ICON plc (NASDAQ:ICLR), the Dublin-based clinical research organization, saw its shares fall sharply after the company announced an internal accounting investigation and pushed back the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 financial statements.
The company said its Audit Committee launched the review in late October 2025 after concerns were raised through company management. ICON said the inquiry is being led by outside legal counsel and supported by forensic and technical accounting firms. According to the company, the investigation primarily centers on the company's revenue recognition practices for the period covering 2023 through 2025.
Preliminary results of the probe indicate that ICON's revenue may have been overstated by less than 2% for each of the fiscal years 2023 and 2024. The company also signaled that it expects to identify one or more material weaknesses in its internal controls over financial reporting.
Because the review remains ongoing, ICON has suspended its usual reporting timeline and withdrawn the financial guidance it had previously provided for 2025. The company now expects to publish its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results on or before April 30, 2026.
In response to the announcement, ICON's Chair, Ciaran Murray, expressed "full faith in ICON’s executive team." CEO Barry Balfe characterized the business as "a strong business underpinned by a longstanding commitment to quality, integrity and transparency," and said the company is implementing corrective actions to strengthen internal controls over financial reporting.
ICON said the practices under review have not been found to have affected customers.
Investors and market participants will be watching for the final outcome of the probe and the company’s remedial steps. The combination of potential control deficiencies, a delay in reporting, and withdrawn guidance has already been associated with a marked move in the company’s share price.
ICON’s disclosure provides a timeline for when more complete financial information will be available, while flagging the possibility that historical revenue figures for 2023 and 2024 may require adjustment. The company’s announcement also commits to enhancing its internal control framework as the investigation proceeds.
Until the Audit Committee concludes its review and ICON files the next set of financial statements, the company’s stakeholders will be relying on the preliminary findings and the firm’s stated corrective actions.