Accenture vs. IBM: how they make money

• Products · 30.0% of revenueConsumer goods, retail and travel (44% of the group), industrials (36%) and life sciences (20%).
• Health & Public Service · 20.0% of revenuePublic service (68% of the group), including US federal agencies, and health (32%).
• Financial Services · 19.0% of revenueBanking and capital markets (71% of the group) and insurance (29%).
• Communications, Media & Technology · 17.0% of revenueSoftware and platforms (43% of the group), communications and media (38%) and high tech (19%).
• Resources · 13.0% of revenueUtilities (49% of the group), chemicals and natural resources (27%) and energy (24%).

• Software buyers · 44.4% of revenueOrganizations paying for Red Hat, automation, data and transaction software. Shares here are by segment: IBM does not report revenue by client type.
• Consulting clients · 31.2% of revenueOrganizations paying for advice, application building and outsourced operations.
• Infrastructure buyers · 23.3% of revenueOrganizations paying for mainframes, servers, storage, cloud infrastructure and maintenance.
• Financing clients · 1.1% of revenueClients and partners paying interest and lease charges on IBM financing.

FY2026; history FY2023 to FY2026, the years reported on today's Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific basis (FY2022 used different regions)

FY2025

Debt

$10.1B

Cash and investments

$12.8B

On Aug 31, 2026.

At Aug 31, 2026, Accenture's cash and short-term investments of $12.8 billion were about $2.7 billion more than its debt of $10.1 billion.

Debt

$63.8B

Cash and investments

$11.1B

On Sep 30, 2026.

At Sep 30, 2026 IBM's debt exceeded its cash and marketable securities by $52.7 billion, up from $46.8 billion at Dec 31, 2025. That is about 4.0 times FY2025 cash from operations.

• 2 classes of shares (votes per share: Class A ordinary shares 1, Class X ordinary shares 1).
• BlackRock, Inc.: 8.3% (as of Dec 31, 2025).
• Vanguard Capital Management: 7.5% (as of Mar 31, 2026).

• One class of shares.
• Officers and directors as a group: 0.2% of shares (as of Dec 31, 2025).
• Vanguard Capital Management: 7.5% (as of Apr 30, 2026).
• BlackRock Inc.: 8.3% (as of Jan 25, 2024).
• State Street Corporation: 6.0% (as of Jan 30, 2024).
• 1 more holders on the IBM page.

• AI could change what clients buy (technology)The 10-K names technology change, including AI, as a risk that could reduce client spending on its services or change how they are priced. Accenture stopped reporting AI bookings after Q1 FY2026.
• People costs and pricing (pricing)Pay was $47.8 billion in FY2026, 64.5% of revenue. The 10-K says pricing pressure, and utilization that is too high or too low, can hurt profitability. Utilization was 93% and voluntary attrition 13%.
• US federal work and government investigations (regulation)Accenture Federal Services was 7% of FY2026 revenue, and the DOJ is investigating it, with possible False Claims Act penalties, suspension or debarment. The 10-K says government investigations or proceedings related to its diversity programs "have and may in the future result in financial penalties, sanctions, or restrictions on government contracting".
• Reliance on technology partners (customer or supplier concentration)Its 18 key ecosystem partners were linked to about 65% of FY2026 revenue. The 10-K says some partners are also clients or suppliers, and changes in those relationships could hurt the business.
• Tax disputes and rule changes (legal cases)The FY2026 10-K reports $2.53 billion of unrecognized tax benefits; KPMG named those related to transfer pricing a critical audit matter. It also names EU state aid investigations and US proposals to raise corporate tax as risks.

• Large deals can slip between quarters (execution)In Q2 FY2026 management said tens of large deals failed to close on the expected timelines, as clients moved spending to servers, storage and memory. Its 10-Q later said a significant portion closed in Q3.
• Competition and new technology bets (competition)IBM's risk factors say its hybrid cloud, AI and quantum initiatives may fail. Some named rivals, such as Microsoft and Oracle, are also its partners.
• Pension charges and tax items move net income (other)Pension settlement charges were $5.9 billion in FY2022 and $3.1 billion in FY2024. A tax benefit from resolving audit matters lifted Q4 FY2025. IBM's plans were a net $2.3 billion underfunded at Dec 31, 2025.