$ACN (-0,98 %)
$BAH (-0,34 %)
$CACI (-0,05 %)
$PLTR (-0,29 %)

Pete Hegseth is cutting back on cloud services and IT consulting. Industry giants such as Accenture and Deloitte are affected. The money would be better invested with veterans, for example, said the minister.

San Francisco. Large IT consultancies such as Accenture and Deloitte are facing a significant drop in turnover in the USA: according to several US media outlets, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the termination of several IT service contracts with a total volume of 5.1 billion dollars.

In addition to Accenture and Deloitte, contracts with the consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton are also affected. This emerges from a Pentagon memo issued on Thursday evening. The Trump administration wants to save more than four billion dollars. Hegseth subsequently confirmed the process in a video published on the X platform.

"This is a great day. We are signing a memorandum that orders the termination of $5.1 billion worth of Department of Defense contracts. [...] For ancillary services such as consulting and other non-essential services," Hegseth said in the video message.

He plans to cut four IT-related contracts, all of which, according to the memorandum, "could be performed more efficiently by the highly skilled members of our Defense Department workforce with existing resources."

According to the document, one example is an Air Force contract with Accenture for the resale of third-party cloud services. According to Hegseth, the Department will save 1.4 billion dollars by terminating this contract.

In the memo, the Secretary also calls for the termination of eleven other contracts across the Pentagon that include consulting services that "support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), climate, Covid-19 response, and non-essential activities." The department wants to reallocate the freed-up funds to "revitalize the warrior ethos, rebuild the military and restore deterrence".

"By the way, we need that money to spend on better health care for our warfighters and their families instead of business litigation consultants that cost $500 an hour," Hegseth said in his video.

Elsewhere, the memo instructs the Pentagon's chief information officer (CIO), in "coordination" with Elon Musk's Doge savings initiative, to prepare a plan within 30 days to "in-source" IT consulting and management services for the department's civilian workforce - that is, to bring them back in-house at the Pentagon.

Also within 30 days, the CIO is to draw up a plan to negotiate "the most favorable terms" for cloud services and software so that the Pentagon "pays no more for IT services than any other company in America".

It was noticeable that the IT company Palantir, which has particularly good relations with the new Trump administration, was not mentioned. The Pentagon and several US intelligence agencies are among Palantir's most important customers. The company also works with Musk's Doge initiative.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/it-internet/pentagon-us-verteidigungsminister-hegseth-kuendigt-it-vertraege-im-wert-von-51-milliarden-dollar/100121024.html

Presentation / Analysis Accenture ($ACN (-0,98 %) )

ACN is the world's largest direct seller of telecommunications, energy and other essential services to consumers and businesses. Founded in 1993 in the USA, ACN has since expanded to over 27 countries on four continents.

ACN's business model is based on direct sales, with independent contractors (UUs) offering products and services such as cellular, energy, broadband Internet, TV and security. These services are designed to meet the everyday needs of customers.

A key feature of ACN is the use of network marketing, whereby self-employed staff, known as "independent contractors" (UU), sell the products and services and are paid on a commission basis.

In addition to telecommunications and energy services, ACN also offers other services in some regions, including security solutions for homes and businesses.

Fundamental analysis

Strengths:

• Solid business model: 64% consulting / 36% outsourcing (2023), with stable revenues (↑1.22% YoY) and profitable growth (EPS ↑6.24%)
• Competitive advantages: Market leader in digital transformation (focus on GenAI, cloud) with global presence
• Financial health:
• Low debt (debt/equity: 0.20)
• Strong profitability (ROE 26.95%, ROIC 17.81%)
• Liquidity (current ratio: 1.47)

Valuation ratios (as of 2024-08-31):

P/E ratio 26.35 Above average

P/B ratio 6.83 Premium valuation

P/E ratio 3.00 Moderate

Chart analysis

Current status (31.03.2025):

• Price: €287.95 (ISIN IE00B4BNMY34)
• Important levels:
• Support: € 280-290 (historically relevant zone)
• Resistance: €360-390 (double top pattern October 2024)

Indicators:

