{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"160746","rtpr_id":"nBw1FSfcVa-20261005","ticker":"HCKT","exchange":"NASDAQ","all_tickers":["HCKT"],"title":"The Hackett Group® Finds Record $1.94 Trillion Working Capital Opportunity Among North America’s Largest Companies","author":"Business Wire","published_at":"2026-10-05T14:00:00.896Z","article_body":"The Hackett Group(®) Finds Record $1.94 Trillion Working Capital Opportunity\nAmong North America’s Largest Companies\n\n2026 Working Capital Survey reveals strong financial performance is masking\ngrowing cash inefficiencies, with receivables emerging as the largest source\nof untapped value\n\nThe Hackett Group, Inc.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=The+Hackett+Group%2C+Inc.&index=1&md5=4b9e091e8c7d1e5699c0e3fe72ccfb67)\n(NASDAQ: HCKT), an AI enterprise transformation firm, today announced findings\nfrom its 2026 North American Working Capital Survey, revealing that the 1,000\nlargest public companies in North America hold a record $1.94 trillion working\ncapital management\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Fworking-capital-management%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=working+capital+management&index=2&md5=1dfc5d249d622ad8372640cf6369837e)\nopportunity – up 12% from the prior year. The findings show that while\ncompanies delivered strong revenue growth, profitability and operating cash\nflow in 2025, significantly more cash became tied up in working capital,\nparticularly in receivables.\n\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/)\n\nBy most measures, the 1,000 largest North American public companies had a\nstrong year. The Hackett Group’s 2026 North American Working Capital Survey\nfound revenue up 6% to $17.6 trillion, while net income margin reached 10%.\nOperating cash flow rose to 17% of revenue and earnings before interest,\ntaxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin to 21% – each its\nstrongest level in 13 years. Stronger profits came with more cash tied up for\nevery dollar of revenue. The excess working capital opportunity climbed 12% to\na record $1.94 trillion. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) shows how that\ndeterioration stayed partially hidden. CCC improved by just 0.2 days, with the\nentire gain coming from one place. A 2.9-day improvement in days payable\noutstanding (DPO) narrowly offset deterioration in receivables (+2.1 days) and\ninventory (+0.6 days). Receivables are now the largest and fastest-growing\ncomponent of the opportunity at $773 billion.\n\nThe survey found that revenue increased 6% to $17.6 trillion, operating cash\nflow reached a 13-year high at 17% of revenue and EBITDA (earnings before\ninterest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margins rose to 21%. Yet\nexcess working capital relative to revenue increased, reversing three\nconsecutive years of improvement and reaching its highest level on record.\n\n“The headline numbers suggest many organizations had a very successful year,\nbut a closer look shows a different story,” said Gerhard Urbasch, associate\nprincipal at The Hackett Group(®). “Companies generated strong growth and\nprofits, yet more cash became trapped in the processes that convert revenue\ninto cash. Receivables have become the largest and fastest-growing source of\nworking capital inefficiency, and the data shows that sustainable improvement\nrequires a broader focus on how revenue becomes cash, not just isolated\ninitiatives aimed at collections or payment terms.”\n\nAlthough the overall cash conversion cycle (CCC) improved slightly, declining\n0.2 days to 38.4 days, the improvement was driven entirely by stronger\npayables performance. Days sales outstanding (DSO) deteriorated sharply by 2.1\ndays, and days inventory outstanding (DIO) increased by 0.6 days, while days\npayable outstanding (DPO) improved by 2.9 days. As a result, gains in payables\noffset deterioration elsewhere in the cycle rather than reflecting broad-based\nimprovement.\n\nReceivables emerged as the largest and fastest-growing source of working\ncapital inefficiency. The accounts receivable\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Fglossary%2Faccounts-receivable-ar%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=accounts+receivable&index=3&md5=4d713105fd5daf3d497be040bad8b1dc)\nopportunity increased 29% year over year to $773 billion, representing 40% of\nthe total working capital opportunity. DSO worsened for the third consecutive\nyear and deteriorated in 40 of 50 industries analyzed. Aggregate receivables\ngrew 11%, nearly twice the pace of revenue growth.\n\nReceivables performance issues often originate long before an invoice becomes\noverdue. According to the survey, credit decisions, negotiated payment terms,\norder accuracy, billing quality, dispute management and cash application all\ninfluence how quickly revenue is converted into cash. The findings suggest\nthat organizations taking an end-to-end process approach are better positioned\nto improve working capital performance than those focused solely on\ncollections.