Scientific consulting firm Exponent (NASDAQ: EXPO) will be announcing earnings results this Thursday afternoon. Here’s what to look for.

Exponent beat analysts’ revenue expectations by 1.5% last quarter, reporting revenues of $132.9 million, flat year on year. It was a slower quarter for the company, with revenue guidance for next quarter slightly missing analysts’ expectations.

Is Exponent a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members.

This quarter, analysts are expecting Exponent’s revenue to grow 5.3% year on year to $131.8 million, improving from its flat revenue in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $0.53 per share.

Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Exponent has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates three times over the last two years.

Looking at Exponent’s peers in the business process outsourcing & consulting segment, some have already reported their Q3 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. FTI Consulting delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 3.3%, beating analysts’ expectations by 1.2%, and Huron reported revenues up 16.7%, topping estimates by 2.3%. FTI Consulting traded up 1.3% following the results.

Read our full analysis of FTI Consulting’s results here and Huron’s results here.

Investors in the business process outsourcing & consulting segment have had steady hands going into earnings, with share prices flat over the last month. Exponent is down 2.8% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $88 (compared to the current share price of $67.42).

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