羅致恆富 (RHI) 2025 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Please stand by. Hello, and welcome to the Robert Half fourth-quarter 2025 conference call. Today's conference call is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) Our hosts for today's call are Mr. Keith Waddell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Robert Half; and Mr. Michael Buckley, Chief Financial Officer.

請稍候。大家好，歡迎參加 Robert Half 2025 年第四季電話會議。今天的電話會議正在錄音。（操作員說明）今天電話會議的主持人是 Robert Half 總裁兼執行長 Keith Waddell 先生和財務長 Michael Buckley 先生。

Mr. Waddell, you may begin.

瓦德爾先生，您可以開始了。

Hello, everyone. We appreciate your time today. Before we get started, I'd like to remind you that the comments made on today's call contain forward‑looking statements, including predictions and estimates about our future performance. These statements represent our current judgment of what the future holds. However, they're subject to the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward‑looking statements.

大家好。感謝您今天抽出時間。在正式開始之前，我想提醒各位，今天電話會議上發表的評論包含前瞻性陳述，包括對我們未來業績的預測和估計。這些陳述代表了我們目前對未來方向的判斷。然而，它們受到各種風險和不確定性的影響，這些風險和不確定性可能導致實際結果與前瞻性陳述有重大差異。

These risks and uncertainties are described in today's press release and in our most recent 10‑K and 10‑Q filed with the SEC. We assume no obligation to update the statements made on today's call.

這些風險和不確定性在今天的新聞稿以及我們最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的 10K 和 10Q 文件中均有描述。我們不承擔更新今天電話會議上所作聲明的義務。

During this presentation, we may mention some non‑GAAP financial measures and reference these figures as adjusted. Specifically, we present adjusted revenue growth rates, which remove the impacts on reported revenues from the changes in the number of billing days and foreign currency exchange rates. Additionally, we present adjusted gross margin, adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses, and adjusted operating income by combining the gains and losses on investments held to fund the company's obligations under employee deferred compensation plans with the changes in the underlying deferred compensation obligations. Since the gains and losses from investments and the changes in deferred compensation obligations completely offset, there is no impact on our reported net income.

在本次示範中，我們可能會提及一些非GAAP財務指標，並引用這些調整後的數字。具體而言，我們展示了調整後的收入成長率，該成長率消除了計費天數和外匯匯率變動對報告收入的影響。此外，我們透過將為履行公司在員工遞延薪酬計劃下的義務而持有的投資的損益與相關遞延薪酬義務的變化相結合，列示了調整後的毛利率、調整後的銷售、一般及行政費用和調整後的營業收入。由於投資收益和損失以及遞延薪酬義務的變化完全相互抵消，因此對我們報告的淨收入沒有影響。

Reconciliations and further explanations of these measures are included in a supplemental schedule to our earnings press release. For your convenience, our prepared remarks for today's call are available in the Investor Center of our website, roberthalf.com

這些措施的核對和進一步解釋包含在我們獲利新聞稿的補充附表中。為方便起見，我們今天電話會議的發言稿已發佈在公司網站 roberthalf.com 的投資者中心。

For the fourth quarter of 2025, global enterprise revenues were $1.302 billion, down 6% from last year's fourth quarter on a reported basis and down 7% on an adjusted basis. We are very pleased to see talent solutions and enterprise revenues return to positive sequential growth on a same‑day constant currency basis for the first time in over three years. Weekly revenue trends during the quarter continued to show positive momentum, which extended into the first three weeks of January.

2025 年第四季度，全球企業營收為 13.02 億美元，以報告基準計算比去年第四季下降 6%，以調整基準計算下降 7%。我們非常高興地看到，人才解決方案和企業收入在三年多來首次恢復了以當日固定匯率計算的環比正成長。本季每週的收入趨勢繼續呈現積極勢頭，並延續到 1 月的前三週。

Our revenue and earnings exceeded the midpoint of our previous fourth quarter guidance. Net income per share for the quarter was $0.32 compared to $0.53 in the fourth quarter one year ago. We enter 2026 very well positioned to capitalize on emerging opportunities and support our clients' talent and consulting needs through the strength of our industry‑leading brand, our people, our technology, and our unique business model that includes both professional staffing and business consulting services.

我們的營收和獲利均超過了先前第四季預期的中位數。本季每股淨收益為 0.32 美元，去年同期為 0.53 美元。進入 2026 年，我們已做好充分準備，抓住新興機遇，並透過我們行業領先的品牌、員工、技術以及獨特的商業模式（包括專業人員配備和商業諮詢服務）來支持客戶的人才和諮詢需求。

Cash flow provided by operations during the quarter was $183 million, the highest quarter this year and an 18% increase over 2024 Q4. In December, we distributed a $0.59 per share cash dividend to our shareholders of record for a total cash outlay of $59 million. Return on invested capital for the company was 10% in the fourth quarter.

本季經營活動產生的現金流為 1.83 億美元，是今年以來最高的季度，比 2024 年第四季成長了 18%。12 月，我們向登記在冊的股東派發了每股 0.59 美元的現金股息，總現金支出為 5,900 萬美元。該公司第四季的投資資本報酬率為10%。

Now I'll turn the call over to our CFO, Mike Buckley.

現在我將把電話交給我們的財務長邁克·巴克利。

Thank you, Keith, and hello, everyone. As Keith noted, global revenues were $1.302 billion in the fourth quarter. On an adjusted basis, fourth quarter talent solutions revenues were down 9% year over year. US talent solutions revenues were $623 million, down 9% from the prior year's fourth quarter. Non‑US talent solutions revenues were $200 million, down 8% year over year. We conduct talent solutions operations through offices in the United States and 18 other countries.

謝謝你，基思，大家好。正如基思所指出的，第四季全球收入為 13.02 億美元。經調整後，第四季人才解決方案營收年減 9%。美國人才解決方案營收為 6.23 億美元，比去年同期下降 9%。非美國人才解決方案營收為 2 億美元，年減 8%。我們透過位於美國和其他 18 個國家的辦事處開展人才解決方案業務。

In the fourth quarter, there were 61.4 billing days compared to 61.6 billing days in the same quarter one year ago. The first quarter of 2026 has 61.9 billing days, as did the first quarter of 2025. Billing days for the remaining three quarters of 2026 will be 63.1, 64.6 and 61.1 for a total of 250.7 billing days in the year, which is the same as the full year of 2025.

第四季度，計費天數為 61.4 天，去年同期為 61.6 天。2026 年第一季有 61.9 個計費日，與 2025 年第一季相同。2026 年剩餘三個季度的計費天數分別為 63.1 天、64.6 天和 61.1 天，全年總計 250.7 個計費天數，與 2025 年全年相同。

Currency exchange rate movements during the fourth quarter had the effect of increasing reported year‑over‑year total revenues by $15 million. That was $10 million for talent solutions and $5 million for Protiviti. Contract talent solutions bill rates for the fourth quarter increased 3.2% compared to one year ago, adjusted for the changes in the mix of revenues by functional specialization, currency, and country. This rate for the third quarter was 3.7%.

第四季匯率波動導致報告的總收入年增了 1500 萬美元。其中 1000 萬美元用於人才解決方案，500 萬美元用於 Protiviti。在按職能專業化、貨幣和國家調整收入組成變化後，第四季度合約人才解決方案的計費率比一年前增長了 3.2%。第三季的成長率為3.7%。

Now let's take a closer look at results for Protiviti. Global revenues in the fourth quarter were $479 million. $373 million of that is from the United States, and $106 million is from outside of the United States. On an adjusted basis, global fourth quarter Protiviti revenues were down 3% versus the year‑ago period, with US Protiviti revenues down 6%, while non‑US Protiviti revenues were up 9% compared to one year ago. Protiviti and its independently owned member firms serve clients through locations in the United States and 28 other countries.

現在讓我們仔細看看Protiviti的業績。第四季全球營收 4.79 億美元，其中 3.73 億美元來自美國，1.06 億美元來自美國以外地區。經調整後，Protiviti 全球第四季營收年減 3%，其中美國 Protiviti 營收年減 6%，而非美國 Protiviti 營收年增 9%。Protiviti 及其獨立擁有的成員公司透過位於美國和其他 28 個國家的辦事處為客戶提供服務。

Turning now to gross margin, in contract talent solutions, gross margin was 39.2% of applicable revenues in the current quarter compared to 39.1% in the fourth quarter one year ago. Conversion, or contract‑to‑hire, revenues were 3.2% of contract revenues in both the current quarter and the fourth quarter of 2024. Our permanent placement revenues were 12.5% of consolidated talent solutions revenues in the current quarter compared to 12.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024. When combined with contract talent solutions gross margin, overall gross margin for talent solutions was 46.7% of applicable revenues in the current quarter compared to 46.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024.

