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France’s Atos Flags Steep Revenue Decline for 2025

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French IT services group Atos warned it expects a sharp drop in annual revenue for 2025, citing ongoing contract losses that continued through the quarter ending December 31. The company said revenue is estimated to fall to about 8 billion euros, in line with its earlier guidance.

Chief executive Philippe Salle said the figure represents an organic decline of 13.8%, underscoring the scale of the challenges facing the group as it attempts to rebuild after years of financial strain. Once considered a flagship of Europe’s technology sector, Atos recently emerged from a major debt restructuring that nearly pushed it into collapse.

The company is pursuing a broad reorganisation that includes asset sales and job cuts, significantly shrinking a business that was once valued at more than 10 billion euros to around 1 billion euros today. Salle said customer confidence is slowly returning, though at a more gradual pace than expected.

Atos plans to exit around 10 additional countries in 2026, following divestments in Scandinavia and Latin America. Despite the revenue decline, the group said it expects to exceed its 2025 profitability target and will publish its outlook for 2026 alongside full-year results on March 6.

Atos to sell Latin American businesses to Brazil’s Semantix

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French IT services company Atos said on Friday it has signed a binding agreement to sell its Latin American operations to Brazilian technology firm Semantix, as part of a broader restructuring effort following severe financial distress.

The assets being sold employ around 2,800 people across Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay. Atos did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction, but said it expects the deal to close in the coming months.

The divestment marks another step in Atos’ turnaround strategy after the once-prominent French technology group narrowly avoided collapse in 2024. Earlier this year, the company completed a sweeping financial restructuring that significantly reshaped its balance sheet and ownership structure.

As part of that process, Atos reduced its debt burden by approximately 2.1 billion euros, with banks and bondholders emerging as the company’s main shareholders. The restructuring plan places a strong emphasis on asset sales, allowing Atos to streamline operations, generate liquidity and refocus on its core activities.

The sale of the Latin American business underscores the scale of Atos’ transformation as it works to stabilise operations and restore confidence after years of financial and operational challenges.

Accenture Tops Revenue Estimates, Launches $865 Million Restructuring Amid AI Push

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Accenture reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue on Thursday and announced a $865 million restructuring program to better align its workforce and operations with rising demand for digital and AI services.

The restructuring, set to run over six months, includes severance costs and selective divestitures, with savings to be reinvested into staff training and operational efficiency. The company recorded $615 million in charges in the fourth quarter and expects another $250 million in the November quarter.

Analysts said the plan underscores both the challenges and opportunities of the AI transition. “Accenture has a strong reskilling operation internally,” said CFRA analyst Brooks Idlet, noting the company’s focus on shifting resources toward higher-demand areas.

The Dublin-based consulting giant emphasized that it will continue hiring while phasing out roles tied to outdated skills. Its new talent strategy includes upskilling employees and using AI to improve productivity.

Accenture also faces challenges from U.S. policy shifts. President Donald Trump this month announced a $100,000 one-time fee for H-1B visas, a move that could increase labor costs for IT and consulting firms. Accenture had approvals for 1,568 H-1B beneficiaries in the first half of the year, placing it among the top 25 U.S. employers in the program. However, CEO Julie Sweet said the impact will be limited since only about 5% of its U.S. workforce is on such visas.

Other headwinds included delays and cancellations in U.S. federal contracts, which made up 8% of revenue in 2024 and trimmed growth this year by about 20 basis points.

Still, demand remains solid. Accenture booked $21.3 billion in new contracts in the quarter, a key indicator of future revenue. The company posted $17.6 billion in revenue, beating analyst estimates of $17.36 billion.

Looking ahead, Accenture forecasts full-year 2026 revenue growth of 2% to 5%, slightly below Wall Street’s expectation of 5.3%, according to LSEG data.