Shares of Huron Consulting Group surged 32.11% in Wednesday morning trading, climbing $38.97 to $160.34, after the professional services firm reported second-quarter results that sharply beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year earnings and revenue outlook.

The Chicago-based consulting firm reported adjusted earnings of $2.46 per share for the second quarter, topping the average analyst estimate of $2.17 by a wide margin. Revenue for the quarter reached $475.0 million, well above the roughly $449 million analysts had projected. Revenue before reimbursable expenses, a key metric the company uses to track underlying business performance, climbed 15.7% year over year to a quarterly record of $465.6 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter rose to $72.6 million, with the adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 15.6% from 15.1% a year earlier.

Huron’s results were released after markets closed Tuesday, and the stock’s initial reaction in after-hours and early regular trading proved far more muted than Wednesday’s dramatic rally, with shares first climbing a more modest 3.66% to $120.77 before extending gains overnight and then surging sharply higher once regular trading resumed Wednesday morning.

Alongside the earnings beat, Huron raised its full-year 2026 guidance, now projecting revenue before reimbursable expenses of between $1.85 billion and $1.89 billion and adjusted earnings per share of between $9.00 and $9.40. The updated guidance compares with a prior range of $8.35 to $9.15 per share issued earlier this year, and the midpoint of the new outlook would represent a 17% increase over the company’s 2025 results, according to Chief Financial Officer John Kelly.

Company executives attributed the strong performance to broad-based growth across Huron’s three main operating segments, along with a growing contribution from artificial intelligence-related work and recent acquisitions. Chief Executive Officer C. Mark Hussey said artificial intelligence has become an increasingly significant driver of the company’s digital services business. Total bookings tied to Huron’s digital capabilities rose more than 20% during the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, with more than 60% of those bookings now involving either direct AI-related work or engagements substantially supported by Huron’s proprietary AI tools, up from approximately 35% of comparable bookings during the first half of 2025. Digital revenue before reimbursable expenses rose 9% both year over year and sequentially during the second quarter, reaching a new company record.

Huron’s June acquisition of RelateCare, a provider of AI-enabled clinical and patient-access managed services, also contributed to the quarter’s strength. RelateCare’s results were incorporated into Huron’s healthcare segment beginning with a partial second quarter following the acquisition’s June 3 closing date. The company said it expects RelateCare to contribute approximately $30 million in revenue before reimbursable expenses during 2026, along with roughly $0.10 in adjusted earnings per share for the year.

Wednesday’s rally builds on a stretch of strong performance for Huron shares heading into the earnings report. The stock had already climbed 17.4% over the month leading up to Tuesday’s results, significantly outpacing the broader professional services sector, which had averaged gains of just 1.1% over the same period. Ahead of the earnings release, the average analyst price target for Huron stood at $184.25, compared with a pre-earnings share price of $112.30, suggesting Wall Street had already anticipated meaningful upside potential in the stock even before Wednesday’s dramatic surge.

Analyst sentiment toward Huron has been mixed in the weeks leading up to the earnings report. Wedbush maintained an “outperform” rating on the stock along with a $160 price target in a research note issued in early May. Truist Financial had set a $155 price target with a “buy” rating in early June. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating in mid-June. However, Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold” in a note issued July 12, just over two weeks before the earnings release, while Weiss Ratings had separately lowered its rating on the stock from “hold (c+)” to “hold (c)” in mid-May, reflecting a degree of caution among some analysts heading into the report that Wednesday’s results appear to have significantly outpaced.

Huron Consulting Group provides consulting services primarily to organizations in the healthcare, education and commercial sectors, helping clients with strategy, operations, technology implementation and other advisory work. The company’s healthcare and education-focused consulting practices have historically formed the core of its business, though its digital and AI-related consulting offerings have become an increasingly important growth driver in recent quarters, a trend that management highlighted repeatedly in discussing Wednesday’s results.

Huron’s return on equity for the quarter stood at 29.41%, with a net margin of 5.94%, according to the company’s reported financial metrics. The company’s stock had a market capitalization of roughly $2 billion prior to Wednesday’s surge, based on the pre-rally share price, a figure that has grown substantially as a result of Wednesday’s trading activity.

Investors are likely to continue watching Huron’s execution against its newly raised full-year guidance in the coming quarters, along with the pace of integration for its recent RelateCare acquisition and the continued growth trajectory of its digital and AI-related consulting bookings, as key indicators of whether Wednesday’s sharp rally reflects a durable reassessment of the company’s growth prospects or a more short-lived reaction to a single standout quarterly result.

