What Happened?
Shares of workforce solutions provider ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) fell 7.4% in the afternoon session after the company reported third-quarter financial results that showed a significant drop in profitability due to restructuring costs and currency-related losses.
While revenues of $4.63 billion slightly beat expectations, reported earnings per share of $0.38 missed analyst forecasts of $0.82 by a wide margin. The company's net earnings fell to $18.0 million from $22.8 million in the same period of the previous year. The decline in profit was attributed to specific charges, including restructuring costs and non-cash currency translation losses related to hyperinflation in Argentina. These items together reduced earnings by $0.45 per share, weighing heavily on the quarter's bottom line and causing concern among investors.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Is now the time to buy ManpowerGroup? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
ManpowerGroup’s shares are quite volatile and have had 16 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 6 days ago when the stock dropped 3.1% on the news that President Donald Trump threatened to significantly increase tariffs on Chinese imports, reigniting trade war fears.
The threat immediately broke a monthslong calm on Wall Street, sending the S&P 500 down 1.2% in its worst session since August. For the industrial sector, which is heavily reliant on global supply chains, the prospect of new tariffs is particularly concerning. Aggressive U.S. trade policies lead to unpredictable input costs and disrupt manufacturing operations. This volatility weighs heavily on companies that depend on a stable international trade for both sourcing materials and selling finished goods, leading to a broad sell-off among industrial giants.
ManpowerGroup is down 37.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $35.53 per share, it is trading 52.2% below its 52-week high of $74.30 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of ManpowerGroup’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $491.97.
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