TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) reported second-quarter revenue was affected by economic uncertainty and clients remaining cautious in their spending.

“Revenue for the quarter was $396 million, down 17% compared to the prior year as uncertainty around interest rates, inflation and other factors continued to drive reduced business spend and curbed hiring trends,” President and CEO Taryn Owen said in a conference call with analysts. “Our revenue trends declined over the quarter as we did not see typical seasonal sequential builds in our on-demand business.”

Second-quarter revenue came in just short of guidance. TrueBlue had forecast revenue for the quarter would be down between 10% and 16% year over year.

Still, the Tacoma, Washington-based provider of industrial staffing and RPO said it is taking steps to streamline operations and prepare for when customer demand returns. The company also continued the rollout of its new JobStack app during the second quarter and is on track to complete the rollout this year.

Looking at individual business lines, revenue fell across segments.

TrueBlue’s PeopleReady business line saw softness across most verticals and geographies, though this was partially offset by growth in renewable energy, according to the company. The decrease includes the impact from TrueBlue’s sale of its Canadian operations.

“Overall, weakness in demand trends continued, with economic pressures driving greater client focus on reducing costs and restricting hiring trends,” CFO Carl Schweihs said in a conference call with analysts. “This led to a lack of sequential build in our on-demand PeopleReady business, resulting in larger year-over-year decline. PeopleReady Q2 revenue was flat to Q1, while historical trends would typically result in low, double-digit growth.”

PeopleScout saw reduced client hiring volumes. Meanwhile, PeopleManagement reported lower on-site client volumes — primarily in the retail end market — that was partially offset by growth in commercial driving services.

Net loss includes a noncash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge of $59.7 million.

TrueBlue Inc. - Q2 2024

Revenue by Segment

Guidance

TrueBlue forecast third-quarter revenue of between $380 million and $405 million, which represents a year-over-year decline of between 14% and 20%.

Share Price

Shares in TrueBlue were down 20.96% to $8.47 as of 10:59 a.m. Eastern time today. They hit a new 52-week low today when they reached $7.67.