PwC’s growth stutters as it cuts head count and falls behind its Big Four rivals

• PwC’s global revenue grew 2.9% to hit $56.9 billion in its latest financial year.
• It also cut head count by 5,600, marking a turnaround from its previous strategy to boost numbers.
• Reinvention of the firm will continue in 2026, PwC chairman Mohamed Kande said.

PwC‘s global revenue is stuttering as it struggles to grow at the same rate as its Big Four rivals.

The consulting and accounting firm reported on Tuesday that its global revenue grew 2.9% to hit $56.9 billion in its 2025 financial year, which covers the year ending June 30.

The results mark a slowdown in revenue growth at PwC for the third consecutive year — in the 2024 financial year, the rate of growth dropped from 9.9% to 3.7%.

The firm called the results a “solid performance in a challenging economic climate.”

PwC also cut its global head count by 5,600 in its 2025 financial year, marking a turnaround in a previous strategy to boost numbers.

In 2021, the Big Four firm, then under the leadership of Bob Mortiz, announced plans to grow its global workforce by 100,000 by the middle of 2026. To reach the 2021 goal, it would now have to add roughly 40,000 workers in the next 12 months.

In August, Business Insider obtained part of an internal presentation showing that PwC US planned to cut graduate hiring by a third over the next three years. The firm has also lowered entry-level recruitment in its UK branch.

In a letter attached to the earnings, Mohamed Kande, chair of PwC, said the firm understood the need to reinvent its business.

“This year, we invested in our people, expanded our technological offerings, and continued to build leading-edge capabilities to help our clients thrive,” Kande said, adding that “the coming year will bring more change and complexity.”

Lagging behind competitors

Economic uncertainty has hit demand for consulting services in recent years, and the potential for AI disruption is now forcing firms to reconsider their structures and pricing models.

The Big Four have so far employed strategies like layoffs, limiting partner payouts, and restructuring divisions to tackle the disruption.

However, both Deloitte and EY — fellow members of the Big Four — reversed the pattern of slowing growth in their most recent earnings reports, growing their businesses more than in 2024 with a 5% increase and 4% increase, respectively.

EY, currently the third largest of the Big Four by revenue, inched closer to matching PwC’s overall revenue. There was a $3.7 billion difference in the firms’ 2025 results.

PwC’s advisory business performed at a similar level to its competitors, though its assurance and tax and legal services fell short.

The firm’s advisory revenue was up 4.5% to $24.3 billion, though PwC said that strong momentum slowed in the second half of the financial year, “primarily due to geopolitical and economic uncertainties in key markets.”

KPMG, the fourth member of the Big Four, is due to report results in January. It is the smallest of the group, with revenue roughly $20 billion behind the other three.

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