\n\nInventory also contributed to the growing opportunity. The inventory\nopportunity rose 6% to $616 billion as organizations continued carrying buffer\nstock to manage tariff exposure, supply chain uncertainty and sourcing\ndiversification efforts. The findings indicate many companies are prioritizing\nresilience and supply assurance, even when doing so increases balance sheet\nintensity.\n\nMeanwhile, payables represented the strongest area of performance improvement.\nThe payables opportunity remained relatively stable at $548 billion, while DPO\nreached its best level since 2021. Supply chain finance activity increased\nsignificantly, with settlement volumes rising 35% year over year. However, the\nreport concludes that extending payment terms alone is unlikely to provide a\nsustainable path to future improvement.\n\nThe survey also highlights how difficult it is to sustain progress over time.\nOf the 1,000 companies analyzed, only 98 improved their cash conversion cycle\nfor three consecutive years, just nine sustained improvement for five years\nand only two organizations achieved seven straight years of improvement.\n\nAccording to The Hackett Group(®), the findings underscore an emerging\nopportunity for process-led artificial intelligence (AI). The firm’s AI\nWorld Class benchmark research shows significantly stronger results among\norganizations that redesign workflows around AI-enabled decision-making,\nautomation and exception handling. Compared with peers, AI World Class\norder-to-cash\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Fglossary%2Forder-to-cash%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=order-to-cash&index=4&md5=ce724c0fae5e77905f8a9ceb6e3853a1)\norganizations demonstrate 138% more automated credit decisions, 134% greater\ndigital order intake, 89% more automated cash application and 85% fewer\ndelinquent days.\n\n“The working capital challenge is increasingly becoming an AI\nopportunity,” said Kathleen Wiedeman, senior director at The Hackett\nGroup(®). “Leading organizations are not simply applying AI to existing\nprocesses. They are redesigning end-to-end workflows across order-to-cash,\nforecast-to-fulfill and purchase-to-pay. That’s where we see the greatest\npotential to improve cash flow, increase productivity and sustain performance\ngains over time.”\n\nThe Hackett Group’s 2026 North American Working Capital Survey analyzes the\nlatest publicly available FY2025 financial results of the 1,000 largest\nnonfinancial companies headquartered in North America and evaluates\nperformance across receivables, inventory and payables.\n\nDownload the full results and insights from the 2026 North American Working\nCapital Survey\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.poweredbyhackett.com%2F26wcs2609nr&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=2026+North+American+Working+Capital+Survey&index=5&md5=2d7835d1bbbfb78210bc7b5e5603ee14)\nfor free with registration.\n\nAbout The Hackett Group(®)\n\nThe Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT) is an ROI-led, AI enterprise\ntransformation firm that helps clients enable AI World Class performance. Its\nexperts and engineers leverage Hackett AI platforms, including XT\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Ftransform-with-confidence%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=XT&index=6&md5=2d9dfd0dfcc805c108e739dc646dcf24)\n™, AIXelerator\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Faixelerator-reimagining-software-implementation-delivery%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=AIXelerator&index=7&md5=db4279c127ff287a2e53d3a2249fd530)\n™, Hackett AI XPLR\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Fintroducing-ai-xplr%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=Hackett+AI+XPLR&index=8&md5=5f03d2d73319f9c5241da432b37947df)\n™, ZBrain\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Fmaximize-your-business-potential-with-zbrain%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=ZBrain&index=9&md5=e0a61b64d0595b8ffce2a9000bf6223f)\n(®) and XDA\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Fknow-when-your-data-is-ready-for-ai%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=XDA&index=10&md5=9d9a48b163b4fdd10268b8e7da86422f)\n™, to accelerate and enhance the delivery of the company’s solutions and\nservices.\n\nThe Hackett AI platforms are powered by the company’s domain-specific\nSolution Language Model informed by Hackett Process and Performance\nIntelligence, including Digital World Class(®) and AI World Class benchmark\nmetrics, industry-specific best-practice process flows and service delivery\nmodel frameworks. The Hackett Group’s proprietary insights are based on\nbenchmarking results from leading global organizations, including 98% of Dow\nJones Global Titans, 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials and 90% of the Fortune\n100. Visit www.thehackettgroup.com.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=www.thehackettgroup.com.&index=11&md5=92f3f4ddc6dd05ecf8bddf590c21edae)\n\nTrademarks\n\nThe Hackett Group(®), quadrant logo, ZBrain(®) and Digital World Class(®)\nare the registered marks of The Hackett Group(®).