As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the business process outsourcing & consulting industry, including TaskUs (NASDAQ: TASK) 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 8 business process outsourcing & consulting stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues along with next quarter’s revenue guidance were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 6.4% since the latest earnings results.
TaskUs (NASDAQ: TASK)
Starting as a virtual assistant service in 2008 before evolving into a global digital services provider, TaskUs (NASDAQ: TASK) provides outsourced digital services including customer experience management, content moderation, and AI data services to innovative technology companies.
TaskUs reported revenues of $274.2 million, up 17.1% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with full-year revenue guidance topping analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The stock is down 12.3% since reporting and currently trades at $13.70.
Read our full report on TaskUs here, it’s free.
Best Q4: 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 $176.4 million, up 9.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.8%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year revenue guidance beating analysts’ expectations.
CRA pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $179.70.
Is now the time to buy CRA? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: CBIZ (NYSE: CBZ)
With over 120 offices across 33 states and a team of more than 6,700 professionals, CBIZ (NYSE: CBZ) provides accounting, tax, benefits, insurance brokerage, and advisory services to help small and mid-sized businesses manage their finances and operations.
CBIZ reported revenues of $460.3 million, up 40.5% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 11.1%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
CBIZ delivered the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. As expected, the stock is down 13.7% since the results and currently trades at $73.62.
Read our full analysis of CBIZ’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 $894.9 million, down 3.2% year on year. This print lagged analysts' expectations by 2.1%. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter as it also recorded full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
FTI Consulting had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 14.8% since reporting and currently trades at $161.99.
Read our full, actionable report on FTI Consulting here, it’s free.
Exponent (NASDAQ: EXPO)
With a team of over 800 consultants holding advanced degrees in 90+ technical disciplines, Exponent (NASDAQ: EXPO) is a science and engineering consulting firm that investigates complex problems and provides expert analysis for clients across various industries.
Exponent reported revenues of $123.8 million, up 8.7% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 3.5%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The stock is down 11.6% since reporting and currently trades at $79.31.
Read our full, actionable report on Exponent here, it’s free.
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