現在來看毛利率，在合約人才解決方案方面，本季毛利率為適用收入的 39.2%，而一年前的第四季為 39.1%。轉換收入（或合約轉聘收入）在本季和 2024 年第四季均佔合約收入的 3.2%。本季度，我們的永久職位安置收入佔綜合人才解決方案收入的 12.5%，而 2024 年第四季這一比例為 12.1%。加上合約人才解決方案的毛利率，本季人才解決方案的整體毛利率為適用收入的 46.7%，而 2024 年第四季為 46.4%。

For Protiviti, gross margin was 21.9% of Protiviti revenues in the fourth quarter and 24.9% in the fourth quarter one year ago. Adjusted gross margin for Protiviti was 22.8% for the quarter just ended compared to 25.1% last year. We ended 2025 with 11,200 full‑time Protiviti employees and contractors, up 1.5% from the prior year.

Protiviti 第四季的毛利率為 Protiviti 營收的 21.9%，而去年同期為 24.9%。Protiviti 剛結束的季度調整後毛利率為 22.8%，去年同期為 25.1%。截至 2025 年底，Protiviti 共有 11,200 名全職員工和承包商，比前一年成長 1.5%。

Enterprise selling, general and administrative costs were 35.9% of global revenues in the fourth quarter compared to 34.1% in the same quarter one year ago. Adjusted enterprise SG&A costs were 34.6% for the quarter just ended compared to 33.8% one year ago. Talent solutions SG&A costs were 47.6% of talent solutions revenues in the fourth quarter versus 44.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Adjusted talent solutions SG&A costs were 45.6% for the quarter just ended compared to 43.9% last year.

第四季企業銷售、一般及行政費用佔全球收入的 35.9%，去年同期為 34.1%。調整後的企業銷售、一般及行政費用佔比為 34.6%，而一年前為 33.8%。第四季人才解決方案銷售、一般及行政費用佔人才解決方案收入的 47.6%，而 2024 年第四季這一比例為 44.4%。調整後的人才解決方案銷售、一般及行政費用佔比為 45.6%，去年同期為 43.9%。

We ended 2025 with 7,400 full‑time internal employees in talent solutions, down 3.2% from the prior year. Fourth quarter SG&A costs for Protiviti were 15.7% of Protiviti revenues compared to 15.3% for the same quarter one year ago.

截至 2025 年底，我們在人才解決方案領域擁有 7,400 名全職內部員工，比前一年減少了 3.2%。Protiviti 在第四季銷售、一般及行政費用佔 Protiviti 收入的 15.7%，而去年同期為 15.3%。

Operating income for the fourth quarter was $22 million. Adjusted operating income was $43 million in the quarter, or 3.3% of revenues. Fourth quarter adjusted operating income from our talent solutions divisions was $9 million, or 1.1% of revenues. Adjusted operating income for Protiviti in the fourth quarter was $34 million, or 7.1% of revenues.

第四季營業收入為 2,200 萬美元。本季調整後營業收入為 4,300 萬美元，佔營收的 3.3%。第四季度，我們人才解決方案部門的調整後營業收入為 900 萬美元，佔營收的 1.1%。Protiviti 第四季的調整後營業收入為 3,400 萬美元，佔營收的 7.1%。

Our fourth quarter 2025 income statement includes a $21 million gain from investments held in employee deferred compensation trusts. This is completely offset by an equal amount of higher employee deferred compensation costs, which are reflected in SG&A expenses and direct costs. As such, it has no effect on our reported net income.

我們 2025 年第四季的損益表包括來自員工遞延補償信託投資的 2,100 萬美元收益。但這完全被等額的員工遞延薪酬成本增加所抵消，這些成本反映在銷售、一般及行政費用和直接成本中。因此，這對我們公佈的淨收入沒有影響。

Our fourth quarter tax rate was 32% compared to 28% one year ago. The higher tax rate in the current quarter is due to the increased impact of non‑deductible expenses relative to lower pre‑tax income. At the end of the fourth quarter, accounts receivable were $748 million, and implied days sales outstanding, or DSO, was 51.8 days.

我們第四季的稅率為 32%，而一年前為 28%。本季稅率較高是由於不可抵扣支出相對於稅前收入的減少而增加所致。第四季末，應收帳款為 7.48 億美元，隱含應收帳款週轉天數（DSO）為 51.8 天。

Before we move to first quarter guidance, let's review some of the monthly revenue trends we saw in the fourth quarter and so far in January, all adjusted for currency and billing days.

在給出第一季業績指引之前，讓我們回顧一下第四季度和今年一月至今的月度收入趨勢，所有數據均已根據匯率和帳單日進行調整。

Contract talent solutions exited the fourth quarter with December revenues down 8.9% versus the prior year, compared to a 9.9% decrease for the full quarter. Revenues for the first two weeks of January were down 6.6% compared to the same period last year.

合約人才解決方案業務第四季末，12 月的營收比去年同期下降了 8.9%，而整個季度的營收下降了 9.9%。1月前兩週的營收比去年同期下降了6.6%。

Permanent placement revenues in December were down 11% versus December 2024. This compares to a 5.9% decrease for the full quarter. For the first three weeks in January, permanent placement revenues were down 9.4% compared to the same period in 2025.

12 月永久職位安置收入比 2024 年 12 月下降了 11%。相比之下，整個季度下降了5.9%。1 月的前三週，永久職位安置收入與 2025 年同期相比下降了 9.4%。

We provide this information so that you have insight into some of the trends we saw during the fourth quarter and into January. But as you know, these are very brief time periods. We caution against reading too much into them.

我們提供這些信息，以便您了解我們在第四季度和一月份觀察到的一些趨勢。但如你所知，這些都是非常短暫的時間段。我們提醒大家不要過度解讀這些內容。

With that in mind, we offer the following first quarter guidance. Revenues: $1.26 billion to $1.36 billion, income per share: $0.08 to $0.18. Midpoint revenues of $1.31 billion are 5% lower than the same period in 2025 on an adjusted basis. Our midpoint revenue guidance for the first quarter reflects continued positive adjusted sequential revenue growth for talent solutions.

基於上述考慮，我們提供以下第一季業績指引。營收：12.6 億美元至 13.6 億美元，每股盈餘：0.08 美元至 0.18 美元。經調整後，2025 年同期營收中位數為 13.1 億美元，較 2025 年同期下降 5%。我們對第一季營收的中位數預期反映了人才解決方案業務經調整後營收的持續正成長。

Our Q1 midpoint adjusted operating margin guidance declines sequentially by one percentage point, which is consistent with long‑term historical trends. This includes Protiviti's sequential decline of four percentage points. Historically, Protiviti's Q1 segment margins seasonally declined by mid‑single‑digit percentage points on a sequential basis.

我們第一季調整後營業利潤率中位數預期較上季下降一個百分點，這與長期歷史趨勢一致。這其中包括 Protiviti 股價季減 4 個百分點。從歷史上看，Protiviti 的第一季業務利潤率通常會按季度環比下降個位數百分比。

There are two primary drivers: internal audit revenues are negatively impacted as clients focus instead on annual financial statements and related external audits. In addition, Protiviti employees receive annual compensation adjustments effective January 1, which are recovered through pricing adjustments realized as client contracts are negotiated. Segment margins then improve accordingly.

主要有兩個驅動因素：由於客戶將注意力集中在年度財務報表和相關的外部審計上，內部審計收入受到負面影響。此外，Protiviti 的員工每年都會獲得薪酬調整，自 1 月 1 日起生效，並透過在客戶合約談判中實現的價格調整來彌補。隨後，各細分市場的利潤率也隨之提高。

We estimate our midpoint tax rate for the first quarter to be 56% to 58%. This is much higher than normal for two reasons: as expected tax charge related to stock compensation and the magnified impact of non‑deductible tax items when measured against seasonally low Q1 pre‑tax income. A majority of our employees' stock compensation awards vest in the first quarter of each year, as the related tax impacts are measured based upon the stock price at that time. With the current stock price below grant values, a tax charge estimated at $4.5 million, or $0.05 per share, results. For the remainder of 2026, a quarterly tax rate of 33% to 35% is expected.

我們預計第一季的中間稅率為 56% 至 58%。這比正常情況高得多，原因有二：一是與股票補償相關的預期稅收支出，二是與季節性較低的第一季稅前收入相比，不可抵扣的稅收項目的影響被放大。我們大多數員工的股票獎勵會在每年的第一季歸屬，因為相關的稅收影響是根據當時的股價來衡量的。由於目前的股價低於授予價值，預計將產生 450 萬美元（即每股 0.05 美元）的稅費。預計 2026 年剩餘時間的季度稅率為 33% 至 35%。

The major financial assumptions underlying the midpoint of these estimates are as follows: adjusted revenue growth year over year for talent solutions down 4% to 8%; Protiviti, flat to down 4%; overall, down 3% to 6%. Adjusted gross margin percentages for contract talent, 38% to 40%; Protiviti 18% to 21%; overall 35% to 38%. Adjusted SG&A as a percentage of revenues for talent solutions 44% to 46%; for Protiviti 15% to 17%; overall 33% to 36%. Adjusted operating income as a percentage of revenues for talent solutions 0% to 3%; Protiviti 2% to 5%; overall 1% to 3%.

