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Hello, and welcome to the Robert Half Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call. Today's conference call is being recorded. Our hosts for today's call are Mr. Keith Waddell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Robert Half; and Mr. Michael Buckley, Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Waddell, you may begin.
Hello, everyone. We appreciate your time today. Before we get started, I'd like to remind you that comments made on today's call contain forward-looking statements, including predictions and estimates about our future performance. These statements represent our current judgment of what the future holds. However, they are subject to the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in today's press release and our most recent 10-K and 10-Q filed with the SEC. We assume no obligation to update the statements made on today's call. During this presentation, we may refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures as adjusted. Adjusted revenue growth excludes the impact of billing day variations and foreign currency exchange rates. Adjusted gross margin, SG&A and operating income reflect the combining of investment gains and losses related to employee deferred compensation plans with corresponding changes in those obligations.
These items have no impact on reported net income. Reconciliations and additional information are included in the supplemental schedules to our earnings release. For your convenience, our prepared remarks for today's call are available at the Investor Center of our website, roberthalf.com. For the second quarter of 2026, Global Enterprise revenues were $1.336 billion, down 2% from last year's second quarter on a reported basis and down 3% on an adjusted basis. Talent Solutions delivered its third consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth on an adjusted basis while its permanent placement operations also posted adjusted year-on-year revenue growth of 2.5%. Global Enterprise revenues and earnings exceeded the midpoint of our second quarter guidance. Hiring demand continues to improve and market conditions are increasingly more supportive of our business. Our unique combination of award-winning, high-tech capabilities and high-touch expertise positions us well to help clients navigate a dynamic business environment and connect them with the specialized talent and consulting services they need.
Net income per share in the second quarter was $0.26 compared to $0.41 in the second quarter a year ago. As we discussed in last quarter's call, second quarter EPS was impacted by cost actions taken by Protiviti, which Mike will discuss further in a moment. Cash flow provided by operations during the quarter was $109 million. In June we distributed a $0.59 per share cash dividend to our shareholders of record for a total cash outlay of $59 million. Return on invested capital for the company was 9% in the second quarter. Now I'll turn the call over to our CFO, Mike Buckley.
Thank you, Keith. As Keith noted, global revenues were $1.336 billion in the second quarter. On an adjusted basis, second quarter Talent Solutions revenues were down 2% year-over-year. U.S. Talent Solutions revenues were $660 million, down 1% from the prior year's second quarter. Non-U.S. Talent Solutions revenues were $205 million, down 4% year-over-year. We conduct Talent Solutions operations throughout offices in the United States and 18 other countries. In the second quarter of 2026, there were 63.1 billing days compared to 63.2 billing days in the second quarter one year ago. The third quarter of 2026 has 64.6 billing days compared to 64.2 billing days in the third quarter of 2025. Currency exchange rate movements during the second quarter had the effect of increasing reported year-over-year total revenues by $7 million, $6 million for Talent Solutions and $1 million for Protiviti. Contract Talent Solutions bill rates for the second quarter increased 2.3% compared to one year ago, adjusted for changes in the mix of revenues by functional specialization, currency and country.
This rate for the first quarter was 2.6%. Now let's take a closer look at results for Protiviti. Global revenues in the second quarter were $471 million; $373 million of that is from the United States and $98 million is from outside of the United States. On an adjusted basis, global second quarter Protiviti revenues were down 5% versus the year-ago period. U.S. Protiviti revenues were down 6%, while non-U.S. Protiviti revenues were down 3% compared to one year ago. Protiviti and its independently owned member firms serve clients through locations in the United States and 27 other countries. Turning now to gross margin. In Contract Talent Solutions, gross margin was 39.1% of applicable revenues in both the current quarter and the second quarter one year ago. Conversion for contract to hire revenues were 3.4% of contract revenues in both the current quarter and the second quarter of 2025. Our permanent placement revenues were 13.6% of consolidated Talent Solutions revenues in the current quarter compared to 13.1% in the second quarter of 2025.
