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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). We intend the forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements in these sections. All statements regarding our expected financial position and operating results, our business strategy, our financing plans and forecasted demographic and economic trends relating to our industry are forward-looking statements. These statements can sometimes be identified by our use of forward-looking words such as “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” or “intend” and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We cannot promise you that our expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements will turn out to be correct. Factors that could impact such forward-looking statements include, among others, changes in worldwide and U.S. economic conditions that impact business confidence and the demand for our products and services, our ability to transition our capabilities to support generative artificial intelligence ("Gen AI")-related consulting services and solutions, the adoption of Gen AI technologies by our clients and the timing thereof, the rapid change in Gen AI technologies and our ability to support new or changing technologies, our ability to effectively integrate acquisitions, including the LeewayHertz and Spend Matters acquisitions, into our operations, our ability to manage joint ventures and successfully cooperate with our joint venture partners, our ability to retain existing business, our ability to attract additional business, our ability to effectively market and sell our product offerings and other services, the timing of projects and the potential for contract cancellation by our customers, changes in expectations regarding the business consulting and information technology industries, our ability to attract and retain skilled employees, possible changes in collections of accounts receivable due to the bankruptcy or financial difficulties of our customers, risks of competition, price and margin trends, foreign currency fluctuations, the impact of the geopolitical conflict involving Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East on our business and changes in general economic conditions, interest rates, tariffs and trade barriers and our ability to obtain additional debt financing if needed. An additional description of our risk factors is described in Part I – Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 26, 2025. OVERVIEW The following Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") is intended to help the reader understand the results of operations and financial condition of Hackett. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes to our consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Hackett is a global IP platform-based Gen AI strategic consulting and executive advisory digital transformation firm. The Hackett Group provides dedicated expertise in Gen AI enabled enterprise transformation services across front, mid and back office areas, including its highly recognized Oracle, SAP, OneStream and Coupa implementation offerings. In early 2024, we launched our AI assessment platform, AI XPLR which helps clients identify, evaluate and design Gen AI enablement opportunities. Using AI XPLR, our experienced professionals guide organizations to harness the power of Gen AI solutions designed to digitally transform their operations to achieve quantifiable, breakthrough results, allowing us to be key architects of our clients' Gen AI journey. We believe Gen AI will fundamentally change the way companies operate as well as the way consulting services are sold and delivered. We believe the Gen AI platform capabilities we have developed in AI XPLR which were expanded with ZBrain, which we acquired as part of the LeewayHertz acquisition, is highly differentiating and we expect will enable us to effectively compete in this emerging and important space. The Hackett Group has completed over 28,400 benchmarking and performance studies with major organizations. These studies are executed utilizing our Quantum Leap platform which drives our Digital Transformation Platform (“DTP” or “Hackett DTP”). This includes the firm's benchmarking metrics, best practices repository, and best practice configuration and process flow accelerators, which enables our clients and partners to achieve digital world-class performance. We consider this, along with our recent innovations, our core Hackett Intellectual Property ("IP") which allows us to identify, design and evaluate transformation opportunities to be proprietary and key components of our Hackett Solutioning IP. 21 Our transformation expertise is grounded in best practices insights from benchmarking the world’s leading businesses – including 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials, 90% of the Fortune 100, 68% of the DAX 40 and 53% of the FTSE 100, which inform and are delivered by our platforms. Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions on Our Business The level of revenue we achieve is based on our ability to deliver market leading services and solutions and to deploy skilled teams of professionals quickly. Our results of operations are affected by economic conditions, including macroeconomic conditions and levels of business confidence. Any deterioration in the current macroeconomic environment or economic downturn as a result of weak or uncertain economic conditions due to inflation, high interest rates, tariffs, national or geopolitical events or other factors impacting economic activity or business confidence could adversely affect our clients' financial condition or outlook which may reduce the clients' demand for our services. