Robert Half (RHI): Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q2 Earnings?

Robert Half has had an impressive run over the past six months as its shares have beaten the S&P 500 by 17.4%. The stock now trades at $40.55, marking a 29.1% gain. This was partly thanks to its solid quarterly results, and the run-up might have investors contemplating their next move.

Is now the time to buy Robert Half, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Dive into our full research report to see our analyst team’s opinion, it’s free.

Why Do We Think Robert Half Will Underperform?

We’re happy investors have made money, but we don’t have much confidence in Robert Half. Here are three reasons we avoid RHI, plus one stock we’d rather own.

1. Long-Term Revenue Growth Flatter Than a Pancake

Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Unfortunately, Robert Half struggled to consistently increase demand as its $5.29 billion of sales for the trailing 12 months was close to its revenue five years ago. This wasn’t a great result and signals it’s a low quality business.

2. EPS Trending Down

Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company’s incremental sales were profitable — for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions.

Sadly for Robert Half, its EPS declined by 21.3% annually over the last five years while its revenue was flat. This tells us the company struggled because its fixed cost base made it difficult to adjust to choppy demand.

3. New Investments Fail to Bear Fruit as ROIC Declines

ROIC, or return on invested capital, is a metric showing how much operating profit a company generates relative to the money it has raised (debt and equity).

Over the last few years, Robert Half’s ROIC has unfortunately decreased significantly. We like what management has done in the past, but its declining returns are perhaps a symptom of fewer profitable growth opportunities.

Final Judgment

We see the value of companies helping their customers, but in the case of Robert Half, we’re out. With its shares topping the market in recent months, the stock trades at 24.8× forward P/E (or $40.55 per share). At this valuation, there’s a lot of good news priced in - we think other companies feature superior fundamentals at the moment. Let us point you toward one of our all-time favorite software stocks.

Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Robert Half

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