Huron Consulting Group Inc.

Huron Consulting Group Inc. is a global professional services firm that partners with clients to create sound strategies, optimize operations, accelerate digital transformation, and empower businesses to own their future. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with additional locations in the United States and abroad in Canada, France, India, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The professional services industry is extremely competitive, highly fragmented, and constantly evolving, including a large number of participants with a variety of skills and industry expertise, such as other strategy, business operations, technology, and financial advisory consulting firms; general management consulting firms; the consulting practices of major accounting firms; technical and economic advisory firms; regional and specialty consulting firms; consulting divisions of technology partners; and the internal professional resources of organizations. Huron competes with a large number of service and technology providers in all of its segments, and the principal competitive factors include reputation, the ability to attract and retain top talent, the capacity to manage engagements effectively and with the highest quality to drive value for clients, and the ability to deliver measurable and sustainable results.

The company 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. Huron has grown its client base and expanded its credentials in commercial industries, including financial services, industrials and manufacturing, energy and utilities, and the public sector. The company believes its reputation, industry and capability expertise, ability to deliver high-value, quality service and measurable results to clients across a balanced portfolio of offerings, and ability to attract and retain top talent enable it to compete favorably in the professional services marketplace. In 2025, Huron served over 2,000 clients and its 10 largest clients accounted for approximately 19% of consolidated revenues.

Huron generates revenue primarily by providing professional services and software products under four types of billing arrangements: fixed-fee, time-and-expense, performance-based, and software support, maintenance and subscriptions. Revenues before reimbursable expenses are primarily driven by the number of revenue-generating professionals employed as well as the total value, scope, and terms of consulting contracts. The company also generates subscription revenue from cloud-based analytic tools and solutions including cloud-based revenue cycle management software and research administration and compliance software, and clients that have purchased a software license can pay an annual fee for software support and maintenance. The company provides its services and products and manages its business under three operating segments — Healthcare, Education, and Commercial — which aligns the business by industry, and also provides revenue reporting across two principal capabilities: Consulting and Managed Services and Digital.

For the year ended December 31, 2025, Huron derived 50%, 30% and 20% of its consolidated revenues before reimbursable expenses from its Healthcare, Education and Commercial operating segments, respectively. The 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, with healthcare-focused consulting and managed services offerings including financial and operational performance improvement consulting, revenue cycle managed services and outsourcing, financial and capital advisory consulting, and strategy and innovation consulting, as well as healthcare-focused digital services spanning technology and analytic-related services including core systems of record such as enterprise health record, enterprise resource planning, enterprise performance management, and customer relationship management systems, data management, AI and automation, technology managed services, and payor core administration systems, and a portfolio of software products delivered to the healthcare industry. The Education segment serves public and private colleges and universities, research institutes, not-for-profit organizations and other education-related organizations, with education and research-focused consulting and managed services offerings including research-focused consulting and managed services, strategy and operations consulting services spanning finance, accounting, operations and athletics to organization and talent strategy and student and academic strategy, and advancement and fundraising consulting services, as well as education and research-focused digital offerings spanning technology and analytic-related services including core systems of record such as student information, ERP, EPM, and CRM systems, data management, AI and automation, and technology managed services, and product offerings including the Huron Research Suite. The Commercial segment focuses on serving industries and organizations facing significant disruption and regulatory change, working primarily with seven primary buyers: the chief executive officer, the chief financial officer, the chief strategy officer, the chief human resources officer, the chief operating officer, the chief risk officer, and organizational advisors including lenders and law firms, with a deep focus on serving organizations in the financial services, industrials and manufacturing, and energy and utilities industries and the public sector while opportunistically serving commercial industries more broadly including professional and business services, life sciences, consumer products, and retail, delivering digital services and software products, financial and capital advisory consulting services, regulatory compliance and risk management consulting and managed services, strategy and innovation consulting services, and financial and operational performance improvement consulting services.

