Kforce (ROF) Q3 2026 Earnings Report
DE:ROF Q3 2026 EPS Results
- Actual EPS
- EUR 0.70
- Consensus EPS
- EUR 0.67
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +EUR 0.02
- One Year Ago EPS
- EUR 0.56
DE:ROF Q3 2026 Revenue Results
- Actual Revenue
- EUR 319.26M
- Expected Revenue
- EUR 316.28M
- Beat/Miss
- Beat by +EUR 2.99M
- YoY Revenue Growth
- +7.55%
Earnings Announcement Details
- Quarter
- Q3 2026
- Date
- 10/26/2026
- Time
- After Close
- Conference Call
- Monday, October 26, 2026
Kforce's next earnings date is estimated for February 8, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Audio
Q3 2026 Earnings Slide Deck
No slide deck is available for this earnings event.
Q3 2026 Earnings Call Summary
The call was strongly constructive, with accelerating revenue and technology growth, record Consulting Solutions activity, improving demand and conversion trends, expanding gross margins, positive fourth-quarter growth guidance, and confidence in longer-term margin expansion. The company continues to face measured client spending, mixed broader labor-market data, seasonal fourth-quarter effects, and a temporary cash-flow shortfall, but management characterized demand as broad-based and the operating environment as increasingly normal.
For the fourth quarter, Kforce expects overall revenues to improve sequentially in the low single digits on a billing day basis, year-over-year growth to be stable with third quarter levels, revenue of $352 million to $360 million, earnings per share of $0.62 to $0.70, an effective tax rate of approximately 28.7%, and, at the midpoint, revenue growth of 2.7% sequentially and 7.2% year-over-year; guidance assumes 62 billing days, 2 fewer billing days than the third quarter of 2026, a stable operating environment, and no unusual or nonrecurring items, while bill pay spreads are expected to remain broadly stable sequentially and average bill rates stable to slightly improving, with positive operating cash expected in Q4, SG&A in 2027 expected to increase at a lower rate than overall revenue growth, Workday benefits expected to start towards the tail end of 2027 and ramp more fully into 2028, and an operating margin of at least 8% expected as annual revenue returns to $1.7 billion, representing more than 100 basis points of improvement from 2022.
- Third-Quarter Revenue Exceeded GuidanceThird-quarter revenue was $357.8 million, up 7.5% year-over-year and above expectations. Management described the quarter as one of accelerating revenue and earnings growth, with another quarter of sequential growth.
- Technology Revenue Growth AcceleratedTechnology revenue grew 7.8% year-over-year and 2.5% on a sequential billing-day basis. Management said the growth rate was nearly 8%, roughly equivalent to Kforce's pre-pandemic compounded annual growth rate.
- Earnings and Gross Margin ImprovedReported third-quarter EPS was $0.90, including a $0.12 gain from corporate-owned life insurance policies. Excluding that gain, EPS would have been near the high end of guidance and improved approximately 24% year-over-year. Overall gross profit margin increased 50 basis points year-over-year to 28.2%, while Flex gross profit margin improved 60 basis points year-over-year.
- Operating Leverage and Margin ExecutionAdjusted SG&A costs were at the low end of the 22.2% to 22.4% guidance range. Management said this demonstrated continued operating leverage as revenue expanded. The company expects to achieve an operating margin of at least 8% when annual revenue returns to $1.7 billion, representing more than 100 basis points of improvement from the margin achieved at that revenue level in 2022.
- Broad-Based Demand ImprovementManagement reported that buying patterns improved over the last four quarters, with both consulting and traditional staff augmentation revenue growing. Positive trends were evident across a wide range of industries and skill sets, with particular strength in financial services, wholesale trade, and professional and business services.
- Consulting Solutions Reached Record LevelsDuring the third quarter, Consulting Solutions achieved record new contract award value and converted the highest percentage of pipeline opportunities in its history. The business has been growing in excess of 10% annually for the last few years, and management expects that growth to continue.
- AI, Data, Digital, Cloud, and Platform Engineering DemandKforce continued to see growth in AI-related data, digital, and cloud projects, along with a ramp in demand for platform engineering roles and projects. Management said AI and AI-related pipelines were up approximately 20% year-over-year and expects AI-related demand to continue.
