EXPONENT INC (EXPO) Business

Item 1. Business

GENERAL

Exponent, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, (“Exponent”, the “Company”, “we”, “us” and “our”) is a science and engineering consulting firm that provides solutions to complex problems. Our interdisciplinary team of scientists, physicians, engineers, and business consultants draws from more than 90 technical disciplines to solve the most pressing and complicated challenges facing stakeholders today. The firm leverages over 55 years of experience in analyzing accidents and failures to advise clients as they innovate their technologically complex products and processes, ensure the safety and health of their users, and address the challenges of sustainability.

The history of Exponent, Inc. goes back to 1967, with the founding of the partnership Failure Analysis Associates, which was incorporated the following year in California and reincorporated in Delaware as Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. in 1988. The Failure Group, Inc. was organized in 1989 as a holding company for Failure Analysis Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Exponent, Inc. in 1998.

CLIENTS

General

Exponent serves clients in chemical, construction, consumer products, energy, food, beverage and nutrition, government, life sciences, insurance, manufacturing, technology, industrial equipment, transportation and other sectors of the economy. Many of our engagements are initiated directly by large corporations or by lawyers or insurance companies whose clients anticipate, or are engaged in, litigation related to their products, equipment, processes or services. The scope of our services in failure prevention and technology evaluation has grown as the technological complexity of products has increased over the years. During 2025, we provided services representing approximately 21%, 20%, 16% and 11% of revenues to clients in the consumer products industry, energy and utilities industries, transportation industry and chemical industry, respectively.

Pricing and Terms of Engagements

We provide our services on either a fixed-price basis or on a time and material basis, charging in the latter case hourly rates for each staff member involved in a project, based on their skills and experience. Our standard rates for professionals range from $225 to $1,375 per hour. We implement bill rate increase annually at the start of our fiscal year. Our engagement agreements typically provide for monthly billing, require payment of our invoices within 30 days of receipt and permit clients to terminate engagements at any time. Clients normally agree to indemnify us and our personnel against liabilities arising out of the use or application of the results of our work or recommendations.

SERVICES

Exponent provides high quality engineering and scientific consulting services to clients around the world. Our service offerings are provided on a project-by-project basis. Many projects require support from multiple practices. We currently operate the following 17 practices in two reportable operating segments, (i) Engineering and Other Scientific and (ii) Environmental and Health:

ENGINEERING AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC

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Biomechanics

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Biomedical Engineering & Sciences

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Civil & Structural Engineering

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Construction Consulting

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Data Sciences

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Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

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Human Factors

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Materials Science & Electrochemistry

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Mechanical Engineering

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Metallurgical & Corrosion Engineering

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Polymers & Chemistry

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Thermal Sciences

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Vehicle Engineering

ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH

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Chemical Regulation & Food Safety

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Ecological & Biological Sciences

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Environmental & Earth Sciences

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Health Sciences

ENGINEERING AND OTHER SCIENTIFIC

Biomechanics

Our Biomechanics Practice applies engineering principles and biomechanical knowledge to address intricate challenges at the intersection of biology, healthcare, and engineering. Our expertise enables us to comprehend and evaluate the interaction between the human body as a biological system and the physical environment. This analysis facilitates the identification of the causes, nature, and severity of injuries, as well as the potential impact and optimization of human health and well-being. We apply biomechanical principles to assess the injury potential associated with the use and misuse of consumer and industrial products. Furthermore, we extend these principles to support the development and integration of wearable and digital technology solutions, tailored to specific use cases and user outcomes.

Over the past several years, our biomechanics staff conducted analyses of human injuries that occurred while individuals were utilizing a diverse range of products, including recreational vehicles, sporting goods, trucks, trains, aircraft, industrial equipment, and automobiles. Additionally, they evaluated the implications of utilizing protective devices (such as restraint systems, airbags, and helmets) in reducing the likelihood of injury and assessed injuries in various settings, including workplaces, homes, and recreational activities. Our consultants also evaluated product designs for performance, hazards, and injury risks to assist clients with design modifications, address consumer feedback, and respond to regulatory requirements. Finally, they designed and conducted a series of large-scale laboratory-based and subsequent clinical validation and benchmarking efforts to support the design, development, and adoption of fit-for-purpose solutions.

