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Charles River's (CRAI) Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates, Up Y/Y

CRA International, Inc., which conducts business as Charles River Associates CRAI, reported impressive first-quarter 2022 results, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate on both earnings and revenues.

Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.53, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 35.4% and increased 11.7% year over year. Revenues of $148.4 million surpassed the consensus mark by 9.4% and increased 1.3% year over year.

At the call, management stated that Charles River witnessed strong demand for its portfolio of services throughout the quarter. The company recorded double-digit revenue growth in Antitrust & Competition Economics; Auctions & Competitive Bidding; Labor & Employment; Intellectual Property; and Risk, Investigations & Analytics.

Charles River acquired Welch Consulting, an expert in economic consulting, research, and analysis of labor and employment issues, in the quarter. The buyout significantly expands Charles River’s labor and employment practice, and is accretive to the company’s earnings in 2022.

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Charles River’s shares have lost 15.4% year to date compared with 30.2% growth of the industry it belongs to.

Other Quarterly Details

Charles River delivered 74% utilization while headcount was up by 4.9% year over year. Non-GAAP EBITDA increased 6.2% year over year to $18.9 million. Non-GAAP EBITDA margin expanded 60 basis points year over year to 12.7%.

The company exited the quarter with cash of $43.7 million compared with $66.1 million witnessed at the end of the prior quarter. It used $61.8 million of cash in operating activities while capex was $1.3 billion. In the quarter, Charles River paid out $2.4 million in dividends and repurchased shares worth $5 million.

2022 Guidance

For 2022, on a constant-currency basis relative to 2021, Charles River anticipates revenues between $585 million and $605 million. Non-GAAP EBITDA margin is expected in the range of 10.8% to 11.5%.

Currently, Charles River carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Charles River Associates Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Charles River Associates price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Charles River Associates Quote

Performance of Some Other Business Services Companies

Within the broader Business Services sector, ManpowerGroup Inc. MAN, Omnicom Group Inc. OMC and Equifax Inc. EFX recently reported first-quarter 2022 results.

ManpowerGroup’s quarterly earnings and revenue beat estimates. Adjusted earnings of $1.88 per share beat the consensus mark by 20.5% and improved 69.4% year over year.

MAN’s revenues of $5.14 billion surpassed the consensus mark by 0.7% and inched up 4.5% year over year.

Omnicom reported earnings of $1.39 per share that beat the consensus mark by 8.6% and increased 4.5% year over year.

OMC’s total revenues of $3.4 billion surpassed the consensus estimate by 5.4% but declined slightly year over year.

Equifax adjusted earnings of $2.22 per share that beat the consensus estimate by 3.3% and improved 13% on a year-over-year basis.

EFX’s revenues of $1.36 billion outpaced the consensus estimate by 2.4% and improved 12.4% year over year.


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Equifax, Inc. (EFX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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