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Here's Why You Should Hold FTI Consulting Stock in Your Portfolio Now

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Key Takeaways

  • FTI Consulting reaffirmed 2026 revenue guidance of $3.94-$4.10B as three key segments posted growth.
  • FCN's Q2 operating cash flow more than doubled year over year, while its current ratio stood at 2.03.
  • FCN faces cost pressure after Q2 adjusted EBITDA fell 6.4% and net income declined 19.4%.

FTI Consulting, Inc. (FCN - Free Report) benefits from continued demand for specialized consulting expertise across sectors. The company’s robust liquidity profile supports its long-term prospects. Increasing investments in sustainability and Artificial Intelligence (AI), along with shareholder-friendly policies, increase the stock’s appeal to investors.

FCN has a Growth Score of B. This style score condenses key financial metrics to reflect a fair sense of the quality and sustainability of its growth.

The company’s third-quarter 2026 earnings are expected to increase 1.9% year over year. Its 2026 and 2027 earnings are projected to rise 4.8% and 19.5%, respectively. Revenues are anticipated to grow 5.1% in 2026 and 6.8% in 2027.

Factors That Bode Well for FCN’s Success

Specialized Expertise Aids Top Line: FCN’s specialized expertise across restructuring, transactions, investigations, litigation, disputes and reputational matters is driving long-term growth. The company’s expert-led models and AI tools are further boosting demand. This growing demand across multiple practices mitigates the impact of macroeconomic headwinds, crises, events and changes in a particular practice, industry or country. FCN reported that its Corporate Finance, Technology and Forensic and Litigation Consulting segments' revenues increased 8.5%, 18.4% and 4.1% year over year, respectively, in the second quarter of 2026. Banking on this recent growth, management reaffirmed its 2026 revenue guidance of $3.94-$4.10 billion.

Solid Liquidity: The company continues to maintain robust liquidity. FCN held current assets of $1.59 billion against current liabilities of $782.4 million at the end of the second quarter of 2026. The company’s operating cash flow rose more than 100% year over year during the second quarter of 2026. This performance is a positive indicator for investors as it signals effective coverage of short-term obligations.

Buybacks Create Shareholder Value: Over the years, the company has demonstrated its strong commitment to its shareholders. In 2023, 2024 and 2025, it repurchased shares worth $21 million, $10.2 million and $858.7 million, respectively. This initiative instills investor confidence. This consistency underscores its dedication to creating long-term value for investors.

Watch Out for These Risks to FCN Stock

Profitability Faces Cost Pressure: During 2025, FTI Consulting witnessed a 14.5% year-over-year jump in operating expenses, an acceleration from a 7.7% year-over-year increase in 2024. This substantial rise has been driven by year-over-year growth in direct costs of revenues and special charges. During the second quarter of 2026, the company reported that its adjusted EBITDA fell 6.4%, while net income declined 19.4% year over year, due to higher direct costs and selling, general and administrative expenses in senior talent and supporting teams across segments and higher compensation, travel and entertainment and legal costs.

Absence of Dividend: FCN has never declared a dividend and currently does not plan to pay out cash dividends on common stock, leaving investors to rely solely on price appreciation, which is not guaranteed. This makes the stock unattractive to income-seeking investors.

FTI Consulting has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

A couple of better-ranked stocks in the broader Business Services sector are Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (BFAM - Free Report) and CBIZ, Inc. (CBZ - Free Report) .

Bright Horizons Family Solutions carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 13.9%.

BFAM delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 7.6%, on average.

CBIZ also has a Zacks Rank of 2 at present. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 11.6%.

CBZ beat earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed once, with an average earnings surprise of 8.9%.

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