As of Thursday’s close, TCS was valued at $84.6 billion, around $7 billion higher than Accenture’s market capitalisation of $77.6 billion, according to Bloomberg data.
While the two IT services giants have swapped positions in market-value rankings several times over the years, this marks the first time TCS has surpassed Accenture since February 2021. Accenture’s market capitalisation peaked at $263 billion in December 2021, while TCS crossed the $200 billion mark a month later.
The sharp decline followed Accenture’s weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue guidance and a cut to the upper end of its full-year growth forecast. The company also reported a 2% decline in new bookings for the quarter ended May 31, raising concerns about demand visibility across the global IT services sector.
Accenture’s shares have now lost more than half their value since the start of the year. By comparison, TCS has seen its market capitalisation decline by about 30% over the same period.
Infosys ranks fourth among global IT services firms with a market capitalisation of $48.5 billion, followed by Japan’s Fujitsu at $36.3 billion. IBM remains the sector’s largest player by market value at around $231 billion, although its shares also fell about 7% on Thursday, wiping roughly $16 billion off its valuation in a single session.
Jefferies, which has a “Hold” rating on Accenture and a 12-month price target of $185, said the company’s consulting business underperformed expectations as clients appeared to pull back further on discretionary spending.
“The Q4 revenue outlook missed expectations, with the high end of full-year FY26 organic constant-currency revenue guidance lowered by 100 basis points to 3%-4% year-on-year, which is likely to disappoint investors,” the brokerage said.
The market reaction reverberated across the global technology services sector after Accenture warned that revenue growth could slow in the coming months as artificial intelligence reshapes parts of its business and client spending patterns.
Also Read: Infosys, Wipro ADRs fall up to 8% after Accenture guidance cut
Shares of IBM and Cognizant Technology Solutions fell nearly 7% each, reflecting broader concerns across the sector. US-listed shares of Infosys declined 6%, while Wipro ADRs fell 7.3%. European peers also came under pressure, with Capgemini dropping 11% and Sopra Steria losing 6.8%.
Other IT stocks that suffered steep declines included Globant, which fell 13%, EPAM Systems, which dropped 11%, and CGI, which lost more than 9% in Toronto trading.
The selloff suggests Indian IT stocks could remain under pressure as investors reassess the impact of artificial intelligence, discretionary spending trends and demand visibility across the outsourcing industry.
