New York, Feb 14, 2026, 14:50 EST — Market closed.
- Accenture ended Friday’s session with a 0.98% gain, finishing at $224.23. 1
- U.S. stock markets are shut Monday for Presidents Day—they’ll resume trading Tuesday. 2
- Accenture put its next earnings call on the calendar for March 19. 3
Accenture ended Friday’s session at $224.23, tacking on about 1%. Volume landed near 7.6 million shares. 4
The stock’s caught up in what’s being called an “AI scare trade,” hammering segments investors worry could take a hit from automation. “Sell first think later”—that’s how Barclays equity strategist Emmanuel Cau summed up the sentiment, with folks scrambling to guess “who is next.” 5
Looking at the next few days, traders are tuned in to two major events: the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes coming up on Feb. 18, and the PCE price index set for Feb. 20—widely seen as the central bank’s favored inflation metric. 6
Accenture shares ended Thursday down 3.64% at $222.05, faring a bit better than rivals as the market slumped. IBM lost 4.87%, Cognizant tumbled 7.16%. Trading in Accenture spiked, with volume reaching 9.6 million shares—well above usual levels, according to MarketWatch. 7
Markets wound down Friday with the S&P 500 making only a slight move up after the latest inflation report. The Nasdaq slipped, weighed down by big tech. “Large cap tech stocks continue to be an anchor on the market,” said Michael James, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities. 8
The previous day’s slide was triggered by a larger exodus from tech and other risk-heavy sectors, as jitters over AI’s impact rattled investors, according to Reuters. “We see this as a ‘prove it’ year for AI,” said Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at GuideStone Funds. 9
Accenture clawed back some ground on Friday, but shares remain roughly 5.3% below where they ended Monday, using closing prices for the week. Trading’s been choppy: the stock hit $215.16 at Thursday’s low, then slipped to $220.91 at Friday’s intraday trough. 10
Accenture’s most recent quarterly payout landed Friday. The company had earlier announced a $1.63 per share dividend, set for Feb. 13, for investors holding shares as of Jan. 13. 11
EPAM Systems ticked up roughly 2% Friday, with IBM not far behind, posting a 1% gain. Investors, it seems, weren’t rushing to offload all their IT services stocks at once. 12
Still, rates aren’t off the worry list. Reuters noted that while January’s U.S. consumer prices came in softer than forecasts, services held steady. Edward Jones economist James McCann called inflation “a little too hot for comfort.” 13
Accenture’s second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call is coming up March 19, set for 8:00 a.m. EST. Bookings will get attention, but so will any comments from management about demand for AI-driven projects and where pricing stands. 14
