Q3 2025 CRA International Inc Earnings Call

Speaker #3: Good day , everyone , and welcome to Charles River associates , third quarter 2025 conference Call . Please note that today's call is being recorded .

Speaker #3: The company's earnings release and prepared CFO remarks are posted on the Investor Relations section of Cra's website at . With us today are Caras President and Chief Executive Officer , Paul Morley , chief Financial officer Eric Nirenberg , and chief corporate development officer Chad Holmes .

Speaker #3: At this time , I'd like to turn the call over to Doctor Nirenberg for opening remarks . Eric , please go ahead .

Speaker #4: Thank you . Rob , and good morning to everyone . Please note that the statements made during this conference call , including guidance on future revenue and non-GAAP EBITDA margin and any other statements concerning the future business operating results or financial condition of CRA , including those statements using the terms expect , outlook or similar terms are forward looking statements as defined in section 21 of the Exchange Act .

Speaker #4: Information contained in these forward looking statements is based on management's current expectations and is inherently uncertain . Actual performance and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements .

Speaker #4: Due to many important factors , including the level of demand for our services . As a result of changes in general and industry specific economic conditions .

Speaker #4: Additional information regarding these factors is included in today's release and in Cra's periodic reports , including our most recently filed annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on form 10-q filed with the SEC .

Speaker #4: CRA undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this call. Additionally, we will refer to some non-GAAP financial measures and certain measures presented on a constant currency basis during this call.

Speaker #4: Everyone is encouraged to refer to today's release and related CFO remarks for reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their GAAP comparable measures and descriptions of the calculation of EBITDA and measures presented on a constant currency basis .

Speaker #4: I will now turn it over to Paul for his report . Paul .

Speaker #5: Thanks , Eric , and good morning , everyone . Thank you for joining us today . CRE continued its run of strong results into the third quarter of fiscal 2025 .

Speaker #5: Revenue increased by 10.8% year over year to $185.9 million . Combined with the record revenue performance in the first and second quarters , fiscal 2025 has produced the best three revenue Cra's history , reflecting the durability of Cra's business model .

Speaker #5: Our performance during the third quarter was broad based , with seven of 11 practices growing year over year . Our antitrust and quarters in competition economics , energy , finance and intellectual property practices each posted double digit revenue growth .

Speaker #5: We also generated growth across our geographies with our North American operations , increasing revenue by 6.8% and our international operations expanding 30.3% year over year .

Speaker #5: The strong international performance was driven primarily by our antitrust and competition economics and life sciences practices . During the period of strong growth , we have continued to manage the business effectively with quarterly utilization reaching 77% .

Speaker #5: Our strong utilization excuse me , our strong utilization and overall execution drove year over year growth in profitability . That exceeded revenue growth as non-GAAP net income earnings per diluted share and EBITDA increased by 12.7% , 16.4% and 14.6% , respectively .

Speaker #5: Revenue in the third quarter from CRA's legal and regulatory services increased 11.5%. This growth was supported by activity in the broader legal market, as total case filings and total court judgments rose.

Speaker #5: Each increased by double digit percentages compared to activity in the third quarter of 2020 . For Capitalizing on ongoing merger related activity and continued demand for antitrust services , our antitrust and competition economics practice established another new high for quarterly revenue .

Speaker #5: The practice continues to support clients on high profile mergers as worldwide M&A activity totaled $3 trillion during the first nine months of 2025 , an increase of 33% compared to year ago levels .

Speaker #5: And the strongest . period for dealmaking since 2021 . During the third quarter , for example , Cra's competition practice advised UnitedHealth Group in connection with the US Department of Justice's review of Unitedhealth's $3.3 billion acquisition of a .

Speaker #5: The DOJ , which had initially sought to block the transaction , announced that it reached a settlement with UnitedHealth and Amedisys , enabling the deal to proceed .

Speaker #5: Following two years of regulatory review , serious competition team provided its expertise throughout the DOJ investigation and litigation proceedings . The practice also contributed to the strong growth produced by Cras international operations .

Speaker #5: For example , during the third quarter , a CRA team provided economic analysis and support to Microsoft during an investigation into its team's collaboration platform .

Speaker #5: In September 2025 , the European Commission announced that it settled the long running investigation by accepting commitments from Microsoft to address EU competition concerns .

Speaker #5: Elsewhere , our finance practice continued to be active across a range of industries and litigation venues . For example , CRA has been assisting a client in the Chemicals and Agricultural product industry and high stakes litigation involving alleged breaches of contract and anticompetitive conduct in the most recent quarter .

