FTI sulting(US:FCN)2025-07-24 14:02Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported revenues of $943.7 million for Q2 2025, a slight decrease from $949.2 million in the prior year quarter, but a sequential increase of $45.4 million or 5.1% from Q1 2025 [32] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 2025 was $111.6 million or 11.8% of revenue, compared to $115.9 million or 12.2% of revenues in the prior year quarter [34] - Earnings per share (EPS) decreased to $2.13 from $2.34 in the prior year quarter, but increased sequentially from $1.74 in Q1 2025 [33] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Corporate Finance and Restructuring achieved record revenues of $379.2 million, a 9% increase year-over-year, with adjusted segment EBITDA of $81.7 million or 21.5% of segment revenue [36] - Forensic and Litigation Consulting (FLC) revenues increased by 10% to $186.5 million, with adjusted segment EBITDA rising to $31.2 million or 16.7% of segment revenues [38] - Economic Consulting revenues decreased by 17% to $191.7 million, with adjusted segment EBITDA dropping to $14.2 million or 7.4% of segment revenues [41] - Technology segment revenues fell by 27.9% to $83.6 million, with adjusted segment EBITDA decreasing to $5.3 million or 6.3% of segment revenues [43] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company noted a slowdown in demand for M&A related services, particularly impacting the technology segment due to regulatory changes [50] - The economic consulting segment faced challenges from lower demand for antitrust services, particularly in EMEA [50] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on investing in talent and capabilities across its diverse business segments, despite facing headwinds in certain areas [52] - Management emphasized the resilience of the company's diverse portfolio, which allows for growth even when specific segments face challenges [52] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management acknowledged that 2025 has been a challenging year, with several negative factors impacting performance, yet the company has delivered solid results [5][8] - The outlook for the second half of the year includes expectations for gradual improvement in demand for M&A related services and continued strength in corporate finance and restructuring [50] Other Important Information - The company repurchased approximately 3.3 million shares in the first half of 2025, with $309.3 million remaining under its stock repurchase authorization [47] - The effective tax rate for Q2 2025 was 22%, compared to 18.2% in the prior year quarter [34] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you elaborate on the divergence between economic consulting and technology segments? - The strength in economic consulting was primarily due to non-M&A related activity, while technology faced challenges from paused or canceled second requests [58] Question: What is the timeline for assessing the commercial capability of newly hired professionals? - It is expected that a better sense of their commercial capability will emerge in about a year [62] Question: What is driving the growth in the restructuring environment? - The growth is attributed to the best restructuring professionals globally and factors such as tariff impacts and liability management exercises [66] Question: Will the pace of hiring senior professionals continue through the end of the year? - The company has hired more senior professionals in the first half of the year than ever before and will continue to hire when great talent is available [73] Question: How do you assess the overall impact of US regulatory changes? - The overall impact is seen as more headwinds than tailwinds, particularly affecting the FLC and technology businesses [78]