By Sarina Isaacs

Shares of Kelly Services climbed after quarterly adjusted earnings topped expectations and the company guided for higher first-half revenue.

The stock gained as much as 14% earlier in the session Thursday. More recently, shares were up 2.9%, at $13.68. The stock has lost about 34% over the past year.

The Troy, Mich., specialty-talent company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $31.8 million, or 90 cents a share, compared with earnings of $11.4 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings came in at 82 cents a share, better than analyst expectations for 48 cents a share, according to FactSet.

Revenue slipped 3.3%, to $1.19 billion, clearing analyst estimates of $1.15 billion.

For the first half of 2025, Kelly expects revenue to rise 10%, driven by the company's $425 million acquisition of fellow specialty-talent outfit Motion Recruitment Partners, which closed in June.

Revenue growth should come in slightly lower in the second quarter than in the first quarter due to the timing of the deal, Kelly said.

Kelly also announced Thursday that Chief Executive Peter Quigley would step down by the end of the year. Quigley plans to continue in his current role until his successor is appointed and the transition completes.

Write to Sarina Isaacs at sarina.isaacs@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2025 11:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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