Financial Analysis

Commitments and Contingencies As described in Note 12, CRA is party to standby letters of credit with its bank in support of the minimum future lease payments under certain operating leases for office space. CRA is subject to legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. In management's opinion, based on current knowledge, CRA believes it has adequate legal defenses or insurance coverage, or both, with respect to the eventuality of such actions. CRA does not believe any settlement or judgment relating to any pending legal action would materially affect its financial position or results of operations. However, the outcome of such legal actions is inherently unpredictable and subject to inherent uncertainties.

CommitmentsAndContingenciesDisclosureTextBlock

Employee Benefit Plans CRA maintains a qualified defined contribution 401(k) plan, which covers substantially all of its U.S. employees. Under the plan, participants are entitled to make pre-tax and/or Roth post-tax contributions up to the annual maximums established by the Internal Revenue Service. Under the plan, participants are also entitled to make after-tax contributions up to $20,000 per calendar year. CRA matches a certain percentage of participant contributions pursuant to the terms of the plan, which contributions are limited to a percentage of the participants eligible compensation. CRA made contributions related to the plan of $4.9 million, $4.6 million and $4.5 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively. CRA also maintains several defined contribution pension plans for its employees in the U.K. and other foreign countries. CRA made contributions related to these plans of $1.6 million, $1.6 million and $1.5 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively. …

CompensationAndEmployeeBenefitPlansTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

"Credit Agreement CRA is party to a Credit Agreement, dated as of August 19, 2022 (as amended, the ""Credit Agreement"") with Bank of America, N.A., as swingline lender, a letter of credit issuing bank and administrative agent, and with Citizens Bank, N.A., as a letter of credit issuing bank. The Credit Agreement provides CRA with a $250.0 million revolving credit facility, which may be decreased at CRA's option to $200.0 million during the period from July 16 in a year through January 15 in the next year. Additionally, for the period from January 16 to July 15 of each calendar year, CRA may elect to not increase the revolving credit facility to $250.0 million. The revolving credit facility includes a $25.0 million sublimit for the issuance of letters of credit. CRA may use the proceeds of the revolving credit loans under the Credit Agreement for general corporate purposes and may repay any borrowings under the revolving credit facility at any time, but any borrowings must be repaid no later than August 19, 2027. Borrowings under the revolving credit facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to one of the following rates, at CRA's election, plus an applicable margin as described below: (i) in the case of borrowings in U.S. dollars, the Base Rate (as defined in the Credit Agreement), (ii) in the case of borrowings in U.S. dollars, a rate based on Term SOFR (as defined in the Credit Agreement) for the applicable interest period, (iii) in the case of borrowings in Euros, …

DebtDisclosureTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

The following tables disaggregate CRA's revenue by type of contract and geographic location (in thousands): Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended Type of Contract January 3, 2026 (53 weeks) December 28, 2024 (52 weeks) December 30, 2023 (52 weeks) Consulting services revenues: Fixed-price $ 130,552 $ 126,657 $ 113,983 Time-and-materials 621,031 560,757 509,993 Total $ 751,583 $ 687,414 $ 623,976 Revenues have been attributed to locations based on the location of the legal entity generating the revenues. Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended Geographic Breakdown January 3, 2026 (53 weeks) December 28, 2024 (52 weeks) December 30, 2023 (52 weeks) Consulting services revenues: United States $ 602,208 $ 558,803 $ 493,923 United Kingdom 101,211 86,533 94,445 Other 48,164 42,078 35,608 Total $ 751,583 $ 687,414 $ 623,976

DisaggregationOfRevenueTableTextBlock

"Share-Based Compensation CRA recorded approximately $5.9 million, $5.3 million, and $4.4 million of compensation expense for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively, for share-based awards consisting of, shares of restricted stock, time-vesting restricted stock units, and performance-vesting restricted stock units issued to employees and directors, based on their respective estimated grant date fair values. Performance-vesting restricted stock units are expensed using the graded attribution method. Share-based Compensation Plans. As of January 3, 2026, CRA's active equity-based compensation plans consist of its 2006 Equity Plan, and its 1998 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the ""1998 ESPP""), a tax-qualified plan under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. CRA has a long-term incentive program, or ""LTIP,"" which is used as a framework for grants made under the 2006 Equity Plan to its senior corporate leaders, practice leaders and key revenue generators. Under the LTIP, participants have received a mixture of stock options, time-vesting restricted stock units, and performance-vesting restricted stock units. The LTIP is designed to reward CRA's senior corporate leaders, practice leaders and key revenue generators and provide them with the opportunity to share in the long-term growth of CRA. 2006 Equity Plan: Maximum and Available Shares. The 2006 Equity Plan authorizes the grant of a variety of incentive and performance awards to CRA's directors, employees a …

DisclosureOfCompensationRelatedCostsShareBasedPaymentsTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

