Key Highlights

● Robert Half rose to $42.00 after hours on October 22.

● Robert Half owns the consulting firm Protiviti.

● Staffing revenue rose on an as-adjusted basis for the first time since 2022.

● Earnings of $0.49 a share beat the analyst estimate.

Robert Half (NYSE:RHI) jumped after the bell on Thursday, October 22, 2026, after the staffing and consulting company reported third-quarter results that showed renewed growth in its core staffing business. The stock, listed on the NYSE Composite, rose to $42.00 in after-hours trading.

A turning point for staffing

The headline number for investors was staffing revenue. It rose on an as-adjusted basis, marking the company's first adjusted growth in that business since 2022.

That matters because Robert Half's staffing operations have been under pressure for several years. As companies cut back on hiring and temporary workers, demand for the firm's placement services softened. A return to growth, even a modest one, suggests the slump may be bottoming out.

Earnings also came in ahead of expectations. Robert Half reported earnings of $0.49 per share for the quarter, which beat the analyst estimate. Revenue was in line with forecasts.

Robert Half is one of the largest specialized staffing firms in the world, placing finance, accounting, technology and administrative professionals on temporary and permanent assignments. It also owns Protiviti, a consulting firm focused on risk, internal audit and technology.

A healthy labor market backdrop

The results landed on a day of encouraging labor data. Initial jobless claims fell to 194,000 in the week ended October 17, below the 200,000 economists had expected and the fewest in about three months. The four-week average was 197,750.

Continuing claims rose by 25,000 to 1.728 million, a sign that people who lose jobs may be taking somewhat longer to find new ones.

For a staffing company, the balance between job cuts and hiring is central, and investors will want to see whether the third-quarter improvement reflects a broader pickup in demand for temporary and permanent workers.

The regular session

During the regular session, Wall Street was split. The S&P 500 fell 93.74 points to 7,663.43, its worst day since July, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 694.00 points to 26,008.86 as chip and AI stocks sold off after the heavy spending plans from Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX)'s cautious outlook.

Beneath the surface, however, the market was healthier. About two of every three S&P 500 stocks rose, according to market reports, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 11.89 points to 52,867.98. Consumer staples and health care hit record highs, and financial stocks gained.

Treasuries rallied strongly, and the 10-year yield closed back below a closely watched threshold for the first time since September 22.

Staffing stocks also tend to benefit when investors grow more confident about corporate hiring plans, which puts the day's labor data and the company's results in the same frame.

Robert Half Faces Friday's Open

The key question is whether Thursday's after-hours gain holds when regular trading opens on Friday, October 23.

Investors will also watch for more detail on how broad the staffing recovery is across Robert Half's specialties and regions. On the economic calendar, S&P Global's flash PMI surveys arrive Friday, followed by the Federal Reserve's decision on October 28 and third-quarter GDP data on October 29, all of which will inform the outlook for hiring.