這些估算中點的主要財務假設如下：人才解決方案的調整後收入年減 4% 至 8%；Protiviti 持平或下降 4%；整體下降 3% 至 6%。合約人才的調整後毛利率為 38% 至 40%；Protiviti 為 18% 至 21%；整體為 35% 至 38%。調整後的銷售、一般及行政費用佔人才解決方案收入的百分比為 44% 至 46%；Protiviti 為 15% 至 17%；整體為 33% 至 36%。調整後的營業收入佔人才解決方案收入的百分比為 0% 至 3%；Protiviti 為 2% 至 5%；整體為 1% 至 3%。

Tax rate 56% to 58%. Shares at 99 to 100 million. 2026 capital expenditures and capitalized cloud computing costs, $70 to $90 million, with $10 to $20 million in the first quarter. All estimates we provide on this call are subject to the risks mentioned in today's press release and in our SEC filings.

稅率為56%至58%。股票數量為 9,900 萬至 1 億美元。 2026 年資本支出和資本化雲端運算成本為 7,000 萬至 9,000 萬美元，其中第一季為 1,000 萬至 2,000 萬美元。我們在本次電話會議中提供的所有預測均受今天新聞稿和我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中提到的風險的影響。

Now, I'll turn the call back over to Keith.

現在，我把電話轉回給基斯。

Thank you, Mike. Our fourth-quarter results reflect the return to sequential growth on a same‑day constant currency basis for the first time since early 2022. Concerns around a near‑term economic downturn have moderated, supported by a more conducive macro environment. Continued progress in the rate‑cutting cycle, easing inflation, less regulation, and relatively more clarity on trade policy all contribute.

謝謝你，麥克。我們的第四季業績反映了自 2022 年初以來，以當日固定匯率計算，首次恢復了環比成長。由於宏觀環境更加有利，人們對近期經濟衰退的擔憂有所緩解。降息週期的持續進展、通膨的緩解、監管的減少以及貿易政策相對更加明朗，這些因素都起到了作用。

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index has continued to trend higher with hiring plans holding steady and labor availability remaining a key constraint. At the same time, the Uncertainty Index declined meaningfully last month, falling to its lowest level since June of 2024.

NFIB小型企業樂觀指數持續走高，招募計畫維持穩定，勞動力供應仍是主要限制因素。與此同時，不確定性指數上個月大幅下降，降至 2024 年 6 月以來的最低水準。

Although hiring and quit rates remain subdued, job openings continue to run well above historical averages, underscoring significant pent‑up demand for skilled professionals. Decision timelines are beginning to shorten, and we're seeing increased client engagement as clients revisit postponed initiatives and discuss hiring tied to business‑critical priorities.

儘管招聘率和離職率仍然較低，但職缺數量仍然遠高於歷史平均水平，這凸顯了對技術專業人員的巨大潛在需求。決策時間軸開始縮短，我們看到客戶參與度不斷提高，因為客戶重新審視推遲的計劃，並討論與業務關鍵優先事項相關的招聘事宜。

Internal resource levels at small businesses remain particularly lean as these companies have focused on cost containment for much of the last four years. Employment data from the ADP National Employment Report indicates that between January of '22 and December of 2025, companies with fewer than 500 employees have grown their employee counts by only 1.1% annually, well below the 2.8% annual growth rate seen among companies with over 500 employees. As project activity begins to pick up, this places additional strain on already limited internal capacity. Against this backdrop, unemployment remaining low and skilled talent in short supply, clients increasingly require specialized expertise to help fill open roles and execute critical work, supporting demand for both our talent solutions and consulting services.

由於過去四年來，小型企業一直專注於成本控制，因此其內部資源水平仍然特別精簡。ADP 全國就業報告的就業數據顯示，從 2022 年 1 月到 2025 年 12 月，員工人數少於 500 人的公司員工人數年均增長率僅為 1.1%，遠低於員工人數超過 500 人的公司 2.8% 的年增長率。隨著專案活動的增加，這將給本已有限的內部產能帶來額外的壓力。在此背景下，失業率持續走低，技術人才短缺，客戶越來越需要專業知識來幫助填補空缺職位和執行關鍵工作，從而支撐了對我們的人才解決方案和諮詢服務的需求。

While perspectives on medium‑ to long‑term structural impact of AI on the labor market vary greatly, most of the evidence suggests a negligible impact so far on our areas of employment, particularly among small businesses. For example, a very recent study by Oxford Economics concludes that, quote, firms don't appear to be replacing workers with AI on a significant scale, and we doubt that unemployment rates will be pushed up heavily by AI over the next few years, end quote.

儘管人們對人工智慧對勞動市場的中長期結構性影響的看法大相徑庭，但大多數證據表明，到目前為止，人工智慧對我們的就業領域，特別是對小型企業的影響微乎其微。例如，牛津經濟研究院最近的一項研究得出結論：“企業似乎並沒有大規模地用人工智慧取代工人，我們懷疑未來幾年人工智慧會大幅推高失業率。”

Also, feedback from our SMB clients indicates that potential future labor savings from AI are not a material factor in their current headcount decisions. That said, as AI reshapes how work gets done and the skills required for many roles evolve, clients are increasingly relying on us to help them navigate change, deploy talent quickly, and support the implementation of new technologies, including the requisite data requirements. At the same time, the fast‑growing use of generative AI by job seekers, particularly to tailor their resumes to client opportunities, has made it more difficult for clients to distinguish among candidates and authenticate their qualifications. This further reinforces the value of our services, including our proprietary data on actual candidate performance.

此外，來自中小企業客戶的回饋表明，人工智慧未來可能節省的勞動力成本並不是他們目前人員編制決策的重要因素。也就是說，隨著人工智慧重塑工作方式，許多職位所需的技能也在不斷變化，客戶越來越依賴我們來幫助他們應對變革、快速部署人才，並支援新技術的實施，包括必要的數據需求。同時，求職者對生成式人工智慧的快速成長的使用，特別是為了根據客戶機會定製履歷，使得客戶更難區分候選人並驗證他們的資格。這進一步強化了我們服務的價值，包括我們關於候選人實際表現的專有數據。

As expected, Protiviti's year‑over‑year growth rate showed improvement in the quarter, although it continued to be impacted by tougher prior comparables from large project builds, and by longer sales cycles and smaller‑sized new engagements. Protiviti's pipeline remains strong across all its major solution areas and at the midpoint of our Q1 revenue guidance, its growth rates are expected to continue to improve. Our strategic engagement of contract professionals via our talent solutions divisions plays an essential role in Protiviti's success and further amplifies our unique enterprise‑wide competitive advantage. Protiviti was recently recognized on Glassdoor's Best Places to Work for a third consecutive year. We begin 2026 energized by our time‑tested corporate purpose to connect people to meaningful and exciting work and provide clients with the talent and consulting expertise they need to confidently compete and grow. We've weathered many economic cycles in the past, each time emerging to achieve higher peaks. Aging workforce demographics and clients' desire for flexible resources with variable costs are structural tailwinds that are expected to propel us forward in the years to come.

正如預期的那樣，Protiviti 的同比增速在本季度有所改善，儘管它仍然受到大型項目建設帶來的更嚴峻的比較基數、更長的銷售週期和更小規模的新業務的影響。Protiviti 在所有主要解決方案領域都保持強勁的發展勢頭，根據我們第一季營收預期的中點，其成長率預計將繼續改善。我們透過人才解決方案部門對合約專業人員進行策略性聘用，這對 Protiviti 的成功至關重要，並進一步增強了我們獨特的企業級競爭優勢。Protiviti 連續第三年被 Glassdoor 評為最佳工作場所。2026 年開始，我們秉持著久經考驗的企業宗旨，致力於將人們與有意義、令人興奮的工作聯繫起來，並為客戶提供他們自信競爭和發展所需的人才和諮詢專業知識，這讓我們充滿活力。我們過去經歷過許多經濟週期，每次都走出困境，達到更高的高峰。勞動力老化和客戶對成本可變的彈性資源的需求，是推動我們在未來幾年向前發展的結構性利多因素。

Finally, we'd like to thank our global workforce for their continued dedication. Their efforts once again earn Robert Half recognition by Fortune as one of the World's Most Admired Companies, for the 29th consecutive year. We're proud of our unique position as the only company in our industry to be awarded this distinction for nearly three decades. We are also recognized as one of Forbes' World's Top Companies for Women and chosen by Newsweek as one of America's Most Responsible Companies.

最後，我們要感謝全球員工的持續奉獻。憑藉他們的努力，羅伯特哈夫連續第 29 年被《財星》雜誌評為全球最受尊敬的公司之一。我們為自己獨特的地位感到自豪，因為我們是業內唯一一家近三十年來獲得此項殊榮的公司。我們也被《富比士》評為全球女性最佳雇主之一，並被《新聞週刊》評選為美國最具責任感的公司之一。

Now, Mike and I'd be happy to answer your questions. Please just ask one question, a single follow‑up as needed, and if there's time, we'll come back to you for additional questions.

