Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN)

The financial ratios over the observed periods reveal several notable trends and shifts in valuation multiples for the company.

Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio starts to be available from May 2020, initially at 28.32. It then experiences a generally increasing trend, peaking around November 2021 at 40.88. After this peak, it declines steadily, reaching 19.47 by August 2025. This trajectory suggests that investor expectations regarding earnings growth were initially high but moderated in later periods, possibly reflecting changing market conditions or company performance.

Price to Operating Profit (P/OP) Ratio

The P/OP ratio follows a pattern similar to the P/E ratio, with initial values around 22.21 in May 2020, rising to a peak of 31.03 in November 2021. Subsequently, it trends downward, declining to approximately 14.62 by August 2025. This decline indicates a reduction in the market premium placed on operating profits over time, which could reflect shifts in operational efficiency or market sentiment.

Price to Sales (P/S) Ratio

Initially at 3.26 in May 2020, the P/S ratio rises to a high of 4.72 in November 2021. Following this peak, the ratio decreases, ending near 2.15 by August 2025. The fluctuation in P/S ratio points to varying valuation levels relative to revenue, with a notable surge in market optimism up to late 2021 before more conservative valuations prevail thereafter.

Price to Book Value (P/BV) Ratio

Contrasting with other ratios, the P/BV ratio is available from November 2019 and shows some volatility. It begins at 8.73, dips to a low of 6.53 in February 2020, then climbs to a peak of 12.45 by November 2021. After this, it declines gradually to 4.79 by August 2025. This trend indicates changing investor perceptions of the company's net asset value, with a notable decrease in the valuation premium over book value in the later periods.

Overall, the financial ratios demonstrate a strong appreciation in the company's valuation multiples up to late 2021, followed by a consistent decline through to mid-2025. This pattern suggests a peak in investor confidence around 2021, after which the valuations adjusted downward, possibly in response to broader economic factors, company-specific performance issues, or sector-wide developments.

Share Price

The share price exhibited notable volatility over the analyzed period. Initially, there was a decline from $208.3 to $158.5, followed by a steady increase reaching a peak of $400.6 around November 2021. After this peak, the price fell to approximately $250 by August 2022, then showed a moderate rebound to highs around $345 in early 2024. The last observed period saw a decrease to about $241. Overall, the trend reveals a period of growth interrupted by significant corrections, reflecting market fluctuations and potential external factors impacting investor sentiment.

Earnings per Share (EPS)

EPS data begins from May 2020. From that point, EPS showed consistent growth from 8.06 to a peak of approximately 12.76 by May 2025, with some minor fluctuations. The general trajectory reflects a steady improvement in profitability, signifying effective operational performance over the time span. Periodic slight declines suggest occasional operational challenges or strategic investments but do not detract from the overall upward trend.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio

The P/E ratio displayed variability, initially increasing from around 28 to a high near 40.88 in early 2022, followed by a decline to the low twenties by mid-2025. This decline in P/E ratio, despite growing EPS, indicates a relative decrease in market valuation of earnings, potentially due to market corrections or changing investor expectations about future growth. The fluctuating P/E suggests investor reassessment of valuation in response to shifting market conditions.

Summary

The financial indicators reveal a company with steadily increasing earnings per share, supported by generally rising but volatile share prices. The elevated P/E ratios in early periods point to strong market optimism, which later moderates. The share price movements and P/E trends imply sensitivity to broader market influences, while the consistent EPS rise indicates underlying business strength and profitability growth over the medium term.

The share price exhibits notable volatility across the observed periods, with an initial value around $208.3 and a significant dip to approximately $158.5 before rising to a peak near $400.6. Following this peak, the price declines again to near $240.94 towards the end of the timeline. The fluctuations indicate phases of both bullish momentum and corrections, reflecting changes in market sentiment or company performance expectations.

The operating profit per share (OPPS) begins at $10.27 during the initial recorded period and demonstrates a general upward trend, reaching a high of approximately $16.9 in the middle of the latter periods. After peaking, it experiences mild fluctuations but overall maintains a higher level compared to its early values. This increase signifies improved operational profitability over time, suggesting enhanced earnings efficiency or revenue growth positively impacting per-share operating profit.

