Human Resource & Employment Services

Disclosure filings released after the September 17 market close produced a full slate of positive and negative developments relevant to investment decisions. On the positive side, Apple International raised its ordinary profit forecast for the current fiscal year by 18% and increased its dividend by 5 yen; Choshimaru reversed its current-year ordinary profit outlook to a 21% increase, projecting a record high for the first time in three terms along with a 1 yen dividend hike; Kasumigaseki Capital raised its prior-year ordinary profit forecast by 7%, adding to its record-high projection; and Hobonichi raised its prior-year ordinary profit forecast by 67%. In M&A, Saint Marc Holdings will take over the udon specialty restaurant business Tsurutontan from K Express for 12.8 billion yen, while B-style Holdings will acquire all shares of HR Asocié for 1.21 billion yen, making it a subsidiary. Ferrotec will launch a tender offer for Japan Resistor Manufacturing at 1,901 yen per share, a 49.1% premium to the September 17 closing price, aiming to make it a wholly owned subsidiary, while Nippon Seiki will buy back up to 3.61 million shares, or 6.27% of its outstanding shares, for a maximum of 9.979 billion yen. On the negative side, Chubu Steel Plate reversed its current-year ordinary profit outlook to a 46% decline; PharmaRise Holdings ended the June-August quarter with a 31% drop in ordinary profit; Industrial & Infrastructure Fund Investment Corporation is expected to post a 2% decline in current-year ordinary profit; Advance Residence Investment Corporation a 6% decline; and Ichigo Hotel REIT Investment Corporation an 18% decline.

SK Hynix and Intel shares each rose more than 2.5% premarket after a Reuters report that SK Hynix was in talks with Intel to manufacture memory chips in the U.S. for the first time, though SK Hynix said no decisions have been made regarding any partnership with Intel. J.B. Hunt Transport Services tumbled more than 11% after warning that its earnings may fall between 5% and 10% in the third quarter compared to the previous three-month period, a decline it attributed to internal adjustments for rising rates of purchase transportation. Expedia fell more than 2.5% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight, citing a weak risk/reward profile and greater exposure to a potentially weaker consumer. Energy stocks moved lower as U.S. oil prices fell 2% following a report that energy inventories rose last week, with Diamondback Energy down almost 4%, Occidental Petroleum off 1%, and ExxonMobil and Devon Energy each down almost 1%. Paychex rose more than 1% on a Wolfe Research upgrade to peer perform, while Union Pacific gained 1.5% after UBS upgraded the stock to buy.

The Adecco Group announced the global rollout of Salesforce's Agentforce Coworker across 40 plus countries, following a successful pilot in the UK and France. The enterprise AI teammate, embedded directly in the platform and powered by Anthropic's Claude, supports work across sales, recruitment and client and candidate engagement workflows. The rollout extends agentic AI infrastructure into the daily workflows of 27,000 employees, building on an unlimited Agentforce 360 enterprise agreement with Salesforce; the company has already deployed agentic AI across recruitment workflows in ten countries, representing 50% of Adecco business revenues. Coworker will also draw on context from more than 2.5 million agent-candidate interactions since April 2025. CEO Denis Machuel will join Salesforce chair and CEO Marc Benioff, alongside the CEOs of Anthropic, NVIDIA and Siemens, at the main Dreamforce keynote to discuss human-centric AI, saying the rollout gives teams a single interface that knows candidate history and client context for the moment when human judgment matters most.

U.S. private employers added an average of 16,250 jobs per week for the four weeks ending August 29, 2026, according to the preliminary NER Pulse estimate released by ADP Research. The reading marks the second consecutive weekly increase in hiring, up from 12,250 for the four weeks ending August 22 and 10,000 for the period ending August 15. The NER Pulse is a weekly update of the monthly ADP National Employment Report, based on ADP's high-frequency data, seasonally adjusted with a two-week lag, and the figures are preliminary and subject to change as new data arrives. The report is produced by ADP Research in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, and the next NER Pulse is scheduled for release on September 22, 2026.

TriNet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, in line with its previous payout. The forward yield on the dividend is 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Oct. 1. The payable date and the record date were not disclosed.

