(Reuters) – IT services provider Accenture announced a $4.0 billion share buyback program on Thursday and reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue on demand from companies looking to implement generative artificial intelligence technology.
The company’s shares rose nearly 7% in pre-market trading.
According to data from LSEG, the Dublin-based company reported fourth-quarter revenue of $16.41 billion, while analysts had expected $16.38 billion.
The company’s generative AI business, which helped offset declining demand for IT services, continued to grow for the fourth consecutive quarter.
Accenture’s new bookings, a key measure of the value of client contracts with spending commitments, rose to $20.1 billion in the fourth quarter from $17.25 billion in the third quarter.
Generative AI bookings contributed $1 billion to the company’s new bookings, compared to $900 million in the previous quarter.
(Reporting by Rishi Kant in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman and Tasim Zahid)