現在，我和麥克很樂意回答你們的問題。請只提一個問題，如有需要，可以再提一個後續問題。如果有時間，我們會再來詢問其他問題。

(Operator Instructions) Andrew Steinerman, JPMorgan.

（操作說明）安德魯·斯坦納曼，摩根大通。

Again, Andrew Steinerman, your line is open. Please go ahead with your question.

安德魯·斯坦納曼，你的線路已接通。請繼續提問。

Hearing no response on that line, we'll take our next question from Mark Marcon, Baird.

由於該線路沒有回應，我們接下來將回答來自 Baird 的 Mark Marcon 的提問。

Hey, good afternoon. Keith and Mike, you know, it looks like -- first of all, it's good to see that you're returning to sequential growth here. And when we take a look at the guide as it relates to 2026, we're still looking at a year‑over‑year decline, but you're expecting margins on the whole to improve primarily because of Protiviti.

嘿，下午好。Keith 和 Mike，你們知道，首先，很高興看到你們又回到了穩定成長的軌道上。當我們查看與 2026 年相關的指南時，我們仍然會看到同比下降，但預計整體利潤率將有所改善，這主要是因為 Protiviti 的表現。

And so what I'm wondering about is it's great to see the projection for the margins to improve, I'm wondering how you're thinking about the top line potentially inflecting in kind of a modest economic environment. Obviously, there's still a lot of discussion with regards to the impact of AI, and a lot of it is unknown and a lot of it is changing rapidly.

所以我想知道的是，雖然看到利潤率預測會提高固然很好，但在目前經濟環境較為溫和的情況下，您如何看待營收可能出現的變化。顯然，關於人工智慧的影響仍然存在著許多討論，其中許多方面尚不為人知，而且很多方面都在快速變化。

So I'm wondering, how are you thinking about the top line from a longer‑term perspective. And also, if we end up having just a very moderate improvement in terms of the top line, what are some of the steps that you've taken to increase the efficiency of the operations, which it seems like we're seeing in the first quarter, but just when we think about it from a longer‑term perspective in order to be able to get back to halfway back and then ultimately all the way back to prior margins?

所以我想知道，從長遠來看，您是如何看待營收成長的？此外，如果最終營收只有非常溫和的改善，那麼為了提高營運效率，你們採取了哪些措施？我們似乎在第一季看到了這種改善，但從長遠來看，為了能夠恢復到之前的一半水平，最終完全恢復到之前的利潤率，你們又採取了哪些措施？

And so, Mark, on the top line, so if you take our current trend line from a sequential revenue point of view, we would return to positive year‑over‑year growth in the third quarter. And that would be both talent solutions, Protiviti, and enterprise.

所以，馬克，從總收入來看，如果你從連續收入的角度來看我們目前的趨勢線，我們將在第三季恢復年成長。這既包括人才解決方案（Protiviti），也包括企業解決方案。

As to steps for efficiency, I'd say we -- as you know, we've held on to our best producers throughout this downturn, and we would expect that they would ramp more quickly than what we'd otherwise ramp, and there's some positive leverage from that. We continue to get traction from our own use of AI, both in terms of how we match, and in terms of rank ordering the prospects that we pursue as we try to capture that additional revenue as it becomes available. And so we've said for some time, we certainly expect we can retrace in a positive way the negative leverage we've had to deal with over the last four years.

至於提高效率的措施，我想說——正如你所知，我們在整個經濟低迷時期都留住了我們最好的生產人員，我們預計他們的產能提升速度會比我們通常的提升速度更快，這會帶來一些積極的槓桿作用。我們不斷從自身對人工智慧的使用中獲得進展，無論是在匹配方面，還是在對我們追求的潛在客戶進行排名方面，我們都在努力抓住額外的收入機會。因此，我們已經說過一段時間了，我們當然期望能夠以積極的方式扭轉過去四年我們不得不面對的負面局面。

That's great. And then within talent solutions, how are you thinking about the perm market, just given relatively flat, no‑hire, no‑fire kind of an environment thus far. Do you think that that ends up being some sort of change? And what sort of impact as we start getting to peak 65 could we end up seeing?

那太棒了。那麼在人才解決方案方面，鑑於目前相對平穩、不招聘也不解僱的環境，您是如何看待永久職位市場的？你認為這最終會帶來某種改變​​嗎？當我們逐漸步入65歲的高齡時，我們最終會看到什麼樣的影響？

I'd say that perm is stronger than the headlines would lead you to believe. As we talked last quarter, we have just as much difficulty getting candidates to change jobs as we do getting clients having demand for additional roles and positions. And so, given that the market remains tight, given that candidates remain conservative in their willingness to entertain new roles, I'd say the perm outlook is solid.

我認為燙髮的效果比新聞報道所顯示的要強得多。正如我們上個季度所討論的那樣，我們面臨的困難與客戶對更多職位和職位的需求一樣大，都難以讓求職者更換工作。因此，鑑於市場仍然緊張，鑑於求職者在接受新職位方面仍然比較保守，我認為永久職位的前景是穩定的。

And again, I understand the no‑hire, no‑fire overall environment, but our SMB clients are in a different place. As we talked about, they've added significantly fewer people the last four years. They've been in cost mode for quite some time. They've largely normalized their head counts for that over that extended period of time, and they're left very lean, not only from a full‑time standpoint, but contractors as well. I would just say SMB is in a very different place.

我再次強調，我理解不招人、不解僱的整體環境，但我們的中小企業客戶的情況有所不同。正如我們之前討論過的，在過去四年裡，他們的人員增幅明顯減少。他們已經採取成本控制策略相當長一段時間了。在那段較長的時間裡，他們的員工人數基本上恢復正常，因此他們的人員非常精簡，不僅全職員工如此，合約工也是如此。我想說的是，中小企業的情況截然不同。

Andrew Steinerman, JP Morgan.

Andrew Steinerman，摩根大通。

Hi, Keith, it's Andrew. I wanted to ask you about what I've been hearing with really kind of industry, staffing industry executives talking about the current labor uncertainty because of AI driving more interest in flexible workers as the labor recovery takes hold. What do you think of this thesis? And have you seen any evidence that flex might kind of gain share even in a moderate labor hiring environment?

嗨，基思，我是安德魯。我想問您，我最近聽到一些行業人士，特別是人力資源行業的管理人員，談到了當前勞動力市場的不確定性，因為隨著勞動力市場復甦，人工智慧推動了人們對靈活就業人員的更多興趣。你對這篇論文有什麼看法？您是否看到任何證據表明，即使在勞動力招聘環境一般的情況下，彈性工作制也可能獲得一定的市場份額？

Well, I think any time uncertainty declines, clients are more willing to add resources that, early on, they're conservative of adding those resources full time and are more receptive to contract help. I think in addition now, we've got this uncertainty around, well, if I hire full-time now, I might need to adjust that later because of AI is going to make everyone more productive. I think it certainly adds to that potential, but as I said in my prepared remarks earlier, we're not seeing a lot of current demand on the full-time side by clients saying they're holding off from their own internal hiring because of AI. I think they're basically saying, particularly SMB again, that they're not being impacted but for the potential of what AI might become.

我認為，任何時候不確定性降低，客戶都更願意增加資源；而在早期階段，他們對於全職增加這些資源持保守態度，更願意接受合約工的幫助。我認為，現在我們還面臨這種不確定性，如果我現在僱用全職員工，以後可能需要調整，因為人工智慧將使每個人的工作更有效率。我認為這無疑增加了這種潛力，但正如我之前在準備好的演講稿中所說，我們目前並沒有看到客戶對全職人才有太多需求，他們表示由於人工智慧的原因，他們正在推遲內部招聘。我認為他們基本上是在說，尤其是中小企業，他們本身並沒有受到影響，但人工智慧的潛在發展方向卻不容忽視。

Trevor Romeo, William Blair.

特雷弗·羅密歐，威廉·布萊爾。

Good afternoon. Thank you very much for taking the questions. I had one on Protiviti. I think you disclosed the headcount numbers, talked about, I think, 1.5% growth for Protiviti, including contractors last year, while revenue, I think, was flat.

午安.非常感謝您回答這些問題。我在Protiviti上有一個。我認為您披露了員工人數數據，談到了 Protiviti 去年（包括承包商在內）1.5% 的成長，而收入則持平。

So I think some rough math there. Protiviti's revenue per head well below what it was several years ago. So at this point, what are your headcount growth plans for 2026 there for Protiviti? And how much revenue upside do you think you could capture in that segment without adding meaningful headcount from where you are now?

所以我覺得這裡做了一些粗略的計算。Protiviti 的人均收入遠低於幾年前的水準。那麼，Protiviti 2026 年的人員成長計畫是什麼？您認為在不大幅增加員工人數的情況下，您在這個細分市場可以獲得多少收入成長？

Well, the other dynamic in Protiviti's headcount is their use of contractors, which flexes with the revenue and the revenue expectations. And so clearly, their full-time staff is underutilized relative to what it could and arguably should be.

