Accenture rallies after earnings beat, heads for best day ever

Shares of Accenture surged Thursday after the company's fiscal fourth-quarter results beat estimates.The consulting giant reported earnings per share of $3.29 on revenue of $18.68 billion. That exceeded LSEG consensus estimates of $3.18 earnings per share and revenue of $18.03 billion. The stock surged more than 22% at one point, which put it on pace for its biggest one-day gain ever, FactSet data shows. In an exclusive interview on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street," Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said AI has served as a key growth driver for the business as it accumulates partners in key AI sectors such as data centers and capital infrastructure."We've just finished the year with $85 billion of new business going into next year, and that is driven by our growth strategy to focus on big transformational deals and making sure we're the winner in AI and data," Sweet told CNBC."We're investing now to not only be the partner for companies who are going to scale across the enterprise, but also to be relevant to all parts of things that have to enable the use of AI."Full year adjusted earnings for fiscal 2026 amounted to $13.97 per share, up 8% year on year, while revenue totaled $74.2 billion, m...