Huron Consulting Group (HURN) saw its stock plummet 6.22% in Wednesday's trading session, despite reporting strong first-quarter results for 2025. The significant drop comes as investors appear to be focusing on softness in the company's Commercial segment and potential concerns about future growth.

During the Q1 2025 earnings call, Huron's management reported overall positive performance across all three operating segments. The company's Healthcare and Education segments showed robust growth, with revenues before reimbursable expenses (RBR) increasing by 10% in both sectors. However, the Commercial segment presented a mixed picture, with strong demand for digital offerings offset by decreases in strategy and innovation and financial advisory services.

John Kelly, Huron's Chief Financial Officer, noted, "Our Commercial digital business was up 12% during the quarter, which I think corresponds to that pipeline and backlog strength. On the consulting side, that's where we did see negative growth during the quarter." Kelly also expressed caution about the strategy part of the Commercial business, citing impacts from the current macroeconomic environment.

Despite reaffirming their annual guidance and reporting no significant project cancellations, the sharp stock decline suggests that investors may be concerned about the company's ability to maintain growth in a challenging economic landscape. The market reaction also indicates that expectations might have been set higher than the actual results delivered, despite the overall positive performance reported by the company.