What Happened?
Shares of workforce solutions provider ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) jumped 5% in the afternoon session after the company announced a strategic partnership with artificial intelligence firm Carv to enhance its global recruitment operations.
The collaboration will embed Carv's "agentic AI" directly into the daily workflows of ManpowerGroup's recruiters, specifically within its Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) division. RPO is a service where a company outsources its hiring process to a specialist firm like ManpowerGroup. By automating administrative tasks, the AI is expected to speed up hiring times, boost recruiter productivity, and allow staff to focus more on building relationships with top talent. This move is part of ManpowerGroup's broader digital transformation strategy and is aimed at improving efficiency and delivering better results for both clients and job candidates.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
ManpowerGroup’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 11 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 5 days ago when the stock gained 3.2% on the news that the company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings that surpassed analyst expectations, overshadowing a reported net loss caused by one-time charges. While the company posted a net loss of $67.1 million, or $1.44 per share, this was primarily due to a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $89 million and other restructuring costs. When excluding these items, ManpowerGroup's adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.78. This figure comfortably beat the consensus analyst forecast of $0.69 per share, signaling to investors that the company's core operations are performing better than anticipated. Looking ahead, the company provided guidance for the third quarter, expecting diluted earnings per share to be between $0.77 and $0.87. The positive market reaction suggests investors are focusing on the underlying operational strength and the forward-looking guidance rather than the headline loss.
ManpowerGroup is down 22.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $44.29 per share, it is trading 42.6% below its 52-week high of $77.13 from July 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of ManpowerGroup’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $609.38.
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