Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Accenture (ACN -1.26%) have plunged today by as much as 14% after the company reported fiscal third quarter earnings.
So what: Revenue in the quarter totaled $7.2 billion, with earnings per share of $1.14. Sales were short of the $7.4 billion consensus estimate, although Accenture beat the bottom-line forecast of $1.13 per share. The company said consulting revenues were below internal expectations.
Now what: Accenture also reduced its fiscal 2013 outlook, and now expects revenue growth this year to be 3% to 4%. That's down from the prior forecast of 5% to 8% growth. The company also expects the negative impact of foreign exchange fluctuations to be greater. Raymond James and UBS both downgraded shares following the results.
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