Biomedical Engineering and Sciences

Our Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Practice applies engineering principles and scientific methodologies to medical technologies, including the evaluation of designs and performance of medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biologics. Our engineers and scientists assist clients with characterization of biomaterials, medical devices, and their interactions with pharmaceuticals, cells, and tissues. To assist in regulatory clearance and approval, we perform preclinical testing, help formulate related regulatory strategy, and conduct design verification and validation. We also assist with design and manufacturing failure analyses, root cause assessment, recall management, and medical device explant analysis. In addition, our staff performs analysis of clinical outcomes for medical devices and related procedures using administrative claims databases. Our expertise is also utilized in product liability, intellectual property litigation, regulatory investigation support, technology acquisition and due diligence matters.

Civil & Structural Engineering

Our Civil & Structural Engineering Practice brings together decades of expertise to offer a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to promoting the safety, durability, and economic viability of a wide range of infrastructure assets. We address the challenges inherent in designing, constructing, and maintaining buildings, bridges, tunnels, pipelines, and industrial facilities—investigating the extent to which these structures perform their essential functions under a variety of loading conditions and natural hazards. Our team, which includes structural engineers, geotechnical experts, architects, material scientists, and geologists, is dedicated to identifying and solving complex engineering problems. Whether it is evaluating structural failures due to natural or human-induced phenomena, or investigating soil issues such as landslides, foundation and retaining wall damage, and dam or levee failures, we leverage sophisticated simulation tools, on-site inspections, laboratory testing, and state-of-the-art remote sensing technologies to provide actionable insights and recommendations for remediation.

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In addition to failure investigations and repair recommendations, we specialize in assessment and mitigation of risk to the built environment associated with hazards such as hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, explosions, ground movement, and aging infrastructure. We have assessed such risks to high-rise buildings, bridges, tunnels, industrial facilities, pipelines and nuclear power plant structures and provided testimony in the U.S. and international courts of law. Our expert consultation ensures that clients—from property owners and contractors to utilities and government agencies—receive the highest level of technical support and innovative solutions to complex engineering challenges.

Construction Consulting

Our Construction Consulting Practice provides project advisory, risk management, strategic planning, dispute resolution, and delay and damages analysis services on construction and engineering projects. The practice operates across multiple industry sectors, including utilities, data centers, transportation, infrastructure, oil and gas, power generation, and healthcare.

Our team of advisors and experts is engaged on domestic and international projects, supporting clients throughout the project lifecycle. Engagements range from establishing construction oversight and risk management processes, to managing programs and projects, and analyzing and resolving cost and schedule impact claims. The practice is staffed by a multidisciplinary team that includes construction and civil engineers, project and program managers, project controls engineers, schedulers, and cost engineers. We provide construction consulting services to public and private sector clients, including corporations, law firms, and government agencies.

Data Sciences

Our Data Sciences Practice comprises our core capabilities in artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistics, data analytics, and dedicated data collection. Drawing on experience across a breadth of engineering, science, health, and environmental applications, we assist clients with their most complex data and analysis challenges at all stages of the product or process life cycle. Our team of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers decodes complex systems and gathers the right data for better performance, reliability, and security. User-focused visualizations support data-driven decision-making and help clients measure risks and benefits to determine appropriate courses of action. Using rigorous statistical methods, our team can help assess and improve quality and reliability and mitigate risk. Our experience helps clients build products that perform for a wide variety of users while preventing data bias, collecting personal data with consideration for privacy, and managing the risks associated with global data collection.

During the past year, our team worked on diverse projects for industrial, government, and legal clients. We performed advanced model development to manage risks for physical systems, assessments of manufacturing quality systems, large-scale data collections to train algorithms, and developed sampling plans associated with product recall campaigns.

Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

Our Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Practice offers a broad range of expertise to address complex issues for industrial, government and legal clients. Our power engineers advise clients on challenges relating to reliability of electrical systems, failures in power generation, transmission and distribution, such as for powering Artificial Intelligence Data Centers, as well as on distributed generation, and renewables. In the area of energy storage, we are a leader in the industry in expertise and capabilities for safety of large format batteries, such as Electric Vehicles and Battery Energy Storage Systems.

Our team of electronic engineers works on failure analysis, product robustness and reliability for consumer devices, industrial electronics and the health industry. Our computer scientists and engineers advise high-tech industry clients and work with computer-controlled applications to evaluate product safety and software reliability. The computer science and engineering expertise we offer encompasses a breadth of areas including machine learning and artificial intelligence, information and numerical sciences, algorithms and data structures, computer graphics, computer architecture, networking and communications, as well as cybersecurity and cryptography. We operate laboratories for testing heavy equipment and electronics and we have broad capabilities in computer software analysis.

