UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
| QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2025
OR
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
Commission file number: 000-50976
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (IRS Employer Identification Number) | |||||||
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| ☒ | Accelerated Filer | ☐ | Non-accelerated Filer | ☐ | Smaller Reporting Company | Emerging Growth Company | |||||||||||||||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
As of April 22, 2025, 17,248,034 shares of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share, were outstanding.
| Huron Consulting Group Inc. | ||
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
INDEX
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| Item 2. | ||||||||
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| Item 4. | ||||||||
| Item 1. | ||||||||
| Item 1A. | ||||||||
| Item 2. | ||||||||
| Item 3. | ||||||||
| Item 4. | ||||||||
| Item 5. | ||||||||
| Item 6. | ||||||||
PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
ITEM 1. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
| March 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | |||||||||
Receivables from clients, net of allowances of $ | |||||||||||
Unbilled services, net of allowances of $ | |||||||||||
| Income tax receivable | |||||||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | |||||||||||
| Total current assets | |||||||||||
| Property and equipment, net | |||||||||||
| Deferred income taxes, net | |||||||||||
| Long-term investments | |||||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | |||||||||||
| Other non-current assets | |||||||||||
| Intangible assets, net | |||||||||||
| Goodwill | |||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Liabilities and stockholders’ equity | |||||||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Accrued payroll and related benefits | |||||||||||
| Current maturities of long-term debt | |||||||||||
| Current maturities of operating lease liabilities | |||||||||||
| Deferred revenues | |||||||||||
| Total current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Non-current liabilities: | |||||||||||
| Deferred compensation and other liabilities | |||||||||||
| Long-term debt, net of current portion | |||||||||||
| Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion | |||||||||||
| Deferred income taxes, net | |||||||||||
| Total non-current liabilities | |||||||||||
| Commitments and contingencies | |||||||||||
| Stockholders’ equity | |||||||||||
Common stock; $ | |||||||||||
Treasury stock, at cost, | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | |||||||||||
| Retained earnings | |||||||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) | ( | ||||||||||
| Total stockholders’ equity | |||||||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ | $ | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
1
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Revenues: | |||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Direct costs (exclusive of depreciation and amortization included below) | |||||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | |||||||||||
Other losses | |||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | |||||||||||
| Operating income | |||||||||||
| Other income (expense), net: | |||||||||||
| Interest expense, net of interest income | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Other income (expense), net | ( | ||||||||||
| Total other expense, net | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Income before taxes | |||||||||||
Income tax benefit | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Earnings per share: | |||||||||||
| Net income per basic share | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Net income per diluted share | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Weighted average shares used in calculating earnings per share: | |||||||||||
| Basic | |||||||||||
| Diluted | |||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss): | |||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments, net of tax | ( | ||||||||||
Unrealized loss on investment, net of tax | ( | ( | |||||||||
Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedging instruments, net of tax | ( | ||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Comprehensive income | $ | $ | |||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
2
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(In thousands, except share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Stock | Treasury Stock | Additional Paid-In Capital | Retained Earnings | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) | Stockholders’ Equity | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2024 | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock in connection with: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock awards, net of cancellations | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of stock options | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purchase of business | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares redeemed for employee tax withholdings | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share repurchases | ( | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at March 31, 2025 | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at December 31, 2023 | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock in connection with: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock awards, net of cancellations | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exercise of stock options | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purchase of business | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares redeemed for employee tax withholdings | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Share repurchases | ( | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at March 31, 2024 | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
3
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities: | |||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash flows from operating activities: | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||
| Non-cash lease expense | |||||||||||
| Lease-related impairment charges | |||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | |||||||||||
| Amortization of debt discount and issuance costs | |||||||||||
| Allowances for doubtful accounts | |||||||||||
| Deferred income taxes | |||||||||||
| Change in fair value of contingent consideration liabilities | |||||||||||
| Change in fair value of preferred stock investment | |||||||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions: | |||||||||||
| (Increase) decrease in receivables from clients, net | ( | ( | |||||||||
| (Increase) decrease in unbilled services, net | ( | ||||||||||
| (Increase) decrease in current income tax receivable / payable, net | ( | ( | |||||||||
| (Increase) decrease in other assets | ( | ||||||||||
| Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and other liabilities | |||||||||||
| Increase (decrease) in accrued payroll and related benefits | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Increase (decrease) in deferred revenues | ( | ( | |||||||||
Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Cash flows from investing activities: | |||||||||||
| Purchases of property and equipment | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Investments in life insurance policies | ( | ( | |||||||||
Purchases of businesses, net of cash acquired | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Capitalization of internally developed software costs | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Proceeds from note receivable | |||||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Cash flows from financing activities: | |||||||||||
| Proceeds from exercises of stock options | |||||||||||
| Shares redeemed for employee tax withholdings | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Share repurchases | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Proceeds from bank borrowings | |||||||||||
| Repayments of bank borrowings | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Payments for debt issuance costs | ( | ||||||||||
Deferred payment on business acquisition | ( | ||||||||||
Net cash provided by financing activities | |||||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash | ( | ||||||||||
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | |||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period | |||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: | |||||||||||
| Non-cash investing and financing activities: | |||||||||||
| Property and equipment expenditures and capitalized software included in current liabilities | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease liabilities | $ | $ | |||||||||
Common stock issued related to purchases of businesses | $ | $ | |||||||||
Contingent consideration accrued related to purchase of business | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Share repurchases included in current liabilities | $ | $ | |||||||||
Excise tax on net share repurchases included in non-current liabilities | $ | $ | |||||||||
4
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
1. Description of Business
Huron is a global professional services firm that partners with clients to put possible into practice by creating sound strategies, optimizing operations, accelerating digital transformation, and empowering businesses to own their future. By embracing diverse perspectives, encouraging new ideas and challenging the status quo, we create sustainable results for the organizations we serve.
We provide our services and products and manage our business under three operating segments - Healthcare, Education, and Commercial - which aligns our business by industry. The Commercial segment includes all industries outside of healthcare and education, including, but not limited to, financial services, energy and utilities, industrials and manufacturing, and the public sector. We also provide revenue reporting across two principal capabilities: i) Consulting and Managed Services and ii) Digital, which are methods by which we deliver our services and products.
See Note 14 “Segment Information” for a discussion of our three segments.
2. Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements reflect the financial position, results of operations, and cash flows as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Accordingly, these financial statements do not include all of the information and note disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for annual financial statements. In the opinion of management, these financial statements reflect all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature necessary for the fair statement of our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the interim periods presented in conformity with GAAP. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. Our results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year or any other interim period.
In the second quarter of 2024, we revised the presentation of our consolidated statement of operations and other comprehensive income (loss) to separately present other losses (gains), net previously presented within selling, general and administrative expenses. The change in presentation had no effect on our consolidated results, and our historical consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive income (loss) were revised for consistent presentation.
3. New Accounting Pronouncements
Not Yet Adopted
On December 14, 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2023-09, Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which updates annual income tax disclosures by requiring disclosure of specific categories in the rate reconciliation, as well as disclosure of income taxes paid disaggregated by jurisdiction. ASU 2023-09 will be effective for our annual reporting periods beginning with the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, with early adoption permitted, and is required to be applied prospectively with the option of retrospective application. We expect the adoption of this ASU will have no impact on our financial position or our results of operations, but will result in additional disclosures.
On November 4, 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement-Reporting Comprehensive Income-Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses, which is intended to enhance transparency of the nature and function of expenses, primarily through additional disclosures of certain cost and expenses. ASU 2024-03 will be effective for our annual reporting periods beginning with the fiscal year ending December 31, 2027 and for interim reporting periods beginning in fiscal year 2028, with early adoption permitted, and is required to be applied prospectively with the option of retrospective application. We expect the adoption of this ASU will have no impact on our financial position or our results of operations, but will result in additional disclosures.
5
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
4. Goodwill and Intangible Assets
Goodwill
The table below sets forth the changes in the carrying value of goodwill by reportable segment for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
Healthcare | Education | Commercial | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
| Accumulated impairment losses | ( | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill, net as of December 31, 2024 | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
Goodwill recorded in connection with business acquisitions | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Goodwill, net as of March 31, 2025 | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||
2025 Acquisitions
On March 1, 2025, we completed the acquisition of Advancement Resources, a research-based, philanthropy-focused professional education services firm. The results of operations of Advancement Resources are included within our consolidated financial statements and results of operations of our Education segment as of the acquisition date.
On March 17, 2025, we completed the acquisition of Halpin Partnership Limited (“Halpin”), a U.K.-based management consultancy specializing in higher education fundraising, governance, and strategy. The results of operations of Halpin are included within our consolidated financial statements and results of operations of our Education segment as of the acquisition date.
The acquisitions of Advancement Resources and Halpin are not significant to our consolidated financial statements individually or in the aggregate as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2025. These acquisitions were accounted for using the acquisition method of accounting. Contract assets and contract liabilities are recorded at their carrying value under Topic 606: Revenue from Contracts with Customers.
The current acquisition date values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed in the Advancement Resources and Halpin acquisitions are considered preliminary and are based on the information that was available as of the date of each acquisition. We believe that the information provides a reasonable basis for estimating the preliminary values of assets acquired and liabilities assumed but certain items, such as the valuations of the intangible assets and the working capital adjustments, among other things, may be subject to change as additional information is received. Thus, the provisional measurements of assets acquired, including goodwill, and liabilities assumed related to the Advancement Resources and Halpin acquisitions are subject to change. We expect to finalize the valuations as soon as practicable, but not later than one year from the acquisition dates.
6
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Intangible Assets
Intangible assets as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 consisted of the following:
| As of March 31, 2025 | As of December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Useful Life (in years) | Gross Carrying Amount | Accumulated Amortization | Gross Carrying Amount | Accumulated Amortization | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Customer relationships | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology and software | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trade names | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Customer contracts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Non-competition agreements | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
During the three months ended March 31, 2025, we acquired intangible assets of $3.3 million related to our acquisitions of Advancement Resources and Halpin. These acquired intangible assets consist of customer relationships, customer contracts and non-competition agreements.
Identifiable intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives using either an accelerated or straight-line basis to correspond to the cash flows expected to be derived from the assets. Intangible asset amortization expense was $2.0 million and $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. The table below sets forth the estimated annual amortization expense for the intangible assets recorded as of March 31, 2025.
| Year Ending December 31, | Estimated Amortization Expense | |||||||
| 2025 | $ | |||||||
| 2026 | $ | |||||||
| 2027 | $ | |||||||
| 2028 | $ | |||||||
| 2029 | $ | |||||||
Actual future amortization expense could differ from these estimated amounts as a result of future acquisitions, dispositions, and other factors.
5. Revenues
For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, we recognized total revenues of $404.1 363.4 million, respectively. Of the $404.1 12.4 million from obligations satisfied, or partially satisfied, in prior periods, of which $10.8 million was primarily due to changes in the estimates of our variable consideration under performance-based billing arrangements and $1.6 million was primarily due to the release of allowances on receivables from clients and unbilled services. Of the $363.4 million total revenues recognized in the first quarter of 2024, we recognized $8.3 million from obligations satisfied, or partially satisfied, in prior periods, of which $7.5 million was primarily due to changes in the estimates of our variable consideration under performance-based billing arrangements and $0.8 million was primarily due to the release of allowances on receivables from clients and unbilled services.
As of March 31, 2025, we had $191.8 million of remaining performance obligations under engagements with original expected durations greater than one year. These remaining performance obligations exclude variable consideration which has been excluded from the total transaction price due to the constraint and performance obligations under time-and-expense engagements which are recognized in the amount invoiced. Of the $191.8 million of performance obligations, we expect to recognize $66.1 million as revenue in 2025, $63.9 million in 2026, and the remaining $61.8 million thereafter. Actual revenue recognition could differ from these amounts as a result of changes in the estimated timing of work to be performed, adjustments to estimated variable consideration in performance-based arrangements, or other factors.
7
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Contract Assets and Liabilities
The payment terms and conditions in our customer contracts vary. Differences between the timing of billings and the recognition of revenue are recognized as either unbilled services or deferred revenues in the consolidated balance sheets.
Unbilled services include revenues recognized for services performed but not yet billed to clients. Services performed that we are not yet entitled to bill because certain events, such as the completion of the measurement period or client approval in performance-based engagements, must occur are recorded as contract assets and included within unbilled services, net. The contract asset, net balance as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 was $60.9 million and $60.1 million, respectively. The $0.8 million increase primarily reflects timing differences between the completion of our performance obligations and the amounts billed or billable to clients in accordance with their contractual billing terms.
