Robert Half Inc. (RHI) shares rose in premarket trading on Friday, October 23, according to an Investing.com premarket movers report. The move follows a third quarter report in which the staffing firm's talent solutions business grew on an adjusted basis for the first time since 2022.

Revenue for the quarter ended September 30 was $1.359 billion, up 0.4% from $1.354 billion a year earlier, the company said in its October 22 release filed with the SEC. After removing the effect of billing days and currency, revenue was down 0.2%. Diluted earnings per share rose to $0.49 from $0.43, and net income climbed to $49.9 million from $42.9 million.

The decline has narrowed for four straight quarters

The adjusted revenue trend is the core of the move. Robert Half's adjusted growth rate was minus 8.3% in the third quarter of 2025. It then went to minus 6.6%, minus 5.6%, minus 2.8% and now minus 0.2%. That makes four straight quarters of a smaller decline, as calculated by Trend & Ticker from the company's growth table.

Inside the mix, contract talent solutions revenue rose 1.7% to $758.8 million. Permanent placement revenue gained 6.2% to $116.9 million, and technology staffing grew 4.6%. Chief executive M. Keith Waddell said, "Hiring activity continues to improve, supported by gradually improving market conditions."

Protiviti, the consulting arm, is still shrinking. Its revenue fell 2.9% to $483.5 million. Waddell said demand for risk and compliance consulting "showed encouraging signs of improvement during the quarter."

Margins did more of the work than sales

Gross margin reached 39.1% of revenue, up from 37.2% a year earlier. That is a gain of 190 basis points, where one basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. Protiviti's gross margin rose to 24.2% from 20.9%.

Adjusted operating income rose 18.5% to $72.6 million, as calculated by Trend & Ticker, while revenue barely moved. The adjusted operating margin widened to 5.3% from 4.5%.

Cash still trails the dividend

The cash flow statement tells a tighter story. Over nine months, net cash flows before financing activities were $47.1 million. Dividends paid in the same period came to $179.8 million, about 3.8 times that figure, as calculated by Trend & Ticker.

Share repurchases dropped to $6.8 million in the nine months from $92.1 million a year earlier. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $321.3 million on September 30, down from $365.3 million a year before.

No fourth quarter ranges in the release

The release itself carries no fourth quarter ranges. Management discussed the results on a call at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, and the company keeps a replay online for 12 months. The open question for the next report is whether permanent placement gains keep outrunning the slide at Protiviti.