此外，Protiviti 人員編制的另一個動態因素是他們對承包商的使用，這會隨著收入和收入預期而變化。因此很明顯，他們的全職員工沒有得到充分利用，而他們本可以也應該得到充分利用。

Further, as we've talked about before, some of their full-time staff is underutilized in that they've been reassigned to roles typically performed by contractors at much lower rates. And so there's hidden capacity, if you will, there, as that converts to what they're typically working on. And so I'd say there's full-time capacity. There's also contractor capacity relative to what it's been in the past. So I don't think Protiviti is concerned about having the resources to scale up quickly and appropriately as the revenues support.

此外，正如我們之前討論過的，他們的一些全職員工沒有得到充分利用，因為他們被重新分配到通常由收費低得多的承包商擔任的職位。因此，這裡存在著隱藏的產能，可以理解為他們通常從事的工作。所以我認為目前有足夠的全職職位。與過去相比，承包商的能力也有所提升。因此，我認為 Protiviti 並不擔心沒有足夠的資源，能夠隨著收入的成長而快速、適當地擴大規模。

Okay. Thank you. Helpful there. And then just sort of a, I guess, a modeling question. Last quarter, I think you were kind enough to call out the typical seasonal trends for two quarters ahead. I was wondering if you might be able to do that again for Q2, what you've kind of historically seen for revenue and earnings just so we're all on the same page heading into next quarter.

好的。謝謝。那方面很有幫助。然後就是一個，我猜，建模方面的問題。上個季度，您很貼心地預測了未來兩季的典型季節性趨勢。我想問一下，您能否再次提供第二季度的營收和盈利情況，以便我們在進入下個季度時能夠達成共識。

Well, there's certainly nothing near as dramatic as is the case for the first quarter because of Protiviti's seasonal impacts. But typically, in the second quarter, on the contract side, it's modestly down on a same-day basis. For full time, it's typically up seasonally relative to the first quarter.

當然，由於Protiviti的季節性影響，第二季的情況肯定沒有第一季那麼戲劇性。但通常情況下，在第二季度，就合約而言，當日交易量會略有下降。對於全職員工來說，通常情況下，其收入會比第一季增加。

Protiviti, they began to recover from their seasonal low Q1, and overall, we certainly have more profitability in Q2 than we do Q1. But the seasonal impacts are nowhere near in Q2 what they are in Q1.

Protiviti 的業績從第一季的季節性低潮開始復甦，總體而言，我們第二季的獲利能力肯定比第一季好。但第二季的季節性影響遠不及第一季。

Okay, that is helpful. Thank you.

好的，這很有幫助。謝謝。

And by the way, the tax rate that's been jumping all over the place, as we talked about, it normalizes back to 33%, 34% in Q2 and beyond, versus the much higher number that was the case in Q1.

順便一提，正如我們之前討論過的，稅率一直在波動，但在第二季度及以後，稅率將恢復到 33% 或 34%，而第一季的稅率要高得多。

Manav Patnaik, Barclays.

馬納夫·帕特奈克，巴克萊銀行。

Hi, good afternoon. This is Ronan Kennedy for Manav. Thank you for taking my question. Keith, you talked in your response to Mark's question on the first positive same-day CC sequential growth that if the momentum -- or if the trend sequentially continues, you would see positive growth in the third quarter. Could we just get a sense of your optimism on that and what you would need to see in the February, March weekly trends to confirm it will be a potential multi-quarter recovery. If it's anything beyond weekly revenues such as time to fill, the rec conversion, pipeline, anything else?

您好，下午好。這是羅南肯尼迪代表Manav電視台。感謝您回答我的問題。Keith，你在回答 Mark 關於首個當日 CC 環比增長為正的問題時提到，如果這種勢頭——或者說如果這種趨勢能夠持續下去——你將在第三季度看到正增長。我們能否了解一下您對此的樂觀程度，以及您需要在二月、三月的每週趨勢中看到什麼，才能確認這將是一個可能持續多個季度的復甦？除了每週收入之外，還有其他因素嗎？例如，客戶填補時間、推薦轉換率、銷售管道等等？

And then you also referenced some external leading indicators. What can you place trust in at this stage, whether it's ADP, NFIB, JOLTs, ASA, SAI? Curious as to your thoughts there and your overall optimism.

然後，您還提到了一些外部領先指標。在這個階段，你可以信任哪些機構，無論是 ADP、NFIB、JOLTs、ASA 還是 SAI？很好奇你對此有何看法，以及你整體的樂觀態度。

Well, I'd say our overall optimism is a reflection of, A, discussions with clients; B, weekly results. I'm very happy to report that, as of this morning -- and we get weekly results every Thursday, but as of this morning, they were very encouraging and better than they had been even for the first three weeks, which were good themselves. And so, we sit here feeling very good about very short-term trends.

我認為，我們整體的樂觀情緒反映了以下兩點：A，與客戶的討論；B，每週的表現。我很高興地報告，截至今天早上——我們每週四都會公佈結果，但截至今天早上，結果非常令人鼓舞，甚至比前三週的結果還要好，而前三週的結果本身就已經很好了。因此，我們對短期趨勢感到非常樂觀。

As to external indicators and sources, there's no magic bullet there. We look at everything. We look at ASA. We look at SIA. We look at NFIB. We look at PMIs.

至於外部指標和資訊來源，並沒有什麼靈丹妙藥。我們會仔細查看所有方面。我們來看看ASA。我們來看看SIA。我們來看看NFIB。我們專注於採購經理人指數（PMI）。

I mean, we look at everything, but nothing has a high correlation factor in and of itself. But altogether, I mean, it certainly tells a trend story. And generally speaking, the entire staffing industry is trending upward. Most are close to, if not at positive year-on-year revenue growth. And I would say the differential there with us is most of them are larger mid- and large-cap enterprise serving staffing firms.

我的意思是，我們考察了所有方面，但沒有哪一方面本身俱有很高的相關性。但總的來說，我的意思是，它確實反映了一種趨勢。總的來說，整個人力資源產業呈現上升趨勢。大多數公司的年收入成長率都接近甚至達到正值。我認為我們與其他公司的區別在於，他們中的大多數是規模較大的中型和大型企業，服務人力資源公司。

We're mostly SMB. Enterprise typically leads SMB. Even ourselves, we're 70% SMB, 30% mid-cap. That mid-cap is doing better than SMB as we speak. So it's not a surprise that we're lagging a little. But like I said earlier, at current trends, which we're feeling even better about, as of today at those current trends, we'd be positive year-on-year third quarter. That's a great thing.

我們主要服務中小企業。企業級公司通常領先中小企業。即使是我們自己，70% 的公司是中小企業，30% 的公司是中型企業。目前來看，那家中型企業的表現比中小企業好。所以，我們稍微落後一點並不奇怪。但正如我之前所說，按照目前的趨勢（我們對此感覺更好），截至今天，按照目前的趨勢，我們第三季將實現同比增長。那真是件好事。

Understood. Thank you. Appreciate it. And may I ask for your current assessment of capital allocation and sustainability of the dividend?

明白了。謝謝。謝謝。請問您目前對資本配置和股利永續性的評估如何？

So the really good news is our cash flow, our free cash flow, operating cash flow for the fourth quarter was really strong. And in fact, we added $100 million to our cash balance after paying for the dividend. And so for all of 2025 for the full year, our free cash flow covered the dividend, and we reached into the balance sheet for about $100 million to buy stock.

所以真正的好消息是，我們第四季的現金流、自由現金流和經營現金流都非常強勁。事實上，在支付股息後，我們的現金餘額增加了 1 億美元。因此，在 2025 年全年，我們的自由現金流足以支付股息，我們也動用了資產負債表上的約 1 億美元來購買股票。

And so given those trends, if you extrapolate them, that we just talked about, that would say that we would have enough free cash flow in 2026 to cover the dividend. And then we would have -- we could then look to our balance sheet to the extent we wanted to buy stock.

因此，根據我們剛才討論的這些趨勢，如果進行推斷，那就意味著我們在 2026 年將有足夠的自由現金流來支付股息。然後我們就可以——我們就可以查看我們的資產負債表，看看我們是否願意購買股票。

And so excellent, excellent Q4 free cash flow quarter, the highest of the year. We did a very nice job of managing our working capital on both the receivables and the liability side. And we also got a $20 million benefit from the new Tax Act from expensing what would otherwise be capital cost. But even without that, it would have been our highest quarter of the year by a long shot, which is a great thing.

因此，第四季自由現金流表現非常出色，創下全年新高。我們在應收帳款和負債兩方面的營運資金管理方面都做得非常好。新的稅法也讓我們獲得了 2000 萬美元的收益，因為原本可以作為資本成本的費用計入支出。但即便沒有那件事，這仍然會是我們今年業績最好的一個季度，而且遙遙領先，這是一件非常棒的事情。

Stephanie Moore, Jefferies.

