Accenture said AI is driving more work from clients, defying recent market jitters about corporate IT spending. Shares jumped more than 20% in early trading.

Chief Executive Julie Sweet said the consulting company was expanding the work it does with some of its largest clients, including FedEx and BP.

FedEx, which first tapped Accenture to help move some of its applications to the cloud, is now using the company for other AI modernization work, Sweet told analysts. That includes customized AI education and literacy programs for FedEx staff worldwide.

Likewise, Accenture built a single marketing engine for BP by combining intelligence from hundreds of regional teams. That's letting BP produce 2.5 times more content with 23% less effort, Sweet said.

Accenture's employee count grew 5% in fiscal year 2026 to more than 814,000. Sweet said the company will continue to hire more entry-level employees, but hire at a lower rate overall because of AI efficiencies.