Cloud, AI And Cybersecurity Will Expand Federal Opportunities

Key Takeaways

• Investments in AI, cloud, and cybersecurity, along with federal demand and strategic partnerships, are set to drive margin expansion and stable, recurring consulting revenue.
  
• Persistent IT talent shortages support ASGN's pricing power in staffing and consulting, helping to sustain and grow gross margins through high-value, differentiated offerings.
  
• Macroeconomic headwinds, industry disruption from automation and AI, margin pressures, intense competition, and uncertain returns on tech investments pose risks to revenue growth and earnings stability.

Catalysts

Engages in the provision of information technology (IT) services and solutions in the technology, digital, and creative fields for commercial and government sectors in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

• Ongoing investments in cloud, AI, and cybersecurity solutions-supported by robust demand from both commercial and federal clients-are driving a growing pipeline of high-margin consulting contracts, positioning ASGN to benefit from clients' digital modernization roadmaps, which is likely to accelerate future revenue growth and improve overall net margins.
  
• Persistent demand for skilled IT professionals, combined with the skills gap in emerging technologies like AI and data analytics, strengthens ASGN's value proposition as a talent solutions provider, supporting sustained pricing power and higher-margin staffing and consulting offerings that should help protect and expand gross margin over time.
  
• The recently enacted expansion in U.S. defense spending-specifically targeting areas such as AI, cloud migration, and cybersecurity where ASGN is well positioned-significantly grows federal contract backlog and is expected to drive more stable, recurring revenues in the federal segment, contributing to earnings stability and longer-term revenue visibility.
  
• Strategic partnerships with technology leaders (e.g., AWS, Workday, Databricks) and investments in proprietary IP and accelerators create repeatable, scalable solutions that both enhance client value and drive operational efficiencies, supporting future improvements in operating margins and recurring high-quality consulting revenue.
  
• The company's proactive internal adoption of AI for its own operations is beginning to yield productivity gains and cost optimization, suggesting potential for increased margin expansion as these efficiencies scale across the business.

ASGN Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming ASGN's revenue will grow by 2.5% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will increase from 3.5% today to 4.5% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach $193.8 million (and earnings per share of $4.35) by about August 2028, up from $140.1 million today. However, there is some disagreement amongst the analysts with the more bearish ones expecting earnings as low as $165.3 million.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 16.0x on those 2028 earnings, up from 15.8x today. This future PE is lower than the current PE for the US IT industry at 26.2x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to decline by 2.23% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 10.45%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

ASGN Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• ASGN's year-over-year total revenues decreased by 1.4%, and its Commercial segment revenues fell by 2.4%, highlighting the company's exposure to cyclical slowdowns and suggesting that persistent macroeconomic headwinds or lengthening downturns in hiring and project spending could negatively impact future revenue growth and earnings.
  
• The company's assignment revenues-linked to its traditional staffing business-declined by a notable 13.9% year-over-year, reflecting ongoing softness in contingent staffing that may persist if accelerating automation, AI adoption, or globalized talent pools further limit the demand for human IT staffing, ultimately compressing ASGN's addressable market and impacting top-line and net margins.
  
• Federal segment gross margins declined by 140 basis points, driven by a greater mix of lower-margin software license revenues and the continued loss of higher-margin federal work (DOGE), suggesting increased vulnerability to shifts in contract mix, volatile government spending, and competition-factors that could limit overall profitability and margin recovery over the long term.
  
• The company's margin expansion relies heavily on a greater mix of high-margin consulting and proprietary IP; however, ASGN operates in a highly competitive, fragmented landscape with significant risks from disruptive online freelance platforms, AI-driven hiring/matching tools, and potential regulatory pressures (e.g., worker classification), potentially reducing differentiation, driving down margins, and threatening earnings stability if these trends accelerate.
  
• Sustained investment in AI-driven IP, upskilling, and technology platforms is intended to drive future growth and operating leverage, yet continued wage inflation, elevated SG&A costs ($216.8M, up from $205.6M YoY), and the risk that ongoing investments may not yield the expected scalability or margin gains could limit improvement in net income and free cash flow if execution or technology ROI falls short of projections.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of $57.5 for ASGN based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of $75.0, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just $44.0.
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be $4.3 billion, earnings will come to $193.8 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 16.0x, assuming you use a discount rate of 10.5%.
• Given the current share price of $50.53, the analyst price target of $57.5 is 12.1% higher.
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.