Stephanie Moore，傑富瑞集團。

This is Harold Antor on for Stephanie Moore. I guess just on Protiviti, it seems as though like the revenue growth performance globally was a little bit different in the US versus international. So want to know if you guys could discuss what you're seeing in the Protiviti business in the US versus internationally in this. Any comments you could give on what you're seeing on the pricing side of that business? Thank you.

這裡是哈羅德·安托爾，替史蒂芬妮·摩爾為您報道。就 Protiviti 而言，似乎其全球營收成長表現在美國和國際市場略有不同。所以我想知道你們能否談談你們在美國和國際上觀察到的 Protiviti 業務有何不同。您能否就該業務的定價方面發表一些看法？謝謝。

And so US versus international Protiviti, Protiviti international is stronger for a couple of reasons. One, the regulatory environment with financial institutions internationally is stronger than is the case in the US.

因此，美國 Protiviti 與國際 Protiviti 相比，國際 Protiviti 更強大，原因有二。第一，國際金融機構的監管環境比美國強。

The regulatory environment in the US is more benign, examiners are more accommodating. That allows clients to use more of their internal resources for things they might otherwise have used outside partners for. So that's a modest headwind for US Protiviti, not the case for Europe Protiviti, if you will.

美國的監管環境較為寬鬆，審查人員也更加通融。這樣一來，客戶就可以將更多內部資源用於原本可能需要外部合作夥伴才能完成的事情。所以，這對美國 Protiviti 來說是一個小小的阻力，但對歐洲 Protiviti 來說並非如此。

Further, US Protiviti has these larger projects that you're just beginning to anniversary that impact their growth rates. The international locations didn't have the same extent of those larger projects, and to the extent they've had them, they haven't wound down. And so that would put international Protiviti a bit stronger.

此外，美國 Protiviti 還有一些規模較大的項目，這些項目正值週年紀念之際，會影響其成長率。國際地區的計畫規模沒有國內那麼多，而且即便有，也沒有停止。這樣一來，國際上的 Protiviti 實力就會更強。

The other thing that I would say, offsetting what I just said about US, technology consulting in Protiviti, US included, is very strong. It's actually leading as we speak, it’s Protiviti's largest solution area, particularly in the United States. Platform modernization is a big demand driver. Protiviti is participating nicely there, and so we feel good about Protiviti globally, US and non-US. Pricing environment for some time has been very competitive with the Big Four, that continues; not really worse, not really better.

另外，我想補充一點，雖然我剛才說的關於美國的情況有所不同，但包括 Protiviti 在內的美國技術諮詢業務非常強大。實際上，它目前處於領先地位，是 Protiviti 最大的解決方案領域，尤其是在美國。平台現代化是推動需求成長的重要因素。Protiviti 在那裡表現出色，因此我們對 Protiviti 在全球範圍內（包括美國和非美國地區）的表現感到滿意。一段時間以來，定價環境一直與四大公司競爭激烈，這種情況仍在持續；既沒有變差，也沒有變好。

Got it. Thank you. I guess, when you think of pricing going forward as AI's implemented, do you see risk if customers were to perhaps share in that benefit? And I guess my other question is just on ACS on admin and customer support. I guess to what degree of confidence do you have that the business line rebounds in line with historical levels?

知道了。謝謝。我想，當您考慮人工智慧應用後未來的定價策略時，如果客戶也能分享人工智慧帶來的好處，您是否認為這會帶來風險？我的另一個問題是關於ACS的管理和客戶支援。我想問的是，您對業務線能夠恢復到歷史水準有多大信心？

In the quarter, it seems to remain fairly weak. And given implementation of AI, there's -- there are comments out there that say that this business line could be one of the most at risk. So just any comments on that would be super helpful. And that's all for me. Thank you.

本季度，它似乎依然相當疲軟。鑑於人工智慧的實施，有評論稱，該業務線可能是風險最大的業務線之一。所以，任何評論都將非常有幫助。這就是我全部的內容了。謝謝。

So Protiviti pricing going forward in the AI era, Protiviti in virtually every consulting firm is currently looking at should they, could they, will they price differently than hourly time and materials going forward, should it be more outcome-based, should it be more unit-based, based on what's being worked on, a number of cases, number of transactions. And so I would say the entire industry is taking a very creative and innovative look at how it prices with a strong consideration to the value added and how should they appropriately participate in the value added that might be different than the time and materials of [late]. But early days there.

因此，在人工智慧時代，Protiviti 的定價策略將如何發展？目前幾乎所有顧問公司都在考慮，他們是否應該、能否、將會改變未來的定價方式，不再按小時和材料計費，而是更多地基於結果、基於單位、基於正在處理的工作內容、案例數量、交易數量。因此，我認為整個行業都在以極具創意和創新性的視角審視定價方式，並高度重視附加價值，以及他們應該如何適當地參與到可能不同於時間和材料成本的附加價值。[晚的]。但現在還處於早期階段。

ACS, we do have confidence in ACS. ACS had a couple of larger projects within that kept its negative growth rates higher than the rest. Oddly enough and kind of counter to the trend you hear about, our customer service, which includes call center, actually did better than the rest of ACS. So you can't pin AI call center impact on ACS's relative performance.

我們對 ACS 有信心。ACS 內部有幾個較大的項目，導致其負成長率高於其他公司。奇怪的是，與你聽到的趨勢相反，我們的客戶服務（包括呼叫中心）實際上比 ACS 的其他部門做得更好。所以你不能把人工智慧呼叫中心的影響完全歸因於 ACS 的相對錶現。

Jeff Silber, BMO Capital Markets.

Jeff Silber，BMO資本市場。

Thanks so much. I want to ask a couple of questions about talent solutions that were asked about Protiviti, first, if we can just focus on your internal headcount. I know it shrunk a little bit, but the rate of decline, I guess, is getting less worse, so to speak. What do you expect for 2026? Do you think you'll be adding headcount in talent solutions? And what will it take to get there?

非常感謝。我想問幾個關於Protiviti人才解決方案的問題，首先，我們能否只關注貴公司的內部員工人數？我知道它縮小了一點，但我想，下降的速度正在減緩。你對2026年有什麼期待？您認為您會在人才解決方案部門增加人手嗎？那麼，要達到這個目標需要付出什麼代價呢？

On talent solutions, we did not reduce heads as much as revenues would have otherwise dictated as things declined. And you should -- we, therefore, have unused capacity anywhere from 15% to 30% based on what metrics you use and how robust the demand environment is, but we can grow nicely in talent solutions without adding heads given what we've done so far, which is hold on to our better people.

在人才解決方案方面，儘管收入下滑，我們並沒有像其他企業那樣大幅裁員。因此，根據您使用的指標和需求環境的強勁程度，我們的閒置產能可能在 15% 到 30% 之間，但鑑於我們迄今為止所做的工作（即留住我們優秀的人才），我們可以在人才解決方案方面實現良好增長，而無需增加人手。

All right. That's great to hear. And then also on talent solutions, can we just get some comments what's going on internationally versus the US? And maybe you can focus on any specific markets that are doing better or worse. That would be great.

好的。聽到這個消息真是太好了。另外，關於人才解決方案，能否請您談談國際上與美國相比，目前的情況如何？或許你可以專注在一些表現較好或較差的特定市場。那太好了。

Well -- and as we break out the growth rates between US and international talent solutions, frankly, they're not very different one to another. Generally speaking, Germany is doing well. The UK is doing well. Canada is doing well and Brazil are doing well, but not much different than the last few quarters and not much different than the US.

嗯——當我們把美國和國際人才解決方案的成長率分開來看時，坦白說，它們彼此之間並沒有太大區別。總的來說，德國發展得很好。英國發展勢頭良好。加拿大和巴西的情況都不錯，但與過去幾季相比並沒有太大變化，與美國的情況也沒有什麼不同。

Kevin McVeigh, UBS.

凱文麥克維，瑞銀集團。

Great. Thanks so much and thank you for all the perspective. Keith, were there any charges or rightsizing of the expense base to position for '26 to help with some of the margin expansion that it looks like you're going to be able to put up over the course of the year?

偉大的。非常感謝，也感謝您提供的所有見解。Keith，為了在 2026 年實現利潤率的提升（看起來你們今年能夠實現這樣的提升），你們是否對支出基礎進行了任何調整或調整？

No special charges in fourth quarter for headcount-related or any other expenses, and it's pretty much taking our current cost structure and getting more efficient where we can, getting more on the Protiviti side as they manage kind of all levels of their pyramid from managing directors down to the entry-level consultants and the mix of that versus contractors. All of those play a part in their gross margins and their operating margins.

