion, below Wall Street expectations of $18.47 billion, according to LSEG data.

For the third quarter, Accenture posted earnings per share of $3.80, compared with $3.49 in the same period last year, surpassing analyst expectations. Revenue increased 5.6% year-on-year to $18.7 billion, though it came in slightly below estimates of $18.76 billion.

Total bookings fell 1.9% to $19.32 billion during the quarter. A 15% decline in managed services bookings weighed on the overall figure, although this was partly offset by a 13% rise in consulting bookings.

Accenture also raised its full-year adjusted earnings per share forecast to $13.78-$13.90. The company left its operating cash flow and free cash flow guidance unchanged and continues to expect annual free cash flow in the range of $10.8 billion to $11.5 billion.

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What Accenture Q3 means

Accenture's softer outlook reinforces the view that enterprises remain cautious on discretionary spending related to IT consulting and digital transformation projects, even as investments in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity continue.

The development is closely watched by Indian IT firms, which generate a significant share of their revenue from North America and often compete with Accenture for large-scale digital transformation contracts.

Infosys has been stepping up its focus on artificial intelligence to counter pricing pressure in its traditional services business. The company has expanded its capabilities in AI engineering, data, and cloud through platforms such as Topaz and Cobalt, while also strengthening partnerships with OpenAI, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

Management has said the deployment of AI tools, including GitHub Copilot across more than 30,000 developers, is helping create new AI-led opportunities and offset productivity-driven pricing pressure.

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For FY27, Infosys has guided for constant currency revenue growth of 1.5%-3.5% and expects sequential growth to be supported by large deal wins and contributions from acquisitions. Even so, the stock has fallen about 31% this year amid concerns over slowing enterprise technology spending.

Wipro, meanwhile, continues to face a more challenging growth environment. Goldman Sachs recently said FY27 could become the company's fourth straight year of revenue decline and lowered its revenue and earnings estimates following quarterly results. The brokerage also noted that Wipro's management commentary carried a broadly neutral read-through for the broader Indian IT sector.

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