Dj Ceo Caldwell Surrenders 7075 Of Concentrix Corp >Cnxc

What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after comments from a key Federal Reserve official hinted at a potential interest rate cut in December. 

John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, signaled he was open to lowering the fed funds rate—the key interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans—to support the job market. Speaking at an event, Williams stated that he sees “room for a further adjustment” for interest rates, which immediately shifted market expectations. Following his remarks, the perceived likelihood of an interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve's December meeting flipped from unlikely to more likely than not. The prospect of lower borrowing costs sent a wave of optimism through the markets, leading to a rally in major indices like the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Specialized Technology company Mirion jumped 6.7%. Is now the time to buy Mirion? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Office & Commercial Furniture company MillerKnoll jumped 8.2%. Is now the time to buy MillerKnoll? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting company Concentrix jumped 6.5%. Is now the time to buy Concentrix? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Professional Staffing & HR Solutions company First Advantage jumped 7.9%. Is now the time to buy First Advantage? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Hardware & Infrastructure company HP jumped 6.5%. Is now the time to buy HP? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On MillerKnoll (MLKN)

MillerKnoll’s shares are quite volatile and have had 16 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 9 days ago when the stock gained 2.9% on the news that investors continued to pile into value-oriented names amid growing valuation concerns. This shift reflected growing caution over high valuations within the technology and artificial intelligence (AI) spheres. As market participants reassessed risk, they reallocated capital from growth-heavy indices, like the Nasdaq, to companies in areas like industrials and financials, perceived to be more reasonably priced.Contributing to the positive momentum, markets remained hopeful that a prolonged 40-day government shutdown would be over.The U.S. Senate approved a compromise funding package, which was pending a vote in the House. The potential end to the shutdown brought a sense of relief to markets.

MillerKnoll is down 31.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $15.27 per share, it is trading 41% below its 52-week high of $25.89 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of MillerKnoll’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $407.09.

The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how business process outsourcing & consulting stocks fared in Q3, starting with FTI Consulting .

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 8 business process outsourcing & consulting stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

While some business process outsourcing & consulting stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 3.7% since the latest earnings results.

FTI Consulting

With a team of experts deployed across 30+ countries to tackle complex business challenges, FTI Consulting 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 print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

Steven H. Gunby, CEO and Chairman of FTI Consulting, commented, “Notwithstanding major headwinds in a couple of our businesses, we delivered, yet again, record revenues and earnings this quarter. These tremendous results, to me, confirm once again the power of our team and the strength of our continued commitment to invest behind great professionals who help clients navigate their most significant opportunities and challenges.”

FTI Consulting delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 4% since reporting and currently trades at $162.08.

Is now the time to buy FTI Consulting? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: CRA

Often retained for high-stakes matters with multibillion-dollar implications, CRA International 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 and revenue estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 1.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $174.34.

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

Weakest Q3: Concentrix

With a team of approximately 450,000 employees across 75 countries, Concentrix 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.

As expected, the stock is down 39.3% since the results and currently trades at $33.37.

Read our full analysis of Concentrix’s results here.

Exponent

With a team of over 800 consultants holding advanced degrees in 90+ technical disciplines, Exponent is a science and engineering consulting firm that investigates complex problems and provides expert analysis for clients across various industries.

Exponent reported revenues of $137.1 million, up 9.6% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 4%. It was a very strong quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Exponent achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 1.2% since reporting and currently trades at $67.63.

Read our full, actionable report on Exponent here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Huron

Founded in 2002 during a time of significant regulatory change in corporate America, Huron Consulting Group 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 number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.3%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also put up a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

Huron had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is up 6.8% since reporting and currently trades at $162.90.

Read our full, actionable report on Huron here, it’s free for active Edge members.

What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after investor anxiety grew over stretched valuations in the sector. 

Nvidia slid 3% ahead of its earnings report, dragging down fellow "Magnificent Seven" peers despite a major partnership announcement with Anthropic, as investors increasingly question the durability of the AI rally.Market sentiment was further dampened by Bitcoin dropping below $90,000, signaling reduced risk appetite, and growing anxiety that the Federal Reserve may pause rate cuts in December, with the implied probability of a cut falling to roughly 50%. Adding to the weakness, Home Depot shares declined following an earnings miss and a cut to its full-year outlook. This combination of continued de-risking and valuation skepticism put the S&P 500 on pace for its fourth consecutive daily decline.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Professional Staffing & HR Solutions company Alight fell 4.7%. Is now the time to buy Alight? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Specialized Technology company OSI Systems fell 3.7%. Is now the time to buy OSI Systems? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• IT Services & Consulting company Kyndryl fell 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Kyndryl? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting company Concentrix fell 2.6%. Is now the time to buy Concentrix? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Specialized Technology company PAR Technology fell 3.3%. Is now the time to buy PAR Technology? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On Alight (ALIT)

Alight’s shares are quite volatile and have had 15 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock dropped 3.7% on the news that investors continued to the company's recent quarterly earnings report, which missed analyst expectations on both profit and revenue. 

The company posted earnings per share of $0.12, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.13. Revenue for the quarter was $533 million, which was below the anticipated $539.43 million and represented a 4.0% decrease compared to the same period in the previous year. In the wake of the results, analysts at Wedbush and UBS Group lowered their price targets on the stock. Wedbush reduced its target to $5.00 from $7.00, and UBS Group cut its target to $4.00 from $6.50, signaling reduced confidence following the financial update.

Alight is down 69.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $2.07 per share, it is trading 74.5% below its 52-week high of $8.09 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Alight’s shares at the IPO in July 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $228.68.