Robert Half net income rises 16.2% year over year to $50 million; talent solutions return to adjusted growth

Robert Half Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $50 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, on service revenues of $1.359 billion, against $43 million, or $0.43 a share, on $1.354 billion a year earlier. Net income rose 16.2% from a year earlier while revenue rose 0.4%, and adjusted operating income increased 18.53% from a year earlier to $72.55 million once the deferred-compensation trust result is folded into the operating line.

Revenue edges up as contract staffing turns

Robert Half's third-quarter service revenues were $1.359 billion, 0.4% above the $1.354 billion of a year earlier. The exhibit's growth-rate reconciliation attributes the gap mainly to fewer billing days: after removing billing-day and currency effects the change is 0.2% below last year, which is why M. Keith Waddell, the chief executive, calls the quarter “roughly flat with last year on an adjusted basis”.

Contract talent solutions produced $758.83 million, 1.69% above the $746.22 million of a year earlier, with the adjusted measure lower. Adjusted operating income in total talent solutions rose to $35.26 million from $23.98 million, while adjusted Protiviti operating income was flat. Permanent placement grew faster, 6.19% to $116.95 million from $110.13 million, and also grew on the adjusted basis. Waddell said “Talent solutions returned to adjusted year-over-year revenue growth for the first time since 2022, with revenues increasing 2 percent.”

The profit jump is mostly a trust-account swing

Reported operating income rose to $74.85 million from $13.59 million, a comparison the Summary of Operations complicates with a single line: (income) loss from investments held in employee deferred compensation trusts, which the table notes is completely offset by related costs and expenses. That line was a $2.3 million loss in the 2026 quarter and $47.62 million of income in 2025. The exhibit's reconciliation moves that line into the operating result — a $2.3 million deduction in 2026, when the trust held a loss, and a $47.62 million addition in 2025, when it held income — so the trust result sits against the deferred-compensation expense recorded above, leaving adjusted operating income of $72.55 million against $61.21 million, an 18.53% increase.

Above operating income in the same table, reported selling, general and administrative expenses fell to $457.25 million from $490.64 million, while the adjusted measure rose to $458.81 million from $453.44 million. Gross margin was 39.1% as reported against 37.2%, and 39.1% against 38.0% adjusted; the 2025 adjusted figure adds $10.42 million of Protiviti costs-of-services adjustment, while 2026 subtracts $738,000.

Protiviti's margin gain is the same effect

Protiviti revenue was $483.52 million, 2.93% below the $498.13 million of a year earlier, and weaker still on the adjusted basis. Its operating income jumped to $38.03 million from $26.81 million, but adjusted operating income was $37.3 million against $37.23 million, essentially unchanged. Reported gross margin of 24.2% against 20.9%, and 24.1% against 23.0% adjusted, points the same way: the reclassification explains most of the reported gain, leaving a modest underlying improvement. Waddell said “Demand for risk and compliance consulting services also showed encouraging signs of improvement during the quarter.”

Nine-month profit trails 2025, and buybacks fall to $6.77 million

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, revenue was $3.996 billion against $4.076 billion, net income $90 million, or $0.90 a share, against $101 million, or $1.01, and operating income $49.46 million against $54.01 million, or $139.82 million against $139.11 million on the adjusted basis. Pre-tax income was $146.7 million against $147.44 million, and the profit decline came from the provision for income taxes rising to $56.72 million from $46.2 million, about 38.7% of pre-tax income against 31.3%. Cash and cash equivalents fell to $321.29 million at September 30, 2026 from $365.29 million a year earlier. Buybacks fell to $6.77 million from $92.07 million, while dividends paid were little changed at $179.84 million against $179.55 million. Net cash flows before financing activities were $47.15 million against $74.81 million.

No fourth-quarter numbers and no consensus in the file

The exhibit carries no numeric fourth-quarter guidance. Its only guidance reference is Waddell's statement that “Global enterprise earnings exceeded the midpoint of our third-quarter guidance”, and the release does not disclose that midpoint. Management scheduled a call for 5 p.m. ET on October 22, with prepared remarks in the Investor Center of the company's website and a 12-month audio replay. The next check on this quarter's figures is the fourth-quarter report, which will show whether the adjusted revenue turn held.