6. Earnings Per Share
Basic earnings per share excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period, excluding unvested restricted common stock. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential reduction in earnings per share that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock under the treasury stock method. Such securities or other contracts include unvested restricted stock awards, unvested restricted stock units, and outstanding common stock options, to the extent dilutive. In periods for which we report a net loss, diluted weighted average common shares outstanding excludes all potential common stock equivalents as their impact on diluted net loss per share would be anti-dilutive.
Earnings per share under the basic and diluted computations are as follows:
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic | |||||||||||
| Weighted average common stock equivalents | |||||||||||
| Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted | |||||||||||
| Net income per basic share | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Net income per diluted share | $ | $ | |||||||||
Share Repurchase Program
In November 2020, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program permitting us to repurchase up to $50 million of our common stock through December 31, 2021.The share repurchase program has been subsequently extended and increased, most recently in the first quarter of 2025. The current authorization extends the share repurchase program through December 31, 2026 with a repurchase amount of $700 million. The amount and timing of repurchases under the share repurchase program were and will continue to be determined by management and depend on a variety of factors, including the trading price of our common stock, capacity under our credit facility, general market and business conditions, and applicable legal requirements.
During the three months ended March 31, 2025, we repurchased and retired 508,611 shares for $72.9 million, which includes a $0.1 million accrual for excise taxes on the net share repurchases and includes 57,040 shares for $8.1 million which were settled in the second quarter of
8
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
2025. Additionally, in the first quarter of 2025, we settled the repurchase of 5,103 shares for $0.6 million which were accrued as of December 31, 2024.
During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we repurchased and retired 624,698 shares for $62.3 million, which includes a $0.1 million accrual for excise taxes on the net share repurchases and includes 23,000 shares for $2.2 million which settled in the second quarter of 2024. Additionally, in the first quarter of 2024, we settled the repurchase of 10,000 shares for $1.0 million which were accrued as of December 31, 2023.
As of March 31, 2025, $191.7 million remained available for share repurchases under our share repurchase program.
7. Financing Arrangements
The Company has a $600 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) and a $275 million senior secured term loan facility (the “Term Loan”), subject to the terms of the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of November 15, 2022 (as amended, the “Amended Credit Agreement”), both of which fully mature on November 15, 2027 . The Term Loan is subject to scheduled quarterly amortization payments of $3.4 million which began June 30, 2024 and continue through the maturity date of November 15, 2027 , at which time the outstanding principal balance and all accrued interest will be due.
As of March 31, 2025, we had total borrowings outstanding under our Amended Credit Agreement of $576.3 million, consisting of $315.0 million outstanding under the Revolver and $261.3 million outstanding under the Term Loan. A summary of the scheduled maturities of those borrowings follows:
| Scheduled Maturities of Long-Term Debt | ||||||||
| 2025 | $ | |||||||
| 2026 | $ | |||||||
| 2027 | $ | |||||||
Borrowings under the Revolver may be used for working capital, capital expenditures, share repurchases, permitted acquisitions, and other general corporate purposes. The proceeds of the Term Loan were used to reduce borrowings under the Revolver.
The Amended Credit Agreement provides the option to increase the revolving credit facility or establish additional term loan facilities in an aggregate amount up to $250 million, subject to customary conditions and the approval of any lender whose commitment would be increased, resulting in a maximum available principal amount under the Amended Credit Agreement of $1.13 billion.
Fees and interest on borrowings under the Amended Credit Agreement vary based on our Consolidated Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement). At our option, these borrowings will bear interest at one, three or six month Term SOFR or, in the case of the Revolver, an alternate base rate, in each case plus the applicable margin. The applicable margin for borrowings under the Revolver will fluctuate between 1.125 % per annum and 1.875 % per annum, in the case of Term SOFR borrowings, or between 0.125 % per annum and 0.875% per annum, in the case of base rate loans, based upon our Consolidated Leverage Ratio at such time. The applicable margin for the outstanding principal under the Term Loan will range between 1.625 % per annum and 2.375 % per annum based upon our Consolidated Leverage Ratio at such time. The fees and interest are subject to further adjustment based upon the Company's performance against specified key performance indicators. Based upon the performance of the Company against those key performance indicators in each Reference Year (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement), certain adjustments to the otherwise applicable rates for interest, commitment fees and letter of credit fees will be made. These annual adjustments will not exceed an increase or decrease of 0.01 % in the aggregate for all key performance indicators in the case of the commitment fee rate or an increase or decrease of 0.05 % in the aggregate for all key performance indicators in the case of the Term SOFR borrowings, base rate borrowings or letter of credit fee rate.
Amounts borrowed under the Amended Credit Agreement may be prepaid at any time without premium or penalty. We are required to prepay the amounts outstanding under the Amended Credit Agreement in certain circumstances, including upon an Event of Default (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement). In addition, we have the right to permanently reduce or terminate the unused portion of the commitments provided under the Amended Credit Agreement at any time.
The loans and obligations under the Amended Credit Agreement are secured pursuant to a Third Amended and Restated Security Agreement and a Third Amended and Restated Pledge Agreement (the “Pledge Agreement”) with Bank of America, N.A. as collateral agent, pursuant to which the Company and the subsidiary guarantors grant Bank of America, N.A., for the ratable benefit of the lenders under the Amended Credit Agreement, a first-priority lien, subject to permitted liens, on substantially all of the personal property assets of the Company
9
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
and the subsidiary guarantors, and a pledge of 100 % of the stock or other equity interests in all domestic subsidiaries and 65 % of the stock or other equity interests in each “material first-tier foreign subsidiary” (as defined in the Pledge Agreement) entitled to vote and 100 % of the stock or other equity interests in each material first-tier foreign subsidiary not entitled to vote.
The Amended Credit Agreement contains usual and customary representations and warranties; affirmative and negative covenants, which include limitations on liens, investments, additional indebtedness, and restricted payments; and two quarterly financial covenants as follows: (i) a maximum Consolidated Leverage Ratio (defined as the ratio of debt to consolidated EBITDA) of 3.75 to 1.00; however the maximum permitted Consolidated Leverage Ratio will increase to 4.25 to 1.00 upon the occurrence of a Qualified Acquisition (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement), and (ii) a minimum Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio (defined as the ratio of consolidated EBITDA to interest) of 3.00 to 1.00. Consolidated EBITDA for purposes of the financial covenants is calculated on a continuing operations basis and includes adjustments to add back non-cash goodwill impairment charges, share-based compensation costs, certain non-cash restructuring charges, pro forma historical EBITDA for businesses acquired, and other specified items in accordance with the Amended Credit Agreement. For purposes of the Consolidated Leverage Ratio, total debt is on a gross basis and is not netted against our cash balances. At March 31, 2025, we were in compliance with these financial covenants with a Consolidated Leverage Ratio of 2.17 to 1.00 and a Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio of 10.71 to 1.00.
A summary of the carrying amounts of our debt follows:
| March 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||
Revolver | $ | $ | |||||||||
Term Loan | |||||||||||
Unamortized debt issuance costs - Term Loan1 | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total long-term debt | |||||||||||
Current maturities of long-term debt | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Long-term debt, net of current portion | $ | $ | |||||||||
(1)In connection with establishing the Term Loan, we incurred $1.4 million of debt issuance costs which were recognized as a discount to the Term Loan. These debt issuance costs are amortized to interest expense using an effective interest rate of 7.34 % over the term of the Term Loan. Unamortized debt issuance costs related to the Revolver are included as a component of other non-current assets and amortized to interest expense using the straight-line method over the term of the Revolver.
Borrowings outstanding under the Amended Credit Agreement as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 carried a weighted average interest rate of 5.6 % and 4.7 %, respectively, including the effect of the interest rate swaps described in Note 9 “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity.”
The borrowing capacity under the Revolver is reduced by any outstanding borrowings under the Revolver and outstanding letters of credit. At March 31, 2025, we had outstanding letters of credit totaling $0.4 284.6 million.
8. Restructuring Charges
Restructuring charges were $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, which included a $0.7 million non-cash lease impairment charge driven by updated sublease assumptions for a previously vacated office space and $0.6 million of rent and related expenses, net of sublease income, for our previously vacated office spaces.
Restructuring charges were $2.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, which included $1.0 million of severance-related expenses; $0.8 million of non-cash lease impairment charges driven by updated sublease assumptions for our previously vacated office spaces; and $0.5 million of rent and related expenses, net of sublease income, for our previously vacated office spaces.
10
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
The table below sets forth the changes in the carrying value of our restructuring charge liability by restructuring type for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
| Employee Costs | Other | Total | |||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024 | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Payments | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
Adjustments (1) | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2025 | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
(1) Adjustments exclude non-cash items related to vacated office spaces, such as lease impairment charges and accelerated depreciation on abandoned operating lease ROU assets and fixed assets, which are recorded as restructuring charges on our consolidated statements of operations.
All of the restructuring charge liability as of March 31, 2025, which primarily relates to the early termination of a contract in a prior period, is expected to be paid in the next 12 months. The employee costs and other restructuring charge liabilities are included as components of accrued payroll and related benefits and accrued expenses and other current liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet, respectively.
9. Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity
In the normal course of business, we use forward interest rate swaps to manage the interest rate risk associated with our variable-rate borrowings under our senior secured credit facility and we use foreign exchange forward contracts to manage the foreign currency exchange rate risk associated with our operations in India and Canada. We do not use derivative instruments for trading or other speculative purposes.
Cash Flow Hedges
Interest Rate Swaps: We are party to forward interest rate swap agreements with aggregate notional amounts of $250.0 one month Term SOFR and we pay to the counterparty a stated, fixed rate. The forward interest rate swap agreements have staggered maturities through February 28, 2030 .
As of March 31, 2025, it was anticipated that $0.6 million of the gains, net of tax, related to interest rate swaps currently recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) will be reclassified into interest expense, net of interest income in our consolidated statement of operations within the next 12 months.
Indian Rupee Forward Contracts: We are party to Indian Rupee forward contracts that are scheduled to mature monthly through December 31, 2025 . As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the aggregate notional amounts of these contracts were Indian Rupee (INR) 0.89 billion, or $10.4 million, and Indian Rupee (INR) 1.40 billion, or $16.3 million, respectively, based on the exchange rates in effect as of each period end.
As of March 31, 2025, it was anticipated that the $0.1 million of losses, net of tax, related to these foreign currency forward contracts currently recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) will be reclassified into earnings in our consolidated statement of operations within the next 12 months.
Refer to Note 11 “Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)” for additional information on our cash flow hedges.
11
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Derivatives not Designated as Hedging Instruments
Canadian Dollar Forward Contracts: During the first quarter of 2025, we entered into an initial Canadian Dollar forward contract with a notional amount of $25.0 million that settled on March 31, 2025 . Additionally, on March 31, 2025, we entered into another Canadian Dollar forward contract with a notional amount of $25.0 million that will settle on June 30, 2025 . We did not designate these derivatives as accounting hedging instruments. Therefore, changes in the fair value of the derivatives are recorded to other income (expense), net in our consolidated statements of operations. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, we recognized a $0.3 million loss related to the settled forward contract. We did not recognize any gain or loss related to the forward contract entered into on March 31, 2025. From time to time, we may enter into additional Canadian Dollar forward contracts to continue to establish economic hedges against our foreign exchange rate risk.
The table below sets forth additional information relating to our derivative instruments recognized on our consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.
| Derivative Instrument | Balance Sheet Location | March 31, 2025 | December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||
Assets | |||||||||||||||||
Cash Flow Hedges | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swaps | Prepaid expenses and other current assets | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swaps | Other non-current assets | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Assets | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
Liabilities | |||||||||||||||||
Cash Flow Hedges | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swaps | Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swaps | Deferred compensation and other liabilities | ||||||||||||||||
| Foreign exchange forward contracts | Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Liabilities | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
10. Fair Value of Financial Instruments
Certain of our assets and liabilities are measured at fair value. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or the price that would be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a fair value hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value and requires companies to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The fair value hierarchy consists of three levels based on the objectivity of the inputs as follows:
Level 1 Inputs | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date. | |||||||
| Level 2 Inputs | Quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability; or inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means. | |||||||
| Level 3 Inputs | Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, and include situations in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability. | |||||||
12
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
The table below sets forth our fair value hierarchy for our financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| March 31, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swaps | $ | — | $ | $ | — | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Convertible debt investment | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred compensation assets | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | — | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Liabilities: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swaps | $ | — | $ | $ | — | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign exchange forward contracts | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent consideration for business acquisitions | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | $ | — | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swaps | $ | — | $ | $ | — | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Convertible debt investment | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deferred compensation assets | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | $ | — | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Liabilities: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign exchange forward contracts | $ | — | $ | $ | — | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Contingent consideration for business acquisitions | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | $ | — | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||
Interest rate swaps: The fair values of our interest rate swaps were derived using estimates to settle the interest rate swap agreements, which are based on the net present value of expected future cash flows on each leg of the swaps utilizing market-based inputs and a discount rate reflecting the risks involved. Refer to Note 9 “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity” for additional information on our interest rate swaps.