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, our results of operations (in thousands and unaudited): Quarter Ended Six Months Ended June 26, June 27, June 26, June 27, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Revenue: Revenue before reimbursements $ 68,342 $ 77,629 $ 136,185 $ 153,860 Reimbursements 986 1,270 1,940 2,904 Total revenue 69,328 78,899 138,125 156,764 Costs and expenses: Cost of service: Personnel costs before reimbursable expenses (includes $2,460 and $1,871 and $4,985 and $9,913 of non-cash stock based compensation expense in the three months and six months ended June 26, 2026 and June 27, 2025, respectively) 40,632 49,672 79,137 98,052 Reimbursable expenses 986 1,270 1,940 2,904 Total cost of service 41,618 50,942 81,077 100,956 Selling, general and administrative costs (includes $1,793 and $3,861 and $4,736 and $9,480 of non-cash stock based compensation expense in the three months and six months ended June 26, 2026 and June 27, 2025, respectively) 19,506 23,362 37,952 46,810 Restructuring costs 492 — 2,448 — Total costs and operating expenses 61,616 74,304 121,477 147,766 Income from operations 7,712 4,595 16,648 8,998 Other expense, net: Interest expense, net (1,211 ) (366 ) (2,219 ) (568 ) Income before income taxes 6,501 4,229 14,429 8,430 Income tax expense 2,092 2,568 5,739 3,626 Net income $ 4,409 $ 1,661 $ 8,690 $ 4,804 Diluted net income per common share $ 0.18 $ 0.06 $ 0.34 $ 0.17 Revenue. We are a global Company with operations in our primary markets located in the United States and Western Europe. Our revenue is denominated in multiple currencies, primarily the U.S. Dollar, British Pound and Euro, and as a result is affected by currency exchange rate fluctuations. The impact of currency fluctuations did not have a significant impact on comparisons between the quarter and six months ended June 26, 2026 and the same comparable periods of 2025. In this MD&A, we discuss revenue based on geographical location of engagement team personnel. Our Company total revenue was $69.3 million and $138.1 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $78.9 million and $156.8 million in the same periods in 2025, respectively. In the second quarter and first six months of 2026, one customer accounted for 3% and 4%, respectively, of our Company total revenue. In the second quarter and first six months of 2025, one customer accounted for 7% and 8%, respectively, of our Company total revenue. 22 Segment revenue. The Company has three reportable segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation (Global S&BT), Oracle Solutions and SAP Solutions. Global S&BT includes S&BT Gen AI and Business Transformation Consulting, Benchmarking, Business Advisory Services, Intellectual Property as-a-Service (IPASS) and OneStream offerings. Oracle Solutions and SAP Solutions support the two fundamentally distinct ERP systems: Oracle and SAP. The following table sets forth total revenue by operating segment, which includes reimbursable expenses related to project travel-related expenses passed through to a client with no associated operating margin (in thousands): Quarter Ended Six Months Ended June 26, June 27, June 26, June 27, 2026 2025 2026 2025 Global S&BT $ 36,036 $ 44,205 $ 72,811 $ 87,562 Oracle Solutions 15,481 20,801 31,166 41,887 SAP Solutions 17,811 13,893 34,148 27,315 Total revenue $ 69,328 $ 78,899 $ 138,125 $ 156,764 Global S&BT total revenue was $36.0 million and $72.8 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $44.2 million and $87.6 million in the same periods of 2025, respectively. Elongated client decision marking still persists, as clients continue to question the underlying value of Gen AI and are also confused by the return of investment of Gen AI first adoption strategies. Oracle Solutions total revenue was $15.5 million and $31.2 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $20.8 million and $41.9 million in the same periods of 2025, respectively. Oracle Solutions has stabilized from the completion of a large client engagement which primarily explains the decreases on a year over year comparison. SAP Solutions total revenue was $17.8 million and $34.1 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $13.9 million and $27.3 million in the same periods of 2025, respectively. The increase in revenue during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, as compared to the same periods in 2025, was primarily driven by implementation services that correspond to the increased volume of software sales that are coupled with significant implementation fees. This was primarily due to the increased sales investments we have made with SAP and SAP’s success driving S4 HANA Cloud migrations. Reimbursements as a percentage of Company total revenue were 1% during both the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to 2% during both the second quarter and first six months of 2025. Reimbursements are project travel-related expenses passed through to a client with no associated operating margin. Cost of Service. Cost of service consists of personnel costs before reimbursable expenses, which includes salaries, benefits and incentive compensation for consultants and subcontractor fees, acquisition-related