TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.17 EPS

TrueBlue (NYSE:TBI) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.17), FiscalAI reports. TrueBlue had a negative net margin of 1.78% and a negative return on equity of 4.42%. The firm had revenue of $418.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $413.31 million.

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

• Q4 revenue was $418 million (+8% YoY) with the company delivering its second consecutive quarter of organic revenue growth (+5%, including ~3 pts from HSP).
• The energy/renewables vertical was a major growth driver — energy revenue grew ~60% and now represents about 15% of the portfolio, with a strong pipeline and recent multimillion-dollar project wins.
• Management cut SG&A by 11% while growing revenue, ended the quarter with $25 million cash and $92 million total liquidity, and reduced debt by $2 million, which they say improves flexibility to scale as demand rebounds.
• Gross margin compressed to 21.5% (from 26.6%) mainly because last year’s unusually favorable workers’ compensation reserve development did not repeat and because faster growth in lower-margin renewable work (with pass-through travel costs) changed the mix.
• GAAP net loss was $32 million (includes an $18 million non‑cash impairment); adjusted net loss was $8 million and adjusted EBITDA was $2 million, and Q1 2026 revenue is guided to +3%–9% with a near-term margin headwind as workers’ comp normalizes.

TrueBlue Price Performance

Shares of TrueBlue stock traded down $0.54 on Thursday, reaching $3.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 62,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 183,912. TrueBlue has a 52-week low of $3.45 and a 52-week high of $7.86. The company has a market capitalization of $119.19 million, a P/E ratio of -4.25, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $4.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.36.

Institutional Trading of TrueBlue

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TBI. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in TrueBlue during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in TrueBlue in the 2nd quarter valued at $69,000. Simplex Trading LLC boosted its stake in TrueBlue by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 11,018 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 3,995 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of TrueBlue in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TrueBlue in the second quarter worth about $83,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.15% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about TrueBlue

Here are the key news stories impacting TrueBlue this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue beat and year‑over‑year growth: Q4 revenue rose ~8% to ~$418M, slightly above Street estimates, driven in part by the January 2025 HSP acquisition — a sign demand remained resilient. TrueBlue Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Growth target and energy expansion: management outlined a Q1 2026 revenue growth target of 3%–9% and said it is expanding its footprint in the energy sector — this provides a clear growth focus for the near term. TrueBlue outlines 3-percent to 9-percent revenue growth target for Q1 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 revenue guidance is wide and mixed vs consensus: management set revenue guidance of ~$381M–$406M (consensus ≈ $386.5M) — the range straddles estimates, leaving direction ambiguous and keeping investors focused on execution. TrueBlue Q4 2025 Press Release / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss and wider net loss: Q4 EPS was a loss of $0.25 versus consensus loss of $0.08; net loss widened to ~$32M (included an $18M impairment) — this drove near‑term negative sentiment. TrueBlue (TBI) Reports Q4 Loss, Beats Revenue Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure and cash flow weakness: gross profit fell ~12% YoY, cost of sales rose, cash from operations was negative in the quarter and liabilities remain elevated — all support investor concern about near‑term profitability. TrueBlue Inc. (TBI) stock falls on Q4 2025 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call/transcript available for detail: management discussed the drivers of revenue, cost pressures and the impairment on the call — investors will watch execution on cost control and the Q1 cadence. TrueBlue Inc (TBI) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on TBI shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of TrueBlue in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of TrueBlue from $8.00 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised TrueBlue to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued 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 $6.00.

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.