\n\nCautionary Statement Regarding “Forward-Looking” Statements\n\nThis release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of\nSection 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended and Section 21E of the\nSecurities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements including without\nlimitation, words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,”\n“plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” or other similar\nphrases or variations of such words or similar expressions indicating, present\nor future anticipated or expected occurrences or outcomes are intended to\nidentify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not\nstatements of historical fact and involve known and unknown risks,\nuncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results,\nperformance or achievements to be materially different from the results,\nperformance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking\nstatements. Factors that may impact such forward-looking statements include\nwithout limitation, the ability of The Hackett Group(®) to effectively market\nits digital transformation services, our ability to transition our\ncapabilities to support generative artificial intelligence (AI)-related\nconsulting services and solutions and other consulting services, our ability\nto effectively integrate acquisitions into our operations, our ability to\nmanage joint ventures and successfully cooperate with our joint venture\npartners, competition from other consulting and technology companies that may\nhave or develop in the future, similar offerings, the commercial viability of\nThe Hackett Group(®) and its services as well as other risk detailed in The\nHackett Group’s reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange\nCommission. The Hackett Group(® )does not undertake any duty to update this\nrelease or any forward-looking statements contained herein.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/)\n\nmedia@thehackettgroup.com (mailto:media@thehackettgroup.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nBw1FSfcVa-20261005","title":"The Hackett Group® Finds Record $1.94 Trillion Working Capital Opportunity Among North America’s Largest Companies","author":"Business Wire","ticker":"HCKT","created":"2026-10-05T14:00:00.896Z","tickers":["HCKT"],"exchange":"NASDAQ","article_body":"The Hackett Group(®) Finds Record $1.94 Trillion Working Capital Opportunity\nAmong North America’s Largest Companies\n\n2026 Working Capital Survey reveals strong financial performance is masking\ngrowing cash inefficiencies, with receivables emerging as the largest source\nof untapped value\n\nThe Hackett Group, Inc.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=The+Hackett+Group%2C+Inc.&index=1&md5=4b9e091e8c7d1e5699c0e3fe72ccfb67)\n(NASDAQ: HCKT), an AI enterprise transformation firm, today announced findings\nfrom its 2026 North American Working Capital Survey, revealing that the 1,000\nlargest public companies in North America hold a record $1.94 trillion working\ncapital management\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Fworking-capital-management%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=working+capital+management&index=2&md5=1dfc5d249d622ad8372640cf6369837e)\nopportunity – up 12% from the prior year. The findings show that while\ncompanies delivered strong revenue growth, profitability and operating cash\nflow in 2025, significantly more cash became tied up in working capital,\nparticularly in receivables.\n\nThis press release features multimedia. View the full release here:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/)\n\nBy most measures, the 1,000 largest North American public companies had a\nstrong year. The Hackett Group’s 2026 North American Working Capital Survey\nfound revenue up 6% to $17.6 trillion, while net income margin reached 10%.\nOperating cash flow rose to 17% of revenue and earnings before interest,\ntaxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin to 21% – each its\nstrongest level in 13 years. Stronger profits came with more cash tied up for\nevery dollar of revenue. The excess working capital opportunity climbed 12% to\na record $1.94 trillion. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) shows how that\ndeterioration stayed partially hidden. CCC improved by just 0.2 days, with the\nentire gain coming from one place. A 2.9-day improvement in days payable\noutstanding (DPO) narrowly offset deterioration in receivables (+2.1 days) and\ninventory (+0.6 days). Receivables are now the largest and fastest-growing\ncomponent of the opportunity at $773 billion.\n\nThe survey found that revenue increased 6% to $17.6 trillion, operating cash\nflow reached a 13-year high at 17% of revenue and EBITDA (earnings before\ninterest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margins rose to 21%. Yet\nexcess working capital relative to revenue increased, reversing three\nconsecutive years of improvement and reaching its highest level on record.