Dj Exponent Inc, Inst Holders, 3Q 2025 (Expo)

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:

• Traditional Media & Publishing company EchoStar jumped 2.6%. Is now the time to buy EchoStar? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Terrestrial Telecommunication Services company Lumen jumped 2.7%. Is now the time to buy Lumen? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting company Exponent jumped 3%. Is now the time to buy Exponent? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• IT Distribution & Solutions company TD SYNNEX jumped 2.9%. Is now the time to buy TD SYNNEX? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• IT Services & Consulting company IBM jumped 2.8%. Is now the time to buy IBM? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On Exponent (EXPO)

Exponent’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 2 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 4 months ago when the stock dropped 4% on the news that a surprisingly weak U.S. jobs report was released, fueling concerns about a slowing economy. The U.S. economy added only 73,000 jobs, falling significantly short of economists' expectations, while figures for May and June were revised down, erasing 258,000 previously reported jobs. The professional and business services industry itself shed 14,000 jobs. This data points to a cooling labor market, fueling concerns of a slowing economy. A weaker economic outlook often leads to reduced corporate spending on key services like IT consulting and professional staffing, which directly impacts the sector's revenue and growth prospects. The report immediately increased investor expectations of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Exponent is down 19.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $70.66 per share, it is trading 29.6% below its 52-week high of $100.30 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Exponent’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $862.70.

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.

Exponent’s third quarter performance was led by robust demand for its dispute-related consulting work, particularly in the energy, transportation, life sciences, and construction sectors. Management highlighted that reactive projects—those addressing urgent client challenges such as litigation or failure analysis—were the primary growth driver, while proactive risk management and regulatory consulting also contributed, especially in utilities and chemicals. CEO Catherine Corrigan noted, “Our diversified portfolio and deep technical capabilities position us well to capture this demand and deliver meaningful value for our clients.” Management did acknowledge a slowdown in consumer electronics activity, though they observed signs of improvement as the quarter ended.

Is now the time to buy EXPO? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

Exponent (EXPO) Q3 CY2025 Highlights:

• Revenue: $137.1 million vs analyst estimates of $131.8 million (9.6% year-on-year growth, 4% beat)
• Adjusted EPS: $0.55 vs analyst estimates of $0.53 (3.7% beat)
• Adjusted EBITDA: $44.18 million vs analyst estimates of $36.32 million (32.2% margin, 21.6% beat)
• Operating Margin: 21.2%, in line with the same quarter last year
• Market Capitalization: $3.72 billion

While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.

Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Exponent’s Q3 Earnings Call

• Andrew Nicholas (William Blair) asked about 2026 hiring plans and whether Exponent would exceed historical growth rates. CEO Catherine Corrigan stated recruitment will target sectors with the strongest demand, aiming for a 4–6% headcount increase.
• Andrew Nicholas (William Blair) inquired about AI’s penetration and its balance between proactive and reactive business. Corrigan explained AI is embedded across both, touching industries from regulated medical devices to transportation disputes.
• Andrew Nicholas (William Blair) requested a breakdown of growth between proactive and reactive segments. CFO Richard Schlenker clarified that reactive consulting drove most growth, while proactive work was flat but showed late-quarter improvement.
• Tyler Barishaw (Truist) asked about regulatory consulting and the impact of shifting regulatory environments. Corrigan noted continued strength in chemicals and medical devices, with only minor client delays from regulatory processes.
• Karandeep Singhania (UBS) questioned if hiring mix affected realized rate increases. Schlenker responded that increased junior hiring and work mix would likely bring rate realization back to historical levels, around 3–3.5%.

Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters

In the coming quarters, our analysts will be closely tracking (1) the pace and effectiveness of Exponent’s hiring in high-demand sectors like AI and digital health, (2) the recovery in proactive consulting, particularly in consumer electronics, and (3) the firm’s ability to sustain utilization and margin levels as work mix shifts. Additional attention will be paid to the influence of regulatory changes and macroeconomic factors on client consulting demand.

Exponent currently trades at $73.66, up from $66.79 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

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