Robert Half International Inc. RHI reported narrower-than-expected first-quarter 2025 results.

Quarterly earnings of 17 cents per share missed the consensus mark by 52.8% and declined 72.1% year over year. Revenues of $1.35 billion lagged the consensus mark by 3.4% and decreased 8.4% year over year.  

Robert Half Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Robert Half Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Robert Half Inc. Quote

The company’s shares have depreciated 35.1% over the past year compared with the  Staffing Firms industry’s 30.6% decline.

RHI’s Talent Solutions Revenues Down, Protiviti Up

Talent Solutions’ revenues of $875.3 million decreased 11% year over year on an as-adjusted basis and came in below our estimate of $914.2 million. U.S. Talent Solutions’ revenues of $676 million were down 10% year over year. Non-U.S. Talent Solutions revenues also decreased 15% year over year on an adjusted basis to $199 million.

Protiviti revenues came in at $477 million, up 5% year over year on an as-adjusted basis and below our expectation of $503.1 million. The U.S. Protiviti revenues of $387 million increased 4% year over year on an adjusted basis. Non-U.S. Protiviti revenues of $90 million were up 8% year over year on an as-adjusted basis.

Currency exchange rate movements declined revenues by $12 million in the quarter. The quarter had 61.9 billing days compared with 62.8 billing days in the year-ago quarter.

RHI’s Margins Contract

The adjusted gross profit in the quarter was $495 million, down 13.3% year over year. The adjusted gross profit margin of 36.6% declined 210 basis points year over year.

RHI’s Key Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Figures

Robert Half ended the quarter with a cash and cash equivalent balance of $342.5 million compared with $541 million in the first quarter of 2024. Operating cash in the quarter was $59 million, and capital expenditures were $12.4 million. RHI paid out $61 million in dividends.

Robert Half’s 2025 Guidance

For the second quarter of 2025, Robert Half expects revenues in the band of $1.31-$1.41 billion. The midpoint ($1.36 billion) of the guided range is below the current Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.44 billion.

EPS is expected between 36 cents and 46 cents. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at 62 cents.

Moreover, the company anticipates 63.2 billing days in the second quarter of 2025. Capital expenditures, including capitalized cloud computing costs, are projected to range between $15 million and $25 million during the same period.

For 2025, capital expenditures and capitalized cloud computing costs are expected to be $75 million to $95 million. The estimated full-year tax rate is projected to be between 31% and 33%.

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Maximus MMS and Broadridge Financial Solutions BR.

Maximus sports a Zacks Rank of #1 at present.  MMS has an encouraging earnings surprise history, having outpaced the Zacks Consensus estimate in three of the trailing four quarters and missing once. The average beat was 13.3%. (See the ZacksEarnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.)

Broadridge currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). BR has an encouraging earnings surprise history, having outpaced the Zacks Consensus estimate in two of the trailing four quarters and met twice in the remaining. The average beat was 3.2%.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (BR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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