\n\n“The headline numbers suggest many organizations had a very successful year,\nbut a closer look shows a different story,” said Gerhard Urbasch, associate\nprincipal at The Hackett Group(®). “Companies generated strong growth and\nprofits, yet more cash became trapped in the processes that convert revenue\ninto cash. Receivables have become the largest and fastest-growing source of\nworking capital inefficiency, and the data shows that sustainable improvement\nrequires a broader focus on how revenue becomes cash, not just isolated\ninitiatives aimed at collections or payment terms.”\n\nAlthough the overall cash conversion cycle (CCC) improved slightly, declining\n0.2 days to 38.4 days, the improvement was driven entirely by stronger\npayables performance. Days sales outstanding (DSO) deteriorated sharply by 2.1\ndays, and days inventory outstanding (DIO) increased by 0.6 days, while days\npayable outstanding (DPO) improved by 2.9 days. As a result, gains in payables\noffset deterioration elsewhere in the cycle rather than reflecting broad-based\nimprovement.\n\nReceivables emerged as the largest and fastest-growing source of working\ncapital inefficiency. The accounts receivable\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Fglossary%2Faccounts-receivable-ar%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=accounts+receivable&index=3&md5=4d713105fd5daf3d497be040bad8b1dc)\nopportunity increased 29% year over year to $773 billion, representing 40% of\nthe total working capital opportunity. DSO worsened for the third consecutive\nyear and deteriorated in 40 of 50 industries analyzed. Aggregate receivables\ngrew 11%, nearly twice the pace of revenue growth.\n\nReceivables performance issues often originate long before an invoice becomes\noverdue. According to the survey, credit decisions, negotiated payment terms,\norder accuracy, billing quality, dispute management and cash application all\ninfluence how quickly revenue is converted into cash. The findings suggest\nthat organizations taking an end-to-end process approach are better positioned\nto improve working capital performance than those focused solely on\ncollections.\n\nInventory also contributed to the growing opportunity. The inventory\nopportunity rose 6% to $616 billion as organizations continued carrying buffer\nstock to manage tariff exposure, supply chain uncertainty and sourcing\ndiversification efforts. The findings indicate many companies are prioritizing\nresilience and supply assurance, even when doing so increases balance sheet\nintensity.\n\nMeanwhile, payables represented the strongest area of performance improvement.\nThe payables opportunity remained relatively stable at $548 billion, while DPO\nreached its best level since 2021. Supply chain finance activity increased\nsignificantly, with settlement volumes rising 35% year over year. However, the\nreport concludes that extending payment terms alone is unlikely to provide a\nsustainable path to future improvement.\n\nThe survey also highlights how difficult it is to sustain progress over time.\nOf the 1,000 companies analyzed, only 98 improved their cash conversion cycle\nfor three consecutive years, just nine sustained improvement for five years\nand only two organizations achieved seven straight years of improvement.\n\nAccording to The Hackett Group(®), the findings underscore an emerging\nopportunity for process-led artificial intelligence (AI). The firm’s AI\nWorld Class benchmark research shows significantly stronger results among\norganizations that redesign workflows around AI-enabled decision-making,\nautomation and exception handling. Compared with peers, AI World Class\norder-to-cash\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Fglossary%2Forder-to-cash%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=order-to-cash&index=4&md5=ce724c0fae5e77905f8a9ceb6e3853a1)\norganizations demonstrate 138% more automated credit decisions, 134% greater\ndigital order intake, 89% more automated cash application and 85% fewer\ndelinquent days.\n\n“The working capital challenge is increasingly becoming an AI\nopportunity,” said Kathleen Wiedeman, senior director at The Hackett\nGroup(®). “Leading organizations are not simply applying AI to existing\nprocesses. They are redesigning end-to-end workflows across order-to-cash,\nforecast-to-fulfill and purchase-to-pay. That’s where we see the greatest\npotential to improve cash flow, increase productivity and sustain performance\ngains over time.”\n\nThe Hackett Group’s 2026 North American Working Capital Survey analyzes the\nlatest publicly available FY2025 financial results of the 1,000 largest\nnonfinancial companies headquartered in North America and evaluates\nperformance across receivables, inventory and payables.\n\nDownload the full results and insights from the 2026 North American Working\nCapital Survey\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.poweredbyhackett.com%2F26wcs2609nr&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=2026+North+American+Working+Capital+Survey&index=5&md5=2d7835d1bbbfb78210bc7b5e5603ee14)\nfor free with registration.