Robert Half Stock Rockets 14% as Staffing Firm Posts First Profit Growth Since 2022 and Signals Hiring Rebound

NEW YORK — Robert Half shares rose more than 14% in early trading Friday, extending a two-day rally. The staffing and consulting company reported its first year-over-year increase in quarterly earnings since 2022 and forecast stronger profit for the fourth quarter.

The stock gained $5.32 to $43.00, after rising 8.8% during Thursday's regular session before the results. It is now near the top of its 52-week range of $21.83 to $46.70.

Menlo Park, California-based Robert Half reported third-quarter net income of $49.9 million, or 49 cents per share, up from $42.9 million, or 43 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected 47 cents per share. Revenue was $1.359 billion, in line with forecasts and roughly flat with last year.

"For the third quarter of 2026, global enterprise revenues were $1.359 billion, roughly flat with last year on an adjusted basis," President and CEO M. Keith Waddell said in a statement.

Staffing business returns to growth

The bigger signal for investors was in the staffing division. Talent Solutions, which places contract and permanent workers, posted 2% adjusted revenue growth from a year earlier. It was the unit's first annual growth since 2022, after a long slump in white-collar hiring.

Permanent placement revenue rose 6%, and contract staffing revenue rose 1%. Bill rates for contract workers climbed 3.6% from a year earlier, up from a 2.3% increase in the second quarter.

Waddell said demand is being driven by employers looking for specialized skills.

"Highly skilled professionals remain difficult to find, particularly in specialized disciplines," he told analysts on Thursday's conference call.

He said AI is changing what employers want rather than eliminating jobs in the professions the company serves.

"Rather than broadly displacing specialized roles, these technologies are instead adding to the skills employers value," Waddell said.

He described the recovery as gradual. "It's not a hockey stick, but it's a steady rise that we've seen for a few quarters now that we see no reason wouldn't continue," he said.

Early fourth-quarter figures support that. Contract revenue for the first two weeks of October was up 2% from a year earlier, and permanent placement revenue for the first three weeks was up 5%.

Banking crackdown helps consulting unit

Protiviti, the company's consulting arm, saw adjusted revenue fall 3% in the quarter, but results beat management's expectations. Its technology consulting practice posted record quarterly revenue.

Waddell said regulators have sharply increased demand for anti-money-laundering work.

"During the last 90 days, Treasury Department regulators imposed significant fines and major enforcement actions against multiple large financial institutions," he said. He added that the projects are likely to last multiple quarters and rely heavily on contract workers supplied by the staffing division.

The company expects Protiviti to return to year-over-year revenue growth in the fourth quarter.

Margins widen

Profit grew much faster than sales. Reported operating income rose to $74.8 million from $13.6 million a year earlier. Adjusted operating margin widened to 5.3% from 4.5%. Operating income in the staffing division rose 50%.

Earlier restructuring helped. Waddell said payroll savings from last quarter's cost cuts are worth about $11 million a quarter.

Outlook

For the fourth quarter, Robert Half forecast:

Revenue of $1.285 billion to $1.385 billion. The midpoint is about 3% above last year on an adjusted basis. Earnings of 36 cents to 46 cents per share. The midpoint of 41 cents would be 30% higher than a year earlier.

Waddell said demand is still focused on work clients cannot put off, rather than broad discretionary hiring. He said companies remain cautious because of inflation, interest rates and geopolitical risk, and the economy has not yet had the kind of "clearing event" that has started past hiring upturns.

Robert Half is often watched as an early indicator of the U.S. white-collar job market. The results suggest professional hiring may be stabilizing after a long downturn, even as broader economic uncertainty continues.

The company paid a quarterly dividend of 59 cents per share in September. Before Friday, the stock had risen about 47% this year.