EHS Investments Calls for Urgent Change at TrueBlue's Board
EHS Investments, a significant shareholder of TrueBlue, issued the following statement: "We have argued publicly and privately that the minor refreshment to its Board of Directors announced by TrueBlue earlier this year does not adequately address what is required to address the company's serious operational and financial challenges, and that further change at the Board level is necessary to prevent continued and significant destruction of shareholder value. TrueBlue's fourth quarter results and 2026 guidance substantiate the immediate need for such change. Shareholders are once again confronted with another quarter of missed targets, deteriorating gross profits and EBITDA, continued negative free cash flows, and mounting signs of financial strain. While the American Staffing Association's real-time Staffing Index has inflected to growth, TrueBlue's forecast for 1Q26 suggests further deterioration, with gross profits now expected to decline ~9% year-over-year in 1Q26. While TrueBlue claims that it is 'executing on a disciplined and decisive plan leading to improved financial results,' the results speak for themselves: far from implementing a turnaround, the company is rapidly losing ground. Instead of confronting these failures and acknowledging the need for change, management continues to obscure underlying performance with opaque disclosures surrounding cost pass-through revenue accounting while characterizing its underperformance to shareholders as 'producing results.'. Investors, however, are rendering their own verdict, with TrueBlue's stock falling 24% in the days following this latest earnings release. With a share price now near all-time lows, urgent and decisive change is required before further shareholder value is destroyed by a management team and Board that seemingly refuses to acknowledge, let alone begin to address, the serious challenges facing the company. The perspective of industry veterans and shareholder representatives whose interests are aligned with those of TrueBlue's investors is needed now more than ever - and that is exactly what our slate of highly-qualified director nominees offers to bring to the table. Unfortunately, our efforts to engage with the Board on a constructive settlement that delivers these desperately needed changes and avoids a lengthy and distracting proxy contest have been met with flat refusal. We urge the Board to take immediate action and engage in good faith with the director candidates and solutions we have offered before further value is destroyed. The Board should demonstrate alignment with shareholders by addressing the company's challenges rather than continue in its defense of an unsustainable status quo. We look forward to presenting to our fellow shareholders the detailed strategic value-creation plan developed by our experienced and highly qualified director nominees in the coming weeks."