When combined with Contract Talent Solutions gross margin, overall gross margin for Talent Solutions was 47.4% of applicable revenues in the current quarter compared with 47.1% in the second quarter of 2025. For Protiviti, gross margin was 13.5% of Protiviti revenues in the second quarter and 19.7% in the second quarter one year ago. Adjusted gross margin for Protiviti was 18.5% for the quarter just ended compared to 22.3% last year. As we discussed in our last call, Protiviti revenue results reflect ongoing shifts in the U.S. financial services regulatory environment. As a result, cost actions were taken during the quarter, including $7 million in severance costs, which reduced adjusted gross margin by 1.4 percentage points or $0.04 per share. Enterprise SG&A costs were 40.1% of global revenues in the second quarter compared to 37.1% in the same quarter one year ago. Adjusted enterprise SG&A costs were 34.3% for the quarter just ended compared to 33.8% one year ago.
Talent Solutions SG&A costs were 53% of Talent Solutions revenues in the second quarter versus 49.2% in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted Talent Solutions SG&A costs were 44.1% for both the current quarter and the second quarter one year ago. Second quarter SG&A costs for Protiviti were 16.4% of Protiviti revenues compared to 15.7% for the same quarter one year ago. Reported operating income for the second quarter was negative $62 million. Adjusted operating income was positive $39 million in the quarter or 2.9% of revenues. Second quarter adjusted operating income for Talent Solutions was $29 million or 3.3% of revenues. Adjusted operating income for Protiviti in the second quarter was $10 million or 2.1% of revenues. Our second quarter 2026 income statement includes a $101 million gain from investments held in employee deferred compensation trusts. This is completely offset by an equal amount of higher employee deferred compensation costs, which are reflected in SG&A expenses and direct costs.
As such, it has no effect on our reported net income. Our second quarter tax rate was 35% compared to 33% one year ago. The increase in the tax rate is primarily the result of lower tax credits and the increased impact of nondeductible expenses relative to lower pretax income. At the end of the second quarter, accounts receivable were $821 million, and implied days sales outstanding, or DSO, was 55.4 days. Before we move to third quarter guidance, let's review some of the monthly revenue trends we saw in the second quarter and so far in July, all adjusted for currency and billing days. Contract Talent Solutions exited the second quarter with June revenues down 2% versus the prior year, the same as the 2% decrease for the full quarter. Revenues for the first two weeks of July were down 1% compared to the same period last year. Permanent placement revenues in June were up 4% versus June of 2025.
This compares to a 3% increase for the full quarter. For the first three weeks in July, permanent placement revenues were up 4% compared to the same period in 2025. We provide this information so that you have insight into some of the trends we saw during the second quarter and into July. But as you know, these are very brief time periods, we caution against reading too much into them. With that in mind, we offer the following third quarter guidance: revenues, $1.31 billion to $1.41 billion. Income per share $0.43 to $0.53. Midpoint revenues of $1.36 billion are flat with the same period in 2025 on an adjusted basis. Our midpoint revenue guidance for the third quarter reflects year-over-year growth of 3% for Talent Solutions and 6% lower revenues for Protiviti. Protiviti's results continue to reflect the ongoing shifts in the U.S. financial services regulatory environment, which we discussed last quarter.
The major financial assumptions underlying the midpoint of these estimates are as follows: adjusted revenue growth year-over-year for Talent Solutions up 1% to 5%. For Protiviti, down 4% to 8% overall; down 2% to up 2% geographically. Adjusted gross margin percentage for contract talent 38% to 40%, for Protiviti, 23% to 25% overall. Adjusted SG&A as a percentage of revenue for Talent Solutions, 42% to 44%, for Protiviti, 16% to 18% and overall 33% to 35%. Adjusted operating income as a percentage of revenue for Talent Solutions, 3% to 5%, for Protiviti, 6% to 8% overall. Tax rate, 33% to 35% and shares outstanding $100 million to $101 million. 2026 capital expenditures and capitalized cloud computing costs of $50 million to $70 million with $10 million to $20 million during the third quarter. For the fourth quarter, we offer the following directional observations. Because of the November and December holidays, the fourth quarter has 61.1 billing days compared with 64.6 billing days in the third quarter.
