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what it is
ASGN supplies tech, engineering, healthcare, and life sciences workers and consultants to commercial clients and the federal government.
how it gets paid
Last year Asgn made $4.0B in revenue. IT consulting was the main engine at $2.52B, or 63% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 2.9% last year. The 27.78% EPS beat mattered because the stock is priced for skepticism at 10.8x earnings.
what just happened
ASGN printed $1.15 in EPS versus a $0.90 estimate, a 27.78% beat.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
80/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
10.8x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
6.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 58/100 — below average
What they do
ASGN supplies tech, engineering, healthcare, and life sciences workers and consultants to commercial clients and the federal government.
ASGN wins because big clients need cleared talent, technical talent, and someone else to handle the hiring mess. That sounds boring until you see IT consulting rose to 63% of revenue from 58% in one year, according to the company profile data. Scale matters here: with $4.0 billion in annual revenue and 3,200 employees, ASGN can fill jobs your smaller staffing shop never even sees.
How they make money
$4.0B
annual revenue · their business grew -2.9% last year
IT consulting
$2.52B
+5 pts mix
Engineering staffing
$0.50B
flat
Healthcare staffing
$0.49B
dn
Life sciences staffing
$0.49B
dn
The products that matter
technology talent and project delivery
IT Staffing & Consulting
$4.0B revenue · 63% consulting mix
it's the whole $4.0B business, and the key number is not scale alone. consulting now makes up 63% of revenue, up from 58%, which tells you where management wants the margin profile to go.
the entire story
Key numbers
$72
18m target
The 18-month target is 47% above $48.97, so the upside case needs earnings to recover toward the $4.90 fiscal 2026 estimate.
10.8x
trailing p/e
P/E → price-to-earnings → how much you pay for each dollar of profit. So what: you are paying a low multiple for a business the market still doubts.
3.7%
net margin
Net margin → profit after all costs → what actually sticks. So what: ASGN keeps just 3.7 cents of each revenue dollar.
$1.2B
long debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → fixed obligations. So what: debt equals 36% of capital, which limits room for bad quarters.
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 55 / 100
- long-term debt $1.2B (36% of capital)
- net profit margin 3.7% — keeps 4 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 8% — $0.08 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in ASGN 3 years ago → it's now worth $5,640.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
beat estimates
ASGN printed $1.15 in EPS versus a $0.90 estimate, a 27.78% beat.
Full-year 2025 EPS recovered to $4.55 from $3.83 in 2024. The latest quarter also showed EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $3.0B, though that from a year ago jump looks unusually large next to the $4.0B annual base.
$3.0B
revenue
$2.01
eps
28.9%
gross margin
the number that mattered
The 27.78% EPS beat mattered because the stock is priced for skepticism at 10.8x earnings, so upside depends on profit recovery showing up in real numbers.
-
asgn incorporated is expected to assume a new parent brand this year.in late november, the company announced plans to unify its six core brands, apex systems, creative circle, cybercoders, ecs, glidefast, and topbloc, under a single identity known as everforth.
-
the transition is expected to occur in the first half of 2026.this strategic shift reflects management’s intention to reposition asgn away from its legacy staffing profile and toward a higher-value technology and digital engineering consulting model.
-
a full-year bottom-line recovery appears possible in 2026.while the company continues to operate in a cautious macroeconomic environment, recent performance has been promising.
-
information technology (it) consulting now accounts for 63% of total revenue, up from 58% in the prior year.although many clients remain conservative with discretionary spending, demand tied to artificial intelligence (ai) and cybersecurity has been healthy. bookings across commercial and government accounts have remained steady, and the positive momentum tied to ai adoption is expected to continue in the coming quarters.
-
in all, we estimate 2026 non-gaap share earnings to improve in the 6%-8% range.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is federal procurement delays and soft client tech spending hitting a low-margin model at the same time.
med
government budgets move slower than consultants would like
ASGN serves federal customers, and procurement rules or timing shifts can delay awards and staffing starts. That matters more when the company is trying to sell a steadier consulting identity.
if public-sector timing slips, it pressures a $4.0B revenue base that already declined 2.9% last year.
med
commercial clients can pause projects faster than ASGN can cut costs
This is still a people business. When corporate tech budgets tighten, billable demand drops first and margin follows. A 5.0% net margin gives you less cushion than the word technology usually implies.
quarterly margin was 2.9%. It does not take much revenue pressure to make earnings estimates look ambitious.
med
everforth could be a branding exercise without a valuation payoff
The company is consolidating six brands under one name in the first half of 2026. If consulting mix stalls or growth stays flat, the market will treat this as cosmetic rather than strategic.
at 10.8x trailing earnings, the stock already trades like a skeptical market. If the rebrand does not change the numbers, the multiple may stay where it is.
ASGN has $1.2B of long-term debt, a 5.0% net margin, and a business that shrank 2.9% last year. That combination means even modest revenue slippage can hit earnings harder than you might expect.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
calendar
first-half 2026 everforth rollout
The rebrand has a deadline. You want to see whether the launch coincides with clearer consulting positioning and better numbers, not just new signage.
metric
IT consulting mix above 63%
This was 58% a year ago and is now 63%. If it keeps rising, management's strategy is working in the one place that counts.
trend
whether EPS growth finally gets company from cheap to rerated
Analysts are looking for 6%–8% non-GAAP EPS improvement in 2026. If earnings grow and the stock still sits near 10x earnings, the market is telling you it does not believe the story.
risk
AI and cybersecurity demand versus broad tech-spend caution
Management says demand tied to AI and cybersecurity has been healthy. You want that strength to be large enough to offset slower discretionary spending elsewhere.
Analyst rankings
short-term outlook
average
momentum score 3. In human-speak: analysts do not see a strong short-term edge either way.
risk profile
average
stability score 3. This sits in the middle of the pack — not especially safe, not especially chaotic.
chart momentum
below average
technical score 4. The chart still looks like a stock that has something to prove.
earnings predictability
80 / 100
management gives fairly dependable guidance. You usually do not get wild earnings surprises here.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net buying for 2 consecutive quarters — 154 buyers vs. 135 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 42.4M shares. net buying for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$40
$103
$49
current price
$72
target midpoint · +47% from current · 3-5yr high: $95 (+95% · 18% ann'l return)
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