Speaker #5: CRA is in pursuing and resolving disputes surrounding the production of structured data , formulating and analyzing potential damages , and preparing for mediation .

Speaker #5: In another matter , CRA was retained to provide expert testimony on financial issues in the NASCAR antitrust litigation schedule for trial in December .

Speaker #5: During the third quarter , Cras intellectual property practice advised on multiple high stakes litigation and valuation matters in a patent infringement dispute relating to mRNA Covid 19 vaccines .

Speaker #5: A CRA expert testified on reasonable royalty damages accounting for multiple liability scenarios and recovery periods . The parties subsequently entered into a global settlement , resolving all pending U.S.

Speaker #5: litigation related to Covid 19 vaccines and established a framework to resolve ongoing , ongoing patent disputes outside the U.S. upon the defendant's acquisition of Cra's client for approximately 1.25 billion .

Speaker #5: Under the terms of the settlement , Cra's client and its partners will also receive a payment of $740 million , as well as royalties on sales of Covid 19 vaccines in the United States .

Speaker #5: Going forward , we also saw strong activity related to our transfer pricing services during the third quarter , with transfer pricing top of mind for many tax authorities , CRA experts continue to be called upon to help regarding disputes around the world .

Speaker #5: We are also seeing a growing need for cross-functional economic analysis that brings together experts from multiple practices for example , Cras competition and transfer pricing .

Speaker #5: Colleagues are providing advice to a major mining company to ensure that their related party pricing would not be perceived as predatory . Pricing under anti-competition laws within our management consulting services revenue increased 8% year over year , led by the strong performance of our energy practice and supported by the expansion in our life sciences practice .

Speaker #5: Cras energy practice continues to be a trusted advisor to energy companies , utilities , investors and other ecosystem players navigating a rapidly evolving energy landscape .

Speaker #5: During the quarter , the practice supported a major California electric utility in developing its integrated Resource Plan , helping to balance reliability , decarbonization and affordability objectives .

Speaker #5: The team also contributed to several initiatives examining market design as questions grow about electricity , about how electricity markets compensate generators , and ensure resource adequacy .

Speaker #5: In addition , the energy practice saw strong activity from private capital clients providing commercial and regulatory due diligence for investments in energy infrastructure , utilities and increasingly , digital infrastructure such as data centers and network assets , where energy has become a major component of cost and investment strategy .

Speaker #5: These projects continue to draw on Cra's deep industry knowledge and analytical expertise to help clients evaluate opportunities across . The evolving power and infrastructure sectors in our life sciences practice .

Speaker #5: We continue to engage on early stage assets with a global perspective . As an example , during the quarter , we worked with a client on their strategy for newly acquired portfolio of neurological assets .

Speaker #5: Our team evaluated the pricing and access potential for the portfolio across the US , and key European markets , covering indications ranging from bipolar disorder to Alzheimer's disease , and provided data driven recommendations on clinical trial design and launch sequencing to maximize value in our expert witness work , we continue to leverage our strategy consulting experience in two disputes regarding new product launches .

Speaker #5: Overall , I'm grateful to all of my colleagues for their hard work during the third quarter series . Strong long term performance is indicative of the company's overall quality .

Speaker #5: As we continue to help our clients address their most important and complex challenges and demonstrates our ability to capitalize on growth opportunities in the market .

Speaker #5: Turning now to guidance through the first three quarters of fiscal 2025 on a constant currency basis relative to fiscal 2024, Sera generated total revenue of $552.1 million and non-GAAP EBITDA of $71.8 million, producing a margin of 13.0%, reflecting the continued strength and quality of our business.

Speaker #5: We are raising our revenue guidance and increasing the lower end of our profit guidance for full year fiscal 2025 on a constant currency basis relative to fiscal 2024 , we now expect revenue in the range of 740 million to $748 million and non-GAAP EBITDA margin in the range of 12.6% to 13.0% .

Speaker #5: This new guidance compares with a prior revenue range of 730 million to 745 million , and a prior non-GAAP EBITDA margin range of 12.3% to 13.0% .

Speaker #5: As a reminder , our fiscal year ends on January 3rd , 2026 , resulting in a 14th week in the fourth quarter of 2025 .

Speaker #5: While we are pleased with Cra's year to date performance in fiscal 2025 , we remain mindful that uncertain global macroeconomic business and political conditions can affect our business and our clients .