A quarter-over-quarter decrease of approximately 5%. This reduction is typically partially offset by seasonal growth in average same-day billings which has historically been in the low single digits. Lower sequential revenues result in negative operating leverage such that fourth quarter operating margins have historically been 0.5 to 1.5 percentage points lower sequentially than third quarter margins. All estimates we provide on this call are subject to the risks mentioned in today's press release and in our SEC filings. Now I'll turn the call back over to Keith.
Thank you, Mike. Our second quarter results for Talent Solutions reflect continued sequential revenue growth on a same-day constant currency basis and a return to year-over-year growth for our permanent placement segment. Technology was our strongest performing practice group within contract Talent Solutions, achieving adjusted year-over-year revenue growth of 2.3% for the quarter. Client engagement remained strong throughout the quarter with job orders and project activity increasing across many markets, particularly in technology modernization, data, cybersecurity and IT infrastructure. Many of our smaller midsize business clients continue to operate with lean organizations after several years of disciplined cost management. As confidence improves and strategic priorities advance, we're seeing demand for specialized talent and consulting expertise to help execute those initiatives. While clients continue to approach hiring thoughtfully, we are seeing steady progress in client interactions and activity.
While geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty persists, our clients remain resilient, although inflation remains a key concern, including the potential effects of escalating tensions in the Middle East. Organizations continue to focus on initiatives that drive productivity, growth and long-term competitiveness. Employment levels among many of the professionals we place are healthy and job openings continue to outpace historical norms. The labor market for specialized talent remains tight; professionals with in-demand skills continue to prioritize flexibility, rare opportunities and competitive compensation, reinforcing the value of Robert Half's ability to identify and deliver exceptional talent efficiently. Artificial intelligence continues to complement, not replace, the work performed by the professionals we place. We're seeing growing demand for candidates who combine deep domain expertise with AI fluency and the judgment required to apply these technologies effectively and responsibly, including verifying the accuracy of their outcomes.
The rapid adoption of generative AI by job seekers has also changed the recruiting landscape, increasing application volumes and making candidate evaluation more complex. This underscores the importance of Robert Half's proprietary candidate insights, specialized recruiting expertise and proven ability to identify highly skilled talent. Protiviti's results were largely as expected during the quarter. Technology consulting continues to lead with particularly strong demand and platform transformation engagements. At the same time, Protiviti's Risk and Compliance solutions practice continues to navigate shifts in the U.S. financial services regulatory environment and included a marked decline in new enforcement actions and the easing of prior enforcement requirements. As financial institutions adjust, we're beginning to see new work focused on improving efficiency of ongoing compliance programs, many of which rely on substantial internal resources and aging infrastructure.
These changes continue to influence Protiviti's engagement mix with fewer large-scale regulatory and remediation projects and growing demand for solutions focused on operational efficiency, productivity and advanced technologies. These projects are generally shorter in duration and have different staffing and leverage characteristics than traditional remediation engagements. During the second quarter, Protiviti acted decisively to better align its resource base with shifting client demand while continuing to invest in capabilities that position the business for sustained growth. These actions resulted in a one-time charge in Q2 of $7 million or $0.04 per share and an annualized cost savings of $45 million, which are fully reflected in our third quarter guidance. Demand across Protiviti's other key solution areas remains healthy, and the pipeline is strong, and we expect sequential revenue growth in those practices during the third quarter.
Our strategic use of contract professionals through our Talent Solutions business remains a key differentiator, enhancing our ability to serve clients and reinforcing our enterprise-wide competitive advantage. Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about the trajectory of our business. Clients continue to prioritize critical investments in technology, business transformation and growth. As hiring activity recovers and organizations advance strategic initiatives, we believe Robert Half is well positioned to help clients secure the specialized talent and consulting expertise they need to be successful. Our purpose has never been more relevant: connecting companies with specialized talent and helping people build meaningful careers. Backed by our trusted brand, exceptional people, innovative capabilities and diversified business model, we remain confident in our ability to create long-term value for our clients, our employees and our shareholders.
Finally, we'd like to thank our global workforce for their continued dedication. Their commitment to excellence was recently recognized as Robert Half earned the #1 ranking on Forbes America's Best professional recruiting firms. Now Mike and I'd be happy to answer your questions. Please ask just one and a single follow-up as needed. If there's time, we'll come back to you for additional questions.