Foreign exchange forward contracts: The fair values of our foreign exchange forward contracts were derived using estimates to settle the foreign exchange forward contracts agreements, which are based on the net present value of expected future cash flows on each contract utilizing market-based inputs, including both forward and spot prices, and a discount rate reflecting the risks involved. Refer to Note 9 “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity” for additional information on our foreign exchange forward contracts.
Deferred compensation assets: We have a non-qualified deferred compensation plan (the “Plan”) for the members of our board of directors and a select group of our employees. The deferred compensation liability is funded by the Plan assets, which consist of life insurance policies maintained within a trust. The cash surrender value of the life insurance policies approximates fair value and is based on third-party broker statements which provide the fair value of the life insurance policies' underlying investments, which are Level 2 inputs. The cash surrender value of the life insurance policies is invested primarily in mutual funds. The Plan assets are included in other non-current assets in our consolidated balance sheets. Realized and unrealized gains (losses) from the deferred compensation assets are recorded to other income (expense), net in our consolidated statements of operations.
Convertible debt investment: Since 2014, we have invested $40.9 million in the form of 1.69 % convertible debt in Shorelight Holdings, LLC (“Shorelight”), the parent company of Shorelight, a U.S.-based company that partners with leading nonprofit universities to increase access to and retention of international students, boost institutional growth, and enhance an institution’s global footprint. The convertible notes will mature on January 17, 2027
To determine the appropriate accounting treatment for our investment, we performed a variable interest entity (“VIE”) analysis and concluded that Shorelight does not meet the definition of a VIE. We also reviewed the characteristics of our investment to confirm that the convertible notes are not in-substance common stock that would warrant equity method accounting. After we reviewed all of the terms of the investment,
13
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
we concluded the appropriate accounting treatment to be that of an available-for-sale debt security. We continue to monitor the key factors of our VIE analysis and the terms of the convertible notes to ensure our accounting treatment is appropriate. We have not identified any changes to Shorelight or our investment that would change our classification of the investment as an available-for-sale debt security.
The table below sets forth the changes in the balance of the convertible debt investment for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
| Convertible Debt Investment | ||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024 | $ | |||||||
| Change in fair value | ( | |||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2025 | $ | |||||||
Contingent consideration for business acquisitions: We estimate the fair value of acquisition-related contingent consideration using either a probability-weighted assessment of the specific financial performance targets being measured or a Monte Carlo simulation model, as appropriate. These fair value measurements are based on significant inputs not observable in the market and thus represent Level 3 inputs. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurements of our contingent consideration are our measures of the estimated payouts based on internally generated financial projections on a probability-weighted basis and a discount rate which was 5.6
The table below sets forth the changes in the balance of the contingent consideration for business acquisitions for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
| Contingent Consideration for Business Acquisitions | ||||||||
Balance as of December 31, 2024 | $ | |||||||
| Payment | ( | |||||||
Balance as of March 31, 2025 | $ | |||||||
Financial assets and liabilities not recorded at fair value on a recurring basis are as follows:
Preferred Stock Investment
In the fourth quarter of 2019, we invested $5.0 million in a hospital-at-home company. The investment was made in the form of preferred stock. To determine the appropriate accounting treatment for our preferred stock investment, we performed a VIE analysis and concluded that the company does not meet the definition of a VIE. We also reviewed the characteristics of our investment to confirm that the preferred stock is not in-substance common stock that would warrant equity method accounting. After we reviewed all of the terms of the investment, we concluded the appropriate accounting treatment for our investment to be that of an equity security with no readily determinable fair value. We elected to apply the measurement alternative at the time of the purchase and will continue to do so until the investment does not qualify to be so measured. Under the measurement alternative, the investment is carried at cost minus impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for an identical or similar investment in the same company. On a quarterly basis, we review the information available to determine whether an orderly and observable transaction for the same or similar equity instrument occurred or if factors indicate that a significant decrease in value has occurred. We remeasure to the fair value of the preferred stock using
14
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
such identified information with changes in the fair value recorded to other income (expense), net in our consolidated statement of operations. The carrying value of the preferred stock investment is recorded in long-term investments in our consolidated balance sheets.
In the first quarter of 2025, we recognized a non-cash impairment loss of $4.2 million on our preferred stock investment based on the valuation anticipated from the hospital-at-home company's merger with a third-party, which is expected to close in 2025. The non-cash impairment loss was recorded to other income (expense), net in our consolidated statement of operations. Since our initial investment, we have recognized cumulative unrealized losses of $30.5 million and cumulative unrealized gains of $28.6 million. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the carrying value of our preferred stock investment was $3.2 million and $7.4 million, respectively.
Senior Secured Credit Facility
The carrying value of our borrowings outstanding under our senior secured credit facility is stated at cost. Our carrying value approximates fair value, using Level 2 inputs, as the senior secured credit facility bears interest at variable rates based on current market rates as set forth in the Amended Credit Agreement. Refer to Note 7 “Financing Arrangements” for additional information on our senior secured credit facility.
Cash and Cash Equivalents and Other Financial Instruments
Cash and cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair market value. The carrying values of all other financial instruments not described above reasonably approximate fair market value due to the nature of the financial instruments and the short-term maturity of these items.
11. Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)
The table below sets forth the components of other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.
| Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 | Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Before Taxes | Tax (Expense) Benefit | Net of Taxes | Before Taxes | Tax (Expense) Benefit | Net of Taxes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain (loss) on investment | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedges: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate swaps: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclassification adjustments into earnings | ( | ( | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign exchange forward contracts: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Change in fair value | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reclassification adjustments into earnings | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net unrealized gain (loss) on foreign exchange forward contracts | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
The before tax amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) related to our interest rate swaps and foreign exchange forward contracts designated as cash flow hedges are recorded to interest expense, net of interest income and direct costs, respectively, on our consolidated statement of operations. The related tax amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are recorded to income tax expense (benefit) on our consolidated statement of operations. Refer to Note 9 “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity” for additional information on our derivative instruments.
15
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax, includes the following components:
| Cash Flow Hedges | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign Currency Translation | Available-for-Sale Investment | Interest Rate Swaps | Foreign Exchange Forward Contracts | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2024 | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current period change | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of March 31, 2025 | $ | ( | $ | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||
12. Income Taxes
For the three months ended March 31, 2025, our effective tax rate was (14.4 )% as we recognized an income tax benefit of $3.1 million on income of $21.5 million. The effective tax rate of (14.4 )% was more favorable than the statutory rate, inclusive of state income taxes, of 25.9 %, primarily due to a discrete tax benefit for share-based compensation awards that vested during the quarter. This favorable item was partially offset by certain nondeductible expenses.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, our effective tax rate was (2.5 )% as we recognized an income tax benefit of $0.4 million on income of $17.6 million. The effective tax rate of (2.5 )% was more favorable than the statutory rate, inclusive of state income taxes, of 26.1 %, primarily due to a discrete tax benefit for share-based compensation awards that vested during the quarter.
13. Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees
Litigation
From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we are not a party to any litigation or legal proceeding or subject to any claim that, in the current opinion of management, could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations. However, due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings, actual results could differ from current expected results.
Guarantees
Guarantees in the form of letters of credit totaling $0.4
In connection with certain business acquisitions, we may be required to pay post-closing consideration to the sellers if specific financial performance targets are met over a number of years as specified in the related purchase agreements. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the total estimated fair value of our outstanding contingent consideration liability was $0.1 million and $0.2 million, respectively.
To the extent permitted by law, our bylaws and articles of incorporation require that we indemnify our officers and directors against judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in connection with civil or criminal action or proceedings, as it relates to their services to us if such person acted in good faith. Although there is no limit on the amount of indemnification, we may have recourse against our insurance carrier for certain payments made.
14. Segment Information
We provide our services and products and manage our business under three reportable segments: Healthcare, Education, and Commercial, which align our business by industry.
•Healthcare
Our Healthcare segment serves acute care providers, including national and regional health systems; academic health systems; community health systems; the federal health system; and public, children’s and critical access hospitals, and non-acute care providers, including physician practices and medical groups; payors; and long-term care or post-acute providers. Our healthcare-focused services and products include financial and operational performance improvement consulting, which spans revenue cycle, business operations and care delivery transformation; digital offerings, spanning technology and analytic-related services, including enterprise health record (“EHR”), enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) and enterprise performance management (“EPM”),
16
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
customer relationship management (“CRM”), data management, artificial intelligence (“AI”) and automation, and technology managed services, and a portfolio of software products; human capital management; revenue cycle managed services and outsourcing; financial advisory consulting; and strategy and innovation consulting.
•Education
Our Education segment serves public and private colleges and universities, research institutes, not-for-profit organizations and other education-related organizations. Our education and research-focused services and products include our digital offerings, spanning technology and analytic-related services, including student information systems, ERP and EPM, CRM, data management, AI and automation, and technology managed services and our Huron Research Suite product suite (the leading software suite designed to facilitate and improve research administration service delivery and compliance); our research-focused consulting and managed services; our strategy and operations consulting services, which span finance, accounting, operations and athletics to organization and talent strategy and student and academic strategy; and our global philanthropy consulting services, which were bolstered by the acquisitions of Grenzebach Glier and Associates (“GG+A”) in March 2024 and Advancement Resources and Halpin in March 2025.
•Commercial
Our Commercial segment is focused on serving industries and organizations facing significant disruption and regulatory change by helping them adapt to rapidly changing environments and accelerate business transformation. Our Commercial professionals work primarily with six primary buyers: the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, the chief strategy officer, the chief human resources officer, the chief operating officer, and organizational advisors, including lenders and law firms. We have a deep focus on serving organizations in the financial services, energy and utilities, industrials and manufacturing industries and the public sector while opportunistically serving commercial industries more broadly, including professional and business services, life sciences, consumer products, and retail. Our Commercial professionals use their deep industry, functional and technical expertise to deliver our digital services and software products, financial advisory (special situation advisory and corporate finance advisory) consulting services, and strategy and innovation consulting services. In December 2024, we expanded our Commercial consulting and digital services offerings through the acquisition of AXIA Consulting, Inc. (“AXIA Consulting”), a leading provider of supply chain-focused consulting and technology solutions who has deep expertise in the industrials and manufacturing and retail sectors.
Our chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), who is our chief executive officer, manages the business under these three reportable segments. Our CODM uses segment operating income in the annual budgeting and quarterly forecasting process as well as on a monthly basis for evaluating the performance of each segment and making decisions about allocating capital and other resources to each segment. Our CODM does not evaluate segments using asset information.
The table below sets forth information about our operating segments for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, along with the items necessary to reconcile the segment information to the totals reported in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. We do not present financial information by geographic area because the financial results of our international operations are not significant to our consolidated financial statements.
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Healthcare: | |||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Direct costs | |||||||||||
17
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||
Other segment items(1) | ( | ||||||||||
| Total segment operating expenses | |||||||||||
| Segment operating income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Education: | |||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Direct costs | |||||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||
Other segment items(1) | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total segment operating expenses | |||||||||||
| Segment operating income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Commercial: | |||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | |||||||||||
| Operating expenses: | |||||||||||
| Direct costs | |||||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||
Other segment items(1) | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Total segment operating expenses | |||||||||||
| Segment operating income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Total Huron: | |||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | |||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Segment operating income | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Items not allocated at the segment level: | |||||||||||
| Unallocated corporate expenses | |||||||||||
Other losses | |||||||||||
Restructuring charges | |||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||
| Operating income | |||||||||||
| Other expense, net | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Income before taxes | $ | $ | |||||||||
(1)Other segment items in each segment consists of restructuring charges for all periods presented.
18
HURON CONSULTING GROUP INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Tabular amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
The following tables illustrate the disaggregation of segment total revenues and segment revenues before reimbursable expenses by our two principal capabilities: i) Consulting and Managed Services and ii) Digital, and includes a reconciliation to consolidated total revenues and consolidated revenues before reimbursable expenses. We manage our business on the basis of revenues before reimbursable expenses, which we believe is the most accurate reflection of our services because it eliminates the effect of reimbursable expenses that we bill to our clients at cost.