Speaker #5: With that , I'll turn the call over to Chad and then to Eric for a few additional comments . Chad .

Speaker #6: Thanks , Paul . Hello everyone . I want to update you on our capital and capital deployment during the quarter . We concluded the quarter with $22.5 million of cash and $95.0 million of borrowings under our revolving credit facility , resulting in net debt of $72.5 million .

Speaker #6: These figures reflect $25 million of net payments made during the quarter to reduce borrowings under our revolving credit facility , the third quarter of 2025 also saw net cash outlays of $28.1 million to acquire and retain senior talent , and $700,000 for capital expenditures during the third quarter .

Speaker #6: We returned $7.2 million of capital to our shareholders , consisting of $3.2 million of dividend payments and $4.0 million for repurchases of approximately 22,000 shares at an average share price of $185.74 .

Speaker #6: We currently have $10.9 million available under our share repurchase program . Earlier today , we announced a 16% increase in our quarterly cash dividend from $0.49 to $0.57 per common share , which demonstrates our confidence in the quality of the business and reflects our commitment to returning capital to shareholders .

Speaker #6: This new dividend amount is supported by the growth and performance of Cra's business , and is more than four times the size of our first dividend in 2016 .

Speaker #6: We concluded the third quarter of fiscal 2025 with total liquidity of $123.6 million , consisting of $22.5 million in cash and cash equivalents , and a further $101.1 million of available capacity on our line of credit .

Speaker #6: With that , I'll turn the call over to Eric for a few final comments . Eric .

Speaker #4: Thanks, Chad. As a reminder, more expansive commentary on our financial results is available on the Investor Relations section of our website under prepared CFO remarks.

Speaker #4: Before we get to questions , let me provide a few additional metrics related to our performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2025 .

Speaker #4: In terms of consultant headcount , we ended the quarter at 968 , consisting of 164 officers , 567 other senior staff and 237 junior staff .

Speaker #4: This represents a 1.0% year over year decrease compared with the 978 consultant headcount reported at the end of Q3 fiscal 2024 , and a 3.3% sequential increase relative to the 937 consultant headcount reported at the end of Q2 fiscal 2025 .

Speaker #4: non-GAAP selling , general and administrative expenses , excluding the 1.8% attributable to commissions to non-employee experts , was 16.3% of revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 , compared with 16.2% a year ago .

Speaker #4: The effective tax rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2025 on a non-GAAP basis was 28.8%, compared with 28.5% on a non-GAAP basis.

Speaker #4: For the third quarter of fiscal 2024 . Turning to the balance sheet . Dsos stood at 115 days at the end of the third quarter , compared with the 110 days at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2025 .

Speaker #4: DSO in the third quarter consisted of 70 days of build and 45 days of unbilled . That concludes our prepared remarks . We will now open the call for questions .

Speaker #4: Rob , please go ahead .

Speaker #3: Thank you . At this time , we'll be conducting a question and answer session . If you'd like to ask a question , please press star one on your telephone keypad .

Speaker #3: A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue . You may press star two if you'd like to remove your question from the queue .

Speaker #3: One moment please , while we pull for questions . Our first question comes from Andrew Nicholas with William Blair . Please proceed with your question .

Speaker #7: Hi . Good morning . Thanks for taking my questions . I wanted to talk about headcount . First . I actually I think I asked a similar question this time last year , but just surprised maybe to not see a bigger spike in junior consultants quarter over quarter given kind of the seasonal dynamics there .

Speaker #7: I think relative to history , the ratio of junior to senior staff is also relatively low . So just wondering how sustainable that ratio is , if there's any kind of underlying actions going on that , that explain that mix dynamic and maybe just overall thoughts on healthcare or healthcare headcount growth over the next couple quarters .

Speaker #5: Sure . Good morning . Andrew . I think the way to start thinking about it is throughout series history , we have continuously planted sort of seeds of growth , and our job as consultants and as management in the firm is to try to increase the probability of their success and make the appropriate investments at the appropriate times .

Speaker #5: The headcount volatility or changes that you've seen , say , in the last 12 to 24 months are really us evaluating these growth opportunities times where we think the potential is not there for future growth .

Speaker #5: We redeploy the assets to somewhere else in the firm . So the parts of the company that are growing are receiving headcount growth , the opportunities that we think are not fruitful , we redeploy those assets elsewhere .

Speaker #5: So that's I would say , is part one of the answer . We are not starving any of the practices that are expanding .

