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HQHQI

HireQuest, Inc.

$HQI·$279M·Staffing & Employment Services·Industrials
$19.49-1.2%YTD+78.6%1Y+105.9%
Price updated 4h ago·X counts updated 2d ago
HQHQI
$HQIHireQuest, Inc.
$19.49-1.22%0 posts
AI analysisFundamentalsVoices on X
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On X

The complete picture of $HQI on X — how loud the conversation is right now, how it has trended over the last two weeks, and which way the crowd is leaning.

0X posts · last 7 days
Sep 12Sep 27

AI verdictAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

TickerTalks' own read on what's driving $HQI — fundamentals, momentum, or an event — and whether it agrees with the X crowd.

Proven numbersAcceleratingAI verdict · as of 2026-09-28

The move is getting stronger, with heavier trading behind it.

HireQuest +84% YTD, +102% t12m; four straight major beats; manufacturing-staffing demand running 3x pre-pandemic.

HQI is the staffing-services franchise executing outsized beats on manufacturing-labor demand.

  • Tape: +83.7% YTD, +102.4% t12m; 99% of 52w range, +28.4% vs 50-day, +62.5% vs 200-day.
  • Q2 EPS $0.23 vs $0.13 (+76.9%); four consecutive beats (77%, 18%, 58%, 71%).
  • FY26 est revenue $30.8M, EPS $0.78; FY27 $32.5M, $0.85 EPS.
  • 29.6x P/E, 19.3x EV/EBITDA, 7.95x P/S, 4.0% FCF yield, ROIC 11.2%, ROE 12%.
  • D/E 0 (debt-free), op margin 30%, gross margin 73% — franchise-model economics.
  • Manufacturing staffing demand cited at 3x pre-pandemic levels.
  • Quarterly dividend $0.06/share declared.
  • Volume 5.08x average — real institutional flow.
  • Beta 1.15; float 5.24M (tiny).
  • No X sentiment sample.

Watch 11/5 print for Q3 franchise-network growth and manufacturing-cycle indicators.

What to watch: 11/5 earnings, manufacturing-staffing demand trajectory, franchise-network growth, and any acquisitions.

On the calendar: 2026-11-05

sentiment missing

Read the AI verdict on $HQI

  • One-line verdict on what's driving the move — fundamentals, momentum, both, or an event
  • Next dated catalyst when there is one (earnings, deal closing, activist clock)
  • Whether TickerTalks' read agrees with or diverges from the X crowd
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What it does

Plain-English summary of the business — what they sell and how they make money.

Franchised light-industrial and commercial staffing company placing temporary workers via owner-operated local staffing branches in the US.

Industry overviewAI analysisGenerated by AI from underlying data

Where Staffing & Employment Services sits in its cycle right now — and what that implies for $HQI.

Staffing & Employment Services · Industrials

IT staffing demand is contracting as enterprise clients accelerate AI automation of software development tasks (GitHub Copilot, Cursor AI) and reduce offshore programmer headcount. Industrial staffing benefits from reshoring manufacturing expansion; skilled trade shortages (electricians, HVAC, plumbers) sustain pricing power in the non-IT segment.

What this means for $HQI

Partial — Franchised light-industrial and commercial staffing company placing temporary workers via owner-operated local staffing branches in the US.

Top industry ETF

$XLIIndustrial Select Sector SPDR
+9.3%YTD
+10.5%1Y

Fundamentals & catalyst

Profitability, valuation, and the next earnings event — at a glance, with rule-of-thumb signals.

Key ratios

P/E
29.6How much investors are paying per dollar of profit the company actually earned in the last 12 months. Lower means the stock looks cheaper relative to earnings.~15–25 is typical for the S&P 500; high-growth names trade 30+; hyper-growth or speculative can be 100+ or negative.
ROIC
11.2%What percentage return the business earns on every dollar of capital (equity + debt) deployed in operations. The cleanest measure of business quality.Above ~15% is high-quality; consistently above 25% suggests a real moat. Below the company's cost of capital is value-destroying.
Op margin
29.9%Operating profit (after sales, marketing, R&D, and overhead but before interest and taxes) as a percentage of revenue. The clearest view of how well the underlying business is run.Mature business above 20% is healthy; software businesses can run 30%+; commodity / retail businesses operate in single digits.
FCF yield
4.0%Free cash flow (operating cash flow minus capex) divided by the company's market cap. The cash-on-cash return you'd get owning the whole business at today's price.Above ~5% is attractive; below ~2% means you're paying up for growth. Capital-light businesses (software) run higher than capital-heavy ones (utilities).
P/S
7.9Same idea as P/E but per dollar of revenue. Useful for companies that aren't profitable yet, where P/E is meaningless.Under ~2 is cheap; software / SaaS often runs 8–15; well above 20 implies the market is pricing in very high future growth.
ROE
12.0%Net income as a percentage of shareholders' equity. Similar to ROIC but counts only the equity side.Above 20% is strong, but can be inflated by leverage — a heavily indebted company can show high ROE with weak underlying ROIC.
Gross margin
73.1%Revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, as a percentage of revenue. The first read on whether the product is structurally profitable.Software / SaaS is typically 70%+; consumer goods 30–50%; commodity / hardware businesses can be under 20%.
D/E
0.0Total debt divided by shareholders' equity. Measures how much the business runs on borrowed money versus owner capital.Under 1 is conservative; 1–2 is typical for mature businesses; over 2 is leveraged and more sensitive to interest rates.