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||||||||
| Total Revenues by Capability | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Healthcare: | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Digital | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Education: | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Digital | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Commercial: | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Digital | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Total Huron: | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Digital | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||||||||
| Revenues before Reimbursable Expenses by Capability | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Healthcare: | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Digital | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Education: | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Digital | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Commercial: | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Digital | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Total Huron: | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Digital | ||||||||||||||
| Total revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, substantially all of our revenues were recognized over time. During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, no single client generated greater than 10 10
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| ITEM 2. | MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS. | ||||
In this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Huron,” “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Huron Consulting Group Inc. and its subsidiaries.
Statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that are not historical in nature, including those concerning the Company’s current expectations about its future results, are “forward-looking” statements as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “provides,” “anticipates,” “assumes,” “can,” “will,” “meets,” “could,” “likely,” “intends,” “might,” “predicts,” “seeks,” “would,” “believes,” “estimates,” “plans,” “continues,” “goals,” “guidance,” or “outlook,” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements reflect our current expectations about our future requirements and needs, results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation: failure to achieve expected utilization rates, billing rates, and the necessary number of revenue-generating professionals; inability to expand or adjust our service offerings in response to market demands; our dependence on renewal of client-based services; dependence on new business and retention of current clients and qualified personnel; failure to maintain third-party provider relationships and strategic alliances; inability to license technology to and from third parties; the impairment of goodwill; various factors related to income and other taxes; difficulties in successfully integrating the businesses we acquire and achieving expected benefits from such acquisitions; risks relating to privacy, information security, and related laws and standards; and a general downturn or volatility in market conditions, including as a result of current global trade tensions and/or tariffs. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including, among others, those described under Item 1A. “Risk Factors,” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any anticipated results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events, or for any other reason.
OVERVIEW
Huron is a global professional services firm that partners with clients to put possible into practice by creating sound strategies, optimizing operations, accelerating digital transformation, and empowering businesses to own their future. By embracing diverse perspectives, encouraging new ideas and challenging the status quo, we create sustainable results for the organizations we serve.
OUR STRATEGY
The combination of our deep industry expertise and breadth of our offerings is the foundation of our growth strategy and why our clients choose Huron as their trusted advisor. Key focus areas of our growth strategy include:
•Sustaining Accelerated Growth in Healthcare and Education: Huron holds leading market positions in healthcare and education, providing comprehensive offerings to the largest health systems, academic medical centers, colleges and universities, and research institutes in the United States and abroad. The Company will continue to broaden its portfolio of offerings in healthcare and education to address the evolving needs in those industries due to competitive, regulatory, financial, and broader market changes.
•Growing Our Businesses in Commercial Industries: Through its deep industry and capability expertise and nimble approach, Huron has grown its client base and expanded on its strengths to grow into a distinct player in key end markets and offerings across commercial industries. Huron’s commercial industry focus has increased the diversification of the Company’s portfolio and end markets while expanding the range of capabilities it can deliver to clients, providing new avenues for growth and an important balance to its healthcare and education businesses.
•Growing Global Digital Capability: As data and technology persist and evolve across industries, Huron’s ability to provide a broad portfolio of digital offerings that support the strategic and operational needs of its clients is at the foundation of the Company’s strategy. Huron will continue to advance its integrated global digital platform to support its strong growth trajectory.
•Solid Foundation for Margin Expansion and Organic Reinvestment: The Company is well-positioned to further achieve margin expansion as well as strong annual adjusted diluted earnings per share growth while also reinvesting in organic growth. We are committed to operating income margin expansion by improving the operational efficiency of our delivery for clients, including through our global delivery platform in India, increasing utilization, continuing to execute on our pricing realization initiatives, and scaling our selling, general, and administrative expenses as we grow.
•Strong Balance Sheet and Cash Flows: A resilient, flexible balance sheet is the foundation of our financial strength, and strong free cash flows have and will continue to be the hallmark of Huron’s business model. The Company is committed to deploying capital in a strategic and balanced way, including returning capital to shareholders and executing strategic, tuck-in acquisitions.
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OUR SERVICES AND PRODUCTS
We provide our services and products and manage our business under three operating segments - Healthcare, Education, and Commercial - which aligns our business by industry. The Commercial segment includes all industries outside of healthcare and education, including, but not limited to, financial services, energy and utilities, industrials and manufacturing, and the public sector. We also provide revenue reporting across two principal capabilities: i) Consulting and Managed Services and ii) Digital, which are methods by which we deliver our services and products.
Operating Industries
•Healthcare
Our Healthcare segment serves acute care providers, including national and regional health systems; academic health systems; community health systems; the federal health system; and public, children’s and critical access hospitals, and non-acute care providers, including physician practices and medical groups; payors; and long-term care or post-acute providers. Our healthcare-focused services and products include financial and operational performance improvement consulting, which spans revenue cycle, business operations and care delivery transformation; digital offerings, spanning technology and analytic-related services, including enterprise health record (“EHR”), enterprise resource planning (“ERP”) and enterprise performance management (“EPM”), customer relationship management (“CRM”), data management, artificial intelligence (“AI”) and automation, and technology managed services, and a portfolio of software products; human capital management; revenue cycle managed services and outsourcing; financial advisory consulting; and strategy and innovation consulting.
•Education
Our Education segment serves public and private colleges and universities, research institutes, not-for-profit organizations and other education-related organizations. Our education and research-focused services and products include our digital offerings, spanning technology and analytic-related services, including student information systems, ERP and EPM, CRM, data management, AI and automation, and technology managed services and our Huron Research Suite product suite (the leading software suite designed to facilitate and improve research administration service delivery and compliance); our research-focused consulting and managed services; our strategy and operations consulting services, which span finance, accounting, operations and athletics to organization and talent strategy and student and academic strategy; and our global philanthropy consulting services, which were bolstered by the acquisitions of Grenzebach Glier and Associates (“GG+A”) in March 2024 and Advancement Resources and Halpin in March 2025.
•Commercial
Our Commercial segment is focused on serving industries and organizations facing significant disruption and regulatory change by helping them adapt to rapidly changing environments and accelerate business transformation. Our Commercial professionals work primarily with six primary buyers: the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, the chief strategy officer, the chief human resources officer, the chief operating officer, and organizational advisors, including lenders and law firms. We have a deep focus on serving organizations in the financial services, energy and utilities, industrials and manufacturing industries and the public sector while opportunistically serving commercial industries more broadly, including professional and business services, life sciences, consumer products, and retail. Our Commercial professionals use their deep industry, functional and technical expertise to deliver our digital services and software products, financial advisory (special situation advisory and corporate finance advisory) consulting services, and strategy and innovation consulting services. In December 2024, we expanded our Commercial consulting and digital services offerings through the acquisition of AXIA Consulting, a leading provider of supply chain-focused consulting and technology solutions who has deep expertise in the industrials and manufacturing and retail sectors.
Capabilities
Within each of our operating segments, we provide our offerings under two principal capabilities: i) Consulting and Managed Services and ii) Digital.
•Consulting and Managed Services
Our Consulting and Managed Services capabilities represent our management consulting services, managed services (excluding technology-related managed services) and outsourcing services delivered across industries. Our Consulting and Managed Services experts help our clients address a variety of strategic, operational, financial, people and organizational-related challenges. These services are often combined with technology, analytic and data-driven solutions powered by our Digital capability to support long-term relationships with our clients and drive lasting impact. Examples include the areas of revenue cycle management and research administration managed services and outsourcing at our healthcare, education and research-focused clients, where our projects are often coupled with our digital services and product offerings and management consulting services to sustain improved performance.
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•Digital
Our Digital capabilities represent our technology and analytics services, including technology-related managed services, and software products delivered across industries. Our Digital experts help clients address a variety of business challenges, including, but not limited to, designing and implementing technologies to accelerate transformation, facilitate data-driven decision making and improve customer and employee experiences. We have invested organically and inorganically to expand our Digital offerings, which now span beyond traditional ERP implementations into a broader set of administrative systems, industry-specific systems of record and systems of engagement that act as the “digital front door” to an organization. We have grown our data, analytics, AI and automation offerings to deliver a unified and actionable technology ecosystem for our clients. Through our acquisition of AXIA Consulting, we have also expanded our supply chain management (“SCM”) offerings and broadened our technology portfolio with advanced Microsoft capabilities, while strengthening Huron's ability to empower clients to align their people and processes to support their digital-first goals.
We have expanded our ecosystem to work with more than 30 technology partners. For example, we are a Leading Modern Oracle Network Partner; a Summit-level consulting partner with Salesforce.com and a Premium Partner with Salesforce.org; a Workday Services, Preferred Channel, Extend, and Application Management Services Partner; an Amazon Web Services consulting partner; a Microsoft Solutions Partner, an Informatica Platinum Partner; an SAP Concur implementation partner; and a Boomi Elite Partner.
We have also grown our proprietary software product portfolio to address our clients' challenges with solutions that expand our base of recurring revenue and further differentiate our consulting, digital and managed services offerings. Our product portfolio bundles our deep industry expertise and unique intellectual property together to serve our clients outside of our traditional consulting offerings. Our product portfolio includes, among others: Huron Research Suite, the leading software suite designed to facilitate and improve research administration service delivery and compliance; Huron Intelligence™ Rounding, the #1 ranked Digital Rounding solution in the 2024 Best in KLAS® report; and Huron Intelligence™ Analytic Suite in Healthcare, a predictive analytics suite to improve care delivery while lowering costs.
COMPONENTS OF OPERATING RESULTS
Total Revenues
Revenues before Reimbursable Expenses
Revenues before reimbursable expenses are primarily generated by our employees who provide consulting and other professional services to our clients and are billable to our clients based on the number of hours worked, services provided, or achieved outcomes. We refer to these employees as our revenue-generating professionals. Revenues before reimbursable expenses are primarily driven by the number of revenue-generating professionals we employ as well as the total value, scope, and terms of the consulting contracts under which they provide services. We also engage independent contractors to supplement our revenue-generating professionals on client engagements as needed.
We generate our revenues before reimbursable expenses from providing professional services and software products under the following four types of billing arrangements: fixed-fee (including software license revenue); time-and-expense; performance-based; and software support, maintenance and subscriptions.
•Fixed-fee (including software license revenue): In fixed-fee billing arrangements, we agree to a pre-established fee in exchange for a predetermined set of professional services. We set the fees based on our estimates of the costs and timing for completing the engagements. Fixed-fee arrangements also include software licenses for our research administration and compliance software.
•Time-and-expense: Under time-and-expense billing arrangements, we invoice our clients based on the number of hours worked by our revenue-generating professionals at agreed upon rates. Time-and-expense arrangements also include speaking engagements, conferences and publications purchased by our clients.
•Performance-based: In performance-based billing arrangements, fees are tied to the attainment of contractually defined objectives. We enter into performance-based engagements in essentially two forms. First, we generally earn fees that are directly related to the savings formally acknowledged by the client as a result of adopting our recommendations for improving operational and cost effectiveness in the areas we review. Second, we earn a success fee when and if certain predefined outcomes occur. Often, performance-based fees supplement our fixed-fee or time-and-expense engagements. The level of performance-based fees earned may vary based on our clients’ risk sharing preferences and the mix of services we provide.
•Software support, maintenance and subscriptions: Clients that have purchased one of our software licenses can pay an annual fee for software support and maintenance. We also generate subscription revenue from our cloud-based analytic tools and solutions including our cloud-based revenue cycle management software and research administration and compliance software. Software support, maintenance and subscription revenues are recognized ratably over the support or subscription period. These fees are generally billed in advance and included in deferred revenues until recognized.
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Time-and-expense engagements do not provide us with a high degree of predictability as to performance in future periods. Unexpected changes in the demand for our services can result in significant variations in utilization and revenues and present a challenge to optimal hiring and staffing. Moreover, our clients typically retain us on an engagement-by-engagement basis, rather than under long-term recurring contracts. The volume of work performed for any particular client can vary widely from period to period.
Our quarterly results are impacted principally by the total value, scope, and terms of our client contracts, the number of our revenue-generating professionals who are available to work, our revenue-generating professionals' utilization rate, and the bill rates we charge our clients. Our utilization rate can be negatively affected by increased hiring because there is generally a transition period for new professionals that results in a temporary drop in our utilization rate. Our utilization rate can also be affected by seasonal variations in the demand for our services from our clients. For example, during the third and fourth quarters of the year, vacations taken by our clients can result in the deferral of activity on existing and new engagements, which would negatively affect our utilization rate. The number of business work days is also affected by the number of vacation days taken by our consultants and holidays in each quarter. We typically have fewer business work days available in the fourth quarter of the year, which can impact revenues during that period.
Reimbursable Expenses
Reimbursable expenses that are billed to clients, primarily relating to travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with client engagements, are included in total revenues. We manage our business on the basis of revenues before reimbursable expenses, which we believe is the most accurate reflection of our services because it eliminates the effect of reimbursable expenses that we bill to our clients at cost.
