Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its first-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Artisan Value Fund”. A copy of the letter is available to download here. The Funds’ Investor Class: ARTLX, Advisor Class: APDLX, and Institutional Class: APHLX returned -3.54%, -3.50%. and 3.50%, respectively, in Q1 vs, 2.10% return for the Russell 1000® Value Index. Performance was impacted by a market favoring momentum-driven stocks over quality factors, alongside company-specific setbacks. In Q1 2026, the US equity market showed mixed results: large-cap indices declined, while mid- and small-cap stocks gained modestly, reflecting a gradual broadening in market participation. Volatility increased, driven by concerns over artificial intelligence and private credit, and further escalated due to the outbreak of conflict in Iran. Despite uncertainty, the Fund focuses on identifying companies that can create value through cycles, particularly where market dislocations provide attractive entry points. In addition, please check the Fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2026.
In its first-quarter 2026 investor letter, Artisan Value Fund highlighted stocks like Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN). Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), a professional services company that focuses on consulting, technology and outsourcing, was among the leading detractors from performance during the quarter. On May 22, 2026, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) closed at $179.24 per share. One-month return of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) was 1.28%, and its shares lost 42.10% over the past 52 weeks. Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) has a market capitalization of $110.31 billion.
Artisan Value Fund stated the following regarding Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) in its Q1 2026 investor letter:
“Among the portfolio’s biggest decliners were Salesforce, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), Humana and PayPal Holdings, each of which dropped by 20% or more during the quarter. Like Salesforce, Accenture, a leading global IT services provider, has also come under pressure amid AI disruption concerns, as well as from weak earnings reports from peers that were seen as read-throughs. While AI is likely to drive change, fears that it will disrupt companies with wide moats like Accenture seem overdone. Accenture provides consulting and business process outsourcing services that help corporate clients stay at the forefront of technological change. Growth has slowed, unsettling investors, but this appears largely attributable to broader macroeconomic softness rather than due to AI, the effects of which we believe will take years to fully unfold. Accenture strongly meets our three margin of safety criteria: It has consistently generated robust free cash flow, has maintained a solid balance sheet and trades at an attractive valuation of 14X next year’s forecast earnings—the cheapest level since 2012.”
Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is not on our list of 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds Heading Into 2026. According to our database, 71 hedge fund portfolios held Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 66 in the previous quarter. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) reported revenues of $18.7 billion, reflecting a 5% increase 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 best and cheap stocks to buy. In its Q1 2026 investor letter, Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund noted that Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) delivered weak results due to concerns over decelerating revenue. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
