The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.01 EPS

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ:HCKT) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The business services provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $68.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.23 million. The Hackett Group had a net margin of 4.23% and a return on equity of 22.21%. The Hackett Group updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 0.330-0.350 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from The Hackett Group’s conference call:

• Accelerated pivot to AI platform-enabled delivery — The company has integrated proprietary platforms (Hackett AI XPLR, XT, AIX, ZBrain) and an acquisition (LeewayHertz) to shift from labor-based services to “service as a product,” which management says will add non-labor scale and expand addressable market.
• Q1 financials under pressure — reported revenues before reimbursements were roughly $68M with adjusted EPS of $0.34 at the low end of guidance, reflecting year-over-year revenue declines and elongated client decision cycles driven by AI ROI uncertainty.
• Early productivity and margin improvements expected to accelerate — SBT project margins reportedly improved ~500 basis points from platform leverage, Oracle margins are already improving with AIXelerator, and management expects Q2 sequential margin gains and a Q3 inflection where adjusted EPS could exceed prior-year levels on flat revenues.
• Weakened near-term cash position and higher receivables — cash fell to $6.1M (from $18.2M), operating cash used $5.1M, and DSO rose to 67 days, though management expects an $8M–$9M reduction in receivables by end of Q2.
• Strategic partnerships and demand signals showing traction — IBM go-to-market collaboration launched, wins driven by the OneStream AIXelerator, and a strong response from process-mining (Celonis) users to Hackett AI XPLR, which management says should help expand pipeline over the coming quarters.

The Hackett Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ HCKT traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.89. The stock had a trading volume of 338,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,094. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. The Hackett Group has a 1 year low of $12.19 and a 1 year high of $26.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $13.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.74. The firm has a market cap of $350.31 million, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.96.

The Hackett Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 20th were paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 20th. The Hackett Group’s payout ratio is presently 102.13%.

Key Headlines Impacting The Hackett Group

Here are the key news stories impacting The Hackett Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasizes AI strategy and shareholder returns — Company reiterated disciplined, multi?year investments in a Gen?AI foundation and maintained a dividend commitment, signaling a long?term growth thesis and return of capital that can support sentiment even after a near?term earnings miss. Hackett Group Balances AI Investment With Dividend Commitment
• Positive Sentiment: Operating and cash?flow improvements reported — The company and third?party summaries note higher gross profit and a large jump in cash from operations, plus an increase in operating profit, which may reassure investors that cost discipline is offsetting revenue softness. The Hackett Group Announces First?Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimates and coverage updates — Craig Hallum issued Q1 EPS estimates earlier, reflecting differing analyst expectations; consensus full?year EPS remains around $1.38, so forecasts are mixed and will hinge on execution against AI investments and revenue recovery.
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 slightly missed EPS and revenue estimates — Reported EPS of $0.34 missed the Zacks consensus of $0.35 and revenue of $68.8M was below estimates, a near?term negative that likely prompted initial downside pressure. Hackett Group (HCKT) Misses Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Q2 guidance below consensus — The company set Q2 EPS of $0.330–0.350 (vs. ~$0.39 consensus) and revenue guidance of roughly $68.5–70.0M (below the ~$74.6M street view), which increases the risk of near?term multiple compression if revenue recovery lags. Q1 Results & Guidance (press release)
• Negative Sentiment: Balance?sheet items to monitor — Third?party data highlights a drop in cash and a notable rise in total liabilities year?over?year, which could concern risk?sensitive investors if the company needs to fund growth or make additional AI investments. Hackett Group Inc (HCKT) Stock Falls on Q1 2026 Earnings

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barrington Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of The Hackett Group in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of The Hackett Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of The Hackett Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Roth Mkm set a $24.00 price target on shares of The Hackett Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of The Hackett Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of The Hackett Group by 1.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 39,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,004,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in The Hackett Group by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,007 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in The Hackett Group by 7.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Hackett Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 44,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in The Hackett Group by 0.3% in the third quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 428,654 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. 78.12% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About The Hackett Group

The Hackett Group is a global strategic advisory firm specializing in business transformation, benchmarking and research. Leveraging a proprietary data repository and the Hackett Methodology®, the company helps organizations optimize performance across enterprise functions. Its advisory services span digital transformation, process optimization and operational excellence, enabling clients to identify best practices, streamline workflows and achieve sustainable cost savings.

Through detailed benchmarking studies and industry research, The Hackett Group delivers actionable insights into finance, procurement, human resources, information technology and supply chain management.