Company Reports

We will discontinue analyst coverage of Robert Half on or about Dec. 21. We provide analyst research and ratings on over 1,500 companies globally and periodically adjust our coverage according to investor interest and staffing.

Robert Half is a leading global staffing firm in a highly fragmented industry. The firm’s pricing power should persist, given its deep penetration into the small-midsize-business market. Local and regional staffers can win business on the fringes, but Robert Half’s decades of industry knowledge and well-established client relationships are hefty barriers that should keep smaller competitors at bay.

We expect to decrease narrow-moat-rated Robert Half’s $94 fair value estimate by 2% to 4%. Hiring demand continues to soften given the uncertain macroeconomic landscape. Robert Half’s third-quarter consolidated revenue of $1.56 billion decreased nearly 15% year on year but lies within management’s previous guidance. Diluted earnings per share of $0.90 also met expectations, in fact, results were at the upper end of the management's prior guidance. We see management meeting the upper end of guidance as a positive sign. In our view, it demonstrates the firm is weathering the current climate. Management released fourth-quarter EPS and revenue guidance of $0.82 and $1.47 billion at their respective midpoints, signaling that customer hiring activities will still stagnate. Nonetheless, we think the stock remains undervalued, and we maintain our long-term thesis on Robert Half’s strong competitive positioning.

Robert Half is a leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry. The firm’s pricing power should persist, given its deep penetration into the small-midsize-business market. Local and regional staffers can win business on the fringes, but Robert Half’s decades of industry knowledge and well-established client relationships are hefty barriers that should keep smaller competitors at bay.

Robert Half stands as a leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry. The firm’s pricing power should persist, given its deep penetration into the small-midsize-business market. Local and regional staffers can win business on the fringes, but Robert Half’s decades of industry knowledge and well-established client relationships are hefty barriers that should keep smaller competitors at bay.

Narrow-moat-rated Robert Half reported weak 2023 second-quarter results, as hiring demand continues to soften. Management released third-quarter EPS and revenue guidance of $0.83 and $1.53 billion at their respective midpoints, signaling performance to regress to 2021 quarantine levels. We curtail revenue and margin projections for the second half of the year and decrease our fair value estimate by 4% to $94 from $98. However, we maintain our long-term thesis on Robert Half’s strong competitive positioning. We think the stock remains undervalued and currently trades at a 15% discount in 4-star territory.

Robert Half remains one of the leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry. The firm’s pricing power should persist, given its deep penetration into the small-midsize-business market. Local and regional staffers can win business on the fringes, but Robert Half’s decades of industry knowledge and well-established client relationships are hefty barriers that should keep smaller competitors at bay.

Robert Half remains one of the leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry. We expect the firm’s pricing power to persist, given its deep penetration into the small-midsize-business market. Local and regional staffers can win business on the fringes, but Robert Half’s decades of industry knowledge and well-established client relationships are hefty barriers that should keep smaller competitors at bay.

We raise narrow moat-rated Robert Half’s fair value estimate to $98 from $97, driven by the time value of money. We remain optimistic about the firm’s brand equity and network effects bolstering its pricing power. Furthermore, we still think the stock is undervalued.

Robert Half remains one of the leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry. The company places skilled professionals in accounting, finance, and IT roles. We think its hold on small to midsize businesses or SMBs will persist, given its ability to fill open roles quickly and these SMBs' willingness to sign exclusive contracts. We believe this will yield greater profitability for Robert Half, despite operating in a highly cyclical industry.

Narrow-moat Robert Half reported first-quarter results slightly below the midpoints but still within management's previous guidance ranges for both revenue and earnings per share. We modestly increase our fair value estimate to $97 from $95, driven mainly by the time value of money. Management released second-quarter 2023 revenue and EPS guidance of $1.695 billion and $1.14 at each respective midpoint. Second-quarter guidance represents a significant drop from last year's second-quarter earnings of $1.60; revenue also is expected to decrease by 9% on an adjusted basis. While we acknowledge near-term macro related headwinds, we still think Robert Half is well positioned in the highly cyclical and competitive recruiting industry over the long term. The stock remains undervalued, in our view.