This article was written by

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Mumbai: India’s key stock gauges advanced more than 1% on Wednesday amid expectations that the recent sharp selloff in South Korea’s SK Hynix and Samsung could trigger a rotation of overseas fund flows into locally listed technology companies.

The Nifty rose 264 points, or 1.1%, to close at 24,250. The Sensex rose 888 points, or 1.2%, to 77,654.

Elsewhere in Asia, China advanced 0.4% and Hong Kong rose 2%, while South Korean Kospi slumped 6%,Taiwan dropped 3.8% and Japan fell 1.5%. The pan-Europe index Stoxx 600 was down 0.3% as of press time.

“The massive correction seen in the Kospi, and artificial intelligence and chip-making stocks is now expected to trigger a shift in flows from AI-focused stocks toward the Indian IT sector, and this has fuelled investor optimism,” said Rajesh Palviya, head of research, Axis Securities.

The Kospi is now down nearly 19% and Taiwan has fallen 11% in the past week. SK Hynix has slipped 26.7% and Samsung Electronics Co is down 22.5%.

The Nifty’s IT index gained 2.3% on Wednesday, and is now up 9% in the past week, and 15% in the past one month. The Nifty 50 has gained 1.3% in one month.
Read more: Can Manipal Health IPO deliver long-term growth for high risk investors?

Palviya also said Nifty’s positioning was light on the first day of the new series, which, along with strong rollover activity, easing crude oil prices, a stronger rupee and expectations of relative peace in West Asia, boosted investor sentiment.
Nifty’s India Volatility Index (VIX), the fear gauge, fell 4.4% to 12.01 on Wednesday, indicating relief among traders. Out of the total 4,425 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,533 advanced and 1,705 fell at close.

Nifty Support Seen Higher
“The entire month of July has seen market moves driven by crude oil prices. The markets rallied on Wednesday, supported by the decline in crude prices toward the $85 a barrel mark, along with stock-specific action, as most Q1 results have been broadly in line, with no major negative surprises,” said Sunny Agrawal, head of research at SBI Securities.

In higher beta assets, the Nifty Midcap 150 gained 0.8% and Nifty Small-cap 250 rose 1.3%.

Palviya said that since the Nifty managed to close decisively above the 24,200 level on Wednesday, its support has now moved higher to the 24,000-24,100 zone. “As long as the index holds above this range, it could move toward 24,350-24,400 in the near term,” he said. Foreign portfolio investors net bought shares worth ₹2,982 crore. Domestic institutions were buyers to the tune of ₹998 crore.

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President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy unveiled plans and renderings Wednesday for a $22.5 billion overhaul of Washington Dulles International Airport.

The project — developed with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and United Airlines — will add or renovate more than 5 million square feet at the airport, located about 25 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“This transformation is another step in our ongoing efforts to make Washington, D.C., safe and beautiful again,” Trump said Wednesday from the Oval Office.

DOT said the multiyear project will create thousands of jobs, generate billions of dollars in economic activity and allow Dulles to accommodate hundreds of additional flights.

TRUMP SAYS HE PLANS TO REBUILD DULLES AIRPORT INTO ‘SOMETHING REALLY SPECTACULAR’

The plan calls for replacing Concourses C and D, adding gates and expanding the airport’s AeroTrain service, according to DOT.

It also includes upgrades to security screening, baggage handling, parking and pedestrian walkways.

Under the plan, travelers would also see more seating and lounges, including additional United Club space and one of the world’s largest United Polaris Lounges.

A new central walkway would make it easier for passengers to move between concourses, while another pedestrian route would connect travelers to a new U.S. Customs facility.

Officials said the improvements would eventually allow Dulles to phase out its mobile lounges, also known as “people movers,” which transport passengers across the airport.

TRUMP DEFENDS TARIFFS AHEAD OF LOOMING MIDTERMS, SAYS THEY HAVE MADE THE US ‘A FORTUNE’

“We are going to get rid of the people movers,” Duffy said from the Oval Office. “… These are like elevated busses. … And they’re slow, and people are angry about them.”

DOT said it selected the plan after reviewing more than 30 proposals submitted following a December 2025 request for ideas to modernize the airport.

Construction will take place in phases over several years while Dulles remains open.

The $22.5 billion investment marks a significant increase from the $7 billion previously allocated for the airport’s modernization, according to DOT.

The project will be funded through municipal bonds, according to Reuters. Duffy said that United and other participating airlines will also contribute to the cost.

TRUMP ACCOUNTS CAN BE ‘ANTIDOTE’ TO SOCIALISM BY TEACHING YOUNG AMERICANS ABOUT CAPITALISM: TREASURY OFFICIAL

“So it’s going to be bonded for $22.5 billion,” Duffy said. “United is going to partake in part of the payment. But the airlines who participate in the project are going to pay for it.”