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Over the past year, we performed a wide array of investigations ranging from assessing damage to electrical power infrastructure from the effect of weather-related events to working with clients to develop sophisticated machine learning algorithms applied to large quantities of unstructured data. We continue to work with consumer electronics manufacturers and the transportation industry on the reliability and robustness of computer-controlled equipment for user safety.

Human Factors

Our Human Factors Practice evaluates human performance and safety in product and system use. Our consultants study how the limitations and capabilities of people, including memory, perception, sensation, attention, reaction time, judgment, physical size and dexterity, affect the way they use a product, interact with other people, an organization or an environment, process information or participate in an activity.

We review instructions, warnings and labeling issues related to consumer products, pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, medical devices and industrial products and processes supporting the development of safety information and collateral materials to accompany products and processes and assessing claims that the information provided was inadequate.

We apply our expertise in human behavior, warnings, and decision making in class action suits, and in evaluating claims seeking to establish, or certify, a class. In addition, we assist manufacturers with compliance with regulatory guidelines related to products and facility procedures and work with them regarding analysis of adverse event reports and consumer complaints in publicly available databases overseen by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

We examine the role that attention plays in human perception, sensation, memory, and behavior, and how attention, inattention, and distraction may affect safety in a wide range of settings and activities (e.g., operating vehicles and machinery, walking, and using consumer products). We address the reliability of human memory and retrospective reporting in the gathering of fact-based evidence. We utilize scientific investigations and research (e.g., human perception, reaction time, and looking behavior) to assess driver behavior in both accident investigations and during the design of automotive systems. Our Human Factors scientists have been actively engaged in research and project work supporting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, covering topics such as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and automated vehicle technology, in order to understand and advise our clients on how these technologies may change the nature and dynamic of driving, and the role and performance of the driver.

We provide User Experience research, including focus groups, usability testing, and complex user studies with custom-tailored designs and analyses, across a wide range of industries, including consumer electronics, medical devices, and vehicle technologies. Our state-of-the-art Phoenix User Research Center, with 5,000 square feet of research space, has six lab suites, including a dedicated focus group room, an ophthalmological lab, a motion capture lab, and wearable eye tracking technology, plus connectivity to our vehicle test track. The scope of Human Factors engagements ranges from consulting on our clients’ research to providing turnkey research solutions.

We perform incident investigations and root cause analyses of near-misses and accidents involving human error in occupational and industrial settings. Our Human Factors scientists have advanced technical systems training and experience required to understand how humans contribute to the initiation of, and emergency response to, explosions, fires, chemical releases, and major equipment failures in the manufacturing, utility, oil and gas, and construction industries, among others. We also capitalize on this knowledge to conduct human error risk and culture assessments to help clients proactively control human performance gaps, improve occupational and process safety performance, and create administrative controls and procedures.

In addition to helping clients address the frequency and severity of incidents related to human error, fatigue, and performance, these and other similar project activities can be leveraged to improve efficiency, reliability, and maintainability of normal operations.

Materials Science & Electrochemistry

Our Materials Science & Electrochemistry Practice leverages expertise in materials behavior and electrochemical systems to help clients design safer, more reliable, and higher‑performing products. As advanced materials and electrochemical technologies have become increasingly central to modern devices, understanding how they function — and fail — is essential to ensuring product safety, durability, and competitive performance.

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We apply decades of experience in materials characterization, failure analysis, and product development to evaluate how materials respond to mechanical, chemical, thermal, and environmental stresses. Our consultants address challenges involving brittle materials, thin films, coatings, nanomaterials, optical materials, and transport phenomena, helping clients select appropriate materials, assess performance, and optimize functionality.

Our electrochemistry expertise supports technologies such as batteries, fuel cells, sensors, electrolysis systems, and industrial electrochemical processes. We assist clients in understanding degradation mechanisms, evaluating safety and reliability, and advancing next‑generation electrochemical designs.

Over the past several years, our teams have conducted multidisciplinary investigations involving product failures, performance claims, and risk assessments across industries including consumer electronics, energy, medical device, and transportation. We also provide expert witness support in matters involving product liability, intellectual property, and trade secrets, supported by our strong foundation in direct industrial consulting.

Mechanical Engineering

We provide clients with a detailed analysis of current and alternative designs of mechanical systems to identify vulnerabilities before failures occur, develop appropriate risk mitigation methods, and provide post-failure investigations.