第四季沒有與人員編製或其他任何費用相關的特殊費用，我們基本上是在現有成本結構的基礎上盡可能提高效率，在 Protiviti 方面投入更多，因為他們管理著金字塔的各個層級，從總經理到入門級顧問，以及他們與承包商的組合。所有這些因素都會影響它們的毛利率和營業利潤率。

So no special charges. It is what it is. It's straightforward, but we do believe we can add to margins. In fact, Protiviti, I would say Protiviti would be disappointed if, for 2026, they didn't add 100 to 200 basis points to their gross and operating margins for the year.

所以沒有額外費用。就是這樣。雖然方法很簡單，但我們相信可以提高利潤率。事實上，如果 Protiviti 在 2026 年的毛利率和營業利率沒有提高 100 到 200 個基點，我會說 Protiviti 會感到失望。

Got it. And then the commentary on the Q2 was super helpful. You think from an EPS perspective, should it be kind of the normal sequential step-up that you see from a Q1 to Q2?

知道了。第二季的評論也很有幫助。從每股盈餘（EPS）的角度來看，你認為它應該像第一季到第二季那樣，呈現正常的逐季成長嗎？

I would say that's true. I think you need to be careful when you look at 2025's sequential trend from Q1 to Q2. We took a cost action charge in Q1 that didn't repeat in Q2. And so that progression is not representative of a normal progression and just be careful with that. But otherwise, from a revenue standpoint, as I said earlier, not much typical impact, contract a little less seasonally, perm a little more seasonally, Protiviti better and particularly better on the margin side as they start to distance themselves from their seasonally low first quarter.

我認為確實如此。我認為在查看 2025 年第一季到第二季的連續趨勢時需要謹慎。我們在第一季提列了一項成本行動費用，但該費用在第二季沒有再次出現。因此，這種進展並不代表正常的進展，請注意這一點。但除此之外，從收入的角度來看，正如我之前所說，並沒有太大的典型影響，合約的季節性影響較小，永久合約的季節性影響較大，Protiviti 的情況更好，尤其是在利潤率方面，因為他們開始擺脫季節性低迷的第一季度。

Right. So I know last year, it was about $0.24. It's -- so do you think maybe like $0.15 because I know there's the adjustment factor on the tax rate, too, right? The tax rate goes down a lot from Q1 to Q2.

正確的。我知道去年大約是 0.24 美元。所以——你覺得可能是 0.15 美元左右嗎？因為我知道稅率還有調整係數，對吧？稅率從第一季到第二季大幅下降。

That's right. That's right. And again, I think last year and prior trends at the revenue line are fine, but just be careful in SG&A, not to overly rely on the short-term trend because of the cost actions.

這是正確的。這是正確的。再次強調，我認為去年及之前的收入趨勢都不錯，但在銷售、一般及行政費用方面要謹慎，不要因為成本控制措施而過度依賴短期趨勢。

That's helpful. And that was again about $0.17, I think, last year, right, or $0.08 something like that, $0.08?

那很有幫助。我記得去年大概是 0.17 美元，對吧，或者 0.08 美元左右，0.08 美元？

It was $17 million, as I recall, in cost -- in severance cost in Q1 that didn't repeat in Q2. So Q2 showed an improvement with the absence of those costs, and you won't see that improvement this Q2 because we don't have those severance costs.

我記得，第一季的遣散費是 1700 萬美元，第二季沒有再出現這種情況。因此，由於沒有了這些成本，第二季業績有所改善，但今年第二季你不會看到這種改善，因為我們沒有了這些遣散費。

And that's a normal tax rate, Keith, on the $17 million, right, just to make that adjustment?

基思，這是對這 1700 萬美元的正常稅率，對吧？這樣調整一下就行了。

Right. Right. Right.

正確的。正確的。正確的。

Kartik Mehta, Northcoast Research.

Kartik Mehta，北海岸研究公司。

Keith, I was hoping to go back to your comments on Protiviti and pricing. And you had said kind of the Big Four, nothing is different, it kind of stays the same. As you look to get price increases in 2026, I'm assuming you will since you've got to offset the comp expense, what's the environment like and maybe your confidence level as to why you might be able to get some price increases in 2026 to offset comp expense increases?

Keith，我原本希望回到你對 Protiviti 和定價的評論。你之前說過，四大巨頭（指美國汽車、電信和電信公司）的情況沒什麼變化，一切都維持不變。鑑於您需要抵消競爭性支出，我假設您會在 2026 年提高價格。那麼，目前的市場環境如何？您對 2026 年能夠透過漲價來抵銷競爭性支出成長有多大信心？

Well, I didn't say the industry aren't getting any increases. They are because -- but the other dimension to this is the nature of the work, both as to industry, as to solution. And many times, that mix determines the composite rate as much as anything. But generally speaking, the industry is getting cost of living type increases as they have to give those to their staff, which is true with Protiviti as well. But mix is a big deal.

我並沒有說這個行業沒有獲得任何加薪。原因在於——但另一方面，這項工作的性質，無論是就行業而言，還是就解決方案而言，都是如此。很多時候，這種組合對綜合利率的影響與其他因素一樣大。但總的來說，由於需要發放生活成本給員工補貼，整個產業都在進行類似的成長，Protiviti 的情況也是如此。但混合搭配非常重要。

And as Protiviti's had less of the large high-margin FSI regulatory that it has replaced with smaller, somewhat lower margin other types of work, there's been some compression there. But again, it's not like there are no increases currently in bill rates. What you see is more a function of mix, a relative mix of resources than the pure same level last year versus same level this year.

由於 Protiviti 承接的大型高利潤 FSI 監管業務減少了，取而代之的是規模較小、利潤稍低的其他類型業務，因此這方面的業務出現了一些壓縮。但話說回來，目前帳單費率並非沒有漲。你所看到的更多是資源組合的相對組合，而不是去年同期水準與今年同期水準的簡單對比。

And then just your comments on AI, obviously, maybe not having as a negative of an impact as people would like to think. But what about on the other side? How could this be a driver? Or how much of a driver could it be, especially for Protiviti and maybe talent solutions in terms of helping your customers?

至於您對人工智慧的看法，顯然，它可能不像人們想像的那樣產生負面影響。但另一邊呢？這怎麼可能是驅動因素？或者說，這究竟能起到多大的作用，特別是對於 Protiviti 以及人才解決方案而言，在幫助客戶方面？

Well -- and that's an interesting question. A couple of comments on AI generally before I get to that. I'd say everybody wants to target accounting as being especially vulnerable to AI. And I would argue and I would at least ask everyone to consider that AI -- or the accounting, even at SMBs, is already fully automated.

嗯——這倒是個有趣的問題。在深入探討人工智慧之前，我想先就人工智慧本身談幾點看法。我認為大家都想把會計行業當作人工智慧特別容易攻擊的目標。我會據理力爭，並且至少會請大家考慮一下，人工智慧——或者說會計，即使在中小企業中，也已經完全自動化了。

Even the smallest companies use QuickBooks and NetSuite. They have tax software, et cetera. And so I think you need to think about the starting point as to how impactful AI would be as much as what the impact itself going to be.

即使是最小的公司也使用 QuickBooks 和 NetSuite。他們有稅務軟體等等。所以我認為，你不僅需要考慮人工智慧本身會產生什麼影響，還需要考慮人工智慧會產生多大的影響。

I also would suggest that you need to think about that accounting is very precise and accuracy sensitive, which matters because, currently, GenAI, LLMs are nowhere near as accurate as they need to be to be trusted in accounting. And so as you think about AI adoption, particularly in accounting, particularly for SMBs, I think those are factors that need to be considered that typically aren't when people kind of race to accounting is particularly vulnerable.

我還想提醒您，會計工作非常精確，對準確性要求很高，這一點很重要，因為目前 GenAI 和 LLM 的準確性還遠遠達不到會計工作所需的水平。因此，在考慮人工智慧的應用時，尤其是在會計領域，特別是對於中小企業而言，我認為這些都是需要考慮的因素，而這些因素在人們競相湧入會計領域時通常不會被考慮，會計領域尤其容易受到攻擊。

As to upside, AI is actually making it harder for our clients to hire. It's now easier for job seekers to mass apply, which overwhelms our clients. Further, over half, according to Gartner, job seekers today are using AI to tailor their resume to the job requirement, which makes it harder for our clients to distinguish one candidate from another. Further, LLM hallucinations in that process of tailoring resumes are actually creating fictitious work histories to improve the match.

至於好處方面，人工智慧實際上讓我們的客戶更難招募到合適的人才。現在求職者更容易大量投遞履歷，這給我們的客戶帶來了很大的壓力。此外，據 Gartner 稱，如今超過一半的求職者正在使用人工智慧來根據職位要求客製化履歷，這使得我們的客戶更難區分不同的候選人。此外，LLM 在修改履歷的過程中產生的幻覺實際上是在捏造工作經驗以提高匹配度。

To prove this, we did a little test with our data science group. We took 25,000 job descriptions. We took 50,000 resumes. We gave those to the top three LLMs, and the prompt was while staying true to the original resume, tailor the resume to the job requirement.