Speaker #5: In fact , they are growing and growing profitably . The other part that I want to highlight is I believe thus far in 2025 , we've welcomed nearly 20 new vice presidents from lateral market hires .

Speaker #5: So this is going to inflate the vice president headcount relative to the headcount in other parts of the firm . As these individuals start to ramp and the revenue starts to materialize , you can I think , safely assume that we will build out the pyramid under these professionals , but we typically do not do that simultaneously because we believe we can meet the short term demand with existing capacity .

Speaker #5: So I think as you get to more of a medium long term , you should start seeing that headcount growth to be roughly approximating revenue growth .

Speaker #5: It's just during periods of rapid hiring or during periods of redeploying of the assets that you may see , some of the statistics that we've been reporting on the last couple of quarters .

Speaker #7: Know that that makes perfect sense . Appreciate the color . I guess somewhat related . And maybe your previous answer helps answer this next question .

Speaker #7: But just on overall bill rates , revenue growth was was again really strong in the quarter . Utilization really strong , but somewhat consistent with what you saw this time last year .

Speaker #7: So it seems like bill rates in the aggregate are up maybe low double digits if my math is correct . And just wondering if you could unpack that , confirm that .

Speaker #7: And then just kind of unpack what's driving that . Is it is it straight kind of rate card increases ? Is it mix or any other dynamics that I'm not thinking of ?

Speaker #5: Sure , I'm going to start with sort of a patting myself on the back , patting the company on the back . Here .

Speaker #5: Is that we've had this consistent delivery of exceptional performance and sometimes we take the statistics that we're reporting every quarter for granted . The utilization may be consistent with what it was a year ago , but let's not forget , it's 77% .

Speaker #5: And a year ago was that 76% . So we are constantly comparing ourselves to peak levels of performance . And that goes for utilization .

Speaker #5: It goes for revenue , and it goes for profitability across the firm . So I just don't want that to be overlooked as an , you know , as a company here for what we're delivering with respect to the rates , our rates increases are set usually towards the end of the preceding year and go into the beginning of the current year .

Speaker #5: So rate increases happened . The majority of it during Q1 of fiscal 2025 , as new projects come online , we get to realize more .

Speaker #5: The full benefit of that rate increase . I believe in 2025 , I think the effective rate increase is right around 3% . Give or take , that has stuck .

Speaker #5: We do not see any . Change in write offs . We do not see any change in reserves and in fact we're pretty happy with the repeat client activity that we're having during the year .

Speaker #5: And the reason I raise that is that's an indication that the value perceived is still quite high by our clients .

Speaker #7: Great . Is it fair to assume similar type increases going forward , like is that a fair framework for us to think about bill rates in the medium term ?

Speaker #5: I think anytime you start with an assumption of bill rates in the 2 to 4% range , and then with the acknowledgement that that doesn't have an that doesn't happen instantaneously on January 1st , but usually happens as new project inflow comes into the firm .

Speaker #5: Yeah , I think that's a fair assumption . I know my consulting colleagues will probably push back , but I believe the rate increases can be even higher .

Speaker #5: But we want to make sure that the value delivered to our clients always is first priority .

Speaker #7: Makes sense . Last one for me , just on international growth . I mean , I think you mentioned some of the practices that are doing really well outside of the United States .

Speaker #7: You know , a few cases that you had or projects that you had going on in the quarter that led 30% plus type growth ?

Speaker #7: Are there any kind of bigger picture secular themes internationally that you would also maybe point out that are driving , you know , stronger growth there than , than in the US and maybe any comments on how persistent those themes might be going forward ?

Speaker #7: Thanks again .

Speaker #5: Sure . Thank you Andrew . You know , I'm going to start again celebrating the contributions of our competition practice in Europe . I think they are by far the top quality provider of services in the antitrust and competition economics space for practice .

Speaker #5: That's been around a practice that's been around as long as they have to deliver a 30% year over year growth on straight time and material type revenue is really impressive .

Speaker #5: It's really impressive. I think in terms of the secular changes, there hasn't been as much volatility in Europe with respect to the enforcement stance.

Speaker #5: They've been very pro-enforcement prior to 2025, and that has continued in the U.S. Maybe we have a little bit of starts and stops with the transition to the new administration and the new stance on mergers and regulatory oversight.

Speaker #5: So I would say it's more the consistency of the strong enforcement , you know , in comparing that to North America . But it starts with just the amazing quality of the group we have over there in Europe .