Our consultants review the performance and reliability of industrial processes, manufactured products, and engineered systems, and we determine the root cause of failures. Further, we assist in legal and insurance matters, failure investigations, product recall investigations, internal compliance programs, product development, workplace safety evaluations, and intellectual property matters.

Our staff members develop and utilize detailed and validated computational models and laboratory experimental methods to evaluate products, systems, and equipment. We perform field inspections, rely on industry standards, and use operational data to inform our analyses. We have performed these activities in a broad range of industries including transportation, energy, industrial equipment, building systems, medical devices, and consumer products.

During the past year, our mechanical engineers worked on a wide variety of projects including international construction disputes, product recalls, and mechanical safety in product development.

Metallurgical & Corrosion Engineering

Our in-depth knowledge of materials science, corrosion, and metallurgical engineering combined with the breadth of our collective experience across many industries and disciplines gives our Metallurgical & Corrosion Engineering Practice the ability to efficiently provide our clients with solutions to their complex problems. We use our knowledge and experience to understand how and why materials, products, and processes may not perform their intended function. Further, we use this knowledge to help our clients minimize the risk for future failures of new products as well as current construction and aging infrastructure.

Over the past year, our Metallurgical & Corrosion Engineering Practice helped clients solve critical materials-related issues in the transportation, energy, utilities, infrastructure, medical device, and chemical processing fields. Our support of dispute resolution in international arbitration, domestic litigation, and general product liability fields was supported by our strong position in direct industrial consulting.

Polymers & Chemistry

Our Polymers and Chemistry Practice consults with industrial, government, legal, insurance and individual clients regarding polymers and textiles used in diverse applications as well as the chemistry, materials and processing aspects of infrastructure, medical device, automotive, construction, and other products that depend on highly controlled manufacturing environments.

We assist clients in understanding the short- and long-term performance of plastic, rubber, adhesive, coating, composite and other polymer-based material systems when challenged by physical, chemical, thermal, and other operational stressors. Our work also includes customized chemical, mechanical, thermal, and rheological testing and leverages expanding internal infrastructure for instrumented analysis and advanced imaging capabilities.

Our consultants participate in product development programs, perform failure analyses, intellectual property assessment and provide support to clients involved in regulatory and legal proceedings. Clients value our technical

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expertise related to chemistry, formulation, manufacturing and materials performance, our understanding of the history and evolution of these materials, and our ability to assist them in identifying and incorporating emerging materials and manufacturing technologies into their businesses.

During the past year, significant program activities addressed aspects of consumer electronics, wearable devices, implantable medical devices, drug delivery systems, medical diagnostics, building materials, fluid handling systems, oil and gas applications, the plastics supply chain, fire retardancy and flammability, technology scouting, materials science aspects of health risk, service life prediction, sustainability, and intellectual property related to consumer, recreational, medical, pharmaceutical, food packaging, conventional and alternative energy, and other products.

Thermal Sciences

Our Thermal Sciences Practice provides expert analysis to investigate failures involving thermo-fluid systems, fires, and explosions in industrial, residential, commercial, and transportation sectors. We have investigated and analyzed thousands of thermal incidents ranging from high loss accidents in the oil and gas sector and major wildland fires, to small insurance claims. Information gained from these analyses has allowed us to also assist clients in proactively making their assets and products safer.

Our staff, consisting of mechanical, chemical, fire protection, aeronautical and astronautical and nuclear engineers, have assisted clients in assessing risk to, and from, their facilities, consumer product recalls, regulatory compliance and frequently provide expert testimony in domestic litigation and international arbitration. Our engineers use advanced computational fluid dynamics, fire, and explosion modeling tools to supplement our analytical, experimental, and field-based activities. Preventive services include process safety hazard analysis for the chemical, oil and gas, and semiconductor industries, fire protection engineering, product development support, risk-based asset management, and dust explosion consulting.

In recent years, our Thermal Sciences Practice has developed tools to evaluate fire and explosion risks of lithium-ion batteries in applications including consumer products, vehicles, and grid-scale energy storage. We continue to be very active in wildland fire investigation and continue to assist our clients in making informed risk-based decisions related to their assets and wildfires. We have also developed analytical tools to assist utility clients assess the risk of ignition from their infrastructure.

During the past year, we have continued our work in oil and gas exploration and production, liquefied natural gas and downstream oil and gas. Our work in fire detection and protection related issues has remained strong, and our work in consumer product recall and international arbitration has continued.

