RESEARCH REPORT
Value from every angle
2024 Letter to Shareholders
5-MINUTE READ
October 10, 2024
RESEARCH REPORT
2024 Letter to Shareholders
5-MINUTE READ
October 10, 2024
Our successful strategy to lead reinvention for clients, continued investments in our business, and the talent, dedication and commitment of our 774,000 people allowed us to achieve profitable growth and create 360° value for all our stakeholders.
Julie Sweet / Chair and Chief Executive Officer
The success of our strategy to be the reinvention partner of our clients is reflected in our fiscal 2024 results, including record bookings, earnings growth, margin expansion and significant cash to shareholders, allowing us to deliver 360° value for all our stakeholders.
Revenues
$64.9B
An increase of 2% in local currency and 1% in U.S. dollars
New bookings
$81.2B
A 14% increase in local currency and 13% increase in U.S. dollars, with a book-to-bill of 1.3
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE (ADJUSTED)
$11.95
A 2% increase, after adjusting FY24 GAAP EPS of $11.44 to exclude business optimization costs of $0.51 per share and FY23 GAAP EPS of $10.77 to exclude business optimization costs of $1.28 per share and an investment gain of $0.38 per share. On a GAAP basis, FY24 EPS increased 6%
OPERATING MARGIN (ADJUSTED)
15.5%
An increase of 10 basis points, after adjusting FY24 GAAP operating margin of 14.8% and FY23 GAAP operating margin of 13.7% to exclude business optimization costs of 70 bps and 170 bps, respectively. On a GAAP basis FY24 operating margin increased 110 bps
FREE CASH FLOW
$8.6B
Defined as operating cash flow of $9.1 billion net of property and equipment additions of $517 million
CASH RETURNED TO SHAREHOLDERS
$7.8B
Defined as share repurchases of $4.5 billion plus cash dividends of $3.2 billion
For 12 months ended August 31, 2024
$6.6B
Deployed across 46 strategic acquisitions to scale our business in high-growth areas, add skills and capabilities in new areas and deepen our industry and functional expertise
$1.2B
Invested in research and development in our assets, platforms and industry and functional solutions
$1.1B
Invested in learning and professional development of our people
97,000
We celebrated approximately 97,000 promotions, demonstrating our continued commitment to creating vibrant careers and opportunities for our people
48%
We are 48% women compared to our goal of 50% by 2025
44M
Delivered approximately 44 million training hours with our digital learning platform
22
Consecutive years on the Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies list and 11th consecutive year as No. 1 in IT services
70%+
Accenture is recognized as a top 10 place to work in 11 countries, representing more than 70% of our people
No. 1
on the FTSE (formerly Refinitiv) Diversity and Inclusion Index for the 5th time in 7 years, marking 9 consecutive years on list
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Accenture | $100 | $123 | $175 | $152 | $173 | $186 |
S&P 500 Index | $100 | $122 | $160 | $142 | $165 | $209 |
S&P 500 IT Sector Index | $100 | $158 | $204 | $175 | $234 | $324 |
Accenture Song ranked No. 2 among the world's biggest agency companies, marking 9 consecutive years on list
Among the top companies for 9 consecutive years; Hall of Fame member since 2020
“Champions of Inclusion” for 6 consecutive years
No. 1 for the 6th consecutive year with a brand value of $40.5B
Top winner for 9 consecutive years; recognized this year for DEI, Future of Work, HR, Leadership Development, Learning & Development, Sales Performance, Talent Acquisition and Talent Management
Recognized for the first time
Accenture plc Class A ordinary shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ACN.
Our website address is accenture.com. We use our website as a channel of distribution for company information. We make available free of charge on the Investor Relations section of our website (investor. accenture.com) our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). We also make available through our website other reports filed with or furnished to the SEC under the Exchange Act, including our proxy statements and reports filed by officers and directors under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, as well as our Code of Business Ethics. Financial and other material information regarding Accenture is routinely posted on and accessible at investor.accenture.com. We do not intend for information contained in this letter or on our website to be part of the Annual Report on Form 10-K. This letter and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2024 (including the sections of our definitive proxy statement relating to our 2025 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders incorporated by reference), together constitute Accenture’s annual report to security holders for purposes of Rule 14a-3(b) of the Exchange Act.
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We have included in this letter “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act relating to our operations, results of operations and other matters that are based on our current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections. Words such as “will,” “plan,” “believe,” "expect," "goal" and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in these forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that might cause such differences, some of which could be material, include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q (available through the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.accenture.com) under the sections entitled “Risk Factors.” Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this letter or as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update them, notwithstanding any historical practice of doing so. Forward-looking and other statements in this document may also address our corporate responsibility progress, plans and goals (including environmental matters), and the inclusion of such statements is not an indication that these contents are necessarily material to investors or required to be disclosed in the Company’s filings with the SEC. In addition, historical, current and forward-looking sustainability-related statements may be based on standards for measuring progress that are still developing, internal controls and processes that continue to evolve, and assumptions that are subject to change in the future.
This letter contains certain non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measures that our management believes provide our shareholders with additional insights into Accenture’s results of operations. The non-GAAP measures in this letter are supplemental in nature. They should not be considered in isolation or as alternatives to net income as indicators of company performance, to cash flows from operating activities as measures of liquidity, or to other financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of this non-GAAP financial information to Accenture’s financial statements as prepared under GAAP are included in this report.
All amounts throughout this letter are stated in U.S. dollars, except where noted.