HURN

Huron is a quality, asset-light professional-services firm compounding revenue impressively — from $927M in FY2021 to $1.70B in FY2025 (+11.7% YoY), spread across Healthcare, Education and Commercial segments. Returns on capital are genuinely good (ROE 19.9%), and at $95.55 the stock trades at a sensible 16.4x EPS and just 1.0x sales, so you are not overpaying for the top-line momentum. So far, so investable.

The problem is what is happening beneath the revenue line. Despite 11.7% growth, FY2025 net income FELL 9.9% to $105M and diluted EPS dropped 6.9% to $5.84 — operating income rose only 5.8%, so margins are compressing (operating margin a thin 10.5%, net margin 6.2%) and rising interest cost is doing the rest. That interest cost is self-inflicted: long-term debt jumped 42.8% to $490M (plus $20M current) against just $24.5M of cash and $529M of equity, and the company spent $167M (+35.5%) buying back stock. EPS is being propped up by a leveraged shrink in the share count (-4.3%), not by earnings power. ROE of ~20% is flattered by that thinning equity base.