Vehicle Engineering

We have performed thousands of investigations for the automotive, trucking, recreational vehicle, marine, aerospace, and rail industries. Internal research programs and client projects have resulted in technological contributions that have assisted manufacturers in the understanding of product performance and provided insight to government agencies in establishing policy and regulations. Information gained from these analyses has also assisted clients in assessing preventive measures related to the design of their products, as well as evaluating failures.

Our Test and Engineering Center located in Phoenix, Arizona, is used for our most complex testing and analysis. We have gained a worldwide reputation for our ability to mobilize resources expeditiously and efficiently, integrate a broad array of technical disciplines, and provide valuable insight that is objective and withstands rigorous scrutiny. Many of our projects involve addressing the cause of accidents and our clients rely on us to determine what happened in an accident and why it happened. In many cases, clients also want us to assess what could have been done to reduce the severity of the accident or to mitigate occupant injuries to those involved.

Current advances in emerging transportation technologies and concepts allow our multi-disciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and analysts across numerous practices to focus on the development and implementation of connected vehicles, automated vehicles, connected/smart cities, and data analyses. Whether the objective is design analysis, component testing, failure analysis, or accident reconstruction, our knowledge of vehicle systems and engineering principles coupled with our experience from conducting full-scale tests aim to add insight and proficiency to every project.

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ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES

Chemical Regulation & Food Safety

Our Chemical Regulation and Food Safety Practice includes both technical and regulatory specialists who are experts in dealing with foods, food ingredients, dietary supplements, pesticides and biocides (including conventional chemicals, microbials, antimicrobials/biocides, biopesticides, emerging technologies and products of biotechnology), industrial chemicals, pesticide/biocide devices, consumer products, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. We provide practical, scientific and regulatory support to meet global business objectives at every stage of the product life cycle, from research and development to retail and beyond.

During the past year, our Chemical Regulation and Food Safety staff have conducted a wide array of work. The European and U.S. sides of the practice were jointly involved with ongoing support of several new pesticide active ingredients and end-use products. The European side of our business was involved with many projects related to plant protection and biocidal product regulatory submissions, from new active substances and those under review to product-specific dossiers for European Union member states and the United Kingdom. This has included new technologies in plant protection that meet the regulatory pressures to achieve greater sustainability. We have also provided support for reviews of a large number of biocidal products through European and South Korean regulatory reviews. In addition, we provided many specialist assessments relating to human and environmental exposure, risk and product efficacy as well as national and international Maximum Residue Limit/import tolerance submissions covering countries such as South Korea and Japan. The U.S. side of our business was also involved in many projects related to agrochemical, antimicrobial, emerging technologies and biochemical product regulatory submissions and approvals in the U.S., Canada, Brazil and Mexico. These included new active ingredients, end-use products, emerging technologies and import tolerances (EPA and FDA). In addition, we have supported several clients in the U.S. with U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act and U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service compliance. We have supported clients with scientific and regulatory human and environmental exposure, risk assessments and product reviews. In Europe and the U.S., we continued to provide clients with regulatory compliance support for food contact materials, food additives, novel foods, nutrition-related analysis, as well as undertaking safety assessments for food and consumer products.

We also provided proactive and reactive product safety and litigation support. For industrial chemicals, we continued to provide full regulatory support for our clients who prepared and submitted registrations and risk assessments. Our European and U.S. offices were active in supporting our clients with their E.U. and U.K. Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals and Toxic Substances Control Act regulatory requirements.

Ecological & Biological Sciences

Our ecological and biological scientists provide strategic support on issues related to the environment and natural resources damages associated with chemicals and forest fires, international environmental disputes, ecosystem service assessments for businesses, adverse weather events/climate change, ecological risk assessment, ecotoxicology, novel remediation methods, restoration of wetlands and other natural resources, large development projects, resource utilization (such as mineral mining, oil and gas, wood pulp, transportation, etc.), agriculture land-use impacts, genomic assessments, product stewardship, and the use of chemicals and other products in commerce. Focusing on both legacy and emerging contaminants, the practice specializes in assessing the integrated effects of chemical, biological, and physical stressors on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Many of these assessments utilize a causal analysis approach to determine causation systematically and transparently in complex and interrelated situations. The practice is comprised of nationally and internationally recognized experts that cover disciplines related to the fate and effects of chemical constituents and other stressors, including the ecological implications and risks associated with these projects.

