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 staffing agency ManpowerGroup (MAN -0.80%) jumped as much as 11% in early trading after reporting first quarter earnings.
So what: Revenue fell 6%, to $4.77 billion, and net income fell 41%, to $23.9 million, or $0.31 per share. On an adjusted basis, earnings were $0.63 per share, which easily cruised past the $0.45 estimate from Wall Street. Management also expects second quarter earnings per share to be between $0.84 and $0.92 versus the current $0.77 estimate.
Now what: The expectations were set extremely low, which is why declining revenue and profit can surprise investors on the high side. Shares have fallen back to just a 4% gain near the end of trading, which is a little surprising given the large margin of the earnings beat. I think shares can move higher on strong earnings momentum and, in the second half of the year, the job market will pick up again.
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