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What: Shares of consulting giant Accenture (NYSE: ACN) were climbing today, gaining more than 10% in intraday trading after the company announced better-than-expected earnings.

So what: For its fiscal first quarter, Accenture announced revenue that was up 12% from last year and earnings per share that jumped 20%. Revenue of $6.05 billion topped the average analyst projection of $5.75 billion, while EPS of $0.81 breezed past the expected $0.75. Accenture CEO William Green noted that corporate clients have been boosting their spending, hoping to position themselves for an economic recovery. He also pointed out that business from its public-sector clients doesn't seem to be falling off.

Now what: As always, beating current-quarter estimates is great, but if a company really wants to put smiles on its shareholders' faces, it needs to share some optimism about the future. So Accenture augmented the strong first quarter earnings by offering projected second-quarter revenue that -- at the midpoint of the range -- was above what analysts were projecting. It also boosted its full-year earnings per share range to $3.08 to $3.16.

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