Environmental & Earth Sciences

Our environmental scientists and engineers provide cost-effective, scientifically defensible and realistic assessments and solutions to complex environmental issues. We offer technical, regulatory, and litigation support to industries that include oil and gas, mining and minerals, chemicals, forest products, railroads, aerospace, development, and trade associations, and to municipal and governmental clients. Our consultants specialize in the areas of environmental fate and transport, environmental chemistry and forensics, remediation consulting, environmental engineering and waste management, and natural resources damages assessment.

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Our expertise also includes hydrology and hydrogeology, modeling and monitoring, water quality, water rights and water resources, extreme weather event and climate change risk management, and evaluation of environmental and social risks.

Our work frequently involves complex and high visibility environmental problems and issues, often the focus of environmental or toxic tort claims, where evaluation of contamination and historical reconstruction of events, releases, and doses are central to problem resolution.

We provide case-specific strategic and advisory consulting on risk mitigation, planning, and environmental regulatory and policy issues, as well as high-level technical strategic consulting to support critical business decisions and for complex matters where understanding the long-term implications of early technical actions is critical to managing overall liability.

Health Sciences

Our Health Sciences team includes epidemiologists, toxicologists, industrial hygienists, exposure scientists, biostatisticians, human health risk assessors, and physicians who collectively apply scientific, and medical principles to evaluate, characterize, and communicate human health risks in diverse occupational, environmental, community, and consumer settings. Our consultants bring decades of leadership experience across federal agencies, public health institutions, academia, and private industry, and are both nationally and internationally recognized for their expertise in toxicology, exposure science, risk assessment, chemical stewardship, and environmental health.

Our team provides proactive and responsive support to clients seeking to assess and mitigate human health risks associated with chemicals, pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, and industrial processes. This includes evaluation of potential exposures arising from product formulation and use, facility-specific site activities, environmental releases, and waste management. We also conduct in-depth scientific analyses to support clients addressing claims of adverse health effects linked to chemical exposures, product use, occupational activities, or alleged contamination events.

Our Health Sciences consultants have deep experience evaluating exposures to a wide array of chemical agents—including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS), volatile organic compounds, 1,4‑dioxane, petrochemicals, pesticides, metals, solvents, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), asbestos, and airborne particulate matter, as well as physical agents such as power‑frequency electromagnetic fields, and biological agents including bacteria, molds/fungi, and other microorganisms.

Our expertise spans the evaluation of health risks in occupational, residential, community, pharmaceutical, and consumer‑product contexts. We regularly conduct exposure simulations and exposure reconstruction studies using laboratory and field‑based approaches, and integrate toxicological, epidemiological, and mechanistic evidence to interpret potential human health outcomes. We also design health‑protective exposure controls, contribute to corporate risk‑management strategies for both emerging and legacy contaminants, and support occupational safety evaluations across a variety of industries.

Our team’s work includes community‑wide and site‑specific environmental health assessments; disease cluster evaluations; survey research; cohort and case‑control studies; application of real‑world data platforms; advanced exposure simulation studies; biologically based modeling; weight‑of‑evidence evaluations; meta‑analyses; and systematic reviews addressing toxicological, epidemiological, and mechanistic data. Our team members routinely interpret and develop human‑health criteria, assess risk across the full lifecycle of products (from manufacturing through use and end‑of‑life), support due‑diligence evaluations, and analyze potential liabilities associated with chemical constituents and exposures.

Our Health Sciences team also applies extensive experience in risk communication—supporting community engagement for populations near industrial facilities, energy production sites, and environmental releases; communicating complex scientific concepts to regulators, legal teams, and public audiences; and assisting clients with navigating federal, state, and international frameworks governing chemical safety, environmental compliance, and public health protection.

We collaborate closely with colleagues in Biomechanics, Biomedical Engineering & Sciences, Data Sciences, Human Factors, Polymer Science & Chemistry, Environmental & Earth Sciences, and additional technical disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach enhances our capabilities in toxic tort litigation, chemical and materials risk management, environmental remediation, healthcare data science (including use of electronic health records and claims data), and

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evaluation of vulnerable or high‑risk populations. Our collective expertise allows us to deliver clear, comprehensive, scientifically grounded insights that enable clients to make informed, defensible, and data‑driven decisions regarding human health risks.

COMPETITION

The marketplace for our services is fragmented and we face different sources of competition in providing various services. In addition, the services that we provide to some of our clients can be performed in-house by those clients. Clients that have the capability to perform such services themselves will retain Exponent or other independent consultants because of independence concerns.