分析師問答
Keith and Mike, last quarter, you talked about the risk and compliance solutions, and you talked about a $5 million charge and $35 million in savings. I take it from the discussion that you just went through that you actually saw some additional factors that came into play that changed the plan a little bit on the risk and compliance side. So I'm wondering if you could just dig in a little bit in terms of what you ended up seeing during the quarter in terms of risk and compliance solutions. To what extent did it deteriorate further? And what percentage of Protiviti is still risk and compliance solutions? And how are you thinking about that? And then on the technology side, there have been some mixed messages depending on which conference calls you're on about projects being delayed. I'm wondering if you've seen any of that on the Technology Solutions side. It doesn't sound like it, but I just want to confirm that?
Okay. So the $5 million in severance grew to $7 million and the savings got larger proportionately. I'd say there was a more international zone realignment than had been first expected, and so that was the biggest delta between what we estimated and where it came in. Risk and compliance is a little under 20% of Protiviti's total revenues. As to project delays in technology, we're happy to report Protiviti's technology consulting practice group reported the best revenue quarter in its history and clearly was not impacted by project delays.
That's great. And then I'd like to ask just kind of an overall big picture question. So on the Protiviti side, with the change that we've seen, like how confident are you in terms of getting Protiviti to return to growth. And we're really encouraged on the Talent Solutions side. On the Talent Solutions side, do you think barring a huge change in terms of the macro environment, which is possible, but barring a huge change, do you think the bottom is in on the staffing cycle? And do you foresee an opportunity to get back to prior peak revenues on the staffing side?
As to how confident we are that Protiviti returns to growth, if you look at Protiviti's pipeline on a probability-weighted basis, their total pipeline including financial services is up sequentially and year-on-year; that's probability-weighted. That says technology is particularly strong in that composition. We feel great about Protiviti's future and its ability to return to growth. If you look at financial services and non-financial services, non-financial services is already growing and is expected to continue to grow. The offset from financial services over time will abate. So we feel good about Protiviti returning to growth in the not-too-distant future. Talent Solutions: we've now had three quarters of sequential growth. That continued into the post-quarter, and so we've been steady and consistent for some time. I think everybody worries about inflation and renewed tensions in the Middle East, but barring some major impact from that, we feel good given we've already had three straight quarters that were in the early parts of recovery. Can we get back to prior peaks? I've been here a long time. Every time we've had a downturn, we've subsequently not only returned to but made new peaks. I see no reason why that wouldn't be the case this time.
One I had kind of just a follow-up on Protiviti. I guess, you talked about the U.S. regulatory environment quite a bit. But the international Protiviti business, I think you just mentioned you had some realignment there. That business declined 3%, whereas it had been a pretty strong growth area for you previously. So maybe you could just dive a little deeper on what caused the weakening internationally for Protiviti this quarter? And would you expect that to continue?
Unrelated to financial services, in the international zone, particularly Germany, they had some large public sector engagements that wound down that impacted their results given the macro in Germany and, to a lesser extent but still, in Belgium. It seems higher inflation and higher energy prices are impacting sentiment and macro tone there more. So it's harder for them to backfill and replace those projects that have wound down. The Protiviti international year-on-year change between quarters one and two is not related to financial services; it's public sector wind down.
Okay. That's helpful. And then a follow-up, I guess, I wanted to touch on the contract Talent Solutions bill rate growth decelerating to closer to 2% this quarter, which I think is the lowest you've seen in a while. I think the gross margins were steady. So it doesn't feel like spread compression. I think those metrics are already adjusted for mix. So maybe could you just talk a little bit about the bill rates and what you're seeing there? Is that like wage inflation slowing or maybe something else?
It was only about 30 basis points different than the prior quarter, so that's not a big change. They largely reflect the weighted average pay rates of our different practice groups. Typically, if our bill rate growth is less, so is our pay rate growth. As you noted, our gross margins stayed the same.
I wanted to ask you a fourth quarter directional question about Protiviti. Obviously, you gave directional observations about the total company for fourth quarters typically being down 50 to 100 basis points versus the third quarter. So my question is, can you give us some of that same perspective or a typical Protiviti margin in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter and also allowing you some caveat, is this kind of setting up to be a typical or atypical year for Protiviti margins as we think about heading towards year-end?
