Infosys, Wipro ADRs slump up to 8% after Accenture cuts growth outlook

American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Indian IT majors Infosys and Wipro fell sharply in US trading on Thursday after Accenture lowered its annual revenue growth forecast and issued a weaker-than-expected outlook for the current quarter, triggering a broad selloff across global technology services stocks.

Infosys ADRs fell more than 8% during the session, while Wipro ADRs declined nearly 6%, indicating investor concerns that slowing discretionary technology spending could weigh on demand across the IT services sector.

The weakness followed Accenture's fiscal third-quarter earnings announcement, where the consulting and outsourcing giant narrowed the upper end of its fiscal 2026 revenue growth guidance. The company now expects annual revenue growth of 3% to 4% in constant currency terms, compared with its earlier forecast of 3% to 5%. Excluding the impact of its US federal business, Accenture now expects growth of 4% to 5%, down from its previous outlook of 4% to 6%.

Q4 outlook disappoints Street

Adding to investor concerns, Accenture projected fourth-quarter revenue of $17.75 billion to $18.40 billion, below analysts' expectations of about $18.47 billion. Accenture shares plunged over 17%, making it one of the worst performers in the US technology services space.

The selloff spread across global IT services companies, with Cognizant falling more than 10%, while European peers Capgemini and Sopra Steria declined by as much as 11% and 6%, respectively, as investors reassessed demand trends in consulting and outsourcing services.

For the third quarter ended May 31, Accenture reported revenue of $18.7 billion and earnings per share of $3.80. Total bookings stood at $19.3 billion, down from $19.7 billion a year ago. While consulting bookings rose to $10.26 billion from $9.08 billion, managed services bookings declined to $9.06 billion from $10.62 billion.

AI demand remains strong, but investors focus on slowdown signals

Despite the softer outlook, Accenture maintained that demand for large-scale business transformation and artificial intelligence projects remains healthy.

Chief executive officer Julie Sweet said the company had recorded 104 client bookings worth more than $100 million year-to-date, up 13% from a year earlier, while continuing to see increasing demand for large-scale AI transformation programmes.

However, investors focused on signs of caution in enterprise technology spending and the decline in managed services bookings, which are often viewed as an indicator of broader outsourcing demand trends. Analysts said the guidance cut could weigh on sentiment toward Indian IT companies, including Infosys, TCS, HCLTech, Wipro and Tech Mahindra, when domestic markets open on Friday.

Accenture's quarterly results are closely tracked by investors in Indian IT services companies because of its global client base and exposure to technology, consulting and outsourcing spending trends.