Accenture and Wolters Kluwer benefit massively from cheaper AI tokens and margin gains as they deploy AI. Their knowledge costs rank among the highest relative to COGS, but regulatory capture, reputation and sticky customers keep revenue broadly intact. Neither shows clear signs of slowing growth; Accenture guided to high-single-digit revenue growth from 2029. Despite enormous terminal-value compression, an unwinding AI-infrastructure trade could bring a sizeable rerating if fundamentals hold. … Show more

Accenture looks overdone after its post-earnings plunge, with a dividend yield above 5% and a forward P/E in the low 10s, near March 2020 pandemic-low prices. It booked 104 deals of $100 million-plus this year, up 13%, raised its dividend 10% and is buying Dragos, runZero and NetRise to expand in cybersecurity. Yet this is not a growth stock: revenue missed, bookings fell 2%, guidance was cut, the Middle East cost $400 million, and agentic AI threatens consulting. It could fall further. x.com 

Accenture's rising acquisition spending raises concern about shareholder value as its return on invested capital falls. ROIC dropped from about 113% to 25% while debt tripled in two years to $13.4 billion, exceeding cash for the first time. Revenue grew 6% and operating margin held near 15-16%; 25% is still a very good return and net debt is close to zero. AI's potential to reshape consulting remains a worry. x.com 

Alphabet's businesses beyond search are why it will lead the real AI boom. Google Cloud, DeepMind and Waymo broaden its reach, and its $900 million SpaceX investment is now worth $85 billion. Fear emerging as the shares fall is an opportunity; a decline toward the buy zone is welcome, even as Q3 capex has taken a large hit out of free cash flow. x.com  x.com  x.com  x.com 

Accenture looks set to rebound after shares fell 18–20% on guidance cuts tied to AI eating into consulting demand. AI bookings have since hit records, and it announced a $2B buyback plus a mid-market pivot to reignite growth. Holding above $134.70 should start filling the gap above, with targets of $155.82, $169.76 and $181.94. x.com 

Accenture's surge on claims that AI is helping the business overlooks how hard it was straining for revenue. Just a few months ago it effectively asked employees to defer vacation so they could bill more hours in Q4 and pull revenue forward. x.com 

AI hyperscalers' heavy bond issuance can crowd out the corporate AI spending they depend on. After hyperscalers flooded the bond market all summer, a company rolling its Covid-era debt 5% higher has less left for an AI budget. And if every valuation and megatech management guide rests on commitments from Anthropic and OpenAI, they rest on unaudited financials never reported to the SEC. x.com  x.com 

Workday looks undervalued, with multiple valuation models putting intrinsic value near $165, a 15-16% discount, despite fears that AI will disrupt SaaS and weak enterprise software guidance from IBM. Its AI agents run at enterprise scale for over 4,000 clients, its 12-month subscription backlog grew more than 15%, and non-GAAP operating margin widened to 31.8% as management raised full-year profit guidance. x.com 

Accenture's headcount-based consulting model is being cannibalized by AI pure-plays, and it is hard to win in AI when the entire model is selling human labor. Bookings of $19.3B came in below last year's $19.7B, and the stock is making new 52-week lows. Headcount reductions look inevitable across the industry. x.com 

IBM trades at an AI premium with no real AI growth behind it. The company forecast only 1% growth yet more than doubled from $150 to over $320 on AI hype, while its AI business is effectively non-existent. Its Q2 earnings warning came from consulting and infrastructure, not software, and the stock has fallen back to its May level around $220. x.com  x.com  x.com