Our Q4 directional observations were enterprise-wide, so that was Talent Solutions plus Protiviti. We did not break out one from the other. The historical range is inclusive of Protiviti. The only thing particularly different is the impact of regulatory, which is expected to continue into Q4. Another nuance is the calendar: you'll lose one more billing day this year in the fourth quarter than you typically do, which costs about $20 million in revenue. Other than that, the two-quarter directional observations we noted are enterprise trends, not one or the other.
Actually I just had a couple of follow-up questions from some prior questions. The first was on billing rates. I know mix really played a big role into the change. But is underlying wage inflation changing at all? And I know there's some economists thinking that's going to accelerate. If that does, should we see an acceleration in bill rate increases?
Underlying wage inflation has come down and so have bill rates. Just like post-COVID when wage inflation flared up, so did our bill rates to recover. If you believe wage inflation is getting ready to rise, then we would expect our bill rates to rise along with that. If there's anything we've been consistent about over a very long period of time, it's about protecting our gross margins.
All right. That's great to hear. And then let me go back to Mark's questions about getting back to prior peak revenues. Is there any reason you can't get back to prior peak margins as well?
Absolutely not. I'm bullish that we can get to new peak margins. Not only do you get operating leverage, but over time we've changed the mix of revenues between higher level and operational level positions and we get higher gross margins at higher levels. We have a larger portion of those from here forward than we have in prior cycles. I think there's upside from efficiencies we might gain from technology over time. I'm optimistic about future margin upside from where we are, principally driven by mix. Our full-time engagement professionals are at a cycle low right now, closer to 15% of the total; it's been north of 20% before, and we could move further north of that. That's also margin accretive, so that's another mix-driven upside in the next peak relative to the last.
You're guiding Talent Solutions to return to year-over-year growth in the third quarter. As you think beyond the near-term recovery, what do you view as a reasonable steady-state revenue growth rate for the staffing business in a more normalized environment?
You'd have to define 'normal' — who knows what normal even means given the last four or five years — but somewhere mid-single digits is where normal Talent Solutions growth would be. Half of that would probably be wage/bill rate inflation and the other part volume, so mid-single-digits.
Got it. That's helpful. On Protiviti, you've discussed ongoing impact from changes in the U.S. financial services regulatory environment including fewer enforcement actions and less remediation work. How much of this pressure do you view as tied to the current regulatory backdrop versus a more permanent shift in demand? And what would need to change for that business to return to growth?
Since anti-money laundering is the key area impacted, history says money laundering doesn't go away. If there's less scrutiny today, that probably means there are more issues in the future, which would bode well for demand in anti-money laundering. The changes are more about the current administration and their stance on regulation broadly; it's not a structural absence of money laundering. Long term, I would argue it's the opposite — there may be pent-up demand being created today because there's less scrutiny.
Keith, I know you've talked about the financial services regulatory headwinds, and you said that should last into the fourth quarter. When does that move beyond that? And when do you stop lapping that?
Financial services growth rates were solidly negative in Q3 of last year; they took a bigger step down in Q1 and Q2. Starting in the first quarter of 2027, you'll get some relief, and then you'll get a lot of relief in Q2 of 2027.
One of the things I think about: a few quarters ago, we talked about the pricing environment at Protiviti and the market having gotten a little bit more competitive. As you look today, how do you view the market in terms of pricing outside of this regulatory stuff?
The pricing environment has been consistently competitive for a while, and it hasn't gotten more competitive recently. The Big Four will price aggressively in markets where they have capacity, and that's been true for some time. So the pricing environment has been very competitive with the Big Four for going on a couple of years, and it remains so today, but not more so.
This is Ronan Kennedy on for Manav. This was discussed much earlier in the call in response to Mark's second question, but can I please reconfirm the characterization as recovery and the leading indicators and metrics that give you confidence in such. In addition, what you're seeing today, how does that compare to prior recoveries in terms of hiring velocity, client urgency and willingness to approve incremental headcount?
