Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation BAH reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings of $1.81 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 21.5% and rose 22.3% year over year, driven by stronger profitability, a lower tax rate, a reduced share count and an unrealized investment gain.
Revenues of $2.80 billion matched the consensus estimate but declined 4.2% year over year. The top line reflected continued weakness in Civil, while National Security grew. The quarterly book-to-bill ratio was 1.5X.
The reported results did not impress investors. Moreover, the absence of second-quarter guidance and weak fiscal 2027 guidance disappointed the market, as the stock has declined 1.2% since the earnings release on July 24.
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation Quote
Booz Allen guided fiscal 2027 adjusted earnings to be between $6.00 and $6.35 per share, with the midpoint of $6.175 being lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.20 per share.
The company’s fiscal 2027 revenue guidance ranges from $11.2 billion to $11.7 billion, implying 0-4% growth. However, the midpoint ($11.45 billion) of the guided range is lower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $11.46 billion.
BAH's Margins Expand on Contract Execution
Adjusted EBITDA increased 7.4% year over year to $334 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 130 basis points to 11.9%, reflecting improved contract execution, favorable timing of investment spending and early shifts toward outcomes-based fixed-price work.
Adjusted net income rose 17.9% to $217 million. The quarter also included a $19 million pretax unrealized gain on a venture investment, which supported adjusted earnings growth alongside a lower tax rate and a reduced share count.
Booz Allen's National Security Business Advances
National Security revenues increased 1.3% year over year to $2.03 billion. Management cited healthy demand, improving funding and stronger hiring activity as the company ramps up new work across defense, intelligence, cyber and advanced technology missions.
Civil and Commercial revenues fell 16.4% to $772 million. The decline reflected prior-year contract reductions, lower Treasury-related work, fewer new program starts and smaller follow-on contracts. Management expects another sequential double-digit decline in Civil revenues in the second quarter before pressures begin to ease later in the year.
BAH's Backlog Signals Improving Funding
Funded backlog increased 15.2% year over year to $4.66 billion, while total backlog rose 3.2% to $39.48 billion. The trailing 12-month book-to-bill ratio was 1.1X.
The company also reported that funding increased 17% year over year in the quarter. Its pipeline of other transaction authority opportunities, which can provide faster and more flexible government procurement, grew 18%. Fixed-price contracts represented 21% of revenues, up from 18% a year earlier.
Booz Allen Steps Up Strategic Investment
Booz Allen deployed $447 million in capital during the quarter. Of this amount, $324 million went toward the Defy acquisition and venture investments, while $123 million was returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.
The company expects to close its acquisition of Ultra I&C Mission Solutions in the second quarter. Management believes the transaction will broaden its defense technology portfolio across command-and-control software, ruggedized edge computing and encryption management.
BAH Generates Robust Cash Flow
Net cash provided by operating activities increased 136.1% year over year to $281 million. Free cash flow surged 171.9% to $261 million, supported by strong collections and favorable timing.
BAH ended the quarter with $540 million in cash and $2.0 billion in total liquidity. Total debt was $3.94 billion, while the net leverage ratio was 2.7X. Days sales outstanding increased seven days to 80 due to the revenue-recognition profile of the Defy business.
Booz Allen’s Other Fiscal 2027 Outlook
Adjusted EBITDA is projected between $1.24 billion and $1.29 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of approximately 11%.
Free cash flow is forecasted to be between $825 million and $925 million. Management continues to expect growth to be weighted toward the second half, with National Security accelerating as new work ramps up.
The company expects second-quarter growth and profitability to face pressure from Civil contract roll-offs and the end of some higher-margin programs. It anticipates backloaded investment spending while maintaining a cautious view of the government funding and award environment.
Currently, Booz Allen carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Rollins, Inc. ROL posted unimpressive second-quarter 2026 results. ROL’s adjusted earnings of 32 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.9% but rose 6.7% year over year. Total revenues of $1.08 billion fell short of the consensus estimate by 1.7% but increased 7.9% from the year-ago quarter.
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