• 50-day DMA: €351.87 (below 200-day DMA: €360.30 → bearish trend)
• Pivot points:
• Support: 365.41€ / 361.38€
• Resistance: 373.16€ / 380.91€

Entry points:

• Bullish: Breakout above € 373.16 or rebound from € 365
• Bearish: Fall below €361.38 confirms downward trend

Opportunities & risks

Opportunities:

• $2-3bn acquisition budget 2025 for technology expansions
• GenAI bookings show strong momentum
• Global expansion (e.g. Saudi Arabia cloud sovereignty)

Risks:

• Geopolitical tensions (global operations)
• Slowdown in procurement activities with customers
• High valuation (P/E ratio ↑26.35) with moderate sales growth

Regulatory context (regulatory & compliance expert)

• Focus on AI compliance (in particular GenAI)
• Cloud sovereignty initiatives in key markets
• Strong risk management practices for acquisitions

Trading recommendation

Consolidated entry strategy:

Wait until:

• Confirmation of an uptrend (close > 50-day DMA) OR
• Test of support at ~€280 with volume support

Limit position size (due to high P/B ratio)

Stop loss: 5% below entry

Hope someone could help gladly open for suggestions and opinions. No investment advice

$NKE (-0,43 %)
$9866 (-0,55 %)
$NIO (-0,79 %)
$ACN (-0,98 %)
$MU (+0,83 %)
$FDX (-0,8 %)

As every Sunday, the most important news of the last week, as well as the three most important dates of the coming week.

Also as a video:

https://youtube.com/shorts/uFwVbCNGMd4?si=R4ReCZQl2ud6wUW-

Monday:

$9868 (-0,78 %) Xpeng and $VOW3 (-1,04 %) VW deepen their partnership in China 🇨🇳. Among other things, they are opening up their fast-charging networks to each other. New charging stations are also to be built jointly. VW holds a 5% stake in Xpeng.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/autobauer-xpeng-und-volkswagen-erweitern-ihre-partnerschaft-in-china/100098791.html

$BOSS (+0 %) Hugo Boss wants to further strengthen the brand and has brought brand expert James Foster on board for this purpose. Foster was most recently head of marketing at Netflix in EMEA and worked at IKEA and Adidas.

https://www.absatzwirtschaft.de/neuer-globaler-marketingchef-bei-hugo-boss-265528/

Inflation is clearly above expectations and is therefore depressing sentiment for the time being. In December, inflation stood at 2.6% Economists had expected 2.4%. The inflation rate is also likely to remain well above the 2.0% target in January. This is due to higher CO2 prices and a more expensive ticket to Germany.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/geldpolitik/inflation-teuerungsrate-steigt-in-deutschland-auf-26-prozent/100098327.html

The USA 🇺🇸 puts Tencent on a list of companies that allegedly support the Chinese military. The share loses significantly.

https://de.marketscreener.com/kurs/index/DOW-JONES-INDUSTRIAL-4945/news/USA-fugen-Tencent-und-CATL-der-Liste-chinesischer-Firmen-hinzu-die-angeblich-Pekings-Militar-unte-48689565/

Tuesday:

A cooperation between $NVDA (-0,11 %) NVIDIA, $KGX (-3,6 %) Kion and $ACN (-0,98 %) Accenture to optimize supply chains causes Kion shares to rise significantly. Kion and Accenture are relying on AI from NVIDIA for optimization.

https://www.ariva.de/amp/ki-anwendungen-kion-arbeitet-mit-nvidia-zusammen-11493206

Wednesday:

$TMV (+1 %) Teamviewer announces via ad hoc that it has exceeded its forecast for the year. Turnover increased by 9% in 2024. In total, it will probably be 671 million euros. The forecast was 662 - 668 million euros. This was mainly due to new billings and significant contracts signed with major customers.

https://www.boerse.de/nachrichten/EQS-Adhoc-TeamViewer-SE-TeamViewer-erzielt-Jahresumsatz-2024-von-ca-671-Mio-EUR-9-Prozent-waehrungsber-ggue-VJ-und-uebertrifft-Prognose-ausschlaggebend-waren-hoehere-Billings-von-ca-700-Mio-EUR-im/36874269