Revenues before reimbursable expenses within the Consulting and Managed Services capability increased 13.1% to $976.9 million ¹ in 2025, compared to $863.9 million ² in 2024, reflecting strengthened demand in all three segments, and included $38.2 million ³ of incremental revenues from acquisitions of Eclipse Insights, Treliant, Advancement Resources, WP&C, GG+A and Halpin. Revenues before reimbursable expenses within the Digital capability increased 10.2% to $686.0 million ⁴ in 2025, compared to $622.2 million ⁵ in 2024, reflecting strengthened demand in the Commercial and Education segments, partially offset by a decrease in demand in the Healthcare segment, and included $47.8 million ⁶ of incremental revenues from acquisitions of AXIA Consulting and AXIOM. The utilization rate within the Consulting capability increased to 75.7% ⁷ in 2025, compared to 73.6% ⁸ in 2024, and the utilization rate within the Digital capability increased to 78.2% ⁹ in 2025, compared to 76.0% ¹⁰ in 2024. The total number of revenue-generating professionals, excluding Managed Services professionals, increased 13.1% to 5,307 ¹¹ as of December 31, 2025, compared to 4,694 ¹² as of December 31, 2024, and the number of Managed Services professionals increased 46.3% to 2,239 ¹³ as of December 31, 2025 from 1,530 ¹⁴ as of December 31, 2024.

In 2025, Huron completed six acquisitions: on March 1, 2025, it acquired 100% of the ownership interests of Advancement Resources, a research-based, philanthropy-focused professional education services firm; on March 17, 2025, it completed the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of Halpin Partnership Limited, a U.K.-based management consultancy specializing in higher education fundraising, governance, and strategy; on June 24, 2025, it completed the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of Eclipse Insights LLC, a revenue cycle consulting firm; on July 11, 2025, it acquired 100% of the membership interests of TVG-Treliant Holdings, LLC, an advisory and managed services firm providing expertise to the financial services industry; on September 1, 2025, it acquired 100% of the ownership interests of Wilson Perumal and Company, Inc., a strategy and operations consulting firm; and on November 1, 2025, it acquired 100% of the ownership interests of AXIOM Systems Consulting Services, Inc., the payor consulting services division of a healthcare information technology firm. The aggregate fair value of consideration transferred for all acquisitions completed in 2025 was $159.7 million ¹⁵, consisting of $110.2 million ¹⁶ in cash, $29.2 million ¹⁷ in Huron common stock, and $20.3 million ¹⁸ in the acquisition date fair value of contingent consideration liabilities. In 2025, Huron deployed $166.2 million ¹⁹ of capital to repurchase 1,166,077 ²⁰ shares of its common stock, representing 6.6% ²¹ of common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2025, $99.0 million ²² remained available for share repurchases under the share repurchase program. In the first quarter of 2026, the board of directors authorized a further increase to the authorized amount under the share repurchase program from $700 million ²³ to $900 million ²⁴. On July 30, 2025, the company entered into the Fourth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, establishing a $700 million ²⁵ senior secured revolving credit facility and a $400 million ²⁶ senior secured term loan facility, both fully maturing on July 30, 2030 ²⁷.

Revenues before reimbursable expenses increased 11.9% to $1.66 billion ²⁸ in 2025 from $1.49 billion ²⁹ in 2024. Net income decreased $11.6 million ³⁰, or 9.9%, to $105.0 million ³¹, or 6.2% ³² of total revenues, for 2025 from $116.6 million ³³, or 7.7% ³⁴ of total revenues, for 2024. Diluted EPS was $5.84 ³⁵ for 2025, compared to $6.27 ³⁶ for 2024. Adjusted EBITDA increased $36.3 million ³⁷, or 18.1%, to $237.5 million ³⁸, or 14.3% ³⁹ of revenues before reimbursable expenses, in 2025, compared to $201.2 million ⁴⁰, or 13.5% ⁴¹ of revenues before reimbursable expenses, in 2024. Adjusted diluted EPS increased 21.0% to $7.83 ⁴² for 2025, compared to $6.47 ⁴³ for 2024.

A key growth vector is accelerating growth in Healthcare and Education, where Huron holds leading market positions and will continue to broaden its portfolio of offerings to drive even greater impact on current and new clients as needs in those industries evolve due to competitive, regulatory, financial, and broader market changes. Another major growth vector is growing presence in Commercial industries, where through deep industry and capability expertise and a nimble approach, Huron has grown its client base and expanded its credentials, increasing the diversification of the company's portfolio and end markets while expanding the range of capabilities it can deliver to clients. A third growth vector is rapidly growing global Digital capability, as data, technology and artificial intelligence evolve across industries, and Huron will continue to advance its integrated digital platform to support its strong growth trajectory, having invested organically and inorganically to expand its Digital offerings which now span beyond core systems of record into a broader set of administrative systems, and having grown its ecosystem to work with more than 25 technology partners.

