ManpowerGroup Plunges 15% as Q4 Outlook and High Tax Rate Overshadow Improving Q3 Trends
ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) shares fell about 15% after the staffing company reported improved third-quarter results but issued a fourth-quarter earnings outlook that appears to have disappointed investors.
Third-quarter revenue increased 4% year over year to $4.8 billion, or 5% in constant currency and 6% organically in constant currency. Growth was led by the Manpower brand, particularly in the U.S., while Experis trends also improved and the U.S. business returned to growth during the quarter.
Net income rose to $34.1 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, from $18.0 million, or $0.38 per share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring, transformation and other special items, adjusted EPS was $1.01, representing 24% growth in constant currency.
However, ManpowerGroup forecast fourth-quarter diluted EPS of $1.03 to $1.13 and an unusually high effective tax rate of 44%. The cautious outlook appears to be a major factor behind the sharp stock decline, particularly given continued restructuring and transformation costs.
Management nevertheless said 2026 is becoming an inflection year, citing improving demand, U.S. market-share gains, better trends at Experis and Talent Solutions, and continued progress on its cost-savings program.
The company also announced a leadership transition, with Becky Frankiewicz set to become CEO on January 1, 2027, while current CEO Jonas Prising will move to Executive Chair.
The 15% decline appears to reflect investor concern that near-term earnings improvement may remain constrained by the elevated tax rate, restructuring costs and the pace of the broader turnaround, despite clear improvement in revenue growth and adjusted profitability.
CMC Rises 2% as Q4 Earnings Surge and Steel Margins Strengthen
CMC (NYSE: CMC) shares rose about 2% after the company reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results, with sharply higher earnings, expanding margins and solid demand across key industrial and infrastructure markets.
Fourth-quarter net sales increased 25.7% year over year to $2.66 billion. Net earnings rose 40% to $212.5 million, or $1.91 per diluted share, while adjusted EPS increased 52.6% to $2.09. Core EBITDA climbed 35.1% to $393.7 million and core EBITDA margin expanded 100 basis points to 14.8%.
North America Steel was the main driver. Adjusted EBITDA increased 32.6% to $317.5 million, while margin improved to 16.4% from 14.8%. Metal margin rose by $84 per ton year over year to $652, supported by higher selling prices and lower sequential scrap costs.
Demand trends also remained healthy. Merchant bar shipments jumped 27.5% year over year, helped by industrial and data center-related activity, while downstream backlog volumes increased 15.5%. Management also cited strength in energy, semiconductor manufacturing, industrial manufacturing and public infrastructure.
Construction Solutions also posted strong reported growth, with revenue up 94.5% and adjusted EBITDA up 100.9%, although precast performance came in below management’s prior expectations because of residential softness in parts of the Southeast.
CMC ended the quarter with net leverage of 1.9x, below its 2x target, and more than $2.0 billion of available liquidity. The company also repurchased $26.7 million of stock during the quarter.
The 2% gain appears to reflect strong earnings growth, improving steel margins and healthy backlogs, which outweighed softer precast results and expectations for some normal seasonal pressure in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
First Horizon Rises 2.8% as Strategic Mortgage Sale Points to Better Future Earnings
First Horizon (NYSE: FHN) shares rose about 2.8% after the bank reported a third-quarter net loss but announced a major balance-sheet repositioning designed to improve future earnings and free capacity for loan growth.
The company reported a net loss available to common shareholders of $94 million, or $0.20 per share. However, results included $347 million after tax, or $0.73 per share, of notable items, primarily tied to the reclassification of roughly $4.5 billion of lower-yielding consumer mortgages to held for sale.
Excluding those items, adjusted EPS was $0.53, down slightly from $0.54 in the second quarter but above $0.51 a year earlier.
First Horizon said it entered into an agreement in early October to sell the approximately $4.5 billion mortgage portfolio. Management expects the transaction to close early in the fourth quarter and said the sale should be accretive to earnings going forward by removing lower-yielding assets and creating additional balance-sheet flexibility.
Deposit trends were also constructive, with average client deposits increasing by $1.3 billion during the quarter.
The 2.8% gain appears to reflect investor focus on the forward earnings benefit of the mortgage portfolio sale rather than the reported quarterly loss. The key catalyst is the expectation that redeploying capital away from lower-yielding mortgages can improve profitability and support stronger loan growth over time.
