Update date
31 Aug 2025
Shareable Research Card
ACN - Accenture plc Research and Development Expense
This metric view shows ACN - Accenture plc research and development expense history from SEC company facts.
Use it to verify the latest reported value, compare nearby periods, and jump to a cross-company ranking when a curated insight exists.
- Context
- Latest reported period: 2025
- Latest reported value
- $817,300,000
Based on company facts extracted from SEC 10-Q/10-K XBRL filings where available. Values may differ by reporting period and company taxonomy.
Return Loop
Why revisit this metric view
This metric history becomes more useful after the next quarterly or annual filing because the latest reported value, period, and company comparison context can all change.
- Latest source-backed update
- Latest period end 31 Aug 2025
- Why come back
- Return after the next filing to verify whether this metric changed and how it compares with the ranking page.
- Current latest reported period: 2025.
- Latest reported value on this page: $817,300,000.
- Save this filer if you want to compare the next reported value with this history.
Metric freshness comes from the latest SEC company fact available for this taxonomy tag and the paired company facts page.
Latest update
Latest update for Research and Development Expense
Latest reported research and development expense: $817,300,000. Open the source-backed page to compare this metric with the newest filing-backed context.
Page type
Metric history
Latest period
2025
SEC-backed company facts were refreshed from filings filed on 19 Mar 2026.
Benchmark Context
How Research and Development Expense compares with peers
Accenture plc sits in the upper half of the current research and development expense sample.
Compared with
Compared with 120 companies reporting research and development expense in USD. This keeps the comparison on the same metric and unit family.
Why this is notable
This is about 1x the current sample midpoint. Research and Development Expense is down about 29% versus the comparable prior period.
- Visible rows currently span reported period ends from 31 Dec 2012 to 02 May 2026.
- Nearby companies in this sample: ServiceNow, Inc. and CORNING INC /NY.
- Current sample position: rank #58 of 120 comparable companies.
- Peer rows use the latest valid value per company for this exact metric and compatible units.
Peer comparisons use the same metric and compatible units only. Latest reported periods may differ across companies, so open each company page before drawing conclusions.
Plain-English Guide
What Research and Development Expense means
R&D expense is what the company reports spending on research and development during the period.
Why people care
It helps users understand how heavily the company is investing in future products, platforms, or technology.
How to read it
Compare R&D with revenue and operating income so you can see whether innovation spending is growing faster than the rest of the business.
Compare next
Compare it with revenue, operating income, and capex to understand the mix between current spending and long-term investment.
R&D intensity varies widely by industry, so peer comparisons are most useful when businesses are genuinely comparable.
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Financial Metric Page
Accenture plc: Research and Development Expense
Latest period: 2025. Period end: 31 Aug 2025. Units: USD. Frequency: annual.
The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use.
Metric Snapshot
- Latest value
- $817,300,000
- Coverage range
- 31 Aug 2010 - 31 Aug 2025
- Fact rows
- 16
What This Metric Tells You
- Shows the reported level of research and development expense over 31 Aug 2010 - 31 Aug 2025.
- Includes year-over-year change points to highlight acceleration or slowdown.
- Built from 16 SEC fact rows for this metric and issuer.
How To Read This Chart
- Start with the latest point, then compare it with the prior periods to see direction.
- Use annual sequence to compare like-for-like periods.
- Use YoY change bars to separate growth from contraction across matching periods.
Official SEC Source
Source: SEC Company Facts
Based on company facts extracted from SEC 10-Q/10-K XBRL filings where available. Reporting periods may differ by company.
Compare This Metric Across Companies
Compare latest available Research and Development Expense levels across SEC-reporting companies, then open each company metric page for SEC-backed verification. Reporting periods may differ by company.
Accenture plc appears at rank #58 in the latest comparison sample.
