Ryan Griffin

Ryan Griffin from BMO Capital Markets inquired about the drivers behind the stronger ACV bookings pipeline and the mechanics of the new strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Answer

CFO Steve Weber attributed the stronger pipeline to new platform functionality and customer success stories shared at FICO World, which are building momentum. CEO Will Lansing commented that while optimistic about the AWS partnership, it is too early to say how it will impact the distribution model.

Ryan Griffin asked about any planned changes to the enterprise sales motion, including pricing or go-to-market strategy, in response to the challenging market conditions of recent years.

Answer

CEO Greg Hart noted that the new Enterprise GM, Anthony Salcido, will likely introduce recommendations for evolving the go-to-market, pricing, and packaging strategies. He highlighted SkillsTrax as a new offering with specific SKUs and pricing, developed based on direct feedback from enterprise partners for more curated and tailored learning paths.

Ryan Griffin asked about any changes to the sales motion on the enterprise segment, including pricing or go-to-market strategy, given the challenging market conditions of the past few years.

Answer

CEO Greg Hart noted that new Enterprise GM Anthony Salcito, in his third week, will likely have recommendations for evolving the go-to-market strategy, pricing, and packaging. He highlighted that Skills Tracks, launched recently, represent four new SKUs with their own pricing, developed based on direct feedback from enterprise partners for more curated offerings tailored to specific job families. Mr. Hart expects continued innovation in product, packaging, and go-to-market approaches.

Ryan Griffin inquired about ASGN's confidence in benefiting from potential H1B application process changes and the evolving situation based on client conversations, as well as the primary cause of caution in the federal government's fourth-quarter guidance.

Answer

CEO Ted Hanson explained that ASGN's onshore/nearshore delivery model positions it to benefit from any H1B tightening, which would increase focus on domestic technical skills and potentially improve pricing. He clarified that federal guidance caution is solely due to the government shutdown's potential to slow new awards and ramp-ups, with no impact from DOJ matters.

Ryan Griffin inquired about ASGN's confidence in benefiting from potential H1B application process changes and how the situation might evolve based on client conversations. He also asked for clarification on the caution factored into Q4 federal government guidance, specifically if it relates to DOJ issues or the government shutdown.

Answer

CEO Ted Hanson explained that ASGN's onshore/nearshore delivery model positions it to benefit from any H1B program tightening, which would increase demand for their services and potentially improve pricing. Regarding federal guidance, Mr. Hanson clarified that the caution is solely due to the government shutdown's potential to slow new awards and project ramp-ups, not any lingering DOJ issues.

Ryan Griffin asked about Equifax's pricing strategy in non-mortgage verticals, specifically for the credit file and other package fees, and whether there is room for price increases over time.

Answer

CEO Mark Begor confirmed a consistent strategy to price for value, typically implementing price increases on January 1. He stated that the company expects to continue modest price increases (a couple of points) over the long term, leveraging the value of its differentiated data.

Ryan Griffin asked about the pricing strategy in non-mortgage verticals, specifically for the credit file and other package fees, and whether there is room for price increases over time.

Answer

Mark Begor, Chief Executive Officer, confirmed a consistent strategy to price for value, typically implementing price increases on January 1st across all verticals. He stated that the long-term framework includes a couple of points of price growth, which is supported by the value of Equifax's differentiated data.

Ryan Griffin asked for updates on the strategy of deepening penetration and broadening solutions with background screeners, as discussed at the recent Investor Day, and how this might affect pricing.

Answer

CFO John Gamble stated that Equifax is continuing to implement contracts with large talent-solution customers that provide access to a full suite of products. This approach aims to drive higher usage and efficiency for clients. While it's only been a month since the Investor Day, he confirmed the strategy is moving forward with some early successes.

Ryan Griffin, on for Jeff Silber from BMO Capital Markets, asked for the underlying assumptions for bill rates and volume in the third-quarter Nurse and Allied segment guidance. He also inquired about AMN's exposure to rural hospitals.

Answer

CFO & COO Brian Scott confirmed that the sequential decline guided for the travel nurse business is entirely volume-driven, as bill rates have been stable. He noted the Allied business is also down slightly due to seasonality in the school business. President & CEO Cary Grace stated that the company does not have a disproportionate exposure to rural hospitals compared to urban ones.

Ryan Griffin asked how large enterprise customers performed relative to SMBs and inquired about the drivers behind the strong growth in non-U.S. Protiviti revenues.

Answer

President & CEO M. Keith Waddell noted that enterprise clients have been more resilient than SMBs for several quarters. For non-U.S. Protiviti, he attributed the strong growth to dramatically easier year-over-year comparisons and robust performance from large, joint go-to-market projects in Germany and Canada.

Ryan Griffin of BMO Capital Markets inquired about ManpowerGroup's market share gain strategy and the potential for expanding its franchise model to other geographies.

Answer

Chairman & CEO Jonas Prising explained that market share gains are driven by proprietary data and an AI-powered sales engine that precisely targets high-growth industry verticals. Regarding the franchise model, he confirmed it's an ongoing strategy to evaluate both existing and new markets where a local approach could accelerate growth.

Ryan Griffin, on for Jeff Silber at BMO Capital Markets, asked about the swing factors that could influence results within the broad Q4 guidance range, particularly given the reliance on the institutional buy-side pipeline.

Answer

CEO Philip Snow explained that the pipeline is composed of a broad portfolio of opportunities and is not reliant on any single large deal. He stated that while they are well ahead of last year, the range reflects the large number of deals that need to be closed. CFO Helen Shan added the guidance range is designed to account for this variability.

Asked about the potential impact of tariffs and reshoring on manufacturing, requested an update on business activity in southern border states, and asked for a breakdown of the Q2 revenue guidance by segment.

Answer

The company is monitoring tariffs, which could be a tailwind by boosting onshore manufacturing. Positive business trends continued in southern border states like Texas, Arizona, and Nevada. A detailed Q2 revenue growth guidance breakdown was provided for each of the three segments: PeopleReady (-3%), PeopleManagement (+3%), and PeopleSolutions (+29%).

Ryan Griffin of BMO Capital Markets inquired about customer count dynamics, asking if revenue weakness was driven by lower volume per customer rather than attrition. He also requested details on customer wins, retention, the Q4 revenue growth guidance by segment, and the bill-pay spread for the quarter.

Answer

Executive Taryn Owen confirmed the issue is subdued demand, not customer loss, highlighting that the customer count grew sequentially in PeopleReady and new business wins were strong in PeopleScout and PeopleManagement. CFO Carl Schweihs provided Q4 guidance by segment, noting a comparable basis decline of 14% for TrueBlue overall. He also detailed that pay rates rose 1.5% while bill rates rose 0.2%, compressing margins by 60 basis points.

Ryan Griffin, on for Jeff Silber, asked about potential benefits from manufacturing reshoring due to tariffs, sought an update on business activity near the southern border, and requested a breakdown of the Q2 revenue guidance by business segment.

Answer

Executive Taryn Owen noted that tariffs could be a tailwind by encouraging onshore manufacturing and that clients are increasingly focused on workforce authorization, with positive trends continuing in southern border states. CFO Carl Schweihs provided the Q2 revenue guidance midpoints by segment: PeopleReady at -3%, PeopleManagement at +3%, and PeopleSolutions at +29% (or -17% on an organic basis).