Charles River Associates reported eight consecutive years of record top-line growth during a presentation at the Sidoti Small-Cap Virtual Conference on September 23, 2026, highlighting what management called the company’s strongest profit year on record.
Year-to-date revenue growth through 2026 ran more than 13%, significantly outpacing overlapping antitrust and competition case filings tracked by Lex Machina, which rose roughly 6%. Paul Maleh, CRAI’s president, CEO, and chairman, attributed the divergence to market share gains.
“CRA intends to be the trusted partner clients turn to for clarity in their most complex and consequential decisions,” Maleh said. He noted that artificial intelligence is functioning as a “net-positive demand amplifier,” increasing lead flow and client complexity rather than displacing services.
The energy practice has seen particularly rapid expansion. Maleh described the sector as moving at “light speed,” fueled by data center development, power distribution reliability concerns, and rate negotiations. He also pointed to AI as a demand catalyst across the firm’s portfolio.
Financially, the company reported an EBITDA-to-adjusted net cash flow ratio of approximately 112%, meaning every dollar of EBITDA produced $1.12 in operating cash flow. Debt stood at zero, with all growth from 2021 through 2026 funded internally.
Over the past five years, capital allocation broke down as roughly 46% toward talent investment, 47% toward shareholder returns — about 80% via stock repurchases and the remainder through dividends — and 6% toward capital expenditures. More than $180 million in shares were repurchased at an average price of $110 per share. The share count has declined more than 15% over five years and nearly 30% over the past decade. The dividend yield sits at 1.4%, raised for 10 consecutive years. The Altman Z-Score was 3.33; return on equity came in at 26%.
Talent investments have generated more than $240 million in incremental revenue, carrying an internal rate of return in the mid-teens, or roughly 14% to 16%. Voluntary turnover among top revenue-generating employees — defined as fewer than three departures out of approximately 55 to 60 individuals identified on annual board lists — has remained below 5% over the same five-year span.
CRAI operates more than 20 offices across eight countries. Legal and regulatory consulting accounts for roughly 80% of revenue, with management consulting making up the remaining 20%. Antitrust and competition economics alone represents about 45% of total revenue, which Maleh described as the top global practice in that segment. The three core practices — antitrust and competition economics, forensic services, and life sciences — together generate approximately 75% of revenue. European antitrust and competition economics revenue exceeds $100 million.
CRAI served 88 of the Fortune 100 companies over the past two years and partnered with 98 of the top 100 law firms globally during the same period.
Chad Holmes, chief corporate development officer, and Eric Nierenberg, CFO, participated in the session moderated by Marc Riddick, senior analyst at Sidoti & Company.