non-cash stock based compensation expense and non-cash stock based compensation expense, and reimbursable expenses which are travel and other expenses passed through to a client and are associated with projects. Personnel costs before reimbursable expenses decreased 18% and 19%, to $40.6 million and $79.1 million for the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $49.7 million and $98.1 million in the same periods of 2025, respectively. The decrease in the second quarter and first six months of 2026 was primarily related to the decrease of acquisition related non-cash stock based compensation expense relating to the LeewayHertz acquisition and to the non-cash stock based compensation expense relating to the stock price award program. In addition, the Company incurred headcount reductions from the leverage of our Gen AI delivery platforms and lower bonus accruals commensurate with performance. Personnel costs as a percentage of total Company total revenue were 59% and 57% during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to 63% during both the second quarter and first six months of 2025, respectively. Non-cash stock based compensation expense, included in personnel costs before reimbursable expenses, was $2.5 million and $1.9 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $5.0 million and $9.9 million in the same periods in 2025, respectively. The decrease in the second quarter and first six months of 2026 was primarily related to a decrease in non-cash stock compensation from the stock price award program issuances (Note 7) and reversals of acquisition related non-cash stock compensation expense that were performance-related. 23 Selling, General and Administrative Costs (“SG&A”). SG&A primarily consists of salaries, benefits and incentive compensation for the selling, marketing, administrative and executive employees, non-cash stock based compensation expense and various other overhead expenses. SG&A costs decreased 17% and 19%, to $19.5 million and $38.0 million, for the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $23.4 million and $46.8 million for the same periods in 2025, respectively. The decrease in the costs during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 was primarily due to decreased non-cash stock based compensation from the stock price award program issuances (Note 7) and lower bonus accruals. SG&A costs as a percentage of total Company revenue were 28% and 27% during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, as compared to 30% during the same periods in 2025, respectively. Non-cash stock based compensation expense, included in SG&A, was $1.8 million and $3.9 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $4.7 million and $9.5 million for the same periods in 2025, respectively. The decrease in the second quarter and first six months of 2026 primarily relates to the non-cash stock compensation expense from the stock price award program issuances (Note 7). Amortization expense was $299 thousand and $614 thousand for the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $231 thousand and $376 thousand for the same periods in 2025, respectively, which was related to the intangible assets acquired in our September 2024 acquisition of LeewayHertz and May 2025 acquisition of Spend Matters. Restructuring Costs. During the second quarter and first six months of 2026, we incurred restructuring costs of $492 thousand and $2.4 million as a result of the continued pivot of our business to Gen AI, respectively. These costs were primarily employee-related costs, as the Company reduced staff to be commensurate with current market demand and the leverage of our Gen AI delivery platforms are expected to have on our service offerings. Segment Contribution. Segment contribution consists of the revenue generated by the segment, less the direct costs of revenue and selling, general and administrative expenses that are incurred directly by the segment. Items not allocated to the segment level include corporate costs related to the administrative functions that are performed in a centralized manner and that are not attributable to a particular segment. These administrative function costs include corporate general and administrative expenses, non-cash compensation, depreciation expense, interest expense and legal settlement and related costs. Global S&BT segment contribution was $9.1 million and $18.2 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $13.0 million and $25.8 million for the same periods in 2025, respectively, primarily due to revenue decreases caused by elongated client decision making that persisted throughout the quarter as mentioned above. Oracle Solutions segment contribution was $4.2 million and $7.8 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $4.5 million and $8.8 million for the same periods in 2025, respectively. The decrease during the second quarter and first six months of 2026 was primarily due to decreased revenue, as discussed above, partially offset by decreased incentive compensation accruals related to performance. SAP Solutions segment contribution was $5.6 million and $10.6 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $3.9 million and $8.1 million for the same periods in 2025, respectively. The increase in segment profit in the second quarter and first six months of 2026, as compared to the same periods in 2025, was primarily due to increased implementation services from increased volume of software sales that are