Speaker #7: Thanks again .

Speaker #3: Our next question comes from Mark Riddick with Sidoti and Company . Please proceed with your question .

Speaker #8: Hey , good morning .

Speaker #5: Good morning Mark .

Speaker #9: So I wanted to first of all , thanks for all the detail and color that was provided . In your prepared remarks . I wanted to talk a little bit about the the legal and regulatory activity that that you highlighted .

Speaker #9: It seems to be , you know , continuing to pick up there as we maybe can talk to a little bit of the drivers that that you're seeing there , maybe more recently , it sounds like it's sort of broad based , but maybe you can put maybe a little more color on that part of the of , of the client activity .

Speaker #5: Yeah . When I saw the legal stats , I actually asked members of the team to go double check those numbers . I was really surprised to see the kind of growth in terms of new , new case filings in court , decisions on that .

Speaker #5: So I think that well for the quarters ahead , as those matters seek consulting support with that , with respect to what we are bodes seeing , the practices that are traditionally strong continue to see , you know , really good inflow activity , the antitrust competition , economics practice , the intellectual property practice , the forensic services practice .

Speaker #5: And we're seeing some early signs of maybe momentum building within our finance practice . So I think you would say it is broad based .

Speaker #5: It also is contributing when I'm talking about seven of 11 practices growing year over year . And , you know , 4 or 5 , I'm sorry , I'm losing track now .

Speaker #5: For growing double digit year over year . So the inflow has been broad based . The conversion of those opportunities to revenue and profits has been broad based .

Speaker #5: So we're in a pretty good position now . And we look forward to the quarters ahead to see if those continue to materialize .

Speaker #9: Thanks for the commentary there . Because yeah , that that those numbers are kind of really jumped out at me when you when you mentioned that in your prepared remarks .

Speaker #9: So I appreciate you putting more color on that . And and of course , we've , we've seen some of the gains on the M&A activity and what that's meant and the strength that well , quite frankly , you guys were doing better than the market for a while with with NHS and competition economics .

Speaker #9: But I was wondering , are we it seems as though we're if we were looking at normal visibility for this time of the year , because normally as we're heading into the fourth quarter and holidays and things like that , do you get the sense that this year provides a normal amount of visibility with with activity levels ?

Speaker #9: Because it certainly seems as though , given the strength you're seeing , kind of across the board , it seems as though maybe you have a little more visibility than you normally do this time of year .

Speaker #5: I think I generally agree with the statement you've made . What gives me confidence in some of the visibility is really the consistency of results that we've enjoyed during the year .

Speaker #5: I've also enjoyed similar kind of consistency during fiscal 2024 , so after three quarters of fiscal 2024 , I can't say I felt less confident than I do now or vice versa .

Speaker #5: We're having first three quarters at the time where the best three quarters that we had in 2024 are the best three quarters we've ever had .

Speaker #5: When you look at 2025 , so we are cautiously optimistic . I can't say that visibility or the large long term projects have increased in 2025 relative to 2024 , but I like where we stand .

Speaker #9: Okay . And then the last thing for me , are you getting any sense that there are any particular client verticals that are maybe more active than others in any , any parts of the business , or are there any that kind of stood out to you over the last few months ?

Speaker #5: Besides the industry examples that we've been given the within the energy sector , that has continued to show really strong demand , we're starting to see maybe a consistency in the upward ascension in the pharmaceutical life sciences space .

Speaker #5: And then, with respect to the litigation practices, they're really industry-agnostic on that. So we're happy with the dollar value of mergers being up.

Speaker #5: But there's still right . The flip side is the number of mergers being announced to date is flat or slightly down . So there are some offsetting but large complex matters typically require consulting assistance .

Speaker #5: So we'll see what the next few quarters hold .

Speaker #9: Excellent .

Speaker #8: Thank you very much .

Speaker #5: Thank you Mark .

Speaker #3: Our next question is from Kevin Stankey with Barrington Research . Please proceed with your question .

Speaker #10: Hey , good morning , Paul , Chad and Eric .

Speaker #5: Good morning Kevin .

Speaker #10: Good morning . Wanted to start off by just asking about the level of overall regulatory scrutiny on the antitrust and M&A side . You've talked about the continued intense scrutiny internationally , but , you know , it seems like from the results you're putting up that we haven't really seen any meaningful change in the regulatory or environment in the US .

Speaker #10: And is that something you would say is fair to say to characterize it that way ?