Operating Expenses
Our most significant expenses are costs classified as direct costs. Direct costs primarily consist of compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals, which includes salaries, performance bonuses, share-based compensation, signing and retention bonuses, payroll taxes and benefits. Direct costs also include fees paid to independent contractors that we retain to supplement our revenue-generating professionals, typically on an as-needed basis for specific client engagements, and technology costs, product and event costs, and commissions. Direct costs exclude amortization of intangible assets and software development costs and reimbursable expenses, both of which are separately presented in our consolidated statements of operations.
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation costs for our support personnel, which includes salaries, performance bonuses, share-based compensation, signing and retention bonuses, payroll taxes, benefits and deferred compensation expense attributable to the change in market value of our deferred compensation liability. Changes in the market value of our deferred compensation liability are offset with the changes in market value of investments that are used to fund our deferred compensation liability, which are recorded within other income (expense), net. Also included in selling, general and administrative expenses are third-party professional fees, software licenses and data hosting expenses, rent and other office-related expenses, sales- and marketing-related expenses, recruiting and training expenses, and practice administration and meeting expenses.
Other operating expenses include restructuring charges, other gains and losses, depreciation expense, and amortization expense related to internally developed software costs and intangible assets acquired in business combinations.
Segment Results
Segment operating income consists of the revenues generated by a segment, less operating expenses that are incurred directly by the segment. Unallocated corporate expenses not allocated at the segment level include costs related to administrative functions that are performed in a centralized manner, as well as restructuring charges, depreciation and amortization, and interest expense that are not attributable to a particular segment. The administrative function costs include corporate office support costs, office facility costs, costs related to accounting and finance, human resources, legal, marketing, information technology, and company-wide business development functions, and costs related to overall corporate management.
Non-GAAP Measures
We also assess our results of operations using the following non-GAAP financial measures: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses, adjusted net income, and adjusted diluted earnings per share. These non-GAAP financial measures differ from GAAP because they exclude a number of items required by GAAP, each discussed below. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for or superior to, any measure of performance, cash flows, or liquidity prepared in accordance with GAAP. Our non-GAAP financial measures may be defined differently from time to time and may be defined differently than similar terms used by other companies, and accordingly, care should be exercised in understanding how we define our non-GAAP financial measures.
Our management uses the non-GAAP financial measures to gain an understanding of our comparative operating performance, for example when comparing such results with previous periods or forecasts. These non-GAAP financial measures are used by management in their financial and operating decision making because management believes they reflect our ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful period-to-period
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comparisons. Management also uses these non-GAAP financial measures when publicly providing our business outlook, for internal management purposes, and as a basis for evaluating potential acquisitions and dispositions. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating Huron’s current operating performance and future prospects in the same manner as management does and in comparing in a consistent manner Huron’s current financial results with Huron’s past financial results.
These non-GAAP financial measures include adjustments for the following items:
Amortization of intangible assets: We exclude the effect of amortization of intangible assets from the calculation of adjusted net income, as it is inconsistent in its amount and frequency and is significantly affected by the timing and size of our acquisitions.
Restructuring charges: We have incurred charges due to restructuring various parts of our business. These restructuring charges have primarily consisted of costs associated with office space consolidations, including lease impairment charges and accelerated depreciation on lease-related property and equipment, and employee severance charges. We exclude the effect of the restructuring charges from our non-GAAP measures to permit comparability with periods that were not impacted by these items. We do not include normal, recurring, cash operating expenses in our restructuring charges.
Other losses (gains), net: We exclude the effects of other losses and gains, which primarily relate to changes in the estimated fair value of our liabilities for contingent consideration related to business acquisitions and litigation settlement losses and gains, to permit comparability with periods that are not impacted by these items. These items are recorded as a component of other losses (gains), net on our consolidated statement of operations.
Transaction-related expenses: To permit comparability with prior periods, we exclude the impact of third-party advisory, legal, and accounting fees and other corporate costs incurred directly related to the evaluation and/or consummation of business acquisitions.
Unrealized losses (gains) on preferred stock investment: We exclude the effect of unrealized losses and gains related to changes in the fair value of our preferred stock investment in a hospital-at-home company arising from observable price changes or impairment losses. These unrealized losses and gains are included as a component of other income (expense), net. We believe that these unrealized losses and gains are not indicative of the ongoing performance of our business and their exclusion permits comparability with prior periods.
Foreign currency transaction losses (gains), net: We exclude the effect of foreign currency transaction losses and gains from the calculation of adjusted EBITDA because the amount of each loss or gain is significantly affected by changes in foreign exchange rates.
Tax effect of adjustments: The non-GAAP income tax adjustment reflects the incremental tax impact applicable to the non-GAAP adjustments.
Income tax expense, interest expense, net of interest income, depreciation and amortization: We exclude the effects of income tax expense, interest expense, net of interest income, and depreciation and amortization in the calculation of EBITDA, as these are customary exclusions as defined by the calculation of EBITDA to arrive at meaningful earnings from core operations excluding the effect of such items. We include, within the depreciation and amortization adjustment, the amortization of capitalized implementation costs of our ERP and other related software, which is included within selling, general and administrative expenses in our consolidated statements of operations.
Revenue-Generating Professionals
Our revenue-generating professionals consist of our full-time consultants who generate revenues based on the number of hours worked; full-time equivalents, which consists of coaches and their support staff within the culture and organizational excellence solution, consultants who work variable schedules as needed by clients, and full-time employees who provide software support and maintenance services to clients; and our Managed Services professionals who provide revenue cycle management and research administration managed services and outsourcing at our healthcare, education and research-focused clients.
Utilization Rate
The utilization rate of our revenue-generating professionals is calculated by dividing the number of hours our billable consultants worked on client assignments during a period by the total available working hours for these billable consultants during the same period. Available working hours are determined by the standard hours worked by each billable consultant, adjusted for part-time hours, and U.S. standard work weeks. Available working hours exclude local country holidays and vacation days. Utilization rates are presented for our revenue-generating professionals who primarily bill on an hourly basis. We do not present utilization rates for our Managed Services professionals as most of the revenues generated by these employees are not billed on an hourly basis.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Executive Highlights
Highlights from the first quarter of 2025 include:
•Revenues before reimbursable expenses increased 11.2% to $395.7 million for the first quarter of 2025 from $356.0 million for the first quarter of 2024.
•Net income as a percentage of total revenues increased to 6.1% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 5.0% for the first quarter of 2024.
•Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses increased to 10.5% for the first quarter of 2025, compared to 9.5% for the first quarter of 2024.
•Diluted EPS increased 40.0% to $1.33 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $0.95 for the first quarter of 2024.
•Adjusted diluted EPS increased 36.6% to $1.68 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $1.23 for the first quarter of 2024.
•Returned $72.9 million to shareholders in the first quarter of 2025 by repurchasing 508,611 shares of our common stock.
Revenues before reimbursable expenses increased $39.7 million, or 11.2%, to $395.7 million for the first quarter of 2025 from $356.0 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase in revenues before reimbursable expenses reflects strength in demand for our Consulting and Managed Services capabilities within our Healthcare and Education segments; and an increase in demand for our Digital capabilities within our Commercial and Education segments, including $11.9 million of incremental revenues before reimbursable expenses from the company's acquisition of AXIA Consulting in December 2024. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in demand for our Consulting and Managed Services capability within our Commercial segment.
Revenues before reimbursable expenses within our Consulting and Managed Services capability increased 11.1% in the first quarter of 2025 to $223.9 million, compared to $201.6 million in the first quarter of 2024; and reflected strengthened demand in our Healthcare and Education segments, offset by a decrease in demand in our Commercial segment. The utilization rate within our Consulting capability increased to 74.1% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 70.2% in the first quarter of 2024.
Revenues before reimbursable expenses within our Digital capability increased 11.2% in the first quarter of 2025 to $171.8 million, compared to $154.4 million in the first quarter of 2024; and reflected strengthened demand in our Commercial and Education segments, including $11.9 million of incremental revenues before reimbursable expenses from our acquisition of AXIA Consulting in December 2024, partially offset by a decrease in demand in our Healthcare segment. The utilization rate within our Digital capability increased to 78.2% in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 74.3% in the first quarter of 2024.
Our total number of revenue-generating professionals, excluding Managed Services professionals, increased 3.1% to 4,726 as of March 31, 2025, compared to 4,584 as of March 31, 2024, as a result of the acquisitions completed since the first quarter of 2024 and hiring to support the overall increase in demand for our services. The number of Managed Services professionals increased 37.7% to 1,679 as of March 31, 2025 from 1,219 as of March 31, 2024. We proactively plan and manage the size and composition of our workforce and take actions as needed to address changes in the anticipated demand for our services as employee compensation costs are the most significant portion of our operating expenses.
Net income increased $6.5 million, or 36.3%, to $24.5 million, or 6.1% of total revenues, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 from $18.0 million, or 5.0% of total revenues, for the same period last year. As a result of the increase in net income and a reduction in diluted shares outstanding resulting from share repurchases made under our share repurchase plan, diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2025 increased 40.0% to $1.33, compared to $0.95 for the first quarter of 2024. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 36.6% to $1.68 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $1.23 for the first quarter of 2024.
Adjusted EBITDA increased $7.7 million, or 22.7%, to $41.5 million, or 10.5% of revenues before reimbursable expenses, for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to $33.8 million, or 9.5% of revenues before reimbursable expenses, for the same period last year.
In the first three months of 2025, we deployed $72.9 million of capital to repurchase 508,611 shares of our common stock, representing 2.9% of our common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2024.
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Summary of Results
The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, selected segment and consolidated operating results and other operating data, including non-GAAP measures.
| Segment and Consolidated Operating Results (in thousands, except per share amounts): | Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Healthcare: | ||||||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | 198,490 | $ | 180,742 | ||||||||||
| Operating income | $ | 56,316 | $ | 42,694 | ||||||||||
| Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues before reimbursable expenses | 28.4 | % | 23.6 | % | ||||||||||
| Education: | ||||||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | 122,748 | $ | 111,583 | ||||||||||
| Operating income | $ | 23,060 | $ | 21,956 | ||||||||||
| Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues before reimbursable expenses | 18.8 | % | 19.7 | % | ||||||||||
| Commercial: | ||||||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | 74,452 | $ | 63,636 | ||||||||||
| Operating income | $ | 11,296 | $ | 14,039 | ||||||||||
| Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues before reimbursable expenses | 15.2 | % | 22.1 | % | ||||||||||
| Total Huron: | ||||||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | 395,690 | $ | 355,961 | ||||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | 8,451 | 7,424 | ||||||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 404,141 | $ | 363,385 | ||||||||||
| Items not allocated at the segment level: | ||||||||||||||
| Unallocated corporate expenses | 52,371 | 50,939 | ||||||||||||
Other losses | — | 1,568 | ||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 1,392 | 2,233 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 4,177 | 4,028 | ||||||||||||
| Operating income | 32,732 | 19,921 | ||||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (11,280) | (2,361) | ||||||||||||
| Income before taxes | 21,452 | 17,560 | ||||||||||||
Income tax benefit | (3,084) | (446) | ||||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 24,536 | $ | 18,006 | ||||||||||
| Earnings per share: | ||||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | 1.38 | $ | 0.99 | ||||||||||
| Diluted | $ | 1.33 | $ | 0.95 | ||||||||||
| Other Operating Data: | ||||||||||||||
Number of revenue-generating professionals by segment (at period end): | ||||||||||||||
| Healthcare | 1,209 | 1,192 | ||||||||||||
| Education | 1,167 | 1,099 | ||||||||||||
Commercial (1) | 2,350 | 2,293 | ||||||||||||
Total (excluding Managed Services) | 4,726 | 4,584 | ||||||||||||
Managed Services(2) | 1,679 | 1,219 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 6,405 | 5,803 | ||||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses by capability: | ||||||||||||||
Consulting and Managed Services(3) | $ | 223,921 | $ | 201,559 | ||||||||||
| Digital | 171,769 | 154,402 | ||||||||||||
| Total | $ | 395,690 | $ | 355,961 | ||||||||||
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| Segment and Consolidated Operating Results (in thousands, except per share amounts): | Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||
| Number of revenue-generating professionals by capability (at period end): | ||||||||||||||
Consulting | 1,726 | 1,672 | ||||||||||||
Managed Services(2) | 1,679 | 1,219 | ||||||||||||
| Digital | 3,000 | 2,912 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 6,405 | 5,803 | ||||||||||||
Utilization rate by capability(4): | ||||||||||||||
| Consulting | 74.1 | % | 70.2 | % | ||||||||||
| Digital | 78.2 | % | 74.3 | % | ||||||||||
(1) The majority of our revenue-generating professionals within our Commercial segment can provide services across all of our industries, including healthcare and education, and the related costs of these professionals are allocated to each of the segments.