為了證明這一點，我們和數據科學團隊做了一個小測試。我們收集了 25,000 份職位說明。我們收到了5萬份履歷。我們把這些機會給了排名前三的法學碩士，要求是在保持履歷原貌的前提下，根據職位要求對履歷進行調整。

And what we found was one of the LLMs frequently fabricated and created fictitious work history. One of the LLMs never did that, and one was in the middle. But the point is it's harder than ever for our SMB clients to trust what a resume shows, particularly as to work history, which makes our services, our vetting even more valuable. And for us, the gold standard for vetting is having performance ratings for how candidates actually performed on prior assignments. And so as AI makes it harder for our clients to hire, we play a bigger and more important role, which is good for us.

我們發現，其中一位法學碩士經常捏造和編造虛假的工作經驗。其中一位法學碩士從未這樣做過，另一位則介於兩者之間。但關鍵在於，對於我們的中小企業客戶來說，現在比以往任何時候都更難相信履歷表所顯示的內容，尤其是工作經歷，這使得我們的服務和審核工作更有價值。對我們來說，篩選候選人的黃金標準是根據候選人在先前任務中的實際表現進行績效評級。因此，隨著人工智慧讓我們的客戶更難招募到合適的人才，我們扮演著越來越重要、越來越重要的角色，這對我們來說是件好事。

Tobey Sommer, Truist Securities.

Tobey Sommer，Truist Securities。

Hi, Keith. I wanted to just ask you a question about what incremental margins historically looked like in a recovery and then maybe you could point out any nuances or differences that you would anticipate as revenue improves here versus that historic norm.

你好，基斯。我想問您一個問題，在經濟復甦時期，增量利潤率在歷史上是什麼樣的，然後您能否指出，隨著當前收入的改善，您預計會出現哪些細微差別或差異，與歷史常態相比會有哪些不同。

I guess the easiest way to think about it for us is, and hopefully a conservative way to think about it, is we retrace on the way back up what happened on the way down. And as we delevered cost on the downside, we'll relever those costs on the upside. And while everybody wants to first attribute the headcount deleveraging to our recruiters and salespeople, quite frankly, it's much more related to corporate services and field management.

我想對我們來說，最簡單的思考方式（希望也是一種保守的思考方式）是，我們在回程時重現了下山時發生的事情。就像我們降低了下行成本槓桿一樣，我們也會在上行成本槓桿化方面重新提高這些成本槓桿。雖然每個人都想先將人員減少歸咎於我們的招募人員和銷售人員，但坦白說，這與公司服務和現場管理關係更大。

And I would argue those are easier to relever than would necessarily be the case with recruiters and salespeople. And so I would say the conservative thing to do would be to retrace the path up similar to the path down.

而且我認為，與招募人員和銷售人員相比，這些人更容易被重新利用。因此，我認為保守的做法是沿著與下山路徑類似的路線原路返回。

Understood. If you could dig into Protiviti, what are the industry verticals that are sort of growing and contributing the most versus those that may be lagging? In your answer, I'd love it if you could touch on financial services and where that falls.

明白了。如果可以深入了解 Protiviti，哪些產業垂直領域正在成長並貢獻最大，而哪些領域可能發展落後？在你的回答中，我希望你能談談金融服務以及它所處的領域。

Well, clearly, FSI is Protiviti's largest industry group. As I said earlier, in the United States, the regulatory environment has become more benign. Examiners are more flexible, particularly with deadlines and dates, which means clients have more time to do it themselves, which comes at some expense to all of the third-party providers, Protiviti included. And so there's a modest headwind, modest headwind there. That's being offset by tech modernization, all the data optimization, platform modernization, everything related to that, that Protiviti is participating in nicely.

顯然，FSI 是 Protiviti 最大的產業集團。正如我之前所說，在美國，監管環境已經變得更加寬鬆。審查員更加靈活，尤其是在截止日期方面，這意味著客戶有更多的時間自己完成，但這會給包括 Protiviti 在內的所有第三方供應商帶來一些成本。所以，這裡有一點逆風，一點逆風。技術現代化、數據優化、平台現代化以及所有相關的方面，都抵消了這一影響，而 Protiviti 也很好地參與其中。

Further, they're starting to see traction in the PE IPO transaction market, which there's also a tailwind coming from that. And so when you look at Protiviti's pipeline, it is disproportionately tech related as we speak, and we feel good about that. Tech consulting is Protiviti's largest solution area across their solutions. And it's been that way for some time, and it's becoming even more so as all this demand related to tech modernization, data optimization, in advance of AI, are prevalent.

此外，他們在私募股權IPO交易市場也開始看到成效，而私募股權IPO交易市場也為他們帶來了利多因素。因此，當我們審視 Protiviti 的專案儲備時，會發現其中大部分都與技術相關，我們對此感到欣慰。技術諮詢是 Protiviti 所有解決方案中最大的業務領域。這種情況已經持續一段時間了，而且隨著與技術現代化、數據優化以及人工智慧等相關的各種需求日益普遍，這種情況變得更加嚴重。

Mark Marcon, Baird.

馬克馬爾孔，貝爾德。

A follow-up with regards to the margin improvement as you relever. If we take a look at 2025, we did $5.375 billion in terms of revenue with EBITA margin of 3.4% for the full year. And obviously, that included a charge, so we could strip that out.

關於重新槓桿化後利潤率改善的後續問題。展望 2025 年，我們的營收將達到 53.75 億美元，全年 EBITA 利潤率為 3.4%。顯然，這其中包含一筆費用，所以我們可以將其扣除。

But what I'm wondering is back in 2018, 2019 pre-COVID, we were able to generate 10% EBITA margins in doing $5.8 billion to $6 billion in revenue. And so I'm wondering, is that a more appropriate way to think about the level of revenue growth that we need to get as it relates to the incremental margins? Or do we need to get back into -- we obviously had a post-pandemic boom in 2022 and parts of 2021. Do we need to get back to those revenue levels in order to get back to double-digit margins?

但我疑惑的是，在新冠疫情爆發前的 2018 年、2019 年，我們實現了 58 億至 60 億美元的收入，並獲得了 10% 的 EBITA 利潤率。所以我想知道，這種思考我們需要達到的收入成長水準與增量利潤率之間關係的方式是否更適合？或者我們需要回到——顯然，我們在 2022 年和 2021 年的部分時間裡經歷了疫情後的繁榮。我們需要恢復到之前的營收水準才能恢復到兩位數的利潤率嗎？

I haven't done the specific math that you're referring to, but I would say the biggest difference would be, between pre-pandemic and now, has been the cumulative inflation since then. And so we've had to pay our workforce that cumulative inflation. And that has to be offset as part of getting back to those margins, those EBITA margins.

我沒有做過你提到的具體計算，但我認為疫情前後最大的差別在於疫情以來的累積通膨。因此，我們不得不向員工支付累積的通貨膨脹費用。而這必須被抵消，才能恢復到之前的利潤率，也就是 EBITA 利潤率。

Got it and then --

明白了，然後--

Internal staff, right?

是內部員工，對吧？

Yeah.

是的。

The contractor staff, it's a pass-through that we've covered nicely with gross margin.

承包商員工的費用，我們已經透過毛利率很好地覆蓋了這部分成本。

And this level setting, you mentioned the normal seasonal trends occur. Then, we may end up inflecting to positive year-over-year growth in the third quarter. If that ends up occurring, what would be kind of a realistic margin assumption around if we were just modestly up 1% to 2%?

而你提到的這種水平設定，也反映了正常的季節性趨勢。那麼，我們第三季可能會實現年成長。如果這種情況最終發生，如果我們隻小幅成長 1% 到 2%，那麼合理的利潤率假設應該是多少？

Well, again, I started with Protiviti will be disappointed if they don't get another 100 to 200 basis points.

嗯，再說一遍，我一開始就看好Protiviti，如果他們不能再獲得100到200個基點的漲幅，我會很失望的。

I heard that. Yeah.

我聽說了。是的。

Talent solutions, I think, with a continuation of the trend that we're talking, we would have modest improvements in the short term for that incremental revenue. But again, it would certainly be nice to see positive year-on-year growth of kind of low- to mid-single digits in the third quarter.

我認為，如果這種趨勢持續下去，人才解決方案將在短期內帶來適度的改善，從而增加收入。但是，如果第三季能夠實現個位數低到中等程度的年成長，那當然是件好事。

Certainly would. Great. Thank you.

當然會。偉大的。謝謝。

Okay. So that was our last question. We appreciate you joining us today. Thank you very much.

好的。這是我們的最後一個問題。感謝您今天蒞臨。非常感謝。

Thank you. This concludes today's teleconference. If you missed any part of the call, it will be archived in audio format in the Investor Center of Robert Half's website at roberthalf.com. You can also log in to the conference call replay. Details are contained in the company's press release issued earlier today.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。如果您錯過了電話會議的任何部分，會議錄音將以音訊格式存檔在羅伯特哈夫公司網站 roberthalf.com 的投資者中心。您也可以登入收聽電話會議重播。詳情請見該公司今天稍早發布的新聞稿。