Wipro Rises 4.2% as Margin Expansion and Strong Cash Flow Offset Weak Bookings
Wipro (NYSE: WIT) shares rose about 4.2% after the company reported improved operating margins and strong cash conversion for the quarter ended September 30, despite limited IT services growth and a sharp decline in bookings.
Gross revenue increased 9.1% year over year to ₹247.5 billion, or about $2.58 billion. IT Services revenue was $2.61 billion, up just 0.3% year over year and down 0.1% sequentially. On a constant-currency basis, IT Services revenue increased 0.6% year over year and was flat sequentiall
Profitability improved sequentially, with IT Services operating margin expanding 50 basis points to 16.5%. EPS increased 4.2% year over year to ₹3.23, while operating cash flow surged 61.3% sequentially to ₹53.0 billion and reached nearly 166% of net income.
Bookings were the major weak point. Total bookings fell 22.9% sequentially in constant currency to $2.60 billion, while large-deal bookings dropped 58.6% to $674 million.
For the December quarter, Wipro expects IT Services revenue of $2.571 billion to $2.625 billion, equivalent to sequential constant-currency growth of between -1.5% and +0.5%, pointing to continued muted near-term revenue momentum.
Management nevertheless highlighted increasing opportunities around its consulting-led, AI-powered strategy, with several new engagements involving AI-enabled operations, enterprise platforms and automation across banking, healthcare, technology and other industries.
The 4.2% gain appears to reflect investor focus on better margins, strong cash conversion and signs of progress in Wipro’s AI-focused strategy, despite weak bookings and a relatively subdued near-term revenue outlook.
Prologis Falls 1.1% as Lower 2026 Net Earnings Guidance Offsets Solid Q3 Operations
Prologis (NYSE: PLD) shares fell about 1.1% after the industrial REIT reported higher third-quarter earnings and healthy leasing activity but sharply reduced its 2026 GAAP earnings outlook.
Third-quarter net earnings were $0.86 per diluted share, up from $0.82 a year earlier. Core FFO increased to $1.60 per share from $1.49, while Core FFO excluding net promote income was $1.61 versus $1.50.
Operating activity remained solid. Prologis signed 60 million square feet of leases during the quarter and announced nearly $2.3 billion of transactions. Management said customer inventory levels remain lean and excess logistics-network capacity has largely cleared, with demand supported by e-commerce, advanced manufacturing and the data-center supply chain.
The main negative appears to be the revised full-year earnings outlook. Prologis lowered its 2026 net earnings guidance to $4.05-$4.15 per share from $4.40-$4.55 previously. In contrast, Core FFO guidance was narrowed slightly higher at the low end to $6.25-$6.29 from $6.22-$6.30.
Management also highlighted progress on the planned SEGRO transaction following shareholder approval, which would expand Prologis' European platform. The company said its balance sheet continues to provide flexibility to invest despite the higher interest-rate environment.
The 1.1% decline therefore appears to reflect the sizeable reduction in GAAP earnings guidance and broader rate sensitivity among REITs, partially offset by resilient leasing demand, higher Core FFO and relatively stable underlying operating expectations.
Charles Schwab Falls 4.4% Despite Record Q3 Assets, Revenue and Earnings
Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW) shares fell about 4.4% even after the company reported record third-quarter 2026 client asset inflows, revenue and earnings.
Core net new assets reached a record $190.4 billion, up 38% year over year, representing an annualized growth rate of 5.8%. Clients also opened 1.2 million new brokerage accounts, bringing total client accounts to 48.6 million, while total client assets increased 15% to $13.33 trillion.
Net revenue rose 17% year over year to a record $7.2 billion. Net income totaled $2.9 billion, with GAAP EPS of $1.62, up 29% from a year earlier. Excluding $151 million of pre-tax transaction-related costs, adjusted net income was $3.0 billion and adjusted EPS was $1.69.
Client engagement remained strong across several businesses. Schwab Wealth Advisory net flows increased 55%, Managed Investing Solutions net flows rose 22%, and Pledged Asset Line balances climbed 59% year over year to $37.3 billion. Bank loan balances increased 35% to $72.3 billion.
Trading activity was also elevated. Daily average trading volume increased 44% year over year to 10.7 million, while margin loan balances rose 14% quarter over quarter to $187.9 billion.
