FCN vs HURN: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. FCN and HURN share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined FCN and HURN exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

FTI Consulting is a global expert firm that advises corporations, law firms, governments, and financial institutions through five segments: Corporate Finance and Restructuring (its largest, roughly 41% of revenue), Forensic and Litigation Consulting (~20%), Economic Consulting (~19%), Technology (~10%), and Strategic Communications (~10%). Its work spans turnaround and restructuring, transactions, disputes and investigations, antitrust and regulatory economics, e-discovery, and corporate reputation. The firm employs roughly 8,100 people, of whom about 6,400 are billable professionals, and generates around 63% of revenue from US-based professionals.

Full FCN guide

Huron Consulting Group was formed in 2002 by former Arthur Andersen partners and has built itself into a global professional services firm organized around three industry segments. Healthcare produced ~50% of revenues before reimbursable expenses in the first half of 2026, Education ~29%, and Commercial ~21%. The work runs through two capabilities: consulting and managed services covers performance improvement, cost reduction, clinical operations, revenue cycle and research administration, while the digital practice implements and then operates enterprise platforms from Workday, Oracle and Salesforce for the same client base. As of June 30, 2026 Huron employed ~5,335 revenue-generating professionals outside managed services, plus ~3,913 managed services staff, a headcount that more than doubled year over year after the RelateCare acquisition added roughly ~1,100 people in patient access. Buying capability is a standing part of the model, with Eclipse Insights, Treliant and WP&C folded in during 2025.

Full HURN guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• FCN drivers: Restructuring and Corporate Finance strength; Record Strategic Communications demand.
• HURN drivers: Healthcare demand and the shift toward managed services; Education, where budget stress is itself the demand driver.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The Economic Consulting segment has been a clear drag, with revenue declining and swinging to a segment EBITDA loss on softer antitrust and economic-analysis demand plus elevated compensation. For HURN, the central risk is the one the market has already repriced twice this year: if generative AI compresses the hours clients will pay for, a business built on utilization and staffing leverage degrades fast, and Huron's consulting utilization near ~81% sits closer to the top of its historical range than the bottom.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick FCN if you believe its drivers more; HURN if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the FCN and HURN guides.

FCN. FCN traded around $157 in mid-July 2026, within a 52-week range of roughly $141 to $189. Its trailing P/E near 18x sits modestly below its longer-run historical average, reflecting margin worries even as revenue keeps growing. Valuation hinges on whether restructuring and communications strength can offset the Economic Consulting softness and cost pressure.

HURN. At roughly ~$152 a share against ~15.9M shares outstanding, Huron carries a market capitalization near ~$2.4B and an enterprise value around ~$3.2B once net debt is counted. That works out to about ~16x the midpoint of management's 2026 adjusted EPS guidance and roughly ~12x guided adjusted EBITDA, below where the larger listed consultancies have typically traded. Trailing GAAP earnings look considerably weaker than the adjusted figures because of intangible amortization, transaction costs and investment write-downs, and the gap between the two is wide enough to be worth re-checking each quarter.

Headline figures (approximate, JULY 2026): FCN shows revenue (fy2025) ~$3.79B, revenue (q1 2026) ~$983M (+9.5% YoY), 2026 revenue guidance ~$3.94B to $4.10B, 2026 eps guidance ~$8.90 to $9.60; HURN shows revenue (ttm, before reimbursable expenses) ~$1.77B, 2026 rbr guidance ~$1.85B to ~$1.89B, adjusted diluted eps guidance (2026) ~$9.00 to ~$9.40, market cap ~$2.4B.

FCN and HURN are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined FCN and HURN exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.