Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of ManpowerGroup (MAN -0.45%) is one of the few stocks moving higher today, gaining 10% after the company released earnings.
So what: Revenue fell 11% to $5.17 billion, and earnings fell 21% to $63.1 million, or $0.79 per share. That may look bad, but Wall Street was only expecting revenue of $5.11 billion and earnings of $0.68 per share, so investors actually cheered the news. Next quarter, management expects earnings of $0.72 to $0.80 per share, which was also better than analysts had expected.
Now what: The direction of revenue and earnings is troubling, but it's always nice to beat expectations. Investors have clearly priced in the declines for Manpower and, with earnings stabilizing, the stock is looking attractive again. Shares trade at just 13 times forward earnings estimates, and even those estimates might be low at this point. I think shares have room to run, especially if currency headwinds subside in future quarters.
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