Paycom posted the strongest quarter among the four HR software stocks tracked, reporting revenues of $531.2 million, up 9.8% year on year and 3.5% above analysts' expectations, with full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding estimates and a solid beat on billings. Paylocity reported revenues of $444.7 million, up 11% year on year and 3.1% ahead of expectations, delivering the highest guidance raise of the group, though its stock is down 1.1% since reporting and trades at $141.75. Asure Software reported revenues of $37.11 million, up 23.2% year on year and in line with expectations, but posted a significant miss on billings estimates and the weakest guidance update in the group, with its stock flat at $8.44. Paychex reported revenues of $1.61 billion, up 12.5% year on year and in line with expectations, with a decent beat on adjusted operating income estimates, and its stock is up 18.2% since reporting at $115.83. As a group, the four HR software stocks beat consensus revenue estimates by 1.7%, next quarter's revenue guidance came in line, and share prices are up 10.8% on average since the latest earnings results, with Paycom up 25.3% to $218.96.

Recruit Holdings announced its first-quarter results for the fiscal year ending March 2027, posting revenue of 1.0453 trillion yen, operating profit of 255.4 billion yen, and net profit of 202.6 billion yen. Its full-year operating profit forecast was raised by 158 billion yen, or 20%, from 787 billion yen to 945 billion yen; the revenue forecast was also revised upward from 4.03 trillion yen to 4.23 trillion yen, and the net profit forecast from 623 billion yen to 755 billion yen. The earnings-per-share forecast was also lifted from 447 yen to 543 yen. First-quarter operating profit represents 27.0% progress toward the full-year forecast of 945 billion yen, exceeding the 25% mark that a simple four-way split would suggest. Meanwhile, the stock closed at 15,500 yen on September 11, down just over 2% from the previous trading day and roughly 16% below the 18,215 yen seen on August 31.

Korn Ferry completed its £850 million acquisition of UK-based AMS from OMERS Private Equity on September 1. The deal combines two well-reputed brands into a leading business within the global talent and organizational consulting space, giving Korn Ferry broader market reach and coverage spanning several new industries. At closing, Korn Ferry paid approximately £473 million and $326 million in cash, covering consideration to the sellers, repayment of AMS indebtedness and other transaction obligations, and issued 3,118,628 Korn Ferry shares to the sellers, financed through a mix of existing cash, share issuance and borrowings. The acquisition extends Korn Ferry's growth trajectory, which included a sixth consecutive quarter of topline growth and 9% growth in adjusted diluted EPS of $1.43 in its recently announced first quarter results. The deal carries liquidity constraints from the significant cash outflow and dilution risk from the new shares issued, while retaining AMS's long-term client agreements depends on sustaining service standards through the transition.

Korn Ferry reported Q2 CY2026 revenue of $756.5 million, up 5.7% year on year and above analyst estimates of $747.1 million, with adjusted EPS of $1.43 beating the $1.36 consensus. The organizational consulting firm guided Q3 CY2026 revenue to $869 million at the midpoint, 15.9% above analyst estimates of $749.6 million, though its Q3 adjusted EPS guidance of $1.35 came in below the $1.48 consensus. Management attributed the sixth consecutive quarter of top-line growth to its "We Are Korn Ferry" strategy and the completed acquisition of AMS, a major recruitment process outsourcing provider that immediately expands Korn Ferry's contingent workforce and early career solutions. CEO Gary Burnison said the AMS combination adds a high proportion of recurring multi-year contracts, with client relationships averaging 14 years, and the company is targeting $40 million of incremental EBITDA from AMS within the first year of the deal. CFO Robert Rozek said the company will monitor the pace of integration and ensure disciplined capital allocation, with full platform alignment targeted by May 2027, while management flagged ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty in EMEA and APAC.

Paylocity reported Q2 revenues of $444.7 million, up 11% year on year and 3.1% above analysts' consensus estimates, as the four HR software stocks tracked by the report beat revenue expectations by 1.7% as a group while next quarter's revenue guidance came in line. Paylocity posted the highest guidance raise but the weakest full-year guidance update in the group, and its stock is flat since reporting at $142.09. Paycom delivered the best quarter of the cohort with revenues of $531.2 million, up 9.8% year on year and 3.5% ahead of expectations, alongside the biggest analyst estimate beat and highest full-year guidance raise among peers, sending its stock up 25.5% to $219.31. Asure Software was the weakest performer, reporting revenues of $37.11 million, up 23.2% year on year and in line with expectations, but posting a significant miss on billings estimates and the weakest guidance update in the group, with its stock flat at $8.36. Paychex reported revenues of $1.61 billion, up 12.5% year on year, meeting expectations, and its stock is up 17.1% since reporting at $114.79. HR software stocks have risen 10.4% on average since the latest earnings results.

