Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, an investment management company, released its “International Equity Strategy” third quarter 2025 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Global equity markets continued their upward journey in the third quarter, with the MSCI ACWI Index surging 7.62%. Global fixed income markets also increased during the same period, with the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index rising 0.60%. The Aristotle International Equity Fund (Class I-2) returned 1.15% in the quarter compared to a 6.89% return for the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index and a 4.77% return for the MSCI EAFE Index. In addition, you can check the fund’s top 5 holdings to determine its best picks for 2025.
In its third-quarter 2025 investor letter, Aristotle International Equity Strategy highlighted stocks such as Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN). Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is a professional services company that provides management consulting, technology, and outsourcing services. The one-month return of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) was 8.69%, and its shares lost 25.28% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On December 17, 2025, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) stock closed at $273.74 per share, with a market capitalization of $180.765 billion.
Aristotle International Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), the global IT consultancy, was one of the largest detractors. The company’s operations are split roughly evenly between Consulting and Managed Services (outsourcing). While Accenture’s strategic pivot to AI in 2023 has driven a rapid increase in AI-related revenue and bookings (nearly doubling to $5.9 billion in fiscal 2025), investors have grown increasingly concerned about the longer-term impact of AI on its outsourcing business—revenue heavily reliant on billable hours. Moreover, the U.S. government’s DOGE initiative created a headwind, as federal contracts have historically represented about 8% of Accenture’s revenue. Despite these challenges, Accenture continues to grow, albeit at a below-normal rate in the recent period, while simultaneously investing in its workforce—now employing roughly 77,000 AI and data specialists, about 10% of its global staff—and returning billions of dollars to shareholders through double-digit increases in both dividends (+10% year-over-year) and share buybacks (+15%). While we acknowledge that market concerns about AI’s disruptive potential warrant consideration, we believe Accenture shares have been excessively punished (valuations are at 10-year lows). The stock has retreated to mid-2020 levels, even though earnings per share and FREE cash flow are more than 50% and 40% higher, respectively, than they were at that time.”
Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 66 hedge fund portfolios held Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) at the end of the third quarter, which was 65 in the previous quarter. In the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) reported revenues of $17.6 billion, reflecting a 7% increase in U.S. dollars and 4.5% in local currency. While we acknowledge the risk and potential of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ACCENTURE PLC (NYSE:ACN) and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we covered Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) and shared the list of some of the best blue-chip stocks to invest in. ClearBridge Growth Strategy sold its stake in Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) in Q3 2025 due to DOGE related spending cuts. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q3 2025 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
READ NEXT: The Best and Worst Dow Stocks for the Next 12 Months and 10 Unstoppable Stocks That Could Double Your Money.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