In each of our practices, we believe that the principal competitive factors are: technical capability and breadth of services, ability to deliver services on a timely basis, professional reputation and knowledge of litigation and regulatory processes. Although we believe that we generally compete favorably in each of these areas, some of our competitors may be able to provide services acceptable to our clients at lower prices.

We believe that the barriers to entry are low and that for many of our technical disciplines, competition is increasing. In response to competitive forces in the marketplace, we continue to look for new markets for our various technical disciplines.

HUMAN CAPITAL

We are a global engineering and scientific consulting firm that partners with clients to deliver breakthrough insights and answers. In a world experiencing accelerating change over our 55+ years in business, we still deliver the same vital promise: technical excellence, unrivaled expertise, and a unique multidisciplinary approach to asking and answering the right questions. Our vision is to work together, with our teams and our clients, to solve the most formidable scientific and engineering challenges to create a safe, healthier, sustainable world.

We work toward this vision by creating an unrivaled environment of engineering and scientific expertise, collaboration, and opportunity for exceptional people to achieve breakthrough insights and objective solutions for our clients’ vital challenges. Attracting, exciting, developing, and rewarding these people is central to our mission and our success. Our culture actively supports the development of our professionals and their potential by creating a stimulating, growth-oriented, and inclusive environment.

We keep our values and responsibilities front-and-center in everything we do: our hiring, our training, our processes, and our daily effort. These values include objectivity and work grounded in evidence and facts; excellence in our work and rigorous commitment to the highest standards of quality and integrity; respect and care for our teammates, peers, and partners; a commitment to a diversity of ideas, disciplines, and lived experiences; and a shared belief in the importance of service, responsibility, and making a positive difference for our peers, our professions, and our communities.

We advance scientific and engineering knowledge through the work of employees, but also through a comprehensive commitment to education, teaching, mentoring, publishing, and serving. Recognized leaders in their fields, Exponent staff serve on more than 250 individual scientific and engineering committees and advisory boards. Others serve in leadership roles or are actively working to develop technical standards. Exponent’s professionals routinely contribute to peer-reviewed scientific literature and publish articles, chapters, and books each year. To date, Exponent staff have published more than 1,200 articles in scientific and engineering journals. And today, more than 50 Exponent consultants serve as professors, lecturers, instructors, and advisors at universities and academic institutions across the country and around the world.

As of January 2, 2026, we employed 1,212 full-time, part-time and intermittent employees, including 949 engineering and scientific staff, 62 technical support staff and 201 administrative and support staff. Our staff includes 922 employees with advanced degrees, of which 731 employees have achieved doctorate degrees. As of January 2, 2026 approximately 89% of our employees were located in the United States and 11% were located in other global regions.

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Technical full-time equivalent employees is a key metric that we use to analyze our revenues. During 2025 technical full-time equivalent employees increased 1% to 973 as compared to 967 during the prior year. To ensure a compelling total rewards philosophy and practice, we have practices in place to deliver fair and equitable compensation for employees based on their contribution and performance. We also offer a comprehensive set of benefits for employees and their families.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

The address of our Internet website is www.exponent.com. We make available, free of charge through our website, access to our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other periodic and current Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) reports, along with amendments to all of those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we file or furnish the reports with the SEC. Copies of material filed or furnished by us with the SEC may also be obtained by writing to us at our corporate headquarters, Exponent, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, 149 Commonwealth Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025, or by calling (650) 326-9400. The content of our Internet website is not incorporated into and is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

The executive officers of Exponent and their ages as of February 27, 2026 are as follows:

Executive officers of Exponent are appointed by the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) and serve at the discretion of the Board of Directors until the appointment of their successors. There is no family relationship between any of the directors and officers of the Company.

Catherine Ford Corrigan, Ph.D., joined the Company in 1996. She was promoted to Principal in the Biomechanics practice in 2002 and was appointed Group Vice President in May 2012. Dr. Corrigan was named President in July 2016. She was named Chief Executive Officer and elected to the Board of Directors in May 2018. Dr. Corrigan earned her Ph.D. (1996) in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics and M.S. (1992) in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Corrigan was a researcher in the Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory at Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School. On February 9, 2021, Dr. Corrigan was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Brad A. James, Ph.D., joined the Company in 1994. He was promoted to Principal Engineer in 2005 and was appointed Corporate Vice President in 2014. Dr. James was appointed Group Vice President on January 4, 2020. Dr. James received his Ph.D. (1994) in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and his B.S. (1988) in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Washington. He is a licensed professional engineer in the states of California and Texas. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. James was employed as a Research Engineer, Materials Performance Division, at the Babcock and Wilcox R&D Center.