Timee, a service for posting and filling short-term shift work, decided on the 10th to prepare an application to change its market listing to the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market. The company says it aims for medium- to long-term growth and further improvement of corporate value. It is targeting the change application for sometime in 2027, though the application date and other scheduling details are undecided at this point. Timee listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in July 2024.

Korn Ferry said it expects second-quarter fiscal 2027 fee revenue of $860 million to $878 million, with adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.8% to 17.2% and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.30 to $1.40, guidance that includes the acquisition of AMS for only two months, September and October. The outlook follows a first quarter in which fee revenue grew 7% year over year to $756 million, adjusted EBITDA rose $8 million, or 7%, to $128 million, and adjusted diluted earnings per share came in at $1.43. Chief Executive Gary Burnison said the quarter marked the sixth consecutive quarter of top-line growth and that completing the combination with AMS creates a global leader in talent and organizational consulting, with the combined firm now carrying a backlog of $3.5 billion. Chief Financial Officer Robert Rozek said estimated remaining fees under existing contracts grew 14% year over year to $1.92 billion, of which about 56%, or $1.1 billion, is expected to be recognized over the next four quarters and the remaining 44%, or $835 million, beyond that. Regionally, Americas fee revenue rose 9% to $442 million, EMEA grew 4% to $228 million, and APAC returned to growth at $87 million, up 1%. Management said it would lean toward using investable cash to reduce debt tied to the AMS acquisition, while keeping buybacks in view, and targets a $140 million AMS run-rate EBITDA level within a year of close, with integration onto a common platform set for May 1, 2027.

Korn/Ferry reported quarterly earnings of $1.43 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.35 and up from $1.31 a year ago, marking a 5.93% surprise. Revenues for the quarter ended July 2026 reached $756.5 million, beating estimates by 2.90% and rising from $708.61 million in the prior year. The company has exceeded consensus EPS and revenue estimates in each of the last four quarters. Management's commentary on the earnings call will likely influence near-term stock movement, with shares up 24.3% year-to-date versus the S&P 500's 12.1% gain. Looking ahead, the consensus EPS estimate for the coming quarter is $1.48 on $750 million in revenues, and for the current fiscal year, $6.04 on $3.03 billion in revenues. Korn/Ferry currently holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating expectations of in-line performance with the market.

Employers expect global hiring momentum to strengthen slightly heading into the final quarter of 2026, according to ManpowerGroup's latest Employment Outlook Survey of 39,878 employers across 42 countries. The global Net Employment Outlook for Q4 2026 stands at 29%, up two points from the previous quarter and six points from the same period last year. Among employers planning to add staff, 62% cite changing roles and skills as the primary driver, including branching into new areas, new expertise demanded by advancing technology, and shifts in the skills their services require. Forty-three percent of employers globally plan to increase staffing between October and December, compared with 14% anticipating reductions, while 41% expect staffing levels to remain unchanged. The survey also finds that 45% of employers are increasing entry-level hiring compared with 2025, against 20% pulling back, and that construction and real estate and finance and insurance report the strongest hiring intentions at 36%, followed by information at 35%. Regionally, the Americas posts the strongest outlook at 36%, with Brazil at 53%, Panama at 49%, Mexico at 41%, and the United States at 36%, while India leads all countries at 54%, followed by Vietnam at 36% and China at 34%.

ManpowerGroup topped Q2 earnings among seven professional staffing and HR solutions companies tracked, with revenues of $4.86 billion, up 7.5% year on year and exceeding analyst expectations by 2.9%. The group's revenues beat consensus estimates by 2.3% on average, while next-quarter guidance came in 2% below. First Advantage also outperformed with revenues of $448.8 million, up 14.9% and beating estimates by 8.2%, while Barrett Business Services was the weakest, with revenues of $319.3 million, up 3.8% but missing EPS estimates significantly. Robert Half reported revenues of $1.34 billion, down 2.4% but beating estimates by 1%, and Insperity posted revenues of $1.69 billion, up 1.7% and topping expectations by 0.7%. Since reporting, ManpowerGroup shares have risen 59.2% to $62.13, while Barrett shares have fallen 14.9% to $34.15.