\n\nAbout The Hackett Group(®)\n\nThe Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT) is an ROI-led, AI enterprise\ntransformation firm that helps clients enable AI World Class performance. Its\nexperts and engineers leverage Hackett AI platforms, including XT\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Ftransform-with-confidence%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=XT&index=6&md5=2d9dfd0dfcc805c108e739dc646dcf24)\n™, AIXelerator\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Faixelerator-reimagining-software-implementation-delivery%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=AIXelerator&index=7&md5=db4279c127ff287a2e53d3a2249fd530)\n™, Hackett AI XPLR\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Fintroducing-ai-xplr%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=Hackett+AI+XPLR&index=8&md5=5f03d2d73319f9c5241da432b37947df)\n™, ZBrain\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Fmaximize-your-business-potential-with-zbrain%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=ZBrain&index=9&md5=e0a61b64d0595b8ffce2a9000bf6223f)\n(®) and XDA\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2Finsights%2Fknow-when-your-data-is-ready-for-ai%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=XDA&index=10&md5=9d9a48b163b4fdd10268b8e7da86422f)\n™, to accelerate and enhance the delivery of the company’s solutions and\nservices.\n\nThe Hackett AI platforms are powered by the company’s domain-specific\nSolution Language Model informed by Hackett Process and Performance\nIntelligence, including Digital World Class(®) and AI World Class benchmark\nmetrics, industry-specific best-practice process flows and service delivery\nmodel frameworks. The Hackett Group’s proprietary insights are based on\nbenchmarking results from leading global organizations, including 98% of Dow\nJones Global Titans, 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials and 90% of the Fortune\n100. Visit www.thehackettgroup.com.\n(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehackettgroup.com%2F&esheet=54616186&newsitemid=20261005654787&lan=en-US&anchor=www.thehackettgroup.com.&index=11&md5=92f3f4ddc6dd05ecf8bddf590c21edae)\n\nTrademarks\n\nThe Hackett Group(®), quadrant logo, ZBrain(®) and Digital World Class(®)\nare the registered marks of The Hackett Group(®).\n\nCautionary Statement Regarding “Forward-Looking” Statements\n\nThis release contains “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of\nSection 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended and Section 21E of the\nSecurities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements including without\nlimitation, words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,”\n“plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” or other similar\nphrases or variations of such words or similar expressions indicating, present\nor future anticipated or expected occurrences or outcomes are intended to\nidentify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not\nstatements of historical fact and involve known and unknown risks,\nuncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results,\nperformance or achievements to be materially different from the results,\nperformance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking\nstatements. Factors that may impact such forward-looking statements include\nwithout limitation, the ability of The Hackett Group(®) to effectively market\nits digital transformation services, our ability to transition our\ncapabilities to support generative artificial intelligence (AI)-related\nconsulting services and solutions and other consulting services, our ability\nto effectively integrate acquisitions into our operations, our ability to\nmanage joint ventures and successfully cooperate with our joint venture\npartners, competition from other consulting and technology companies that may\nhave or develop in the future, similar offerings, the commercial viability of\nThe Hackett Group(®) and its services as well as other risk detailed in The\nHackett Group’s reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange\nCommission. The Hackett Group(® )does not undertake any duty to update this\nrelease or any forward-looking statements contained herein.\n\n\n\nView source version on businesswire.com:\nhttps://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/\n(https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/)\n\nmedia@thehackettgroup.com (mailto:media@thehackettgroup.com)\n\n\nCopyright Business Wire 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-10-05T14:00:00.959559986Z","server_sent_at_ms":1791208800959},"received_at":"2026-10-05T14:00:01.010Z","source_url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005654787/en/"},"analysis":{"id":"149300","press_release_id":"160746","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"IT Consulting & Other Services","sector":"Information Technology"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"other","narrative":"The Hackett Group published its 2026 North American Working Capital Survey, finding a record $1.94 trillion working capital opportunity among the 1,000 largest North American public companies, up 12% year over year.