(2) We have separately presented the total number of revenue-generating professionals within our Managed Services capabilities of our Healthcare and Education segments. Our Healthcare Managed Services professionals provide revenue cycle billing, collections, insurance verification and change integrity services to clients. Our Education Managed Services professionals provide research administration managed services and outsourcing at our education and research-focused clients.
The number of Managed Services revenue-generating professionals within our Healthcare segment was 1,568 and 1,087 as of March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
The number of Managed Services revenue-generating professionals within our Education segment was 111 and 132 as of March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
(3) Managed Services capability revenues before reimbursable expenses within our Healthcare segment was $18.3 million and $17.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Managed Services capability revenues before reimbursable expenses within our Education segment was $7.4 million for both the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024.
(4) Utilization rates are presented for our revenue-generating professionals who primarily bill on an hourly basis. We do not present utilization rates for our Managed Services professionals as most of the revenues generated by these employees are not billed on an hourly basis.
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Non-GAAP Measures
Reconciliation of Net Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | 395,690 | $ | 355,961 | |||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | 8,451 | 7,424 | |||||||||
| Total revenues | $ | 404,141 | $ | 363,385 | |||||||
| Net income | $ | 24,536 | $ | 18,006 | |||||||
| Net income as a percentage of total revenues | 6.1 | % | 5.0 | % | |||||||
| Add back: | |||||||||||
Income tax benefit | (3,084) | (446) | |||||||||
| Interest expense, net of interest income | 5,647 | 5,140 | |||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 7,149 | 6,181 | |||||||||
| EBITDA | 34,248 | 28,881 | |||||||||
| Add back: | |||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 1,338 | 2,337 | |||||||||
Other losses | — | 1,568 | |||||||||
| Transaction-related expenses | 1,296 | 1,497 | |||||||||
Unrealized loss on preferred stock investment | 4,210 | — | |||||||||
| Foreign currency transaction losses (gains), net | 399 | (465) | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 41,491 | $ | 33,818 | |||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses | 10.5 | % | 9.5 | % | |||||||
Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share
| Three Months Ended March 31, | |||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 24,536 | $ | 18,006 | |||||||
| Weighted average shares - diluted | 18,475 | 18,943 | |||||||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 1.33 | $ | 0.95 | |||||||
| Add back: | |||||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 2,036 | 1,690 | |||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 1,338 | 2,337 | |||||||||
Other losses | — | 1,568 | |||||||||
| Transaction-related expenses | 1,296 | 1,497 | |||||||||
Unrealized loss on preferred stock investment | 4,210 | — | |||||||||
| Tax effect of adjustments | (2,309) | (1,844) | |||||||||
| Total adjustments, net of tax | 6,571 | 5,248 | |||||||||
| Adjusted net income | $ | 31,107 | $ | 23,254 | |||||||
| Adjusted weighted average shares - diluted | 18,475 | 18,943 | |||||||||
| Adjusted diluted earnings per share | $ | 1.68 | $ | 1.23 | |||||||
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Three Months Ended March 31, 2025 Compared to Three Months Ended March 31, 2024
Revenues before Reimbursable Expenses
Revenues before reimbursable expenses by segment and capability for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024 were as follows:
| Revenues before Reimbursable Expenses (in thousands) | Three Months Ended March 31, | Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | $ | % | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Segment: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Healthcare | $ | 198,490 | $ | 180,742 | $ | 17,748 | 9.8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Education | 122,748 | 111,583 | 11,165 | 10.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial | 74,452 | 63,636 | 10,816 | 17.0 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | 395,690 | $ | 355,961 | $ | 39,729 | 11.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Capability: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Consulting and Managed Services | $ | 223,921 | $ | 201,559 | $ | 22,362 | 11.1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Digital | 171,769 | 154,402 | 17,367 | 11.2 | % | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenues before reimbursable expenses | $ | 395,690 | $ | 355,961 | $ | 39,729 | 11.2 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
Revenues before reimbursable expenses increased $39.7 million, or 11.2%, to $395.7 million for the first quarter of 2025 from $356.0 million for the first quarter of 2024. The overall increase in revenues before reimbursable expenses reflects strength in demand for our Consulting and Managed Services capabilities within our Healthcare and Education segments; and an increase in demand for our Digital capabilities within our Commercial and Education segments, including $11.9 million of incremental revenues before reimbursable expenses from our acquisition of AXIA Consulting in December 2024. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in demand for our Consulting and Managed Services capability within our Commercial segment. Additional information on our revenues before reimbursable expense by segment follows.
•Healthcare revenues before reimbursable expenses increased $17.7 million, or 9.8%, driven by strengthened demand for our performance improvement and financial advisory solutions within our Consulting and Managed Services capability. These increases in demand were partially offset by a decrease in revenues before reimbursable expenses due to the divestiture of our Studer Education practice in the fourth quarter of 2024 and a decrease in revenues before reimbursable expenses for our technology and analytics services within our Digital capability. The Studer Education business generated $3.4 million of revenues before reimbursable expenses in the first quarter of 2024.
The number of revenue-generating professionals, excluding Managed Services professionals, within our Healthcare segment grew 1.4% to 1,209 as of March 31, 2025, compared to 1,192 as of March 31, 2024.
•Education revenues before reimbursable expenses increased $11.2 million, or 10.0%, driven by strengthened demand for our strategy and operations solution within our Consulting and Managed Services capability; $3.0 million of incremental revenues before reimbursable expenses from our acquisition of GG+A completed in March 2024; an increase in demand for our software products within our Digital capability; and an additional $0.8 million of incremental revenues before reimbursable expenses from other acquisitions completed since the first quarter of 2024.
The number of revenue-generating professionals within our Education segment, excluding Managed Services professionals, grew 6.2% to 1,167 as of March 31, 2025, compared to 1,099 as of March 31, 2024. Our acquisitions of Advancement Resources and Halpin in March 2025 added approximately 30 revenue-generating professionals.
•Commercial revenues before reimbursable expenses increased $10.8 million, or 17.0%, which included $11.2 million of incremental revenues before reimbursable expenses from our acquisition of AXIA Consulting completed in December 2024 and an increase in demand for our technology and analytics services within our Digital capability. These increases were partially offset by decreases in demand for our strategy and innovation and financial advisory solutions within our Consulting and Managed Services capability.
The number of revenue-generating professionals within our Commercial segment, the majority of which provide services across all of our industries, grew 2.5% to 2,350 as of March 31, 2025, compared to 2,293 as of March 31, 2024, including our acquisition of AXIA Consulting in December 2024 which added approximately 130 revenue-generating professionals.
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Operating Expenses
Operating expenses for the first quarter of 2025 increased $27.9 million, or 8.1%, over the first quarter of 2024.
Operating expenses and operating expenses as a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses were as follows:
| Operating Expenses (in thousands, except amounts as a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses) | Three Months Ended March 31, | Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Direct costs | $ | 278,043 | 70.3% | $ | 253,303 | 71.2% | $ | 24,740 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reimbursable expenses | 8,445 | 2.1% | 7,584 | 2.1% | 861 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | 76,634 | 19.4% | 72,700 | 20.4% | 3,934 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other losses | — | —% | 1,568 | 0.4% | (1,568) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Restructuring charges | 1,338 | 0.3% | 2,337 | 0.7% | (999) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 6,949 | 1.8% | 5,972 | 1.7% | 977 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total operating expenses | $ | 371,409 | 93.9% | $ | 343,464 | 96.5% | $ | 27,945 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Direct Costs
Direct costs increased $24.7 million, or 9.8%, to $278.0 million for the first quarter of 2025 from $253.3 million for the first quarter of 2024. The $24.7 million increase primarily related to a $25.5 million increase in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals. The increase in compensation costs reflects our investment to grow our talented team to meet increased market demand and is primarily attributable to a $16.5 million increase in salaries and related expenses driven by increased headcount and annual salary increases that went into effect in the first quarter of 2025, a $7.6 million increase in performance bonus expense, and a $1.1 million increase in share-based compensation expense. The increase in share-based compensation expense was primarily the result of paying a larger portion of our annual performance bonus in share-based equity grants compared to the prior year. As a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses, direct costs decreased to 70.3% during the first quarter of 2025, compared to 71.2% during the first quarter of 2024. This decrease was primarily due to revenue growth that outpaced the increase in salaries and related expenses for our revenue-generating professionals.
Reimbursable Expenses
Reimbursable expenses are billed to clients at cost and primarily relate to travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with client engagements. These expenses are also included in total revenues. We manage our business on the basis of revenues before reimbursable expenses, which we believe is the most accurate reflection of our services because it eliminates the effect of reimbursable expenses that are also included as a component of operating expenses.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $3.9 million, or 5.4%, to $76.6 million in the first quarter of 2025 from $72.7 million in the first quarter of 2024. The $3.9 million increase includes a $2.8 million increase in compensation costs for our support personnel and a $2.0 million increase in software and data hosting expense; partially offset by a $3.5 million decrease in legal expenses. The $2.8 million increase in compensation costs for our support personnel was driven by a $4.0 million increase in salaries and related expenses and a $2.6 million increase in performance bonus expense; partially offset by a $3.4 million decrease in deferred compensation expense attributable to the change in market value of our deferred compensation liability. The decrease in deferred compensation expense is offset by an increase in the loss recognized for the change in the market value of investments that are used to fund our deferred compensation liability and recognized in other income (expense), net. As a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses, selling, general and administrative expenses decreased to 19.4% during the first quarter of 2025, compared to 20.4% during the first quarter of 2024, which was primarily driven by the decreases in legal expenses and deferred compensation expense; partially offset by an increase in performance bonus expense for our support personnel, as a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses.
Other Losses
Other losses totaled $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2024 and consisted of a $1.0 million litigation settlement loss for a completed legal matter and $0.5 million of net remeasurement losses to increase the fair value of our contingent consideration liabilities related to business combinations. There were no other losses or gains recognized in the first quarter of 2025.
See Note 10 “Fair Value of Financial Instruments” within the notes to our consolidated financial statements for additional information on the fair value of contingent consideration liabilities.
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Restructuring Charges
Restructuring charges for the first quarter of 2025 were $1.3 million, compared to $2.3 million for the first quarter of 2024. The $1.3 million restructuring charge recognized in the first quarter of 2025 included a $0.7 million non-cash lease impairment charge driven by updated sublease assumptions for a previously vacated office space and $0.6 million of rent and related expenses, net of sublease income, for our previously vacated office spaces.
The $2.3 million of restructuring charges recognized in the first quarter of 2024 included $1.0 million of severance-related expenses; $0.8 million of non-cash lease impairment charges driven by updated sublease assumptions for our previously vacated office spaces; and $0.5 million of rent and related expenses, net of sublease income, for our previously vacated office spaces.
Depreciation and Amortization
Depreciation and amortization expense increased $1.0 million, or 16.4%, to $6.9 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared to $6.0 million in the first quarter of 2024. The $1.0 million increase in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily attributable to increases in amortization of internally developed software and intangible assets acquired in business acquisitions.
Operating Income
Operating income increased $12.8 million, or 64.3%, to $32.7 million in the first quarter of 2025 from $19.9 million in the first quarter of 2024. Operating margin, which is defined as operating income expressed as a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses was 8.3% for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to 5.6% for the three months ended March 31, 2024.
Operating income and operating margin for each of our segments as well as unallocated corporate expenses were as follows:
| Segment Operating Income (in thousands, except operating margin percentages) | Three Months Ended March 31, | Increase / (Decrease) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Healthcare | $ | 56,316 | 28.4% | $ | 42,694 | 23.6% | $ | 13,622 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | $ | 23,060 | 18.8% | $ | 21,956 | 19.7% | $ | 1,104 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial | $ | 11,296 | 15.2% | $ | 14,039 | 22.1% | $ | (2,743) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unallocated Corporate Expenses (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unallocated corporate expenses | $ | 52,371 | $ | 50,939 | $ | 1,432 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
•Healthcare operating income increased $13.6 million, or 31.9%, primarily due to the increase in revenues before reimbursable expenses, as well as decreases in practice administration and meeting expenses, contractor expenses, and salaries and related expenses for our support personnel; partially offset by an increase in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals. The increase in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals was primarily driven by an increase in headcount, annual salary increases that went into effect in the first quarter of 2025, and an increase in performance bonus expense. Healthcare operating margin increased to 28.4% from 23.6% primarily due to revenue growth that outpaced the increase in salaries and related expenses for our revenue-generating professionals and the decreases in contractor expenses, practice administration and meeting expenses, and salaries and related expenses for our support personnel.
