The Accenture PLC ACN shares fell by 3.3% in premarket trading Thursday after the consulting company reported a third-quarter profit that missed expectations while revenue beat, and provided a downbeat outlook. Net income for the quarter to May 31 increased to $1.79 billion, or $2.79 a share, from $1.55 billion, or $2.40 a share, in the year-ago period. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $2.86. Revenue grew 21.8% to $16.16 billion, a better figure than the FactSet consensus of $16.04 billion, as consulting revenue rose 24% to $9.03 billion and outsourcing revenue increased 19% to $7.13 billion. The gross margin fell to 32.9% from 33.2%. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue of $15.0 billion to $15.5 billion, which is lower than the current FactSet consensus of $15.85 billion. It projects fiscal 2022 EPS of $10.61 to $10.70, compared to expectations of $10.80. Accenture purchased $972 million worth of its shares during the third quarter. The stock has slid 30.9% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 SPX has declined 21.1%.