\n\nReceivables are now the largest and fastest-growing source of inefficiency at $773 billion, up 29% YoY, while overall cash conversion cycle improvement was driven entirely by payables (DPO +2.9 days) masking DSO deterioration of 2.1 days.\n\nThe firm frames the findings as an AI opportunity, citing AI World Class order-to-cash benchmarks, and positions its Hackett AI platforms (XT, AIXelerator, AI XPLR, ZBrain, XDA) as enablers of process-led improvement.","sentiment":"neutral","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"Annual research PR doubles as demand-gen for Hackett's AI consulting stack -- soft demand signal, not a financial event."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"ccc_days":"38.4 days","ccc_change":"-0.2 days","dio_change":"+0.6 days","dpo_change":"+2.9 days","dso_change":"+2.1 days","wc_opportunity_yoy":"12%","payables_opportunity":"$548 billion","survey_ebitda_margin":"21%","inventory_opportunity":"$616 billion","survey_revenue_growth":"6%","receivables_opportunity":"$773 billion","survey_net_income_margin":"10%","receivables_opportunity_yoy":"29%","working_capital_opportunity":"$1.94 trillion","supply_chain_finance_volume_yoy":"35%"}},"quotedText":"The working capital challenge is increasingly becoming an AI opportunity","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Gerhard Urbasch","role":"associate principal at The Hackett Group"},{"name":"Kathleen Wiedeman","role":"senior director at The Hackett Group"}],"products":["XT","AIXelerator","Hackett AI XPLR","ZBrain","XDA"],"companies":[{"name":"The Hackett Group, Inc.","ticker":"HCKT","relationship":"filer/author"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$1.94 trillion","context":"record working capital opportunity among 1,000 largest North American public companies"},{"amount":"$773 billion","context":"receivables component of working capital opportunity"},{"amount":"$616 billion","context":"inventory opportunity"},{"amount":"$548 billion","context":"payables opportunity"},{"amount":"$17.6 trillion","context":"survey cohort revenue"}]},"materialImpact":{"score":1,"reasoning":"Annual research survey announcement promoting Hackett's benchmark/IP and AI consulting relevance; no financial results, guidance, or contractual events. Routine thought-leadership boilerplate."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"HCKT"},"globalImportance":12,"audienceRelevance":8,"eventTypeSecondary":[],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"small-cap","eventGravity":"annual research publication / thought leadership","financialEvent":false,"issuerAuthored":true}},"event_type":"other","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"neutral","material_impact_score":1,"narrative":"The Hackett Group published its 2026 North American Working Capital Survey, finding a record $1.94 trillion working capital opportunity among the 1,000 largest North American public companies, up 12% year over year.\n\nReceivables are now the largest and fastest-growing source of inefficiency at $773 billion, up 29% YoY, while overall cash conversion cycle improvement was driven entirely by payables (DPO +2.9 days) masking DSO deterioration of 2.1 days.\n\nThe firm frames the findings as an AI opportunity, citing AI World Class order-to-cash benchmarks, and positions its Hackett AI platforms (XT, AIXelerator, AI XPLR, ZBrain, XDA) as enablers of process-led improvement.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"ccc_days":"38.4 days","ccc_change":"-0.2 days","dio_change":"+0.6 days","dpo_change":"+2.9 days","dso_change":"+2.1 days","wc_opportunity_yoy":"12%","payables_opportunity":"$548 billion","survey_ebitda_margin":"21%","inventory_opportunity":"$616 billion","survey_revenue_growth":"6%","receivables_opportunity":"$773 billion","survey_net_income_margin":"10%","receivables_opportunity_yoy":"29%","working_capital_opportunity":"$1.94 trillion","supply_chain_finance_volume_yoy":"35%"}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Gerhard Urbasch","role":"associate principal at The Hackett Group"},{"name":"Kathleen Wiedeman","role":"senior director at The Hackett Group"}],"products":["XT","AIXelerator","Hackett AI XPLR","ZBrain","XDA"],"companies":[{"name":"The Hackett Group, Inc.","ticker":"HCKT","relationship":"filer/author"}],"dollarAmounts":[{"amount":"$1.94 trillion","context":"record working capital opportunity among 1,000 largest North American public companies"},{"amount":"$773 billion","context":"receivables component of working capital opportunity"},{"amount":"$616 billion","context":"inventory opportunity"},{"amount":"$548 billion","context":"payables opportunity"},{"amount":"$17.6 trillion","context":"survey cohort revenue"}]},"model_name":"glm-5.3-flashx","prompt_hash":"sha256:727b4b9429a443af","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-10-05T14:00:07.870Z","global_importance":12,"audience_relevance":8,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"small-cap","eventGravity":"annual research publication / thought leadership","financialEvent":false,"issuerAuthored":true}},"durationMs":6821,"modelName":"glm-5.3-flashx"}}