Retail sales have been growing again for 2 years. In real terms, however, the level is still below that of 2021. Compared to the previous month, sales have fallen more sharply than expected. However, the overall consumer mood among Germans is on the rise. The GfK consumer barometer climbed by 1.8 points to -21.3 points.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/handel-deutsche-einzelhaendler-steigern-umsatz-im-jahr-2024/100099305.html

Donald Trump is calling for more military spending and also wants to annex three countries - Canada, Panama and Greenland. This is not only highly dangerous rhetoric, but above all in the interests of Russia and China, who are planning to do the same with Ukraine and Taiwan. If Trump follows up his words with action, this would put the 'ambitions' of China and Russia into perspective

Thursday:

The Chinese fast clothing delivery service Shein probably wants to go public in the first half of the year. The IPO is planned for London. Shein is headquartered in Singapore.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/shein-billigmode-haendler-plant-boersengang-wohl-im-ersten-halbjahr/100099587.html

Friday:

$1913 (-1,18 %) Prada is probably planning to take over the Italian fashion house Versace. Versace is currently part of the Capri holding company. A sale of the entire holding company for 8.5 billion euros has failed. Individual brands such as Versace and Jimmy Choo are now up for sale.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/handel-konsumgueter/luxusmarken-prada-an-uebernahme-von-versace-interessiert/100099688.html

The labor market report from the USA is significantly better than expected. This could lead to the Fed lowering interest rates more slowly than previously assumed. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, expected: 4.2%. A total of 256,000 new jobs were created, compared to an expected 155,000.

https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/konjunktur-us-arbeitsmarktbericht-faellt-ueberraschend-gut-aus/100099726.html

$NLM (+1,79 %) Frosta exceeded the profit forecast. As expected, turnover amounted to 638.1 million euros. Profit rose to 42.1 million euros and was thus significantly higher than in the previous year (34.1 million euros). The profit margin was also above expectations at 6.6%.

https://www.4investors.de/nachrichten/amp/boerse.php?sektion=stock&ID=181168

These are the most important dates for the coming week:

🇺🇸

Tuesday: 14:30 Producer prices (USA)

Wednesday: 14:30 Inflation data (USA)

Friday: 15:15 Industrial production (USA)

Can you think of any other dates? Write it in the comments 👇

#termine
#inflation
#industrie
#usa

In addition to my World ETF core, I would like to invest in the following shares (partly via a savings plan) in the coming year.

How do you rate these shares?

Which of them would you also take or do you already have in your portfolio?

$CRWD (-1,08 %) - Crowdstrike

$CRM (-0,24 %) - Salesforce

$AVGO (-0,89 %) - Broadcom

$ACN (-0,98 %) - Accenture

$SOFI (-1,06 %) - SoFi

$MELI (+0,24 %) - Mercadolibre

$TSLA (-1,13 %) - Tesla

$AXON (-2,23 %) - Axon

$NU (-1 %) - Nu Holdings (possibly)

I have now decided to reallocate the European stocks. The money is now flowing into Vertex Pharmaceutical $VRTX (-1,26 %) and Cintas $CTAS (-1,08 %) and my ETF $SPYI (-0,33 %)

Companies that I find interesting but do not yet have in my portfolio and that have a 10-year average ROIC of over 10% and a 5-year average ROCE and ROIC of over 10%, $ANET, $MA (-0,76 %) , $VRTX (-1,26 %) , $RMS (-0,55 %) , $PGHN (+0,15 %) , $COLO B (+0,85 %) , $ACN (-0,98 %) , $MNST (-0,9 %)
$FICO (-0,03 %) , $MCO (-0,28 %) , $KNIN (+1,09 %) , $S&P Global, $ISRG (-1,15 %)
$III (-0,81 %) , $BKNG (-1,53 %)
$HLAG (+0,07 %) , $QCOM (+0,03 %) , $CFR (-0,62 %) and $IFX (+2,56 %) . Already blatant companies