The company is committed to operating income margin expansion by growing the areas of the business that provide the most attractive returns, improving pricing realization and the operational efficiency of delivery for clients, utilizing the global delivery platform across regions, and scaling selling, general, and administrative expenses as growth occurs. The company continues to be well-positioned to further achieve margin expansion as well as strong annual adjusted diluted earnings per share growth.

Huron estimates that cash utilized for purchases of property and equipment and software development in 2026 will total approximately $30 million to $40 million ⁴⁴, primarily consisting of leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures for certain office locations, information technology-related equipment to support corporate infrastructure, and software development costs. The company's technology platform is a virtual office from which all employees operate, and it will need to continue to invest in technology in order to achieve redundancies necessary to prevent service interruptions. As of December 31, 2025, the workforce was comprised of approximately 8,610 ⁴⁵ full-time professionals, and the company proactively plans and manages the size and composition of its workforce, taking actions as needed to address changes in anticipated demand for services.

During 2025, Huron deployed $166.2 million ⁴⁶ of capital to repurchase 1,166,077 ⁴⁷ shares of its common stock. As of December 31, 2025, $99.0 million ⁴⁸ remained available for share repurchases under the share repurchase program, and in the first quarter of 2026, the board of directors authorized a further increase to the authorized amount from $700 million ⁴⁹ to $900 million ⁵⁰. The company has not declared or paid dividends on its common stock since becoming a public company, and any determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of the board of directors. The company is committed to deploying capital in a strategic and balanced way, including returning capital to shareholders and executing strategic, tuck-in acquisitions while prudently managing the leverage ratio.

The healthcare and education industries are areas of significant focus for the business, and factors that affect the financial condition of these industries could consequently affect the business, as these industries are highly regulated and subject to changing political, legislative, regulatory, and other influences. Uncertainty in any of these areas could cause clients to delay or postpone decisions to use services, and existing and new federal and state laws and regulations could create unexpected liabilities, cause the company or its clients to incur additional costs, and restrict operations. Additionally, regulatory and legislative changes in these industries, or executive actions impacting these industries, could reduce demand for services, decrease competitive position, or potentially render certain service offerings obsolete, change client buying patterns or decision making, or require unplanned modifications to service offerings. The company's digital offerings are a significant focal point, and a significant reduction in demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment could materially affect results of operations, as technological developments and advancements in AI, which may be rapid, could shift demand to new services and products.

An inability to retain the senior management team and managing directors and principals would be detrimental to the success of the business, as the company relies heavily on them to generate revenues and market the business, and their personal reputations and relationships with clients are a critical element in obtaining and maintaining client engagements. The healthcare and education industries are areas of significant focus, and factors that affect the financial condition of these industries could consequently affect the business, as these industries are highly regulated and subject to changing political, legislative, regulatory, and other influences, and uncertainty in any of these areas could cause clients to delay or postpone decisions to use services. The company's digital offerings are a significant focal point, and a significant reduction in demand or an inability to respond to the evolving technological environment, including rapid developments and advancements in AI, could materially affect results of operations. As of December 31, 2025, goodwill and other intangible assets totaled $859.8 million ⁵¹, or 56% ⁵² of total assets, and a significant decline in operations could result in non-cash goodwill impairment charges. The company has a $700 million ⁵³ Revolver and a $400 million ⁵⁴ Term Loan under the Amended Credit Agreement, and as of December 31, 2025, had outstanding indebtedness of $511.0 million ⁵⁵; if the company defaults on these obligations, lenders could accelerate indebtedness and exercise liens on substantially all assets and pledged equity interests, which would have a material adverse effect on business, operations, financial condition, and liquidity.

Management's message emphasizes that 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. The key themes of the growth strategy include accelerating growth in Healthcare and Education where Huron holds leading market positions, growing presence in Commercial industries to increase diversification, rapidly growing global Digital capability as data, technology and AI evolve, building a solid foundation for margin expansion through operating income margin expansion and strong annual adjusted diluted earnings per share growth, and maintaining a strong balance sheet and cash flows with a commitment to deploying capital in a strategic and balanced way including returning capital to shareholders and executing strategic, tuck-in acquisitions. Management highlights that adjusted diluted EPS increased 21.0% to $7.83 ⁵⁶ for 2025, compared to $6.47 ⁵⁷ for 2024, and that adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues before reimbursable expenses increased to 14.3% ⁵⁸ in 2025 from 13.5% ⁵⁹ in 2024.