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what it is
TrueBlue helps 53,000 employers find temporary workers, drivers, and recruiting support across a 500-branch network.
how it gets paid
Last year Trueblue made $1.6B in revenue.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 3.1% last year. The company posted annual revenue of $1.6B, while gross margin was 23.2%.
what just happened
Revenue hit $1.2B, but EPS fell to -$0.55 and the margin story stayed ugly.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
10/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
19.2x trailing p/e — priced about right
12.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$1.61 fy2025 eps est
xvary composite: 40/100 — below average
What they do
TrueBlue helps 53,000 employers find temporary workers, drivers, and recruiting support across a 500-branch network.
The moat is reach, not magic. TrueBlue used 500 branches across all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico to serve about 53,000 clients and place about 291,000 people in 2025. Scale matters in staffing because clients need workers fast, and workers need shifts now, so a wide local network makes your next placement easier to fill.
How they make money
$1.6B
annual revenue · their business grew +3.1% last year
total revenue
$1.6B
+3.1%
The products that matter
on-demand industrial staffing
PeopleReady
$1.2B · 74% of revenue
it generated about $1.2B last year, which means one segment carries nearly three-quarters of the business.
core driver
recruitment process outsourcing
PeopleScout
$136M · +42%
this $136M segment grew 42%, but management says most of that came from an acquisition. you should treat it as added scale first, organic momentum second.
watch quality of growth
outsourced workforce management
PeopleManagement
$280M · 17% of revenue
it contributes about $280M and grew 5%, making it the middle layer between the slow-growth core and the smaller acquired growth piece.
stabilizer
Key numbers
$1.6B
annual revenue
That is the scale. You are buying a company with $1.6B in sales for about $114M in market value.
0.1%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → so what: TrueBlue keeps almost nothing after costs.
$113M
long-term debt
Debt is almost equal to the whole market cap, which limits room for mistakes.
291,000
workers placed
That number shows real reach. The network is large even if the profits are not.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 20 / 100
- long-term debt $113M (50% of capital)
C++ — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for TBI right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Revenue hit $1.2B, but EPS fell to -$0.55 and the margin story stayed ugly.
The company posted annual revenue of $1.6B, while gross margin was 23.2%. Revenue looked better than profit, which is the problem with this stock.
$1.2B
revenue
$0.55
eps
23.2%
gross margin
the number that mattered
0.1% operating margin is the real number here, because revenue only matters if any of it survives.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk here is margin compression in a low-spread staffing model — and the proxy fight exists because that pressure is already visible.
high
margin compression
q4 gross margin fell to 21.5% from 26.6% a year earlier. that 5.1 percentage-point decline matters more than the revenue beat because there is not enough spread here to shrug it off.
direct pressure on already thin profitability
high
proxy contest and strategic instability
EHS Investments, a roughly 2.4% holder, is waging a proxy contest and pointing to deteriorating financials plus a projected ~9% decline in q1 2026 gross profit.
board disruption is manageable; operating drift is not
med
cyclical labor demand
trueblue sells labor exposure. when employers get cautious, temporary staffing is one of the first budgets they trim. the company itself lists economic conditions as a primary risk factor.
revenue and utilization can fall fast in a slowdown
med
balance sheet flexibility
the balance sheet is graded C++, with $113M of long-term debt equal to 50% of capital. that is not distressed, but it is also not the setup you want if operating misses keep stacking.
less room to absorb a longer turnaround
a business with 21.5% gross margin, $113M of debt, and an activist at the door does not need many more bad quarters for the equity story to get worse.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
earnings date
q1 2026 earnings report
expected may 4, 2026. management guides for 3–9% revenue growth while projecting about a 9% gross profit decline. revenue up with gross profit down is not the mix you want.
proxy fight
2026 annual shareholder meeting
EHS Investments is seeking board seats. if the activist wins support, strategy could change fast. if it loses badly, management still needs to fix the operating issues that invited the fight.
segment trend
PeopleReady stabilization
PeopleReady produces about $1.2B, or 74% of revenue. if the core staffing segment does not stabilize, smaller growth pockets will not rescue the story.
insider signal
CEO share purchase
CEO Taryn Owen bought 20,400 shares on feb 24, 2026, bringing her holdings to 791,807 shares. insider buying does not fix margins, but it does tell you management is not hiding from the stock.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
10 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust the quarter-to-quarter earnings path here.
risk rank
3
that means it is safer than about half the market, not safer than the stocks you buy to sleep well.
price stability
20 / 100
the stock has been volatile. a 52-week range of $3–$8 tells you the same thing without the score.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for TBI is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$4
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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