Kanzhun Ltd reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of RMB2.4 billion, up 14% year over year, with adjusted operating margin reaching a record 43.8%. Paying enterprise customers rose 11% to 7.2 million, and monthly active users exceeded 70 million. Net income surged 173% to RMB1.9 billion, boosted by investment income from a portfolio company's IPO, while adjusted net income grew 9% to RMB1.03 billion. The company declared an annual dividend of $230 million and completed $300 million in share repurchases year-to-date, totaling over $530 million in 2026. Sales and marketing expenses jumped 38% due to FIFA World Cup sponsorship, and Q3 revenue growth guidance of 11.4%-15.6% suggests macro headwinds. CEO Jonathan Peng Zhao highlighted AI-driven features, including over 10,000 daily AI interviews, and outlined overseas expansion plans for OfferToday targeting $100-115 million in revenue within five years.

KANZHUN reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of RMB2.4 billion, up 14% from a year earlier, driven by user-base expansion and improved monetization from higher-value services. The company forecast third-quarter revenue of RMB2.41 billion to RMB2.5 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 11.4% to 15.6%. Paying enterprise customers rose 11% year over year to 7.2 million, while adjusted operating income increased 19% to RMB1.05 billion and the adjusted operating margin reached a record 43.8%. The board approved an annual cash dividend of approximately $230 million, and combined with more than $300 million of share repurchases completed year to date, total 2026 shareholder returns exceeded $530 million. KANZHUN's overseas OfferToday business is targeting $100 million to $115 million in revenue within about five years, with potential expansion across Asia and Europe.

ADP stock has gained 13.4% in a month, outperforming the industry's 1.6% growth and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 2.4% return. The company reported adjusted EBIT increased 13% year over year to $1.37 billion in the fourth quarter of 2026, with adjusted EBIT margin expanding 140 basis points to 25.1% and adjusted net earnings rising 14% to $1.05 billion. ADP had a cash balance of $4.2 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 against total long-term debt of $4.9 billion, and operating cash flow of $5.4 billion for the same period. The company distributed $1.6 billion, $1.7 billion, $1.9 billion and $2.6 billion in dividends in fiscal 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively. ADP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

GEE Group Inc. reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 net income of 1 cent per share, compared with breakeven results in the prior-year quarter. Revenues declined 15% to $20.8 million from $24.5 million a year earlier, but the company returned to profitability with net income from continuing operations of $0.6 million against a net loss of $0.4 million. Direct hire placement revenues increased approximately 16% year over year to $3.8 million, while contract staffing revenues declined 20% to $17 million. Adjusted EBITDA improved to $0.6 million from a loss of $0.03 million in the prior-year quarter. The company ended June with $20.3 million in cash and no long-term debt.

HireQuest reported second quarter 2026 total revenue of $8.1 million, up 6% from $7.6 million a year earlier, with pro forma growth of 16.6% excluding divested MRI Network assets. Net income after tax was $2.7 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared with $1.1 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted net income was $3.2 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, and adjusted EBITDA was $4.6 million, up from $3.3 million. CEO Richard Hermanns said demand for temporary staffing improved through the quarter, with year-over-year growth accelerating from 2% to 4% early in the period to 12% to 13% in some weeks by the end, and that the company expects positive results through the balance of 2026. CFO David Hartley noted that system-wide sales were $117.8 million, down from $125.9 million, but up 6.9% pro forma for the MRI divestiture, and that the company had $41.0 million in availability on its credit facility as of June 30, 2026.

Automatic Data Processing is drawing fresh attention after better-than-expected Q4 2026 earnings and guidance, along with a rebound in hiring data from its National Employment Report, prompted investors to reassess the stock. The company's recent Q4 2026 earnings beat and guidance, together with firmer hiring data, have helped drive a 22.03% three-month share price return, though the one-year total shareholder return declined 9.46%. Adoption of next-generation products like Lyric HCM and Workforce Now Next Gen, plus integration of acquisitions such as WorkForce Software, is accelerating demand for advanced cloud-based and AI-driven HR solutions, supporting higher average revenue per user and margin expansion. The stock last closed at $269.31 against a narrative fair value of $286.67, suggesting it is about 6.1% undervalued. Risks include slower bookings on large complex deals and rising zero-margin PEO pass-through revenues that could pressure profitability.

Automatic Data Processing declared a regular quarterly dividend of US$1.70 per share, payable on October 1, 2026, to shareholders of record as of September 11, 2026, while its latest National Employment Report signaled a rebound in U.S. private-sector hiring. The company also reported stronger-than-expected Q4 2026 results and issued guidance for revenue, EPS, and margin expansion in fiscal 2027. The maintained payout and improving labor-market data reinforce confidence in ADP's payroll and employment analytics franchise, though the key catalyst remains adoption of Next Gen products like Workforce Now Next Gen and Lyric. ADP's narrative projects $25.9 billion revenue and $5.6 billion earnings by 2029, requiring 5.7% yearly revenue growth and about a $1.2 billion earnings increase from $4.4 billion today.

