Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (NYSE: BAH) is in the spotlight on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, after the stock dropped sharply on news that the company’s chief financial officer is set to leave early next year—an update that landed at a sensitive moment for investors still digesting the company’s revised fiscal 2026 outlook and a slowdown in parts of its government-facing business.
Shares were trading around $84 on the day, down roughly 8% versus the prior close.
Why Booz Allen Hamilton stock is down today
CFO Matthew Calderone will step down February 1, 2026
In a Form 8‑K filing, Booz Allen said Matthew A. Calderone, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, informed the company on December 11, 2025 that he will resign effective February 1, 2026. Booz Allen said it has initiated a search for a new CFO and that Kristine Martin Anderson, the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, will assume the CFO’s duties on an interim basis after Calderone’s departure. [1]
That kind of transition can be routine—but markets often treat CFO changes as high-signal events because the CFO is the person investors associate with forecasting discipline, capital allocation, and (let’s be honest) the fine art of not surprising Wall Street.
The “outside our industry” clue now has a name: S&P Global Mobility
The “why” became clearer today as well: S&P Global announced that Matt Calderone will join as Chief Financial Officer of its Mobility business by March 1, 2026, supporting Mobility as a future standalone public company during S&P Global’s planned separation process. S&P Global said it expects to complete the separation within 12 to 18 months from the separation announcement date, subject to typical approvals and SEC processes. [2]
In other words, the CFO move appears tied to a high-profile external opportunity—not a mysterious disappearance into the corporate Bermuda Triangle.
The deeper backdrop: strong demand in national security, slower recovery in civil
Booz Allen’s most recent quarterly results (reported October 24, 2025 for the second quarter of fiscal 2026) framed the company’s operating environment as a tale of two markets:
- A national security portfolio with stronger demand, especially tied to cyber, AI, and warfighting technologies
- A civil business facing a delayed recovery and a “continued funding slowdown” impacting performance versus forecasts [3]
That “bifurcated market” language matters because it helps explain why CFO succession news can hit harder right now: investors aren’t just reacting to the leadership change—they’re pricing the risk that a transition could complicate execution during a choppy funding cycle.
Booz Allen’s latest financial snapshot and revised FY2026 guidance
Here’s what Booz Allen reported for Q2 fiscal 2026 (quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025, results released Oct. 24):
- Revenue:$2.9 billion, down 8.1% year-over-year
- Net income:$175 million, down 55.1%
- Adjusted diluted EPS:$1.49, down 17.7%
- Free cash flow:$395 million (vs. $563 million in the prior-year quarter) [4]
And the headline demand indicators (which investors often watch even more closely than quarterly EPS):
- Quarterly book-to-bill:1.7x
- Total backlog:$40 billion (described as a record Q2 backlog) [5]
Full-year outlook was cut
Booz Allen also updated its fiscal 2026 guidance (versus its prior guidance), including:
- Revenue:$11.3–$11.5 billion (prior: $12.0–$12.5 billion)
- Adjusted diluted EPS:$5.45–$5.65 (prior: $6.20–$6.55)
- Adjusted EBITDA:$1.19–$1.22 billion (prior: $1.315–$1.37 billion)
- Free cash flow:$850–$950 million (prior: $900–$1,000 million) [6]
So when BAH investors see “CFO leaving,” they’re seeing it through the lens of a company that has already acknowledged a tougher near-term operating environment.
Capital returns: dividends and buybacks still in the picture
Even with a softer outlook, Booz Allen has continued to return capital:
- The company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share payable December 2, 2025 to shareholders of record November 14, 2025. [7]
- It also reported 2.7% of outstanding shares repurchased in the first half of fiscal 2026. [8]
For income-focused investors, outside sources also pegged Booz Allen’s annualized dividend around $2.20 per share (paid quarterly), with the most recent ex-dividend date noted as Nov. 14, 2025. [9]
Insider signal: CEO Horacio Rozanski bought shares near today’s levels
One detail that keeps popping up in BAH discussions: the CEO has recently put real money behind the stock.
A Form 4 filing shows Horacio D. Rozanski, Booz Allen’s President and CEO, bought 23,800 shares on October 30, 2025 at a weighted average price of $84.66 (the filing notes multiple transactions between $84.24 and $85.02). [10]
That doesn’t immunize the stock from drops (markets are not sentimental), but it does give investors a concrete reference point: BAH is now trading around the CEO’s recent buy zone.
Contract momentum: the $99 million Navy wireless/5G award
Booz Allen’s growth story is still heavily tied to winning and scaling mission-critical federal work—especially where cyber and next-gen connectivity intersect.
