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what it is
Hackett sells benchmarking data, consulting, and software tools that tell big companies where they waste money.
how it gets paid
Last year The Hackett made $306M in revenue. Executive Advisory & Benchmarking was the main engine at $82M, or 27% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 303.5% last year. Gross margin hit 85.6%, which is the kind of number software companies brag about.
what just happened
Latest quarter revenue was $76M, down 4% vs. prior year, while EPS rose to $0.21.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
40/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
32.2x trailing p/e — you're paying up for this one
23.7% return on capital — every dollar works hard here
$1.05 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 45/100 — below average
What they do
Hackett sells benchmarking data, consulting, and software tools that tell big companies where they waste money.
Hackett has completed more than 27,500 benchmarking and performance studies for major organizations. Proprietary IP (company-owned research and tools → hard-to-copy know-how → so what: you get answers built on years of client data, not generic slides). When your finance chief wants proof, that database is the sales pitch.
How they make money
$306M
annual revenue · their business grew +303.5% last year
Executive Advisory & Benchmarking
$82M
Oracle Solutions
$70M
SAP Solutions
$58M
OneStream & Coupa Solutions
$43M
Platforms & Gen AI Tools
$53M
The products that matter
finance & operations advisory
Global S&BT
core consulting segment
Management expects this segment to be down from last year in Q1 2026. In a $314M company, you feel slow demand quickly.
watch demand
technology consulting practice
Oracle Solutions
second key segment
This segment is also expected to be down from last year in Q1 2026. That matters because you are not getting a weak spot offset by a stronger one.
also down
company-wide earnings power
Profitability
4.2% net margin
The business kept 4.2 cents of profit on every revenue dollar over the last 12 months, down from 9.7 cents a year earlier. For a consulting firm, that drop is the story.
margin reset
Key numbers
32.2x
trailing p/e
P/E → price divided by profit → so what: you are paying premium-stock pricing for a business with just 2.5% past sales growth.
23.7%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on each dollar invested → so what: this business model still throws off strong returns when projects hold up.
15.5%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after day-to-day costs → so what: Hackett keeps about 16 cents from each sales dollar before interest and taxes.
11%
debt to capital
Debt to capital → leverage level → so what: with just $45M of long-term debt, the balance sheet is not the main problem here.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $45M (11% of capital)
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for HCKT right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Latest quarter revenue was $76M, down 4% vs. prior year, while EPS rose to $0.21.
Gross margin hit 85.6%, which is the kind of number software companies brag about. The quiet part is revenue still fell, so cost control is doing a lot of the lifting.
$76M
revenue
$0.21
eps
85.6%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 4% revenue decline mattered most because a 32.2x earnings multiple needs growth, not just cleaner expense lines.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk here is a consulting slowdown hitting both main segments at the same time.
med
revenue slowdown becomes a trend
Management is guiding Q1 2026 revenue to $70.5M and expects both Global S&BT and Oracle Solutions to be down from last year. When both engines soften together, there is nowhere to hide.
This risk directly pressures a stock still trading at 29.5x earnings.
med
margin compression keeps eating the equity story
Net profit margin fell from 9.7% to 4.2%, and adjusted gross margin slipped to 46.6% from 47.7%. That is not rounding error. That is operating leverage working in reverse.
If margins stay near 4.2%, the business looks materially less attractive than the multiple suggests.
med
scale disadvantage versus larger consultants
HCKT is a $314M revenue firm competing against much larger players including Accenture, IBM, and Cognizant. In a softer spending environment, bigger firms usually have more room to cut price or bundle work.
That can squeeze pricing power and slow any recovery in utilization or margin.
A business that earned $12.9M last year and kept only 4.2% of revenue as profit does not have much room for another demand wobble.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
may 5 earnings is the next reality check
Q1 2026 is guided to $70.5M of revenue and $0.34–$0.36 of EPS. If results miss that bar, the premium multiple gets harder to defend.
metric
net margin needs to stop shrinking
The drop from 9.7% to 4.2% is the cleanest summary of what went wrong. You want to see that line stabilize before paying up for recovery.
trend
both major segments are currently moving the wrong way
Global S&BT and Oracle Solutions are both expected to be down from last year in Q1. One weak segment is manageable. Two is the whole story.
risk
valuation still assumes the slump is temporary
At 29.5x earnings versus 22.5x for the industry, HCKT is priced more like a rebound candidate than a business in reset mode.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
40 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not see this as a smooth, easy-to-model earnings story.
risk rank
3
Middle-of-the-pack risk. The balance sheet is fine, but operating performance is doing the stressing.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for HCKT is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$19
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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