EPAM, Gartner, and Accenture Shares Plummet Amid Fed Rate Decision
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 22 hours ago
0mins
Source: Yahoo Finance
- Fed Rate Decision Impact: The Federal Reserve's decision to maintain the benchmark rate at 3.5%-3.75% led to significant stock declines for IT service companies, with EPAM, Gartner, and Accenture falling 4.9%, 4%, and 4.2% respectively, indicating market concerns over future financing conditions that may tighten IT budgets.
- IT Spending Contraction Trend: As the rate outlook hardens, CFOs are pressured to tighten IT budgets, with discretionary IT spending typically being one of the first areas to face cuts, which could negatively impact IT service firms reliant on multi-year contracts.
- EPAM Stock Volatility Analysis: EPAM's shares have experienced 18 moves greater than 5% in the past year, and while today's drop is notable, it suggests that the market does not fundamentally alter its perception of the company's business, reflecting ongoing investor confidence.
- Stock Buyback Plan Signal: EPAM's board has authorized a stock repurchase program of up to $1 billion over the next 24 months, a move seen as a sign of management's confidence in the company's financial health and future prospects, despite a 55.6% decline in stock price since the beginning of the year.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy ACN?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on ACN
Wall Street analysts forecast ACN stock price to rise
16 Analyst Rating
11 Buy
5 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 156.010
Low
265.00
Averages
299.21
High
330.00
Current: 156.010
Low
265.00
Averages
299.21
High
330.00
About ACN
Accenture plc is a global professional services company. It is engaged in providing a range of services and solutions across strategy and consulting, technology, operations, Industry X and Song. It serves clients and manages its business through three geographic markets: Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and Asia Pacific. It operates business processes on behalf of clients for specific enterprise functions, including finance and accounting, sourcing and procurement, supply chain, marketing and sales, and human resources, as well as industry-specific services, such as platform trust and safety, banking, insurance, network and health services. Its services include Cloud consulting services, customer services, cybersecurity consulting, data and artificial intelligence, digital engineering and manufacturing, managed services, metaverse solutions, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Finance consulting, Supply chain consulting, and others.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
- Revenue Growth: Accenture reported Q3 revenue of $18.7 billion, reflecting a 6% increase year-over-year in U.S. dollars and a 3% increase in local currency, demonstrating strong market performance despite macroeconomic uncertainties.
- Profitability Improvement: Operating margin expanded by 20 basis points to 17%, with earnings per share (EPS) growing by 9% to $3.80, indicating significant progress in cost control and efficiency improvements, which enhances investor confidence.
- Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns: The company generated free cash flow of $3.6 billion and returned $2.2 billion to shareholders through the repurchase of 6 million shares and a dividend of $1.63 per share, reflecting a strong commitment to shareholders and financial health.
- Market Expansion Strategy: Accenture is entering the $240 billion mid-market segment and expanding its total addressable market through acquisitions in OT cybersecurity, which is expected to significantly enhance future growth potential, despite facing a $100 million revenue impact from the Middle East conflict.
See More
- Acquisition Scale: Accenture has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Dragos and 100% of runZero and NetRise for approximately $4.175 billion in enterprise value, with the transaction expected to close in August or September 2026, further solidifying its leadership in cybersecurity.
- Market Expansion Potential: This acquisition will expand Accenture's service capabilities in the OT cybersecurity market from $7 billion to an estimated $59 billion overall market by 2031, demonstrating its strategic positioning in the rapidly growing cybersecurity sector.
- Revenue Growth Expectations: Dragos, runZero, and NetRise are projected to generate approximately $208 million in annual recurring revenue by June 2026, representing a 53% year-over-year growth, providing robust support for Accenture's long-term growth and shareholder value creation.
- Technological Integration Advantage: By integrating Dragos' OT threat detection platform with runZero and NetRise's asset intelligence and software supply chain security capabilities, Accenture will deliver a unified solution that enhances visibility and threat response capabilities, addressing the increasingly complex cybersecurity demands.
See More
- Market Rebound: Following Wednesday's hawkish Fed surprise, the S&P 500 rose by 1% on Thursday, bouncing back from a 1.2% decline, indicating a renewed optimism about the economic outlook.
- Tech Sector Surge: Driven by bullish semiconductor news, the Nasdaq Composite increased by 1.5%, with Intel's stock soaring 10.4%, reflecting heightened investor confidence in American chip manufacturing.
- Geopolitical Impact: President Trump signed an interim peace deal with Iran, reopening the Strait of Hormuz for 12.5 million barrels of oil to pass safely over the next 60 days, although this has put downward pressure on oil prices.
- Divergent Stock Performances: While Caterpillar's 3.3% gain contributed 192 points to the Dow, IBM's 5% drop weighed on overall performance, highlighting the mixed reactions across different sectors in the market.
See More
- Iran Peace Agreement: President Trump signed an interim peace deal at the Palace of Versailles, reopening the Strait of Hormuz for 12.5 million barrels of oil to pass safely over the next 60 days, although sanctions remain in place, which could lead to increased global supply and impact oil prices and market sentiment.
- Tech Stock Surge: Trump's social media announcement of a partnership between Apple and Intel to build chips in America, despite lacking corporate confirmation, resulted in Intel's stock jumping 10.4%, boosting the entire semiconductor sector and reflecting market optimism towards tech collaborations.
- Market Volatility: The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5%, but SpaceX's stock fell 9.9%, dragging down the Nasdaq-100 index, indicating volatility and uncertainty among new market entrants, prompting investors to stay alert to market dynamics.
- Macroeconomic Impact: The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained only 0.4%, highlighting pressure on traditional sectors like IBM amidst a strong rebound in tech stocks, reflecting market differentiation in sector performance and investor focus.
See More
- Nvidia Trading Performance: On Thursday, Nvidia traded over 73.9 million shares, with a price increase of about 2.2%, indicating investor confidence in its future growth, which may enhance its weighting in the tech ETF.
- Nokia Price Fluctuation: Nokia's stock price fell approximately 1.6% on a volume exceeding 55.9 million shares, reflecting market concerns over its recent performance, which could impact its standing within the ETF.
- Sandisk Strong Rebound: Sandisk surged by about 11.1% on Thursday, becoming the best-performing component, showcasing strong market confidence in its product demand, potentially attracting more investor interest.
- Accenture Weak Performance: Accenture's stock dropped around 17.2%, underperforming in the SP Funds S&P Global Technology ETF, which may lead investors to reassess its future growth potential.
See More
- Market Rebound: The signing of a preliminary deal by President Trump to end the US-Iran war has driven crude oil prices to a 3.5-month low, resulting in a broad market rally with the S&P 500 up 0.99% and the Nasdaq 100 up 2.16%, indicating a resurgence in risk appetite among investors.
- Chip Stocks Lead Gains: Intel shares surged 7% after Trump announced a partnership with Apple to design and produce semiconductors domestically, propelling the entire semiconductor sector higher, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF rising over 5%, reflecting strong investor confidence in tech stocks.
- Energy Stocks Under Pressure: Crude oil prices fell more than 3%, putting pressure on energy producers, with major companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron experiencing declines, highlighting market concerns regarding the energy sector's outlook amid falling oil prices.
- Supportive Economic Data: Initial jobless claims in the US fell to 226,000, close to the expected 225,000, indicating labor market resilience, while the Philadelphia Fed business outlook index rose to 10.3, exceeding expectations, further bolstering market optimism.
See More