•Education operating income increased $1.1 million, or 5.0%, primarily due to the increase in revenues before reimbursable expenses; largely offset by increases in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals and support personnel, practice administration and meeting expenses, and amortization of internally developed software. The increases in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals and support personnel were primarily driven by an increase in headcount, annual salary increases that went into effect in the first quarter of 2025, and an increase in performance bonus expense for our revenue-generating professionals. Education operating margin decreased to 18.8% from 19.7% primarily driven by the increases in practice administration and meeting expenses, salaries and related expenses for our support personnel, and amortization of internally developed software, as percentages of revenues before reimbursable expenses; partially offset by revenue growth that outpaced the increase in salaries and related expenses for our revenue-generating professionals.
•Commercial operating income decreased $2.7 million, or 19.5%, primarily due to increases in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals and support personnel and contractor expenses; partially offset by the increase in revenues before reimbursable expenses. The increase in compensation costs was primarily due to the increased headcount, driven by our acquisition of AXIA Consulting, and annual salary increases that went into effect in the first quarter of 2025, as well as an increase in performance bonus expense. Commercial operating margin decreased to 15.2% from 22.1% primarily due to the increases in compensation costs for our revenue-generating professionals and support personnel and contractor expenses, as percentages of revenues.
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•Unallocated corporate expenses increased $1.4 million, or 2.8%, primarily due to increases in software and data hosting expenses and compensation costs for our support personnel; partially offset by a decrease in legal expenses. The increase in compensation costs for our support personnel was primarily driven by an increase in headcount, annual salary increases that went into effect in the first quarter of 2025, and an increase in performance bonus expense; partially offset by a decrease in deferred compensation expense attributable to the change in market value of our deferred compensation liability.
Other Income (Expense), Net
Interest expense, net of interest income increased $0.5 million to $5.6 million in the first quarter of 2025 from $5.1 million in the first quarter of 2024, which was primarily attributable to higher interest rates under our Amended Credit Facility during the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024. See “Liquidity and Capital Resources” below and Note 7 “Financing Arrangements” within the notes to our consolidated financial statements for additional information about our Amended Credit Facility.
Other income (expense), net totaled expense of $5.6 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared to income of $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2024. In the first quarter of 2025, we recognized a non-cash impairment loss of $4.2 million on our preferred stock investment in a hospital-at-home company; a $1.1 million loss for the market value of our investments that are used to fund our deferred compensation liability; and $0.4 million of foreign currency transaction losses. In the first quarter of 2024, we recognized a $2.3 million gain for the market value of our deferred compensation investments and $0.5 million of foreign currency transaction gains. The change in the market value of our investments that are used to fund our deferred compensation liability are offset with deferred compensation expense which is recognized as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses on our consolidated statements of operations. See Note 10 “Fair Value of Financial Instruments” within the notes to our consolidated financial statements for additional information on our preferred stock investment. See Note 9 “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity” within the notes to our consolidated financial statements for additional information on our foreign exchange forward contracts.
Income Tax Expense
For the three months ended March 31, 2025, our effective tax rate was (14.4)% as we recognized an income tax benefit of $3.1 million on income of $21.5 million. The effective tax rate of (14.4)% was more favorable than the statutory rate, inclusive of state income taxes, of 25.9%, primarily due to a discrete tax benefit for share-based compensation awards that vested during the quarter. This favorable item was partially offset by certain nondeductible expenses.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, our effective tax rate was (2.5)% as we recognized an income tax benefit of $0.4 million on income of $17.6 million. The effective tax rate of (2.5)% was more favorable than the statutory rate, inclusive of state income taxes, of 26.1%, primarily due to a discrete tax benefit for share-based compensation awards that vested during the quarter.
Net Income and Earnings per Share
Net income increased $6.5 million, or 36.3%, to $24.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 from $18.0 million for the same period last year. As a results of the increase in net income and a reduction in diluted shares outstanding resulting from share repurchases made under our share repurchase plan, diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2025 increased to $1.33 from $0.95 for the first quarter of 2024.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA increased $5.4 million, or 18.6%, to $34.2 million for the first quarter of 2025 from $28.9 million for the first quarter of 2024. The increase in EBITDA was primarily attributable to the increases in Healthcare and Education segment operating income, excluding segment depreciation and amortization; partially offset by the $4.2 million non-cash impairment loss related to our preferred stock investment in a hospital-at-home company recognized in the first quarter of 2025, the decrease in Commercial segment operating income, excluding segment depreciation and amortization, and the increase in unallocated corporate expenses, excluding the impact of the change in the market value of our deferred compensation liability.
Adjusted EBITDA increased $7.7 million, or 22.7%, to $41.5 million in the first quarter of 2025 from $33.8 million in the first quarter of 2024. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was primarily attributable to the increases in Healthcare and Education operating income, excluding the impact of segment depreciation and amortization and segment restructuring charges; partially offset by the decrease in Commercial operating income, excluding the impact of segment depreciation and amortization and segment restructuring charges, and the increase in unallocated corporate expenses, excluding the impact of the change in the market value of our deferred compensation liability and transaction-related expenses.
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings per Share
Adjusted net income increased $7.9 million, or 33.8%, to $31.1 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared to $23.3 million in the first quarter of 2024. As a result of the increase in adjusted net income as well as a reduction in diluted shares outstanding resulting from share repurchases made under our share repurchase plan, adjusted diluted earnings per share increased to $1.68 for the first quarter of 2025 compared to $1.23 for the first quarter of 2024.
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LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Cash and cash equivalents were $23.4 million and $21.9 million at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, respectively. As of March 31, 2025, our primary sources of liquidity are cash on hand, cash flows from our U.S. operations, and borrowing capacity available under our credit facility.
| Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||||||||
| Cash Flows (in thousands): | 2025 | 2024 | ||||||||||||
Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (106,827) | $ | (130,724) | ||||||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (15,287) | (30,599) | ||||||||||||
Net cash provided by financing activities | 123,562 | 167,859 | ||||||||||||
| Effect of exchange rate changes on cash | 19 | (43) | ||||||||||||
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | $ | 1,467 | $ | 6,493 | ||||||||||
Operating Activities
Our operating assets and liabilities consist primarily of receivables from billed and unbilled services, accounts payable and accrued expenses, accrued payroll and related benefits, operating lease obligations and deferred revenues. The volume of services rendered and the related billings and timing of collections on those billings, as well as payments of our accounts payable and salaries, bonuses, and related benefits to employees affect these account balances. Our purchase obligations primarily consist of payments for software and other information technology products to support our business and corporate infrastructure.
Net cash used in operating activities decreased by $23.9 million to $106.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025 from $130.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The decrease in net cash used in operating activities was primarily related to an increase in cash collections in the first three months of 2025; partially offset by an increase in payments for salaries and related expenses for our revenue-generating professionals and an increase in the amount paid for annual performance bonuses in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the first quarter of 2024.
Investing Activities
Our investing activities primarily consist of purchases of complementary businesses; purchases of property and equipment, primarily related to computers and related equipment for our employees and leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures for office spaces; payments related to internally developed cloud-based software sold to our clients; and investments. Our investments include a convertible note investment in Shorelight Holdings, LLC, a preferred stock investment in a hospital-at-home company, and investments in life insurance policies that are used to fund our deferred compensation liability.
Net cash used in investing activities was $15.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025, which primarily consisted of $6.7 million for payments related to internally developed software to advance our Healthcare and Education software products; $5.2 million for the purchases of businesses; $1.9 million for purchases of property and equipment, primarily related to purchases of computers and related equipment and leasehold improvements for certain office spaces; and $1.7 million for contributions to our life insurance policies.
Net cash used in investing activities was $30.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, which primarily consisted of $21.2 million for the purchase of a business; $7.6 million for payments related to internally developed software to advance our Healthcare and Education software products; $1.2 million for purchases of property and equipment, primarily related to leasehold improvements for certain office spaces and purchases of computers and related equipment; and $0.8 million for contributions to our life insurance policies.
We estimate that cash utilized for purchases of property and equipment and software development in 2025 will total approximately $35 million to $40 million; primarily consisting of software development costs, information technology-related equipment to support our corporate infrastructure, and leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures for certain office locations.
Financing Activities
Our financing activities primarily consist of borrowings and repayments under our senior secured credit facility, share repurchases, shares redeemed for employee tax withholdings upon vesting of share-based compensation, and payments for contingent consideration liabilities related to business acquisitions. See “Financing Arrangements” below for additional information on our senior secured credit facility.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $123.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025. During the three months ended March 31, 2025, we borrowed $328.0 million and made repayments on our borrowings of $109.4 million. The net borrowings of $218.6 million were primarily used to fund our operations, including our annual performance bonus payments in the first quarter of 2025. Additionally, during the first three months of 2025, we paid $65.3 million for the settlement of share repurchases and we reacquired $32.2 million of common stock as a result of tax withholdings upon vesting of share-based compensation. These uses of cash for financing activities were partially offset by $2.5 million of cash received from stock option exercises in the first three months of 2025.
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Net cash provided by financing activities was $167.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024. During the three months ended March 31, 2024, we borrowed $566.0 million and made repayments on our borrowings of $316.0 million. The borrowings and repayments during the first three months of 2024 include the $275.0 million Term Loan proceeds which were used to repay borrowings under the Revolver in the first quarter of 2024. The net borrowings of $250.0 million were primarily used to fund our operations including our annual performance bonus payments in the first quarter of 2024. Additionally, during the first three months of 2024, we paid $61.0 million for the settlement of share repurchases and we reacquired $20.9 million of common stock as a result of tax withholdings upon vesting of share-based compensation. We also made payments of $1.4 million for debt issuance costs related to the Term Loan. These uses of cash for financing activities were partially offset by $1.2 million cash received from stock option exercises in the first quarter of 2024.
Share Repurchase Program
In November 2020, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program permitting us to repurchase up to $50 million of our common stock through December 31, 2021.The share repurchase program has been subsequently extended and increased, most recently in the first quarter of 2025. The current authorization extends the share repurchase program through December 31, 2026 with a repurchase amount of $700 million, of which $191.7 million remains available as of March 31, 2025. The amount and timing of repurchases under the share repurchase program were and will continue to be determined by management and depend on a variety of factors, including the trading price of our common stock, capacity under our credit facility, general market and business conditions, and applicable legal requirements.
Financing Arrangements
At March 31, 2025, we had $576.3 million outstanding under our Amended Credit Agreement, as discussed below.
The Company has a $600 million senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolver”) and a $275 million senior secured term loan facility (the “Term Loan”), subject to the terms of the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of November 15, 2022 (as amended, the “Amended Credit Agreement”), both of which fully mature on November 15, 2027. The Term Loan is subject to scheduled quarterly amortization payments of $3.4 million which began June 30, 2024 and continue through the maturity date of November 15, 2027, at which time the outstanding principal balance and all accrued interest will be due.
Fees and interest on borrowings under the Amended Credit Agreement vary based on our Consolidated Leverage Ratio (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement). At our option, these borrowings will bear interest at one, three or six month Term SOFR or, in the case of the Revolver, an alternate base rate, in each case plus the applicable margin. The applicable margin for borrowings under the Revolver will fluctuate between 1.125% per annum and 1.875% per annum, in the case of Term SOFR borrowings, or between 0.125% per annum and 0.875% per annum, in the case of base rate loans, based upon our Consolidated Leverage Ratio at such time. The applicable margin for the outstanding principal under the Term Loan will range between 1.625% per annum and 2.375% per annum based upon our Consolidated Leverage Ratio at such time. The fees and interest are subject to further adjustment based upon the Company's performance against specified key performance indicators. Based upon the performance of the Company against those key performance indicators in each Reference Year (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement), certain adjustments to the otherwise applicable rates for interest, commitment fees and letter of credit fees will be made. These annual adjustments will not exceed an increase or decrease of 0.01% in the aggregate for all key performance indicators in the case of the commitment fee rate or an increase or decrease of 0.05% in the aggregate for all key performance indicators in the case of the Term SOFR borrowings, base rate borrowings or letter of credit fee rate.
Amounts borrowed under the Amended Credit Agreement may be prepaid at any time without premium or penalty. We are required to prepay the amounts outstanding under the Amended Credit Agreement in certain circumstances, including upon an Event of Default (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement). In addition, we have the right to permanently reduce or terminate the unused portion of the commitments provided under the Amended Credit Agreement at any time.