In November 2025, the company announced it had been awarded a $99 million contract by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command to engineer, deploy, and sustain wireless networks on government-operated ships, aimed at improving connectivity for civil service mariners. [11]
While $99 million isn’t “needle-moving” by itself for a firm of Booz Allen’s size, it reinforces the strategic narrative Booz Allen keeps pushing: national-security-adjacent tech (including 5G/NextG, cyber, and mission systems) is where demand is healthiest.
Analyst forecasts and price targets for Booz Allen stock
Wall Street’s view of Booz Allen is… mixed-to-cautious, with noticeable dispersion in targets.
Consensus ratings: “Hold” is common
- MarketBeat lists a consensus rating of “Hold” for Booz Allen, with an average price target around $109.33 (and a wide range between low and high targets). [12]
- MarketScreener also shows a “Hold” consensus, with an average target price around $100.73 (based on the analyst set it tracks). [13]
The practical takeaway: analysts aren’t broadly calling BAH a screaming buy right now—but many models still imply upside from yesterday’s close, assuming execution stabilizes and funding friction eases.
The bear case exists (and it’s loud)
MarketBeat notes that Goldman Sachs issued a Sell rating and cut its price target to $80 in an October research update (as reported by the outlet). [14]
With BAH now trading around the mid‑$80s today, that bearish target suddenly feels less theoretical—one reason today’s move has investors re-checking where the true “floor” might be if the civil recovery drags.
Guidance vs. Street expectations (a key tension)
MarketBeat’s earnings page also highlights that Booz Allen’s updated fiscal 2026 EPS guidance was below the consensus EPS estimate it tracked at the time of the update, and that revenue guidance was below the consensus revenue figure it tracked. [15]
That gap matters because analyst estimates often follow management guidance over time—meaning future target prices can drift if estimate cuts continue.
What investors should watch next (the real catalysts)
1) CFO succession process and investor communication
The CFO seat is not just accounting—it’s forecasting credibility, contract-margin narrative, and the voice investors hear when guidance changes.
The company has said it will search for a permanent CFO and will have COO Kristine Martin Anderson cover the role on an interim basis. [16]
Investors will likely watch for:
- How quickly Booz Allen identifies a replacement
- Whether the successor comes from inside (continuity) or outside (fresh reset)
- Any changes in how guidance and segment commentary are framed
2) Civil funding recovery timing
Booz Allen explicitly pointed to continued funding slowdown and a delayed recovery in the civil business as a driver of performance versus forecast. [17]
If civil budgets thaw faster than expected, BAH can rebound quickly—because in services businesses, utilization and award timing can swing margins with surprising force.
3) Next earnings date: late January is the market’s expectation (but not confirmed)
Third-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings timing varies by tracker:
- MarketScreener lists Jan. 22, 2026 as a projected earnings release date. [18]
- MarketBeat estimates Jan. 30, 2026 based on historical reporting schedules and notes the company has not confirmed. [19]
Translation: expect the next major catalyst in late January 2026, give or take, unless Booz Allen announces otherwise.
4) Backlog conversion and book-to-bill durability
A $40 billion backlog and 1.7x quarterly book-to-bill are powerful signals—if they convert cleanly into revenue at expected margins. [20]
Investors will be looking for:
- Whether backlog growth continues
- Whether contract starts and option exercises accelerate
- Whether recompetes and award delays remain a headwind
The bigger story: Booz Allen is still “in demand,” but the market wants cleaner visibility
Booz Allen’s positioning—deep federal relationships plus high-demand technical work—can be a durable advantage. The company’s own commentary emphasizes continued demand in cyber, AI, and warfighting technologies even as civil funding lags. [21]
But stocks trade on the future, not the résumé. Right now, investors are juggling three competing signals:
- Strong demand indicators (backlog, book-to-bill)
- A reset outlook (lower revenue/EPS guidance)
- A CFO transition arriving right as investors want maximum clarity
That mix is why the market reaction on Dec. 16 was swift—and why the next few months for BAH will likely be about confidence-building as much as contract-winning.
References
1. www.sec.gov, 2. press.spglobal.com, 3. www.sec.gov, 4. www.sec.gov, 5. www.sec.gov, 6. www.sec.gov, 7. www.sec.gov, 8. www.sec.gov, 9. www.nasdaq.com, 10. www.sec.gov, 11. www.businesswire.com, 12. www.marketbeat.com, 13. www.marketscreener.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.marketbeat.com, 16. www.sec.gov, 17. www.sec.gov, 18. www.marketscreener.com, 19. www.marketbeat.com, 20. www.sec.gov, 21. www.sec.gov