Automatic Data Processing has increased its dividend for 51 straight years, most recently raising the quarterly payout by 10% in November 2025 to $1.70 per share. The company generated $5.44 billion in operating cash flow during fiscal 2026, up from $4.94 billion a year earlier, while paying $2.63 billion in dividends and spending $2.08 billion on share repurchases. Fourth-quarter revenue grew 7% year over year to $5.47 billion, and adjusted EPS climbed to $2.64 from $2.26. Management expects revenue to increase 5% to 6% in fiscal 2027, with adjusted EPS growth of 9% to 11%, which should support continued dividend increases.

PRTR Group reported first-half results for 2026 with total revenue of 3.8272 billion baht, up 0.8 percent from the same period last year, and net profit attributable to the parent of 101.0 million baht, down 10.1 percent from the same period last year. Its core outsourcing services business had 19,746 employees under management at the end of the second quarter, up nearly 900 from the previous quarter, and is on track toward its target of 21,500 employees this year. The Blacksmith training business posted first-half revenue of 22.0 million baht, growing 71.9 percent, while the HR tech platform Pinno recorded revenue of 21.0 million baht, up 8.2 percent. The board approved an interim dividend of 0.10 baht per share, with the ex-dividend date set for 21 August 2026 and payment on 3 September 2026.

PRTR Group Public Company Limited, or PRTR, reported second-quarter 2026 results with total revenue of 1.9536 billion baht, up 2.2% from the same period last year and up 4.3% from the previous quarter. Net profit attributable to the parent company was 46 million baht, driven mainly by the staffing and outsourcing services business, which returned to growth from revenue recognition of new client contracts. For the first six months of 2026, the company posted total revenue of 3.8272 billion baht, up 0.8% from the same period last year, with gross profit of 338 million baht, up 1.2%, and a maintained gross margin of 8.8%. Net profit attributable to the parent company was 101 million baht, down 10.1% from last year, as the recruitment services business slowed in line with labour market conditions. However, higher-margin businesses such as The Blacksmith and Pinno continued to expand and played a greater role in supporting the group's revenue structure and profitability going forward. Ms. Rissara Charoenpanich, Chief Executive Officer of PRTR, said the outsourcing services business, the company's main revenue base, remains strong. At the end of the second quarter of 2026, the company had 19,746 outsourced employees under management, up nearly 900 from the previous quarter, and is on track toward its target of 21,500 by 2026. By client base, consumer electronics remains the main revenue contributor, while wholesale, retail and fashion grew 54% from the same period last year, followed by e-commerce and IT, up 18%, and oil and gas and energy, up 14%, reflecting diversification across industries and reducing reliance on any single business. Biz Resource Company Limited, which PRTR acquired through a merger and acquisition in 2025, has been rebranded as PRTR Plus to fully integrate services into the PRTR group. It currently has about 325 maids and about 350 drivers, with a growth target of 40% this year from cross-selling to the group's existing client base and winning new large-scale projects. The company expects operating expenses to stabilise from the third quarter of 2026 onward, after recognising merger-related costs since late last year. The recruitment services business, which accounted for about 2.6% of service revenue in the first half, still has a candidate database of more than 700,000 people and a recruiter team of more than 150. Although revenue slowed as some corporate clients in certain industries delayed hiring decisions, the number of placements in the first six months rose 24.7% to 1,468 positions, with junior-level positions up 34%. The training business under The Blacksmith brand posted first-half revenue of 22 million baht, up 71.9% from the same period last year, with a gross margin of 54.6%, supported by demand for on-site training from large corporate clients and specialised courses aligned with upskilling and reskilling trends for digital transformation and AI. The HR tech platform Pinno posted first-half revenue of 21 million baht, up 8.2% from last year, and second-quarter revenue of 11.4 million baht, up 20.3%, with 55,241 users on the system as of the end of June 2026. The company sees Pinno as having an opportunity to increase recurring income and support the group's profitability in the medium term. For the third quarter of 2026, management expects performance to recover. The recruitment business will begin recognising revenue from employees in large-scale projects whose start dates were postponed from the second quarter, while the outsourcing business has an opportunity to add about 500 to 570 employees, particularly drivers and production staff. The Blacksmith has begun to turn a profit and had a backlog of about 14 million baht at the end of the second quarter, to be recognised gradually in the second half. Pinno is expected to reach break-even or begin showing a profit in the third quarter after using AI to improve operational efficiency. As for the financial position at the end of June 2026, PRTR had total assets of 2.3897 billion baht, shareholders' equity of 1.6438 billion baht, and a liquidity ratio of 3.86 times, reflecting financial readiness to support future business expansion. In addition, the board of directors approved an interim dividend from first-half 2026 results at 0.10 baht per share, with the ex-dividend date set for 21 August 2026, the record date for shareholders entitled to receive the dividend on 24 August 2026, and the dividend payment date on 3 September 2026. Ms. Rissara said that in the second half, the company will accelerate growth in the outsourcing business, build on synergies from PRTR Plus through cross-selling to the existing client base, and expand The Blacksmith and Pinno to increase recurring income. The recruitment business is expected to recover gradually, while the number of outsourced employees is likely to expand in line with targets, which will support a gradual recovery in net profit compared with the first half.