The Amended Credit Agreement contains usual and customary representations and warranties; affirmative and negative covenants, which include limitations on liens, investments, additional indebtedness, and restricted payments; and two quarterly financial covenants as follows: (i) a maximum Consolidated Leverage Ratio (defined as the ratio of debt to consolidated EBITDA) of 3.75 to 1.00; however the maximum permitted Consolidated Leverage Ratio will increase to 4.25 to 1.00 upon the occurrence of a Qualified Acquisition (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement), and (ii) a minimum Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio (defined as the ratio of consolidated EBITDA to interest) of 3.00 to 1.00. Consolidated EBITDA for purposes of the financial covenants is calculated on a continuing operations basis and includes adjustments to add back non-cash goodwill impairment charges, share-based compensation costs, certain non-cash restructuring charges, pro forma historical EBITDA for businesses acquired, and other specified items in accordance with the Amended Credit Agreement. For purposes of the Consolidated Leverage Ratio, total debt is on a gross basis and is not netted against our cash balances. At March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, we were in compliance with these financial covenants. Our Consolidated Leverage Ratio as of March 31, 2025 was 2.17 to 1.00, compared to 1.39 to 1.00 as of December 31, 2024. Our Consolidated Interest Coverage Ratio as of March 31, 2025 was 10.71 to 1.00, compared to 10.50 to 1.00 as of December 31, 2024.
The Amended Credit Agreement contains restricted payment provisions, including a potential limit on the amount of dividends we may pay. Pursuant to the terms of the Amended Credit Agreement, if our Consolidated Leverage Ratio is greater than 3.50, the amount of dividends and other Restricted Payments (as defined in the Amended Credit Agreement) we may pay is limited to an amount up to $50 million.
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Borrowings outstanding under the Amended Credit Agreement at March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024 totaled $576.3 million and $357.7 million, respectively. Of the $576.3 million outstanding as of March 31, 2025, $315.0 million was outstanding under the Revolver and $261.3 million was outstanding under the Term Loan. Of the $357.7 million outstanding as of December 31, 2024, $93.0 million was outstanding under the Revolver and $264.7 million was outstanding under the Term Loan. These borrowings carried a weighted average interest rate of 5.6% at March 31, 2025 and 4.7% at December 31, 2024, including the impact of the interest rate swaps described in Note 9 “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity” within the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
The borrowing capacity under the Revolver is reduced by any outstanding borrowings under the Revolver and outstanding letters of credit. At March 31, 2025, we had outstanding letters of credit totaling $0.4 million, which are used as security deposits for our office facilities. As of March 31, 2025, the unused borrowing capacity under the Revolver was $284.6 million.
Refer to Note 7 “Financing Arrangements” for additional information on our senior secured credit facility within the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
Future Financing Needs
Our primary financing need is to fund our long-term growth. Our growth strategy is to expand our service offerings, which may require investments in new hires, acquisitions of complementary businesses, possible expansion into other geographic areas, and related capital expenditures.
We believe our internally generated liquidity, together with our available cash, and the borrowing capacity available under our senior secured credit facility will be adequate to support our current financing needs and long-term growth strategy. Our ability to secure additional financing in the future, if needed, will depend on several factors, including our future profitability, the quality of our accounts receivable and unbilled services, our relative levels of debt and equity, and the overall condition of the credit markets.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
We are not a party to any material off-balance sheet arrangements.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based upon our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). We regularly review our financial reporting and disclosure practices and accounting policies to ensure that our financial reporting and disclosures provide accurate information relative to the current economic and business environment. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make assessments, estimates, and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Critical accounting policies and estimates are those policies and estimates that we believe present the most complex or subjective measurements and have the most potential to impact our financial position and operating results. While all decisions regarding accounting policies and estimates are important, we believe that there are five accounting policies and estimates that could be considered critical: revenue recognition, allowances for doubtful accounts and unbilled services, business combinations, carrying values of goodwill and other intangible assets, and accounting for income taxes. For a detailed discussion of these critical accounting policies, see Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Critical Accounting Policies” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. There have been no material changes to our critical accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2025.
NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS
See Note 3 “New Accounting Pronouncements” within the notes to the consolidated financial statements for information on new accounting pronouncements.
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| ITEM 3. | QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK. | ||||
We are exposed to market risks primarily from changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates and changes in the market value of our investments. We use certain derivative instruments to hedge a portion of the interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate risks.
Interest Rate Risk
We have exposure to changes in interest rates associated with borrowings under our senior secured credit facility. At our option, these borrowings bear interest at one, three or six month Term SOFR or, in the case of the Revolver, an alternate base rate. At March 31, 2025, we had borrowings outstanding under the credit facility totaling $576.3 million that carried a weighted average interest rate of 5.6%, including the impact of the interest rate swaps described below. A hypothetical 100 basis point change in the interest rate would have a $3.3 million effect on our pretax income on an annualized basis, including the effect of the interest rate swaps. At December 31, 2024, we had borrowings outstanding under the credit facility totaling $357.7 million that carried a weighted average interest rate of 4.7% including the impact of the interest rate swaps described below. A hypothetical 100 basis point change in the interest rate would have had a $1.1 million effect on our pretax income on an annualized basis, including the effect of the interest rate swaps.
We enter into forward interest rate swap agreements to hedge against the interest rate risks of our variable-rate borrowings. Under the terms of the interest rate swap agreement, we receive from the counterparty interest on the notional amount based on one month Term SOFR and we pay to the counterparty a stated, fixed rate. As of both March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the aggregate notional amount of our forward interest rate swap agreements was $250.0 million. The outstanding interest rate swap agreements as of March 31, 2025 are scheduled to mature on a staggered basis through February 28, 2030.
Foreign Currency Risk
We have exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates associated with our operations in India and Canada. We hedge a portion of our cash flow exposure related to our INR-denominated intercompany expenses and our translation risk related to our USD-denominated intercompany receivables in Canada by entering into foreign exchange forward contracts.
Indian Rupee Forward Contracts: As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the aggregate notional amounts of these contracts were Indian Rupee (INR) 0.89 billion, or $10.4 million, and Indian Rupee (INR) 1.40 billion, or $16.3 million, respectively, based on the exchange rates in effect as of each period end. The outstanding foreign exchange forward contracts as of March 31, 2025 are scheduled to mature monthly through December 31, 2025.
Canadian Dollar Forward Contracts: During the first quarter of 2025, we entered into a Canadian Dollar forward contract with a notional amount of $25.0 million that settled on March 31, 2025. Additionally, on March 31, 2025, we entered into another Canadian Dollar forward contract with a notional amount of $25.0 million that will settle on June 30, 2025.
We use a sensitivity analysis to determine the effects that market foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations may have on the fair value of our foreign exchange forward contract portfolio. The sensitivity of the portfolio is computed based on the market value of future cash flows as affected by changes in exchange rates. This sensitivity analysis represents the hypothetical changes in value of the derivatives and does not reflect the offsetting gain or loss on the underlying exposure. A hypothetical 100 basis point change in the USD to INR and USD to CAD exchange rates would have an immaterial impact on the fair value of our derivative instruments as of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024.
Market Risk
We have a 1.69% convertible debt investment in Shorelight Holdings, LLC, a privately-held company, which we account for as an available-for-sale debt security. As such, the investment is carried at fair value with unrealized holding gains and losses excluded from earnings and reported in other comprehensive income. As of March 31, 2025, the fair value of the investment was $48.2 million, with a total cost basis of $40.9 million. At December 31, 2024, the fair value of the investment was $62.3 million, with a total cost basis of $40.9 million.
We have a preferred stock investment in a privately-held hospital-at-home company, which we account for as an equity security without a readily determinable fair value using the measurement alternative. As such, the investment is carried at cost minus impairment, plus or minus changes resulting from observable price changes in orderly transactions for the identical or similar investment. As of March 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, the carrying value of the investment was $3.2 million and $7.4 million, respectively, with a total cost basis of $5.0 million. In the first quarter of 2025, we recognized a non-cash impairment loss of $4.2 million on our preferred stock investment based on the valuation anticipated from the hospital-at-home company's merger with a third-party, which is expected to close in 2025. The non-cash impairment loss was recorded to other income (expense), net in our consolidated statement of operations.
We do not use derivative instruments for trading or other speculative purposes. From time to time, we invest excess cash in short-term marketable securities. These investments principally consist of overnight sweep accounts. Due to the short maturity of these investments, we have concluded that we do not have material market risk exposure. Refer to Note 9 “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity” within the notes to our consolidated financial statements for additional information on our derivative instruments.
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| ITEM 4. | CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES. | ||||
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) as of March 31, 2025. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of March 31, 2025, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting, on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act, and such information is accumulated and communicated to management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the three months ended March 31, 2025 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II—OTHER INFORMATION
| ITEM 1. | LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. | ||||
From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we are not a party to any litigation or legal proceeding or subject to any claim that, in the current opinion of management, could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations. However, due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings, actual results could differ from current expected results.
| ITEM 1A. | RISK FACTORS. | ||||
See Part 1, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 (the "2024 Form 10-K"), which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 25, 2025, for a complete description of the material risks we face. There have been no material changes to the Company’s risk factors since the 2024 Form 10-K.
| ITEM 2. | UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS. | ||||
On March 1, 2025, as partial consideration for our acquisition of Advancement Resources, we issued 15,378 shares of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, with an aggregate value of $2.3 million. The issuance was exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, as a transaction by an issuer not involving a public offering.
Our Stock Ownership Participation Program and 2012 Omnibus Incentive Plan permit the netting of common stock upon vesting of restricted stock awards to satisfy individual tax withholding requirements. During the quarter ended March 31, 2025, we reacquired 212,740 shares of common stock with a weighted average fair market value of $151.27 as a result of such tax withholdings.
In November 2020, our board of directors authorized a share repurchase program permitting us to repurchase up to $50 million of our common stock through December 31, 2021. The share repurchase program has been subsequently extended and increased, most recently in the fist quarter of 2025. The current authorization extends the share repurchase program through December 31, 2026 with a repurchase amount of $700 million, of which $191.7 million remains available as of March 31, 2025. The amount and timing of repurchases under the share repurchase program were and will continue to be determined by management and depend on a variety of factors, including the trading price of our common stock, capacity under our credit facility, general market and business conditions, and applicable legal requirements.
The following table provides information with respect to purchases we made of our common stock during the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
| Period | Total Number of Shares Purchased (1) | Average Price Paid per Share | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs | Dollar Value of Shares that may yet be Purchased under the Plans or Programs (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
January 1, 2025 - January 31, 2025 | 44,700 | $ | 123.84 | 35,946 | $ | 60,070,807 | ||||||||||||||||||||
February 1, 2025 - February 28, 2025 | 69,729 | $ | 143.46 | 69,729 | $ | 50,065,466 | ||||||||||||||||||||
March 1, 2025 - March 31, 2025 | 606,922 | $ | 147.34 | 402,936 | $ | 191,722,978 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 721,351 | $ | 145.51 | 508,611 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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(1)The number of shares repurchased included 8,754 shares in January 2025 and 203,986 shares in March 2025 to satisfy employee tax withholding requirements. These shares do not reduce the repurchase authority under the share repurchase program.
(2)As of the end of the period.
| ITEM 3. | DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES. | ||||
None.
| ITEM 4. | MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES. | ||||
Not applicable.
| ITEM 5. | OTHER INFORMATION. | ||||
Securities Trading Plans of Directors and Executive Officers
The following table describes contracts, instructions or written plans for the sale or purchase of our securities adopted by our officers and/or directors during the first quarter of 2025, each of which is intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5-1(c), referred to as Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
| Name and Title | Action | Date of Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan Action | Scheduled Expiration Date of Rule 10b5-1 Trading Plan | Aggregate Number of Shares to be Sold | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Hugh E. Sawyer - Director | Adoption | 3/6/2025 | 2/27/2026 | 4,008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
During the first quarter of 2025, none of our officers or directors modified or terminated contracts, instructions or written plans for the sale or purchase of our securities intended to satisfy the affirmative defense condition of Rule 10b5-1(c) or adopted, modified or terminated a non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement (as defined in Item 408(c) of Regulation S-K).
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| ITEM 6. | EXHIBITS. | ||||
(a) The following exhibits are filed as part of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
| Incorporated by Reference | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Exhibit Number | Exhibit Description | Filed herewith | Furnished herewith | Form | Period Ending | Exhibit | Filing Date | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10.1* | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.2* | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10.3* | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 31.1 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 31.2 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 32.1 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 32.2 | X | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.INS | Inline XBRL Instance Document - the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document. | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.SCH | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.CAL | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.LAB | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.PRE | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 101.DEF | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) | X | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
| Huron Consulting Group Inc. | ||||||||||||||
| (Registrant) | ||||||||||||||
| Date: | April 29, 2025 | /s/ JOHN D. KELLY | ||||||||||||
| John D. Kelly | ||||||||||||||
| Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | ||||||||||||||
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