Reasons Why You Should Hold Charles River Stock in Your Portfolio

Shares of Charles River CRAI have gained 7% over the past month, outperforming the industry’s 0.7% growth.

The company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings are expected to increase 1% year over year. Its 2025 and 2026 earnings are expected to rise 8.2% and 7.3%, respectively. Revenues are expected to grow 8.3% in 2025 and 3% in 2026.

Factors That Bode Well for CRAI

CRAI’s revenue growth is primarily driven by its consulting and research services. Rising demand for specialized advisory services fuels the need for its offerings, enabling clients to cope with the complex global marketplace by engaging highly educated economists, business professionals and engineers. During the third quarter, the company advised UnitedHealth Group in connection with the U.S. Department of Justice’s review. CRAI’s ability to attract top talent, coupled with its focus on innovation and client-centric solutions, enables it to meet the global demand.

Charles River Associates Revenue (TTM)

Charles River Associates revenue-ttm | Charles River Associates Quote

High-quality consulting remains the backbone of CRAI’s success. The company enhances its capabilities by collaborating with independent experts from leading academic institutions to address complex client needs. Recently, CRAI provided economic analysis and support to Microsoft during an investigation into its collaboration platform and assisted a client involved in an alleged breach of contract and anticompetitive conduct in the chemicals and agricultural products industry. During the third quarter, its energy sector professionals also supported a California electric utility firm in balancing reliability, decarbonization and affordability objectives through the development of an integrated resources plan.

CRAI’s focused strategic approach to strengthening client relationships across its business lines demonstrates its commitment to customer retention globally. The company’s presence across North America and Europe further enhances its ability to serve a diverse client base, supporting long-term growth.

CRAI consistently returns value to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The company paid dividends of $9.6 million, $10.8 million and $12.3 million, while repurchasing shares of $27.6 million, $31.4 million and $33.3 million in 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively. This consistency instills investors’ confidence in the company.

A Risk

CRAI had a current ratio of 0.9 in the third quarter of 2025, lower than the industry average of 1.19. A current ratio below 1 often suggests that a company may not be well-positioned to meet its short-term obligations.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

CRAI currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

A couple of better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are AppLovin Corporation APP and Coherent Corp. COHR.

AppLovin sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. APP has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 20%. The company delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.3% on average.

Coherent Corp. also flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 at present, with a long-term earnings growth expectation of 25.6%. COHR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 15.2% on average.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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