Robert Half should remain one of the leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry. The company places skilled professionals in accounting, finance, and IT roles. We think its hold on small to midsize businesses or SMBs will persist, given its ability to fill open roles quickly and these SMBs' willingness to sign exclusive contracts. We believe this will yield greater profitability for Robert Half, despite operating in a highly cyclical industry.

Narrow-moat Robert Half reported solid results in the fourth quarter of 2022, but with disappointing guidance. We maintain our $89 fair value estimate, but will re-evaluate once the company releases its 10-K. Management released first-quarter 2023 revenue and EPS guidance of $1.725 billion and $1.15 at each respective midpoint. First-quarter guidance represents a significant stepdown from last year’s first-quarter earnings of $1.52, though the stepdown in revenue is less material. While we acknowledge near-term macrorelated headwinds, we still think Robert Half is well positioned in the highly cyclical and competitive recruiting industry over the long term. The stock remains slightly undervalued, in our view.

Robert Half should remain one of the leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry. The company places skilled professionals in accounting, finance, and IT roles. We think its hold on small to midsize businesses will persist, given its ability to fill open roles quickly and these businesses' willingness to sign exclusive contracts. We believe this will yield greater profitability for Robert Half, despite operating in a highly cyclical industry.

Narrow-moat-rated Robert Half reported strong 2022 third-quarter results. We plan to raise our $88 fair value by roughly 1.5% to 2%. Our anticipated raise will reflect Protiviti’s revenue increases, benefits reaped from investments in technology, as well as time value of money. Management’s fourth-quarter revenue and income per share guide is $1.735 billion and $1.36 at the midpoint, respectively. Despite conservative guidance accounting for recessionary pressures, our long-term thesis that Robert Half is well-positioned in this highly cyclical and competitive industry is intact. The firm’s focus on permanent placement, technological investments, and targeting of small and medium size businesses should help Robert Half stay resilient amid macroeconomic headwinds in the foreseeable future. Hence, we believe the stock is currently slightly undervalued, even as it remains at 3 stars.

We see no reason to change our $88 fair value estimate following narrow-moat-rated Robert Half’s second-quarter results. While we modestly reduced our full-year 2022 revenue assumptions, we did lift our full-year adjusted EPS by high single digits. These model changes, however, completely offset one another. Following the release, the stock traded down nominally, presumably due to market fears of a possible recession. That’s despite second-quarter results that were in line with FactSet consensus and a consulting business in Protiviti that continues to hum along in good times and bad—even during the depths of the pandemic.

Robert Half will remain as one of the leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry, in our view. The company places skilled professionals in accounting, finance, and IT roles. We think its hold on small to midsize businesses will persist, given its ability to fill open roles quickly and these businesses' willingness to sign exclusive contracts. We believe this will yield greater profitability for Robert Half, despite operating in a highly cyclical industry.

Narrow-moat Robert Half started 2022 with a solid quarter. We are raising our fair value estimate to $88 from $85 to reflect better-than-expected results and a raised outlook for 2022. Revenue was up 30% year over year to $1.8 billion as all three segments reported solid results—permanent placement was up 67%, contract talent solutions was up 30%, and Protiviti was up 19%. As restrictions around the world loosen and the workforce requires more talent, Robert Half is well positioned to capitalize on the robust demand from the hiring market.

Robert Half will remain as one of the leading global staffing firms in a highly fragmented industry, in our view. The company places skilled professionals in accounting, finance, and IT roles. We think its hold on small to midsize businesses will persist, given its ability to fill open roles quickly and these businesses' willingness to sign exclusive contracts. We believe this will yield greater profitability for Robert Half, despite operating in a highly cyclical industry.

Robert Half reported strong fourth-quarter results that were in line with our expectations. Wage inflation remained a nonconcern for the firm as full-year adjusted operating margins came in at 12.4%, up 420 basis points from a year ago. We're raising our fair value estimate to $85 per share from $82 primarily due to the reversal of our anticipated U.S tax increase, slightly offset by a decrease in our near-term revenue assumptions.