Past earnings

QuarterReportedActualEstimateSurprise
Q2 2026Aug 10, 2026$0.23$0.13+76.9%
Q1 2026May 12, 2026$0.13$0.11+18.2%
Q4 2025Mar 30, 2026$0.19$0.12+58.3%
Q3 2025Nov 6, 2025$0.24$0.14+71.4%
Next earningsThu, Nov 5·consensus EPS $0.24

Quarterly trend

QuarterRevenueYoYGrossOpEPSFCF
Q2 FY26$8.1M+6.0%0.0%41.3%$0.19$1.7M
Q1 FY26$6.5M-12.7%100%22.6%$0.11$250K
Q4 FY25$7.0M-13.0%100%25.0%$0.11$6.6M
Q3 FY25$8.5M-9.8%100%28.8%$0.17$1.0M

Forward consensus

5-year forecast · up to 1 analysts
FYRevenueRangeEPSRangeAnalysts
FY26$30.8M$30.5M – $31.1M$0.78$0.77 – $0.781
FY27$32.5M$32.2M – $32.8M$0.84$0.84 – $0.851
FY28$34.6M$34.3M – $34.9M$0.85$0.84 – $0.861
FY29$36.3M$36.0M – $36.6M$0.92$0.91 – $0.931
FY30$38.1M$37.8M – $38.4M$0.99$0.98 – $1.001

Setup & momentum

Volume, range, and moving-average position — the technical setup driving short-term moves.

Right now

Vol vs 30dToday's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.0.8×Today's traded share volume divided by the average over the prior 30 trading days. ≥3× signals unusual interest; below 1× is quiet.
52w rangeWhere the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.90%Where the latest close sits between the 52-week low (0%) and high (100%). Above 80% is extended; below 30% is basing or in a downtrend.
vs 50d MALatest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.+22.6%Latest close vs the 50-day simple moving average. Positive = short-term trend is up.
vs 200d MALatest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.+56.6%Latest close vs the 200-day simple moving average. Positive = long-term trend is up.

Float & profile

FloatTiny float · 5.2M shFree-float shares — the slice of issued stock actually available to trade. Lower buckets squeeze harder on a catalyst.Traded today0.5% of floatToday's volume as a percent of the free float. Above 5% on a single day is unusually high turnover for the available share count.β1.155-year weekly beta vs the S&P 500. Above 1.5 means the stock typically moves more than the index; below 0.8 moves less.

Insider activity

Recent open-market buys and sells by officers and directors — flagged when multiple insiders cluster.

Recent transactions

BuyJun 3Richard HermannsCEO1.1K sh$14K
+ 6 other (5 awards · 1 gift) in window

See when $HQI insiders are putting their own money in

  • Real-time open-market buys and sells from Form 4 filings
  • Cluster-buy detection when multiple insiders pile in at once
  • 30 / 60 / 180-day windows so you can spot building conviction
Free, forever. No credit card.

SEC filings

Material 8-K, 13D, S-3, and 424B5 events from the last 180 days — the filings that actually move the price.

Recent material filings

8-KPress release / Reg FDAug 138-K — Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
AI summary

HireQuest, Inc. disclosed on August 13, 2026 that its Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share of common stock, payable September 15, 2026 to shareholders of record on September 1, 2026. The announcement is furnished under Item 7.01 (Reg FD) via an attached press release. Routine quarterly dividend declaration for the staffing franchise company; no dividend rate change is noted.

8-KShareholder voteJun 228-K — Item 5.07: Shareholder vote
AI summary

HireQuest (HQI) held its 2026 Annual Meeting on June 18, 2026. Shareholders voted to elect all six director nominees for one-year terms and to ratify Forvis Mazars, LLP as independent auditor. Additional proposal details and vote tallies are in the full filing.

8-KPress release / Reg FDMay 128-K — Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
8-KPress release / Reg FDMay 88-K — Item 7.01: Press release / Reg FD
+ 5 other (2 10-Qs · 2 earnings 8-Ks · 1 proxy) in window

Recent news

Latest headlines from major outlets, sourced and timestamped — context for whatever just moved.

Here Are 3 Staffing Stocks to Consider Despite Industry Challengeszacks.com·2d agoHireQuest (HQI) Stock Jumps 6.9%: Will It Continue to Soar?zacks.com·2d agoAre Business Services Stocks Lagging HireQuest (HQI) This Year?zacks.com·9d agoIs HireQuest (HQI) Stock Outpacing Its Business Services Peers This Year?zacks.com·26d agoHireQuest to Participate in William Blair Human Capital Services Virtual Conferenceprnewswire.com·28d ago

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Voices on X · last 7 days

No standout posts about $HQI on X in the last 7 days.

TickerTalks is a research tool, not financial advice. We surface social-attention data; we do not make stock recommendations. Past attention is not predictive of future price movements.

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