Duffy noted the project still requires “some permitting” but that officials hope to begin construction as early as next spring.

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Modernization work on the airport is already underway. The first section of the new Concourse E is expected to open later this year with 14 United gates, direct AeroTrain access and new passenger lounges, DOT said.

Shares of Manhattan Associates surged 26.70% in Wednesday morning trading, climbing $44.90 to $213.07, after the supply chain software company reported record second-quarter results driven by strong growth in its cloud subscription business.

The Atlanta-based company reported second-quarter revenue of $297.8 million, up 9.3% from $272.4 million in the same period a year earlier and ahead of the consensus analyst estimate of roughly $293.7 million. Cloud subscription revenue, the segment investors have watched most closely as a signal of the company’s transition away from legacy licensing and services, climbed 26% year over year to $126.7 million. Services revenue came in at $133.0 million for the quarter.

On the earnings side, Manhattan Associates reported non-GAAP adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.39, topping the analyst consensus estimate of $1.34 and improving from $1.31 reported in the second quarter of 2025. GAAP diluted earnings per share, however, declined to 85 cents from 93 cents a year earlier, with net income falling to $50.4 million from $56.8 million over the same period, a divergence that reflects differences between the company’s adjusted and unadjusted accounting measures.

The company’s remaining performance obligations, a metric that reflects contracted future revenue not yet recognized, grew 23% year over year to reach $2.5 billion as of June 30, according to the company’s earnings release. Manhattan Associates said the quarter marked its third consecutive period of record bookings, a trend executives described as reflecting sustained business momentum and effective execution of the company’s go-to-market strategy.

Company leadership highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence capabilities in driving the quarter’s results. Manhattan Associates said the introduction of AI-related features across its supply chain and omnichannel commerce platforms has become a meaningful differentiator in customer conversations, contributing directly to both deal activity and the company’s broader sales pipeline growth.

The company maintained an active share buyback program during the quarter, repurchasing 874,029 shares for a total of $125.0 million. Manhattan Associates ended the quarter with $186.1 million in cash and generated $90.7 million in cash flow from operations during the three-month period, according to its financial disclosures.

Manhattan Associates’ stock had already shown strength heading into the earnings report, rising 9.8% over the month prior to the release, alongside an average analyst price target of $185.45 compared with the stock’s pre-earnings price of $151.67. The magnitude of Wednesday’s rally, however, significantly exceeded the roughly 10% to 11% gains the stock initially posted in after-hours trading following the results, suggesting that additional buying interest developed as investors had more time to digest the details of the report and the strength of the underlying cloud growth trends.

Wednesday’s surge continues a broader pattern for Manhattan Associates, whose stock has repeatedly posted double-digit single-session gains following past quarterly reports when cloud revenue growth has exceeded expectations. The company posted a similar roughly 10% jump following its first-quarter 2025 results, when cloud revenue grew 21% year over year and the company subsequently raised its full-year guidance for that fiscal year.

The company’s five-year historical sales growth rate stands at approximately 12.7% annually, according to recent analysis, though some market observers have noted that growth has moderated somewhat in more recent periods, with annualized revenue growth of roughly 6.3% over the trailing two years running below the longer five-year trend. Analysts have said that pattern reflects a broader dynamic within the enterprise software sector, where growth rates for even strong-performing companies have generally cooled from the elevated pace seen during and immediately following the pandemic-era surge in cloud software adoption.

Manhattan Associates provides supply chain management and omnichannel commerce software used by large retailers, logistics companies and other enterprises to manage complex inventory, fulfillment and distribution operations. The company has positioned its ongoing shift toward cloud-based subscription offerings as central to its long-term growth strategy, arguing that the recurring revenue model provides greater predictability and higher long-term customer value compared with the company’s legacy on-premises software licensing business.

Despite Wednesday’s sharp gain, the stock remains well below its most recent highs reached earlier in the year, having traded as much as 34% below those peak levels amid a period of broader volatility across software and technology stocks tied to shifting investor sentiment around enterprise software valuations and growth expectations more broadly.

Investors are likely to continue monitoring Manhattan Associates’ cloud revenue growth trajectory and the pace of its remaining performance obligations expansion in the coming quarters as key indicators of whether the company can sustain the kind of momentum reflected in Wednesday’s results, particularly as the broader enterprise software sector continues to navigate questions about the durability of growth rates following the initial post-pandemic acceleration in cloud adoption across the industry.

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