coupled with significant implementation fees. This was primarily due to the increased sales investments we have made with SAP and SAP’s success driving S4 HANA Cloud migrations. Interest Expense, Net. Interest expense, net was $1.2 million and $2.2 million during the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, as compared to $0.4 million and $0.6 million in the same periods in 2025, respectively. As of June 26, 2026, we had outstanding debt of $81.0 million, excluding debt issue costs. As of June 27, 2025, we had outstanding debt of $23.0 million, excluding debt issue costs. Income Taxes. During the second quarter and first six months of 2026, we recorded $2.1 million and $5.7 million of income tax expense, respectively, related to certain federal, foreign and state taxes which reflected an effective tax rate of 32.2% and 39.8%, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate for the first six months of the year as compared to the second quarter 2026 tax rate is primarily due to the vesting fair value for restricted stock unit awards being lower than the grant date fair value for such awards. During the second quarter and first six months of 2025, we recorded $2.6 million and $3.6 million of income tax expense, respectively, related to certain federal, foreign and state taxes which reflected an effective tax rate of 60.7% and 43.0%, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate in 2025 was primarily due to the limitation of executive compensation deductions related to executive compensation, primarily driven by the stock price award program (See Note 7). 24 Liquidity and Capital Resources As of June 26, 2026 and December 26, 2025, we had $14.2 million and $18.2 million, respectively, classified as cash on the consolidated balance sheets. We currently believe that available funds (including the cash on hand and funds available for borrowing under our revolving line of credit and cash flows generated by operations will be sufficient to fund our working capital requirements, including debt payments, lease obligations and capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months and beyond. We may decide to raise additional funds in order to fund expansion, to develop new or further enhance products and services, to respond to competitive pressures, or to acquire complementary businesses or technologies. There is no assurance that additional financing would be available when needed or desired. Our cash requirements have not changed materially from those disclosed in Item 7 included in Part II of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 26, 2025. The following table summarizes our cash flow activity (in thousands): Six Months Ended June 26, June 27, 2026 2025 Cash flows provided by operating activities $ 10,094 $ 9,843 Cash flows used in investing activities $ (4,990 ) $ (4,221 ) Cash flows used in financing activities $ (9,120 ) $ (11,801 ) Cash Flows from Operating Activities Net cash provided by operating activities was $10.1 million during the first six months of 2026, as compared to $9.8 million during the same period in 2025. In 2026, the net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to net income adjusted for non-cash items, partially offset by decreases in accrued liabilities primarily due to payments of the prior year earned incentive compensation liabilities and payments to vendors and increases in accounts receivable and the timing of payments for income taxes. In 2025, the net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to net income adjusted for non-cash items and increases in contract liabilities, partially offset by increases in accounts receivable and contract assets, decreases in accrued liabilities and other accruals primarily due to payments in the prior year of earned incentive compensation liabilities and the timing of payments for income taxes and to vendors. Cash Flows from Investing Activities Net cash used in investing activities was $5.0 million during the first six months of 2026, as compared to $4.2 million during the same period in 2025. During both the first six months periods of 2026 and 2025, cash flows used in investing activities primarily included investments made to the continued development of our Gen AI delivery platforms. Cash Flows from Financing Activities Net cash used in financing activities was $9.1 million during the first six months of 2026, as compared to $11.8 million during the same period in 2025. The usage of cash in 2026 primarily related to the repurchase of $8.6 million of the Company's common stock and dividend payments of $6.0 million, partially offset by a net $5.0 million drawdown on our revolving line of credit (the "Credit Facility"). The usage of cash in 2025 primarily related to the repurchase of $16.1 million of the Company's common stock and dividend payments of $6.3 million, partially offset by the $10.0 million drawdown on our Credit Facility. As of June 26, 2026, we had $81.0 million of outstanding borrowings under our Credit Facility, excluding deferred debt costs, leaving us with a capacity of approximately $19.0 million. On August 3, 2026, we amended and restated our credit agreement in order to extend the maturity date of the Credit Facility and provide the Company with an additional $25 million in borrowing capacity resulting in aggregate borrowing capacity of up to $125 million. See Note 6, “Credit Facility,” to our consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for more information 25