Yes, some of this is semantics, and every downturn and recovery is different. We had dot-com in early 2000 and the great financial crisis in 2008-2010; they were very different. Officially, there hasn't been a recession this time, but there has been a staffing recession, and there's a big difference between enterprise, mid- and large-cap, and SMB, who are more conservative. Conditions are quite different now: unemployment is very low, which was not the case coming out of dot-com nor the great financial crisis. That's good because it makes it harder for clients to hire themselves. Job openings are much higher than coming out of either of those prior recoveries, which is also good for us. AI has made it tougher for clients to hire because there are more applications and it's harder to distinguish candidates when generative AI is used. The metrics to look at are unemployment rates and pent-up demand via job openings. Taken as a whole, these metrics are more positive today than at similar early recovery periods post dot-com or post great financial crisis.
Got it. And then another follow-up for me, please. You expressed confidence that you can return to or ultimately exceed prior peak margins. Can I please reconfirm that opportunity? Does that come primarily from mix, structural efficiencies, productivity improvements, and how should we think about what comes first: revenue recovery, gross margin, or productivity and operating margin?
There's the most upside cycle-to-cycle, peak to peak, on gross margins because of mix. There's some additional upside from operational efficiencies and economies of scale that would add to that. I'm more bullish on gross margin upside than on SG&A improvement. Mix — moving to higher-level placements and increasing full-time engagement professionals — is the primary lever for gross margin expansion.
I had a question about your directional guidance or directional context for the fourth quarter. Would the current business trend that you're seeing with three consecutive quarters of slight sequential same-day billing growth be characterized as typical with normal seasonal patterns because you're trying to triangulate whether that historical pattern can be achieved or whether the current demand environment is better or worse?
Up until the last couple of quarters, we've underperformed typical seasonal patterns. But starting the last couple of quarters and expected for the next few, we're returning to normal seasonal patterns. For Q4, it's a much shorter quarter, even more so this year because of the calendar — we're going to lose an extra day more than we typically lose. But on a per-day basis, we're looking at normal seasonality and would expect one or two percentage points of growth on a per-day basis. We're not making a forecast, just noting normal seasonality in the fourth quarter.
That's clear. Within Protiviti, what are your opportunities like on the government side — state, local and federal? It was a number of years ago that you did capture some good work there. What does it look like today? And I'm steering clear of the context of the financial regulation?
We like our opportunities in the public sector. Protiviti focuses more in federal and state than they do local; Talent Solutions has a bigger presence locally. We have a dedicated team and effort that approaches federal and state separately. The pipeline is solid, and we feel good about public sector. It's very different than it was coming out of COVID — we've made relationships that were sticky and remain to this date. We're well positioned to have a tranche of revenue that we didn't have traditionally. Defense and aerospace incrementally add to that.
Keith, could you just run through the restructuring again — I apologize, a couple of calls at the same time. Just what was it in the second quarter, the impact and the impact for Q3? And then how do we think about that in 2027?
In Q2, we had $0.04 of severance. If you want a pro forma including the savings that weren't fully reflected, you got another $0.05 for a total of $0.09. If you want a full pro forma Q2, you got $0.09 — that's Q2 effectively giving the savings as of the beginning of the quarter. In Q3, those savings, roughly $11 million on a quarterly basis (which equates to $45 million annualized), have been embedded in the guidance we gave for Q3 and there will be no more severance. If you look at Protiviti's margins, they're recovering very well and getting back to near what a year ago's margins were on less revenue because of the cost actions they've taken and how they've reallocated between contractor work and employee work. The incremental margins when employees do work are higher than contractors, so that combination has been margin accretive.
And are you at the mix, Keith, in terms of fixed versus variable at Protiviti where you want to be because I know you had some targets in the past? Is that mix in terms of staffing ratio fixed versus variable where you want it to be with these most recent cost actions? Or was it independent of that?
Where we want it to be is more project-driven than a single fixed ratio. Certain projects lend themselves to contractors more than full-time employees because of the skills, ramp-up and scale required. We don't centrally set a contractor-to-full-time mix; it's project by project based on what makes sense. Generally, the large financial services projects that have declined were very contractor-heavy and very leveraged; the projects that replace them are less contractor heavy.
This concludes today's teleconference. If you missed any part of the call, it will be archived in audio format in the Investor Center of Robert Half's website at roberthalf.com. You can also log in to the conference call replay. Details are contained in the company's press release issued earlier today.