Which companies spend the most on R&D?
| Rank | Company | Latest value | Reported period | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meta Platforms, Inc. (meta) | $17,699,000,000 | Quarter - 31 Mar 2026 | Open Meta Platforms, Inc. Research and Development Expense |
| 2 | Alphabet Inc. (googl) | $17,032,000,000 | Quarter - 31 Mar 2026 | Open Alphabet Inc. Research and Development Expense |
| 3 | Merck & Co., Inc. (mrk) | $12,592,000,000 | Quarter - 31 Mar 2026 | Open Merck & Co., Inc. Research and Development Expense |
| 4 | Apple Inc. (aapl) | $11,419,000,000 | Quarter - 28 Mar 2026 | Open Apple Inc. Research and Development Expense |
| 5 | Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (baba) | $9,645,000,000 | Year - 31 Mar 2026 | Open Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Research and Development Expense |
| 6 | FORD MOTOR CO (f) | $9,400,000,000 | Year - 31 Dec 2025 | Open FORD MOTOR CO Research and Development Expense |
Metric Details
- Metric
- Research and Development Expense (ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense)
- Taxonomy
- us-gaap
- Units tracked
- USD
- Frequency coverage
- annual
- History range
- 31 Aug 2010 - 31 Aug 2025
- Facts on this page
- 16
- Description
- The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use.
- Metric-level SEC endpoint
- Open SEC company concept
Chart Context
Compare periods with the same frequency first, then use YoY and TTM series to confirm whether changes are structural or one-off.
Research and Development Expense, Annual (USD)
Research and Development Expense, YoY Annual Change (%)
Accenture plc Annual Research and Development Expense (USD)
| Period | Value | YoY Chg | Change % | Start Date | End Date | Report | Filed | Fiscal Year | Fiscal Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $817,300,000 | -$333,130,000 | -29% | 01 Sep 2024 | 31 Aug 2025 | 10-K | 10 Oct 2025 | 2025 | FY |
| 2024 | $1,150,430,000 | -$148,227,000 | -11% | 01 Sep 2023 | 31 Aug 2024 | 10-K | 10 Oct 2025 | 2025 | FY |
| 2023 | $1,298,657,000 | +$175,361,000 | +16% | 01 Sep 2022 | 31 Aug 2023 | 10-K | 10 Oct 2025 | 2025 | FY |
| 2022 | $1,123,296,000 | +$4,976,000 | +0.44% | 01 Sep 2021 | 31 Aug 2022 | 10-K | 10 Oct 2024 | 2024 | FY |
| 2021 | $1,118,320,000 | +$247,709,000 | +28% | 01 Sep 2020 | 31 Aug 2021 | 8-K | 30 Sep 2024 | ||
| 2020 | $870,611,000 | +$70,877,000 | +8.9% | 01 Sep 2019 | 31 Aug 2020 | 10-K | 12 Oct 2022 | 2022 | FY |
| 2019 | $799,734,000 | +$8,955,000 | +1.1% | 01 Sep 2018 | 31 Aug 2019 | 10-K | 15 Oct 2021 | 2021 | FY |
| 2018 | $790,779,000 | +$86,462,000 | +12% | 01 Sep 2017 | 31 Aug 2018 | 10-K | 22 Oct 2020 | 2020 | FY |
| 2017 | $704,317,000 | +$60,910,000 | +9.5% | 01 Sep 2016 | 31 Aug 2017 | 10-K | 29 Oct 2019 | 2019 | FY |
| 2016 | $643,407,000 | +$17,866,000 | +2.9% | 01 Sep 2015 | 31 Aug 2016 | 10-K | 24 Oct 2018 | 2018 | FY |
| 2015 | $625,541,000 | -$13,972,000 | -2.2% | 01 Sep 2014 | 31 Aug 2015 | 10-K | 26 Oct 2017 | 2017 | FY |
| 2014 | $639,513,000 | -$75,581,000 | -11% | 01 Sep 2013 | 31 Aug 2014 | 10-K | 28 Oct 2016 | 2016 | FY |
| 2013 | $715,094,000 | +$155,483,000 | +28% | 01 Sep 2012 | 31 Aug 2013 | 10-K | 30 Oct 2015 | 2015 | FY |
| 2012 | $559,611,000 | +$77,641,000 | +16% | 01 Sep 2011 | 31 Aug 2012 | 10-K | 24 Oct 2014 | 2014 | FY |
| 2011 | $481,970,000 | +$104,985,000 | +28% | 01 Sep 2010 | 31 Aug 2011 | 10-K | 29 Oct 2013 | 2013 | FY |
| 2010 | $376,985,000 | 01 Sep 2009 | 31 Aug 2010 | 10-K | 30 Oct 2012 | 2012 | FY |
* An asterisk sign (*) next to the value indicates that the value is likely invalid.