New York, January 31, 2026, 08:54 EST — The market has closed.
- Robert Half shares surged Friday after the company beat quarterly estimates and released its first-quarter guidance.
- Management highlighted better revenue trends in January, noting a return to sequential growth.
- Traders are focusing on Monday’s open, new analyst reports, and next week’s U.S. jobs data for clues on what’s next.
Robert Half Inc shares surged 27.8% on Friday, closing at $34.61, with minimal movement in after-hours trading.
The stock jumped at the open, having closed at $27.09 the previous day. The staffing company posted fourth-quarter earnings of $0.32 per share on $1.30 billion in revenue, beating analysts’ expectations, according to MarketBeat.
This shift is key for investors looking for early signs that U.S. white-collar hiring might be easing up. Recruiters often detect changes in demand ahead of the wider employment figures, and so far, this sector hasn’t delivered many positive surprises.
The Menlo Park company reported revenue of $1.302 billion for the quarter ending Dec. 31, down 6% year-over-year. Net income dropped to $32 million, or $0.32 per share. CEO M. Keith Waddell said he was “very pleased” to see revenue achieve positive sequential growth — quarter-to-quarter — on a same-day, constant-currency basis “for the first time in over three years,” with momentum carrying into early January. archive.fast-edgar.com
In prepared remarks for the earnings call, CFO Michael C. Buckley forecasted first-quarter revenue between $1.260 billion and $1.360 billion, with earnings per share ranging from $0.08 to $0.18. He noted that at the midpoint, revenue would fall about 5% from a year earlier on an “adjusted” basis, excluding billing-day and currency impacts. Buckley also cautioned investors not to read too much into January’s early trends. Waddell added that worries over an imminent downturn had eased, pointing to a more supportive macro environment and progress in the rate-cutting cycle.
Analyst sentiment improved on Friday. Truist Securities bumped its price target on the stock to $40 from $35, maintaining a Buy rating, according to Investing.com. At the same time, Tobey Sommer trimmed the brokerage’s 2026 earnings forecast, citing higher expected selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses — a measure of overhead.
Robert Half provides both contract and permanent staffing services and owns the consulting firm Protiviti. Its stock tends to track hiring and budget trends that also influence peers like ManpowerGroup and executive search firm Korn Ferry.
U.S. markets are closed for the weekend, leaving traders to wonder if Monday will see further buying or quick profit-taking after Friday’s rally. Stocks that have been falling can bounce sharply—but just as easily pull back if investors get nervous.
The next critical test for the “hiring is turning” narrative arrives next week, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics set to publish the January Employment Situation report on Feb. 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET. Bureau of Labor Statistics
