Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting Stocks Q3 Teardown: Huron (NASDAQ:HURN) Vs The Rest

As the Q3 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the business process outsourcing & consulting industry, including Huron (NASDAQ:HURN) and its peers.

The sector stands to benefit from ongoing digital transformation, increasing corporate demand for cost efficiencies, and the growing complexity of regulatory and cybersecurity landscapes. For those that invest wisely, AI and automation capabilities could emerge as competitive advantages, enhancing process efficiencies for the companies themselves as well as their clients. On the flip side, AI could be a headwind as well as the technology could lower the barrier to entry in the space and give rise to more self-service solutions. Additional challenges in the years ahead could include wage inflation for highly skilled consultants and potential regulatory scrutiny on outsourcing practices—especially in industries like finance and healthcare where who has access to certain data matters greatly.

The 9 business process outsourcing & consulting stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 7.8% on average since the latest earnings results.

Huron (NASDAQ:HURN)

Founded in 2002 during a time of significant regulatory change in corporate America, Huron Consulting Group (NASDAQ:HURN) is a professional services company that helps organizations develop growth strategies, optimize operations, and implement digital transformation solutions.

Huron reported revenues of $441.3 million, up 16.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.3%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS and revenue estimates.

“Our third quarter performance was strong, driven by growth across all three operating segments. Companywide revenues before reimbursable expenses (RBR) grew 17% in the third quarter, including 10% organic growth, reflecting a robust demand environment for our services and strong execution by our teams,” said Mark Hussey, chief executive officer and president of Huron.

Huron delivered the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 17.1% since reporting and currently trades at $178.54.

Read why we think that Huron is one of the best business process outsourcing & consulting stocks, our full report is free.

Best Q3: CRA (NASDAQ:CRAI)

Often retained for high-stakes matters with multibillion-dollar implications, CRA International (NASDAQ:CRAI) provides economic, financial, and management consulting services to corporations, law firms, and government agencies for litigation, regulatory proceedings, and business strategy.

CRA reported revenues of $185.9 million, up 10.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.6%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 21.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $215.65.

Is now the time to buy CRA? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q3: Concentrix (NASDAQ:CNXC)

With a team of approximately 450,000 employees across 75 countries, Concentrix (NASDAQ:CNXC) designs and delivers customer experience solutions that help global brands manage their customer interactions across digital channels and contact centers.

Concentrix reported revenues of $2.48 billion, up 4% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS guidance for next quarter estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 22.4% since the results and currently trades at $42.70.

Read our full analysis of Concentrix’s results here.

FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN)

With a team of experts deployed across 30+ countries to tackle complex business challenges, FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN) is a global business advisory firm that helps organizations manage change, mitigate risk, and resolve disputes across financial, legal, operational, and regulatory matters.

FTI Consulting reported revenues of $956.2 million, up 3.3% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. It was a very strong quarter as it also recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

FTI Consulting had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 12.9% since reporting and currently trades at $175.90.

Read our full, actionable report on FTI Consulting here, it’s free.

Genpact (NYSE:G)

Originally spun off from General Electric in 2005 to provide business process services, Genpact (NYSE:G) is a global professional services firm that helps businesses transform their operations through digital technology, AI, and data analytics solutions.

Genpact reported revenues of $1.29 billion, up 6.6% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 2%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also put up an impressive beat of analysts’ constant currency revenue estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is up 25.1% since reporting and currently trades at $48.02.

Read our full, actionable report on Genpact here, it’s free.

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