The 4.4% decline therefore appears disconnected from the headline operating results and may reflect broader pressure on financial stocks, valuation concerns, or investor focus on balance-sheet sensitivity in a higher-rate environment rather than weakness in Schwab’s core business. The quarter itself showed strong asset gathering, revenue growth and earnings momentum.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (NYSE: TSM) shares fell about 3.8% even after the company reported another strong quarter, as a broader selloff in semiconductor stocks appears to be outweighing the strength of its earnings.
TSMC reported third-quarter revenue of NT$1.49 trillion, up 50.9% year over year, while net income rose 68.7% to NT$763.1 billion. Diluted EPS increased by the same percentage to NT$29.43, equivalent to $4.60 per ADR.
In U.S. dollar terms, quarterly revenue reached $46.72 billion, up 41.2% from a year earlier and 16.2% from the second quarter. Gross margin was 66.4%, operating margin 58.7%, and net profit margin 51.1%.
Leading-edge demand remained the key driver. Advanced nodes of 7-nanometer and below accounted for 79% of wafer revenue, including 33% from 3-nanometer, 28% from 5-nanometer and 8% from the new 2-nanometer process.
TSMC also issued a strong fourth-quarter outlook, forecasting revenue of $52.3 billion to $54.3 billion, gross margin of 65% to 67%, and operating margin of 56.5% to 58.5%. Management said demand for advanced process technologies remains strong, with a steep ramp-up in 2-nanometer expected to support Q4.
The stock decline therefore appears less related to company-specific fundamentals and more to the broader pressure on chip and growth stocks. Recent U.S. macro data have revived concerns that inflation remains too strong and that the Federal Reserve could keep rates higher for longer, or potentially tighten further. Higher rate expectations tend to pressure high-valuation semiconductor and technology stocks by increasing discount rates.
TSMC’s results themselves remain strong, with rapid revenue growth, very high margins and robust advanced-node demand. The 3.8% drop appears to reflect a macro-driven semiconductor selloff rather than deterioration in the company’s near-term operating outlook.
Canada Wholesale Sales Fall 1.6% in August, Slightly Worse Than Expected
Canadian wholesale sales declined 1.6% month over month in August, slightly weaker than the 1.5% contraction expected by economists.
The drop also marked a reversal from the previous month’s 0.4% increase, pointing to softer activity in the wholesale sector.
The result suggests some loss of momentum in goods distribution and business demand heading into the end of the third quarter.
Brazil Retail Sales Barely Rise in August, Missing Expectations
Brazilian retail sales increased just 0.1% month over month in August, well below the 0.7% gain expected by economists. The reading nevertheless marked an improvement from the previous month’s 0.8% decline.
On a year-over-year basis, retail sales rose 0.4%, also significantly weaker than the 1.5% consensus estimate and slowing from 1.3% previously.
Wall Street Trades Mixed as Hotter PPI and Strong Retail Sales Reinforce Rate Concerns
U.S. stocks traded mixed after a batch of economic data showed stronger consumer spending, hotter producer inflation and continued labor-market resilience. The S&P 500 fell 0.26% to 7,698.99 and the Nasdaq dropped 0.86% to 26,463.05, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.55% to 51,907.65.
September retail sales increased 0.8% month over month, well above the 0.3% consensus estimate, although growth slowed from 1.3% previously. Core retail sales rose 0.9%, also beating the 0.6% forecast but easing from 1.4%.
Inflation data were more concerning. Producer prices jumped 1.3% month over month, more than double the 0.6% expected and sharply above the prior 0.5% increase. Core PPI rose 0.7%, compared with a 0.3% forecast and 0.2% previously.
The labor market remained firm. Initial jobless claims were 199,000, matching expectations and little changed from 198,000, while continuing claims came in at 1.710 million, exactly in line with forecasts and slightly below 1.714 million previously.
Manufacturing data were also much stronger than expected, with the New York Empire State Manufacturing Index jumping to 25.5 in October from 7.6, far above the 12.1 consensus estimate.
The data combination points to an economy that remains resilient but is also experiencing renewed inflation pressure. That backdrop may reinforce expectations for interest rates to remain elevated for longer, which appears to be weighing particularly on the rate-sensitive Nasdaq even as the Dow moves higher.
