As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the business process outsourcing & consulting industry, including CRA (NASDAQ: CRAI) and its peers.

The sector stands to benefit from ongoing digital transformation, increasing corporate demand for cost efficiencies, and the growing complexity of regulatory and cybersecurity landscapes. For those that invest wisely, AI and automation capabilities could emerge as competitive advantages, enhancing process efficiencies for the companies themselves as well as their clients. On the flip side, AI could be a headwind as well as the technology could lower the barrier to entry in the space and give rise to more self-service solutions. Additional challenges in the years ahead could include wage inflation for highly skilled consultants and potential regulatory scrutiny on outsourcing practices—especially in industries like finance and healthcare where who has access to certain data matters greatly.

The 9 business process outsourcing & consulting stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

While some business process outsourcing & consulting stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 3.3% since the latest earnings results.

CRA (NASDAQ: CRAI)

Often retained for high-stakes matters with multibillion-dollar implications, CRA International (NASDAQ: CRAI) provides economic, financial, and management consulting services to corporations, law firms, and government agencies for litigation, regulatory proceedings, and business strategy.

CRA reported revenues of $197 million, up 11.6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3.4%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and full-year revenue guidance beating analysts’ expectations.

“For the eighth consecutive year, CRA established a new record for annual revenue,” said Paul Maleh, CRA’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

The stock is down 3.6% since reporting and currently trades at $154.44.

Is now the time to buy CRA? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q4: FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN)

With a team of experts deployed across 30+ countries to tackle complex business challenges, FTI Consulting (NYSE: FCN) is a global business advisory firm that helps organizations manage change, mitigate risk, and resolve disputes across financial, legal, operational, and regulatory matters.

FTI Consulting reported revenues of $990.7 million, up 10.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.9%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

FTI Consulting pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 3.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $165.02.

Is now the time to buy FTI Consulting? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

CBIZ (NYSE: CBZ)

With over 120 offices across 33 states and a team of more than 6,700 professionals, CBIZ (NYSE: CBZ) provides accounting, tax, benefits, insurance brokerage, and advisory services to help small and mid-sized businesses manage their finances and operations.

CBIZ reported revenues of $542.7 million, up 17.9% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 6.1%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

CBIZ delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 3.1% since the results and currently trades at $26.43.

Read our full analysis of CBIZ’s results here.

Exponent (NASDAQ: EXPO)

With a team of over 800 consultants holding advanced degrees in 90+ technical disciplines, Exponent (NASDAQ: EXPO) is a science and engineering consulting firm that investigates complex problems and provides expert analysis for clients across various industries.

Exponent reported revenues of $129.4 million, up 4.5% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 1%. It was a strong quarter as it also recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is down 9.1% since reporting and currently trades at $64.38.

Read our full, actionable report on Exponent here, it’s free.

Concentrix (NASDAQ: CNXC)

With a team of approximately 450,000 employees across 75 countries, Concentrix (NASDAQ: CNXC) designs and delivers customer experience solutions that help global brands manage their customer interactions across digital channels and contact centers.

Concentrix reported revenues of $2.55 billion, up 4.3% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 0.7%. Zooming out, it was a slower quarter as it logged a significant miss of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates and a significant miss of analysts’ EPS guidance for next quarter estimates.

Concentrix had the slowest revenue growth and weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The stock is down 23.7% since reporting and currently trades at $30.89.

Read our full, actionable report on Concentrix here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our 9 Best Market-Beating Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.