Brian Kundert, joined the Company on July 10, 2023 as Vice President - Human Resources and was promoted to Chief Human Resources Officer on March 16, 2024. Prior to joining Exponent, Mr. Kundert was most recently the Global Director of Human Resources for the Resilience division at Arcadis, a global design and consulting company,

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where he worked for 19 years. Mr. Kundert holds a B.A. (1996) in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.

John D. Pye, Ph.D., joined the Company in 1999. He was promoted to Principal Engineer in 2006 and was appointed Corporate Vice President in 2009. Dr. Pye was appointed Group Vice President in January 2014 and was appointed Vice President of Global Offices and Innovation on November 22, 2024. Dr. Pye received his Ph.D. (1999) in Aerospace Engineering from Stanford University, M.S. (1993) in Aerospace Engineering from Stanford University, and B.A.Sc. (1992) in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto, Canada. He is a Registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in the State of California. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Pye held a research position in the Aerospace Fluid Mechanics Lab at Stanford University where he was responsible for the renovation and redesign of the Stanford Low-Speed wind tunnel as well as managing the Stanford experimental facilities for the Stanford/NASA Ames Joint Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Joseph Rakow, Ph.D., joined the Company in 2005. He was promoted to Principal Engineer in 2012 and was appointed Corporate Vice President in 2021. Dr. Rakow was appointed Group Vice President on April 1, 2023. Dr. Rakow received his Ph.D. (2005) in Aerospace Engineering and M.S. (2000) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, and B.S. (1999) in Physics from the University of California, Davis. He is a licensed professional engineer in the state of California and a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Rakow held teaching and research positions at the University of Michigan and Sandia National Laboratories. As a volunteer, Dr. Rakow serves on multiple academic advisory boards at the university level and as a Structures Specialist with FEMA Urban Search & Rescue.

Richard Reiss, Sc.D., joined the Company in 2006 as a Principal Scientist. He was promoted to Group Vice President in January 2015. Dr. Reiss earned his Sc.D. (1994) in Environmental Health from the Harvard University School of Public Health, M.S. (1991) in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University and B.S. (1989) in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to joining Exponent he was a Vice President with Sciences International. Dr. Reiss is a Fellow of the Society of Risk Analysis.

Maureen T.F. Reitman, Sc.D., joined the Company in 2002. She was promoted to Principal Engineer in 2006 and was appointed Corporate Vice President in 2014. Dr. Reitman was appointed Group Vice President on January 4, 2020. Dr. Reitman received her Sc.D. (1993) in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her B.S. (1990) in Materials Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a registered Professional Mechanical Engineer in the state of Maryland and a fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Reitman worked for the 3M Company in both research and management roles. Her activities at 3M included technology identification, materials selection and qualification, product development, customer support, program management, acquisition integration, intellectual property analysis, and patent litigation support. On February 6, 2024, Dr. Reitman was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Joseph Sala, Ph.D., joined the Company in 2005. He was promoted to Principal Scientist in 2012 and was appointed Corporate Vice President in 2019. Dr. Sala was appointed Group Vice President on November 22, 2024. Dr. Sala received his Ph.D. (2004) in Psychology and M.A. (2001) in Psychology and Brain Sciences from John Hopkins University and B.A. (1998) in Psychology and B.S. (1998) in Administration of Justice from Rutgers University. Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Sala was a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University where he focused his research on the cognitive neuroscience of human information processing, the brain mechanisms underlying learning, memory, vision, and cognitive control, and their behavioral manifestations.

Richard L. Schlenker, Jr., joined the Company in 1990. Mr. Schlenker is the Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company. He was appointed Executive Vice President in April 2010, Chief Financial Officer in July 1999 and Secretary of the Company in November 1997. Mr. Schlenker was the Director of Human Resources from 1998 until his appointment as Chief Financial Officer. He was the Manager of Corporate Development from 1996 until 1998. From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Schlenker was a Business Manager, where he managed the business activities for multiple consulting practices within the Company. Prior to 1993, he held several different positions in finance and accounting within the Company. Mr. Schlenker holds a B.S. in Finance from the University of Southern California.