- Strong Fourth-Quarter Revenue OutlookFourth-quarter revenue is expected to be $352 million to $360 million, with EPS of $0.62 to $0.70. At the midpoint, revenue is expected to increase 2.7% sequentially and 7.2% year-over-year. Management expects overall revenue to improve sequentially in the low single digits on a billing-day basis, with year-over-year growth stable with third-quarter levels despite a more difficult prior-year comparison.
- Improving Activity and Conversion TrendsAfter a relatively slower start in July, front-end activity levels and conversion ratios meaningfully improved in August and remained strong in September and October. Management said these trends are translating into increasing project wins and accelerating revenue growth. Assignment attrition also performed better than expected in the third quarter.
- Stable and Improving Technology Bill RatesThe average technology bill rate was $91 per hour in the third quarter and has remained stable to slightly improving over the past four years. Management attributed the rate profile to a growing mix of consulting-oriented engagements, disciplined management of wage inflation, and demand for high-skilled technology labor.
- Higher-Margin Business MixConsulting-oriented engagements typically carry margins 400 to 600 basis points higher than staff augmentation assignments. Management is also increasing the use of nearshore and offshore delivery, which it said has significantly higher gross margins, while continuing to maintain pricing discipline in domestic staff augmentation.
- Selective Investment in Growth CapabilitiesKforce selectively added headcount in the third quarter in markets with the strongest growth and expanded capabilities within Consulting Solutions. The company is also investing in innovation capabilities, domestically based technology experts, AI expertise, sales training, and early-stage client use-case development.
- AI-Enabled Productivity and Workday InitiativesInternally, Kforce is introducing AI-enabled capabilities where they can improve the quality and speed of associate and client experiences, with management citing improved productivity and operating leverage. The Workday implementation is expected to provide more significant benefits beginning in late 2027 and building more fully throughout 2028.
- Strong Client and Market PositionManagement said growth rates provide evidence that Kforce is gaining share with clients and across the broader market. Based on current-quarter performance and guidance, management said the company appears to be performing above projected market growth, indicating that it is capturing market share and client share.
- Improving Employment-Market SignalsConversions were up approximately 23% year-over-year in the third quarter after increasing a little over 30% year-over-year in the prior quarter. Management also reported more resignations, counteroffers, and consultants receiving multiple offers, describing these as positive signals of a healthier employment market.
- Solid Balance Sheet and Capital ReturnsNet debt was effectively unchanged quarter-to-quarter, and leverage was approximately 1.3x trailing twelve-month EBITDA. Return on equity remained strong at approximately 30%. Kforce returned approximately $6.7 million through dividends in the third quarter, repurchased approximately $15 million of shares at an average price below $30 per share during 2026, and paid another $20.2 million in dividends year-to-date.
- Positive Fourth-Quarter Cash Flow ExpectationManagement said operating cash flow normalized for a large client payment that straddled the third and fourth quarters and expects the fourth quarter to be cash-flow positive.
DE:ROF Earnings History
| Report Date | Fiscal Quarter | Forecast / EPS | Last Year's EPS | EPS YoY Change | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 08, 2027 | 2026 (Q4) | 0.57- | 0.38 | ― | ― |
| Oct 26, 2026 | 2026 (Q3) | 0.670.70 | 0.56 | 23.81% (+0.13) | |
| Jul 27, 2026 | 2026 (Q2) | 0.630.65 | 0.53 | 23.73% (+0.12) | |
| Apr 27, 2026 | 2026 (Q1) | 0.350.41 | 0.4 | 2.22% (+0.01) | |
| Feb 02, 2026 | 2025 (Q4) | 0.420.38 | 0.54 | -28.33% (-0.15) | |
| Nov 03, 2025 | 2025 (Q3) | 0.500.56 | 0.67 | -16.00% (-0.11) | |
| Jul 28, 2025 | 2025 (Q2) | 0.530.53 | 0.67 | -21.33% (-0.14) | |
| Apr 28, 2025 | 2025 (Q1) | 0.420.40 | 0.52 | -22.41% (-0.12) | |
| Feb 03, 2025 | 2024 (Q4) | 0.530.54 | 0.73 | -26.83% (-0.20) | |
| Oct 28, 2024 | 2024 (Q3) | 0.620.67 | 0.8 | -16.67% (-0.13) |
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.