Speaker #5: What I can say is just strictly with respect to what we are observing in terms of project inflows . It's hard to say .

Speaker #5: I've seen a decline in antitrust enforcement as the antitrust and competition economics practice is delivering record quarter after record quarter . There's clearly some changes afoot .

Speaker #5: How they materialize or how quickly they materialize . Still remains to be seen . But to date , the inflow coming into CRA , I haven't seen any kind of contraction because of the new stance .

Speaker #10: Okay , thanks . And you just kind of touched on it a moment ago , but I was going to ask about life sciences .

Speaker #10: Sounds like maybe the pipeline is perking up a bit . There . So could you maybe just talk about some of the activity you're seeing going on there and kind of the outlook as we move forward for the next several quarters ?

Speaker #5: You know , for many quarters now , we've been talking about life sciences performance as being a bit sawtooth . But in 2025 , we're starting to see a slight upward sloping , maybe sawtooth pattern .

Speaker #5: There . We're still growing , probably mid-single digits in that practice year to date . So I like the initial indicators , but I'm not ready to declare victory or a disproportionate forward ascension in the quarters ahead .

Speaker #5: Clearly , there's a lot of market factors that would be supportive of the continued growth . I don't think anyone can say that the pharma industry is becoming less complex .

Speaker #5: There's a lot more complexities on drug pricing , a lot more complexities on the rollout . On favored nation status and so on .

Speaker #5: So I think the broader market dynamics are supportive for our services , but some of the cost disciplines , I think , have gotten in a way have gotten in the way of more pronounced quarter over quarter growth .

Speaker #10: Okay . Yeah . That's helpful . I also wanted to ask about the intellectual property practice . I think that's one you've called out for the last two quarters .

Speaker #10: Here is growing at a double digit rate . And , you know , you cited the Covid related example in your prepared remarks .

Speaker #10: I think I've also heard you talk about in the past , you know , maybe AI is going to create a lot of issues in intellectual property field and it just kind of wondering about the outlook for that practice .

Speaker #10: And kind of sustainability of demand for it going forward .

Speaker #5: Sure . I think what the intellectual property practice is doing right now is really impressive . You talked about the market dynamics right now .

Speaker #5: There are finding teaming opportunities with intellectual property . And antitrust , competition economics practice , teaming opportunities with the finance practice . So I don't see those demand drivers going away .

Speaker #5: And the reason I'm highlighting these cross practice collaborations is typically cross practice collaborations mean more complex matters , larger matters . So I'm really happy with the teaming that is happened happening .

Speaker #5: And I'm also very pleased to see that our IP practice seems to be a go to provider in many of these engagements .

Speaker #10: Great . Lastly , I did want to ask about the strength of hiring or on the BP . You know , the Vice president side for the , you know , the thus far in 2025 , it did seem like over the last three months , you had quite a few press releases announcing new VP's across your various practices .

Speaker #10: So can you just speak to the hiring pipeline ? I mean , is there something going in on on the market that's allowing you to add more talent more quickly or you know , just just kind of speak to that talent influx that you've seen here over the last several months .

Speaker #5: I've been pretty thrilled with the inflow of new Vice President colleagues at CRA in 2025 , Chad and his team have done an exceptional job identifying colleagues they work with the practices , but I think the other part to note is the individuals we're recruiting have lots of choices , right ?

Speaker #5: They can practically go to any other consulting firm in our marketplace . But the fact that they see the value proposition at CRA is what has been most exciting for me .

Speaker #5: They see the success that we're having in the marketplace . They see the success that people joining CRA are having in terms of the ramp of their business .

Speaker #5: So it is a great collaborative effort with the identification of the individuals , the communication of the value proposition to those individuals . And as important is the demonstration of success of those individuals .

Speaker #5: Once they join CRA . So the pipeline is rich and but we're being very selective on who we bring in . But to date , we're pretty excited about the 20 or so colleagues that have joined .

Speaker #10: Okay . That's good to hear . And thank you for taking the questions . I'll turn it back over .

Speaker #5: Great . Thank you . Kevin .

Speaker #3: We have reached the end of the question and answer session. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Paul Maleh for closing comments.

Speaker #5: Again , thanks to everyone for joining us today . We appreciate your time and interest in CRA . We'll be participating in meetings with investors in the coming months , and we look forward to updating you on our progress , on our fourth quarter call early next year .

Speaker #5: With that , that concludes today's call . Thank you everyone .