TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The business services provider reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.45) by $0.04, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $398.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.51 million. TrueBlue had a negative net margin of 2.97% and a negative return on equity of 6.87%.

Here are the key takeaways from TrueBlue’s conference call:

• TrueBlue delivered revenue of $399 million (+8% YoY; organic +7%), with PeopleReady up 19% and skilled/energy work more than doubling—skilled businesses are approaching a third of staffing revenue.
• Management highlighted AI and proprietary platforms (JobStack, Affinix, StaffTrack) driving recruiter efficiency, higher fill rates and new demand from data-center power projects, with roughly one-third of active energy projects tied to data centers.
• Operating discipline showed through: SG&A fell ~8% while revenue grew 8%, and the company expects sequential gross-margin expansion and improved profitability in Q2 driven by cost actions and operating leverage.
• Gross margin dropped to 19.8% from 23.3% YoY, largely due to the non-repeat of prior-year favorable workers’ compensation reserve development and a revenue mix shift toward lower-margin energy work with pass-through travel costs.
• TrueBlue reported a net loss of $20 million (includes a $4M non-cash goodwill impairment), finished Q1 with $24M cash and $74M debt (total liquidity $60M), and plans to prioritize debt paydown over share buybacks until free cash flow improves.

TrueBlue Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TBI traded up $0.04 on Wednesday, hitting $6.08. The stock had a trading volume of 316,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,937. TrueBlue has a twelve month low of $3.18 and a twelve month high of $7.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $4.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.64. The company has a market capitalization of $184.71 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Carl Schweihs purchased 12,500 shares of TrueBlue stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $3.72 per share, for a total transaction of $46,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 289,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,075,336.68. This represents a 4.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Taryn R. Owen purchased 20,400 shares of TrueBlue stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were bought at an average price of $3.79 per share, for a total transaction of $77,316.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 791,807 shares in the company, valued at $3,000,948.53. This represents a 2.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of TrueBlue in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $156,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of TrueBlue in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of TrueBlue by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,713 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,490,000 after acquiring an additional 3,269 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of TrueBlue by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 18,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,858 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of TrueBlue by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 43,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 2,646 shares during the period. 97.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TBI. Zacks Research raised shares of TrueBlue from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $5.50 target price on shares of TrueBlue in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TrueBlue from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of TrueBlue from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.75.

About TrueBlue

TrueBlue, Inc is a Tacoma, Washington–based workforce solutions provider specializing in temporary staffing, permanent placement and managed service solutions. Operating through its subsidiaries and brands, TrueBlue connects clients across manufacturing, logistics, retail, construction and public sector markets with skilled professionals for both short-term and long-term engagements. The company’s offerings encompass on-demand blue-collar labor, specialized industrial staffing, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and contingent workforce management.

TrueBlue’s primary service lines include PeopleReady, which supplies general labor for construction, hospitality and event services; PeopleManagement, which focuses on technical and industrial professionals; PeopleScout, a global RPO business offering end-to-end talent acquisition and consulting; and Staff Management | SMX, which delivers seasonal staffing for large-scale events, amusement parks and federal workforce contracts.