The price-to-operating profit ratio (P/OP) shows a downward trend after an initial increase. Starting from around 22.21, it rises to over 31 at one point, indicating that the share price was relatively high compared to operating profit. Subsequently, the ratio declines to values near 14.62 by the end, reflecting a decrease in valuation multiple or an increase in operating profit relative to share price. This trend may imply a market re-rating towards more conservative valuations or stronger profitability supporting the valuation.

Share Price Trends

The share price experiences considerable fluctuations, with a rise from about $208 to peaks surpassing $400, followed by subsequent declines below $250.

Operating Profit per Share Trends

Operating profit per share shows consistent growth from roughly $10.27 to around $16.9, indicating an improvement in operational earnings over the periods analyzed.

Price-to-Operating Profit Ratio

The P/OP ratio initially escalates to above 31 but trends downward to below 15, suggesting changing market valuation in relation to growing operational profitability.

Summary Insight

The data reflects a company whose profitability has generally improved steadily, while the share price and valuation multiples have been more volatile. The declining P/OP ratio in the latter periods suggests that increases in operating profit per share are not fully mirrored by share price gains, possibly indicating market caution or a reassessment of growth expectations.

Share Price Trend

The share price exhibited significant fluctuations over the analyzed periods. Starting at $208.3 in late 2019, it declined sharply to $158.5 by February 2020, likely reflecting broad market impacts. Subsequently, it showed a recovery trend, rising to a peak of $400.6 in November 2021. After this peak, the price generally decreased, reaching approximately $240.94 by August 2025. Notably, the share price showed intermittent volatility with spikes and declines throughout the timeline.

Sales Per Share Trend

Sales per share data started being available from November 2020 and demonstrated a steady upward trend. Initially recorded at $69.91, sales per share gradually increased over time, reaching $112.3 by August 2025. This steady growth suggests consistent revenue growth on a per-share basis, reflecting potentially strong operational performance and expansion over the period.

Price-to-Sales (P/S) Ratio Trend

The price-to-sales ratio showed considerable variability. From a value of 3.26 in November 2020, it climbed to a high of 4.72 by February 2022, indicating that the share price was increasing faster than sales per share during this phase. However, post-February 2022, the P/S ratio experienced a downward trend, falling to 2.15 by August 2025, which suggests that the increase in share price slowed relative to the growth in sales or that the share price declined while sales continued to rise. This decreasing P/S ratio may indicate improving valuation discipline or market reassessment of growth expectations.

Overall Observations

The company demonstrated strong sales growth per share throughout the period, suggesting consistent revenue expansion. However, the share price experienced notable volatility, with a peak around late 2021 followed by a general decline. The P/S ratio's peak followed by reduction indicates a market adjustment to earlier high valuations, possibly aligning price more closely with actual sales growth. This could reflect changing market sentiment or external factors influencing valuation. The divergence between sales per share growth and share price volatility is a key highlight, underscoring the importance of monitoring market conditions alongside operational performance.

The share price of the company exhibited notable fluctuations over the analyzed quarterly periods. Initially, the price decreased from approximately $208.30 to $158.50, followed by a general upward movement that peaked near $400.60. Subsequently, there was a decline to around $250.07, after which the price showed some recovery and moderate volatility. More recently, the share price experienced a downward trend, falling from about $372.16 to $240.94 toward the end of the period.

Book value per share (BVPS) demonstrated steady growth throughout the entire timeline. Beginning at $23.86, the BVPS consistently increased each quarter, reaching approximately $50.28 by the final period. This indicates a persistent strengthening of the company’s net asset value on a per-share basis without any significant reversals or stagnations.

The price-to-book value (P/BV) ratio exhibited patterns aligned with the interactions of share price and BVPS movements. Early on, the ratio declined from 8.73 to 6.53 during the initial decline in share price. It then rose sharply to a peak of about 12.45 as the share price surged faster than the BVPS. Following this peak, the P/BV ratio gradually decreased, corresponding with the share price downturn and continued growth in BVPS. In the latest quarters, the ratio dropped steadily from approximately 7.98 to 4.79, reflecting a relatively lower market valuation compared to the company’s book value.

In summary, while the book value per share exhibited uninterrupted growth suggesting improving underlying asset strength, the share price was more volatile with substantial peaks and troughs. The price-to-book ratio movements represent the market’s changing valuation sentiment, initially optimistic, then moderating to undervaluation territory in the latter periods of review.