(News Bulletin 247) – The digital services company posted the biggest drop in the CAC 40 this Thursday, penalized by its American comparable Accenture which lowered its sales forecast for 2024.

For several quarters, several groups in the digital services sector have been experiencing a decline in demand from their customers, which is curbing their IT spending.

This is the case of the American giant Accenture which reduced its turnover forecast for the 2023-2024 financial year, which will be completed at the end of August, citing an “uncertain macroeconomic environment”. The IT services provider now expects revenue growth of between 1% and 3% at constant exchange rates compared to a previous forecast of 2% to 5%.

The American consulting giant also announces that it expects adjusted earnings per share of between $11.97 and $12.2 compared to a previous range of $11.97 to $12.32.

This revision comes as the company revealed sales lower than market forecasts at the end of its second quarter ended at the end of February. Accenture reported revenue of $15.80 billion, where the LSEG Refinitiv consensus expected sales of $15.84 billion.

For the third quarter, the revenue outlook disappoints the markets. Accenture expects revenue of between $16.25 billion and $16.85 billion, which is also below analysts’ expectations of $17.01 billion.

On Wall Street, this income warning does not please the market, which does not fail to sanction this blunder. Accenture shares plunged 8.5%, dragging its French counterpart Capgemini in its wake.

Rising for a good part of the morning, Capgemini shares suddenly fell after the announcement of Accenture’s results warning. The red lantern of the CAC 40, the stock was down 3.2% around 4:40 p.m.

A year 2025 more dynamic than 2024

The French digital services company therefore suffers from unfavorable cross-reading on the Paris Stock Exchange. But unlike Accenture, Capgemini was reassuring about its prospects when it published its annual accounts last February.

Its manager, Aiman ​​Ezzat, then declared that the group would experience a trough in its activity in the first quarter of 2024, before a “gradual” improvement from the second quarter to reach an “exit rate” – that is to say the latest growth rate over a period – “robust” in the fourth quarter of 2024. This will help prepare activity for a rebound in 2025, he added.

He was also reassuring about activity in North America, a very sensitive area where demand for Capgemini’s services experienced a major slowdown at the end of the 2023 financial year.

“It’s starting to become a little more positive. I’m not saying that the first quarter will mark an improvement but we are seeing more positive signals in the decision cycle (from customers, Editor’s note) in the pipeline (orders, Editor’s note). We we expect an improvement in the second quarter then an acceleration in the second half,” said Aiman ​​Ezzat. “We are really reaching the trough of the slowdown in the United States,” added the general manager.