Fair Value of Financial Instruments ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures , establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurement), then priority to quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active and model-based valuation techniques for which all significant assumptions are observable in the market (Level 2 measurement), then the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurement). As of January 3, 2026 and December 28, 2024, CRA did not have any financial instruments measured at fair value on a recurring basis. The contingent consideration liability pertained to estimated future contingent consideration payments related to the acquisition of bioStrategies Group, Inc. during fiscal 2022. The following table summarizes the changes in the contingent consideration liability (in thousands): Fiscal Year Fiscal Year 2025 2024 Beginning balance $ $ 190 Remeasurement of acquisition-related contingent consideration (190) Accretion Ending balance $ $ …

FairValueDisclosuresTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

Goodwill and Intangible Assets The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill for fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024 are as follows (in thousands): Fiscal Year Fiscal Year 2025 2024 Goodwill $ 165,630 $ 165,882 Accumulated goodwill impairment (71,893) (71,893) Goodwill, net at beginning of fiscal year 93,737 93,989 Foreign currency translation adjustment 981 (252) Goodwill, net at end of fiscal year $ 94,718 $ 93,737 Goodwill, net at January 3, 2026, is comprised of goodwill of $166.6 million and accumulated impairment of $71.9 million. There were no impairment losses related to goodwill during fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, or fiscal 2023. Intangible assets that are separable from goodwill and have determinable useful lives are valued separately and amortized using the straight-line method over their expected useful lives. There were no impairment losses related to intangible assets during fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, or fiscal 2023. The components of acquired identifiable intangible assets are as follows (in thousands): January 3, 2026 December 28, 2024 Useful Life (in years) Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Net Carrying Amount Gross Carrying Amount Accumulated Amortization Net Carrying Amount Customer relationships 10 15,300 (9,614) 5,686 15,300 (8,084) 7,216 As a result of an asset acquisition in CRA's intellectual property practice, CRA recognized $1.5 million of intangible assets related to customer relationships during the second quarter of fiscal 2024. Amortization exp …

GoodwillAndIntangibleAssetsDisclosureTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

"Income Taxes The components of income before provision for income taxes are as follows (in thousands): Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended January 3, 2026 (53 weeks) December 28, 2024 (52 weeks) December 30, 2023 (52 weeks) Income before provision for income taxes: U.S. $ 59,514 $ 51,549 $ 41,238 Foreign 17,059 14,693 11,050 Total $ 76,573 $ 66,242 $ 52,288 The provision (benefit) for income taxes consists of the following (in thousands): Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended January 3, 2026 (53 weeks) December 28, 2024 (52 weeks) December 30, 2023 (52 weeks) Currently payable: Federal $ 14,391 $ 12,747 $ 11,544 Foreign 4,491 3,959 2,796 State 4,636 5,748 4,101 Total current expense 23,518 22,454 18,441 Deferred: Federal (1,490) (2,295) (2,963) Foreign (396) 146 (1,041) State 159 (716) (630) Total deferred expense (benefit) (1,727) (2,865) (4,634) Total tax expense $ 21,791 $ 19,589 $ 13,807 A reconciliation of CRA's tax rates with the federal statutory rate is as follows: Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended January 3, 2026 December 28, 2024 December 30, 2023 U.S. federal statutory tax rate $ 16,080 21.0 % $ 13,911 21.0 % $ 10,980 21.0 % State and local income taxes, net of federal income tax effect (1) (2) (3) 3,428 4.5 3,776 5.7 2,755 5.3 Foreign tax effects Brazil Changes in valuation allowance (788) (1.5) Other 23 28 (300) (0.6) Other foreign jurisdictions 490 0.7 993 1.5 522 1.0 Effect of cross border tax laws (628) (0.8) (477) (0.7) (414) (0.8) Nontaxable or nondeductible items E …

IncomeTaxDisclosureTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

Leases The components of CRA's lease expenses, which are included in the consolidated statements of operations, are as follows (in thousands): Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended January 3, 2026 (53 weeks) December 28, 2024 (52 weeks) December 30, 2023 (52 weeks) Operating lease cost $ 19,597 $ 19,156 $ 18,783 Short-term lease cost 428 327 371 Variable lease cost 9,195 7,923 6,960 Total lease cost $ 29,220 $ 27,406 $ 26,114 The following table presents summary information for CRA's lease terms and discount rates for its operating leases: January 3, 2026 December 28, 2024 December 30, 2023 Weighted average remaining lease termoperating leases 5.5 years 5.7 years 5.8 years Weighted average discount rateoperating leases 4.3 % 3.9 % 3.6 % At January 3, 2026, CRA had the following maturities of lease liabilities related to office space, all of which are under non-cancellable operating leases (in thousands): Fiscal Year Operating Lease Commitments 2026 $ 20,595 2027 23,310 2028 18,347 2029 16,771 2030 12,757 Thereafter 18,438 Total lease payments 110,218 Less: imputed interest (16,986) Total $ 93,232 Certain of our operating leases have terms that impose asset retirement obligations due to office modifications or the periodic redecoration of the premises, which are included in accrued expenses and deferred compensation and other non-current liabilities in our consolidated balance sheet. As of January 3, 2026 and December 28, 2024, these redecoration and asset retirement obligations we …

LesseeOperatingLeasesTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

"Recent Accounting Standards Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures On January 3, 2026, CRA retrospectively adopted Accounting Standards Update (""ASU"") No. 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures , which requires disclosure of specific categories in the rate reconciliation, provides additional information for reconciling items that meet a quantitative threshold, discloses the amount of income taxes paid disaggregated by federal, state, foreign taxes, and individual jurisdiction. ASU 2023-09 also requires income (or loss) from continuing operations before income tax expense (or benefit) disaggregated between domestic and foreign and income tax expense (or benefit) from continuing operations disaggregated by federal (national), state, and foreign. Recent Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted Interim Reporting (Topic 270): Narrow-Scope Improvements In December 2025, the FASB issued ASU 2025-11, Interim Reporting (Topic 270): Narrow-Scope Improvements (ASU 2025-11). The ASU is intended to improve the navigability of interim reporting guidance by clarifying when Topic 270 applies, enhancing the organization of required interim disclosures, and providing additional direction on the form and content of interim financial statements. The amendments introduce a disclosure principle requiring entities to disclose events occurring after the end of the most recent annual reporting period that have a material impact on the entity …

NewAccountingPronouncementsPolicyPolicyTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

Revenues and Allowances The contracts CRA enters into and operates under specify whether the projects are billed on a time-and-materials or a fixed-price basis. Time-and-materials contracts are typically used for litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting projects while fixed-price contracts are principally used for management consulting projects. In general, project costs are classified in costs of services and are based on the direct salary of CRA's employee consultants on the engagement, plus all direct expenses incurred to complete the project, including any amounts billed to CRA by its non-employee experts. Disaggregation of Revenue The following tables disaggregate CRA's revenue by type of contract and geographic location (in thousands): Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended Type of Contract January 3, 2026 (53 weeks) December 28, 2024 (52 weeks) December 30, 2023 (52 weeks) Consulting services revenues: Fixed-price $ 130,552 $ 126,657 $ 113,983 Time-and-materials 621,031 560,757 509,993 Total $ 751,583 $ 687,414 $ 623,976 Revenues have been attributed to locations based on the location of the legal entity generating the revenues. Year Ended Year Ended Year Ended Geographic Breakdown January 3, 2026 (53 weeks) December 28, 2024 (52 weeks) December 30, 2023 (52 weeks) Consulting services revenues: United States $ 602,208 $ 558,803 $ 493,923 United Kingdom 101,211 86,533 94,445 Other 48,164 42,078 35,608 Total $ 751,583 $ 687,414 $ 623,976 Reserves for Variable Considera …

RevenueFromContractWithCustomerTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

Segment Reporting CRA manages its business globally within one operating segment, professional and consulting services, in accordance with ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting . Financial information is provided to and evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker, which is our Chief Executive Officer. Segment information is consistent with how management reviews the business, makes investing and resource allocation decisions and assesses operating performance. CRA derives revenues by providing professional and consulting services to clients on economic, financial, litigation, and regulatory matters. We support corporate clients and attorneys with high-quality research, analysis, and expert testimony in a wide range of litigation and regulatory proceedings. In addition to litigation support, our management consulting services leverage our expertise in economics, finance, and business analysis to assist clients with strategy development, performance improvement, corporate strategy, and market analysis. We serve clients across a broad spectrum of industries, including blockchain and cryptocurrency, communications and media, consumer products, health and wellness, energy, entertainment and leisure, financial services, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing and industrials, natural resources, retail and distribution, technology, and transportation. Our services encompass key areas such as finance, accounting, economics, insurance, and forensic accounting, including inve …

SegmentReportingDisclosureTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

"Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Description of Business CRA International, Inc. (""CRA"" or the ""Company"") is a worldwide leading consulting services firm that applies advanced analytic techniques and in-depth industry knowledge to complex engagements for a broad range of clients. CRA offers services in two broad areas: litigation, regulatory, and financial consulting and management consulting. CRA operates in one business segment. CRA operates its business under its registered trade name, Charles River Associates. Fiscal Year and Quarters CRA's fiscal year end is the Saturday nearest December 31 of each year. CRA's fiscal years periodically contain 53 weeks rather than 52 weeks. Fiscal 2025 was a 53-week year, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 were 52-week years. CRA's fiscal quarter ends are determined as the last Saturday nearest the respective calendar quarter end. Basis of Presentation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of CRA International, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries (collectively the ""Company"") which require consolidation, after the elimination of intercompany accounts and transactions. Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make significant estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, as well as the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, at the date of t …

SignificantAccountingPoliciesTextBlock · excerpt; the full note is in the filing

Subsequent Events On February 26, 2026, CRA announced that its Board of Directors authorized a $55.0 million expansion to its existing share repurchase program. On February 26, 2026, CRA announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.57 per common share, payable on March 20, 2026 to shareholders of record as of March 10, 2026.

SubsequentEventsTextBlock