Professional staffing and HR solutions stocks reported a strong second quarter, with the seven companies tracked beating revenue consensus estimates by 2.3% on average, though next quarter's revenue guidance came in 2% below expectations. Alight reported revenues of $511 million, down 3.2% year over year, beating estimates by 2.8% but issuing weak guidance that sent its stock down 22.1% to $13.38. ManpowerGroup posted revenues of $4.86 billion, up 7.5% year over year and 2.9% above estimates, with its stock up 44.2% to $56.26. Barrett Business Services reported revenues of $319.3 million, up 3.8% year over year and in line with estimates, but missed EPS significantly and its stock fell 21.8% to $31.39. First Advantage reported revenues of $448.8 million, up 14.9% year over year and 8.2% above estimates, with its stock up 3.1% to $21.20. Robert Half reported revenues of $1.34 billion, down 2.4% year over year but beating estimates by 1%, with its stock up 11.3% to $42.15.

First Advantage shares rose after the background screening provider reported second-quarter 2026 results that beat expectations and raised its full-year financial guidance. Revenue grew 14.9% year over year to $448.8 million, while adjusted EPS increased 30% to $0.35. Management attributed the strong performance to improving hiring trends across several verticals, particularly in high-volume hiring, as well as the realization of synergies. The company raised its full-year 2026 outlook, now expecting revenue of $1.67 billion to $1.71 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.23 to $1.29. First Advantage also highlighted its focus on deleveraging, having made $70 million in voluntary debt prepayments between May and early August.

First Advantage reported second-quarter revenue of $448.8 million, beating analyst estimates of $414.8 million and growing 14.9% year over year, while adjusted EPS of $0.35 also topped expectations of $0.29. The company raised its full-year revenue guidance to $1.69 billion at the midpoint from $1.66 billion and lifted adjusted EPS guidance to $1.26, a 5% increase. CEO Scott Staples attributed the broad-based improvement to strong enterprise bookings, AI-enabled product adoption, and high-volume hiring in retail, transportation, and blue-collar staffing. During the earnings call, analysts from Stifel, RBC Capital Markets, William Blair, JPMorgan, and Jefferies questioned management on the sustainability of base volume growth, margin impacts from episodic customer initiatives, and capital allocation priorities, with CFO Steven Marks reiterating that deleveraging remains the top priority.

Nixxy reported its first-half 2026 financial results. Net loss from continuing operations for the first six months of 2026 improved significantly to approximately $(1.8) million, compared with approximately $(7.3) million for the corresponding period in 2025. Revenue was $45.2 million, up 209.6% year over year.

First Advantage reported second quarter 2026 revenue of $449 million, up 15% year-over-year, and raised its full-year guidance across all metrics. Adjusted EBITDA was $128.5 million with a margin of 28.6%, and adjusted diluted EPS grew 30% to $0.35. The company now expects 2026 total revenues of $1.67 billion to $1.71 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $472 million to $486 million, and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.23 to $1.29. During the quarter, the company repurchased $18.7 million of shares through the $100 million share repurchase authorization announced in February, with total repurchases through the end of July reaching approximately $38 million. First Advantage also made a $25 million voluntary debt repayment in the quarter and an additional $45 million prepayment this week, bringing cumulative debt repayment since the Sterling acquisition to more than $165 million.