PwC at a glance
PwC is a Big Four network of partner-owned firms coordinated by PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited in London. For the year ended 30 June 2025 its firms reported record gross revenue of US$56.9 billion, up 2.7% in local currency and 2.9% in US dollars, with about 364,000 people in 136 countries. Mohamed Kande has been Global Chairman since 1 July 2024.
How PwC makes money
Member firms bill clients for Advisory (about US$24.4 billion in FY2025), Assurance (about US$19.8 billion) and Tax and Legal Services (about US$12.7 billion). Audits are recurring because listed and regulated companies must buy them every year; advisory is larger but more exposed to the consulting cycle. Profits are shared by each firm's partners, and no network net income is published.
Revenue trend
Gross revenue grew from US$50.3 billion in FY2022 to US$53.1 billion in FY2023, US$55.4 billion in FY2024 and US$56.9 billion in FY2025. Growth slowed each year, and Bloomberg Law reported that PwC lagged its Big Four peers in FY2025. The Americas were the largest region at US$25.5 billion.
Competitors
PwC competes with Deloitte, EY and KPMG for audit, tax and advisory work, and with Accenture, McKinsey, BCG, Bain and IBM Consulting for consulting and technology projects. Its Strategy& unit, formerly Booz & Company, competes for senior strategy work.
Risks and controversies
Audit quality is the main risk. In 2024 China fined PwC Zhong Tian ~$61.3 million (441 million yuan) and suspended it for six months over Evergrande audits. In 2023 a tax-leak scandal in Australia led to the CEO's resignation and A$1 sale of the government consulting arm. AI automation and lower graduate hiring are reshaping the staffing model.
History
Samuel Lowell Price opened his London practice in 1849, and Price Waterhouse formed in 1865. William Cooper's 1854 practice and the 1898 Philadelphia firm Lybrand, Ross Bros. & Montgomery combined as Coopers & Lybrand in 1957. The two merged in 1998 to create PricewaterhouseCoopers, which sold its consulting arm to IBM in 2002, adopted the PwC brand in 2010 and bought Booz & Company in 2014.