Big Four Consulting Firms Report Mixed 2025 Results

The world's largest accounting and consulting firms reported modest growth in 2025. Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC navigated a transformative year driven by AI investments and shifting client demands.

Revenue growth ticked up across all four firms, but remained lower than the double-digit rates seen during the pandemic. The industry is currently investing billions to deploy AI effectively in-house and guide clients through technological transitions. Workforce trends varied, with three firms expanding head count while one reduced its global total.

The Big Four professional services firms—Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC—generated billions of dollars in revenue in 2025. These firms, which employ a combined 1.5 million people globally, are currently at a transformative moment as AI reshapes the industry.

Following a boom in demand during the pandemic, consulting firms faced a sharp slowdown as clients reined in spending. While growth returned in the latest financial years, the pace remains modest compared to previous highs. The largest players are now locked in a race to demonstrate they can deploy AI effectively.

Financial results released across the year illustrate how these forces are playing out:

• Deloitte restructured its core business lines, reducing them from five to four.
• PwC hosted events to promote employee comfort with AI usage.
• KPMG established the first Big Four legal division in the US.

Deloitte recorded 4.8% annual revenue growth in its 2025 financial year, a rebound from the previous year's sharp drop to 3.1%. The firm's global revenue reached $70.5 billion for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2025.

The firm expanded its workforce by 10,000 to 470,000 total employees, a 2% rise. However, the firm was targeted by the Trump administration's DOGE cost-cutting drive in February 2025, resulting in the elimination of several government contracts.

Revenue growth by category included:

• Tax and legal: 5.4%
• Audit and assurance: 3.8%
• Consulting (strategy, risk, and transactions): 5.5%
• Consulting (technology and transformation): 4.7%

PwC recorded a slowdown in global growth for the third consecutive year, the only member of the Big Four to do so. The firm reported global revenue of $56.9 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, representing 2.7% growth year over year.

The firm described the results as a "solid performance in a challenging economic climate." PwC reduced its global head count by 5,600 across the financial year, reversing a goal set in 2021 to grow its workforce to around 400,000. The firm now has 364,000 employees.

Revenue growth by category included:

• Tax and legal: 1.1%
• Assurance: 1.9%
• Advisory: 4.6%

EY reported global revenue of $53.2 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, with 4% revenue growth year over year. The firm saw an uptick in its consulting business, which grew 5.2% compared to no growth the previous year. EY also reported strong demand for its AI-related services, with a 30% rise in revenues driven by work such as "enterprise-wide transformations" and "AI governance frameworks." The firm expanded its global employee total by 3.4% to 406,206.

KPMG, the smallest of the Big Four, recorded 5.1% annual revenue growth in its 2025 financial year, reaching $39.8 billion for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025. For the second consecutive year, KPMG's tax revenues grew notably faster than competitors at 7.5%. The firm expanded its global workforce by 1% to 276,030 employees.