Robert Walters (CHIX:RWAL) Piotroski F-Score: 3 (As of Jun. 25, 2026) — 50% Below Median


CHIX:RWAL Robert Walters PLC CHIX:RWAL
51 GF Score
Price £0.83
GF Value £2.72
Valuation Possible Value Trap
! 2 Warning Signs
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What is Robert Walters Piotroski F-Score?

Robert Walters CHIX:RWAL -0.48% 51 Piotroski F-Score is 3 as of Jun. 25, 2026, which is 50% below its 10-year median of 6.00. GuruFocus rates CHIX:RWAL with a GF Score™ of 51/100 and a GF Value™ of £2.72 (Possible Value Trap). The stock has 2 warning signs investors should review. Among 1,063 Business Services companies, Robert Walters ranks worse than 84.85% on this metric.

Warning Sign:

Piotroski F-Score of 3 is low, which usually implies poor business operation.

The zones of discrimination were as such:

Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3

Robert Walters has an F-score of 3. It is a bad or low score, which usually implies poor business operation.

The historical rank and industry rank for Robert Walters's Piotroski F-Score or its related term are showing as below:

CHIX:RWAl' s Piotroski F-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: 3   Med: 6   Max: 8
Current: 3

During the past 13 years, the highest Piotroski F-Score of Robert Walters was 8. The lowest was 3. And the median was 6.

Robert Walters  (CHIX:RWAl) Piotroski F-Score Explanation

The developer of the system is Joseph D. Piotroski is relatively unknown accounting professor who shuns publicity and rarely gives interviews.

He graduated from the University of Illinois with a B.S. in accounting in 1989, received an M.B.A. from Indiana University in 1994. Five years later, in 1999, after earning a Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Michigan, he became an associate professor of accounting at the University of Chicago.

In 2000, he wrote a research paper called "Value Investing: The Use of Historical Financial Statement Information to Separate Winners from Losers" (pdf).

He wanted to see if he can develop a system (using a simple nine-point scoring system) that can increase the returns of a strategy of investing in low price to book (referred to in the paper as high book to market) value companies.

What he found was something that exceeded his most optimistic expectations.

Buying only those companies that scored highest (8 or 9) on his nine-point scale, or F-Score as he called it, over the 20 year period from 1976 to 1996 led to an average out-performance over the market of 13.4%.

Even more impressive were the results of a strategy of investing in the highest F-Score companies (8 or 9) and shorting companies with the lowest F-Score (0 or 1).

Over the same period from 1976 to 1996 (20 years) this strategy led to an average yearly return of 23%, substantially outperforming the average S&P 500 index return of 15.83% over the same period.


Robert Walters Piotroski F-Score Related Terms


Robert Walters Piotroski F-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Robert Walters's Piotroski F-Score can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Robert Walters Piotroski F-Score Chart

Robert Walters Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Piotroski F-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 6.00 6.00 4.00 3.00 3.00

Robert Walters Semi-Annual Data
Jun16 Dec16 Jun17 Dec17 Jun18 Dec18 Jun19 Dec19 Jun20 Dec20 Jun21 Dec21 Jun22 Dec22 Jun23 Dec23 Jun24 Dec24 Jun25 Dec25
Piotroski F-Score Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 4.00 0.00 3.00 0.00 3.00

CHIX:RWAL vs KFY, RHI, TNET: Piotroski F-Score Comparison

For the Staffing & Employment Services subindustry, Robert Walters's Piotroski F-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Piotroski F-Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Robert Walters Piotroski F-Score vs Business Services Industry

For the Business Services industry and Industrials sector, Robert Walters's Piotroski F-Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Robert Walters's Piotroski F-Score falls into.


CHIX:RWAL
51GF Score
Robert Walters PLC CHIX:RWAL
Piotroski F-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

How is the Piotroski F-Score calculated?

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

This Year (Dec25) TTM:Last Year (Dec24) TTM:
Net Income was £-26.8 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was £10.3 Mil.
Revenue was £781.1 Mil.
Gross Profit was £274.2 Mil.
Average Total Assets from the begining of this year (Dec24)
to the end of this year (Dec25) was (355.5 + 294.5) / 2 = £325 Mil.
Total Assets at the begining of this year (Dec24) was £355.5 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was £50.8 Mil.
Total Current Assets was £179.1 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was £140.4 Mil.
Net Income was £-6.0 Mil.

Revenue was £892.1 Mil.
Gross Profit was £321.4 Mil.
Average Total Assets from the begining of last year (Dec23)
to the end of last year (Dec24) was (415.7 + 355.5) / 2 = £385.6 Mil.
Total Assets at the begining of last year (Dec23) was £415.7 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was £54.2 Mil.
Total Current Assets was £230.0 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was £160.5 Mil.

*Note: If the latest quarterly/semi-annual/annual total assets data is 0, then we will use previous quarterly/semi-annual/annual data for all the items in the balance sheet.

Profitability

Question 1. Return on Assets (ROA)

Net income before extraordinary items for the year divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.

Score 1 if positive, 0 if negative.

Robert Walters's current Net Income (TTM) was -26.8. ==> Negative ==> Score 0.

Question 2. Cash Flow Return on Assets (CFROA)

Net cash flow from operating activities (operating cash flow) divided by Total Assets at the beginning of the year.

Score 1 if positive, 0 if negative.

Robert Walters's current Cash Flow from Operations (TTM) was 10.3. ==> Positive ==> Score 1.

Question 3. Change in Return on Assets

Compare this year's return on assets (1) to last year's return on assets.

Score 1 if it's higher, 0 if it's lower.

ROA (This Year)=Net Income/Total Assets (Dec24)
=-26.8/355.5
=-0.07538678

ROA (Last Year)=Net Income/Total Assets (Dec23)
=-6/415.7
=-0.01443349

Robert Walters's return on assets of this year was -0.07538678. Robert Walters's return on assets of last year was -0.01443349. ==> Last year is higher ==> Score 0.

Question 4. Quality of Earnings (Accrual)

Compare Cash flow return on assets (2) to return on assets (1)

Score 1 if CFROA > ROA, 0 if CFROA <= ROA.

Robert Walters's current Net Income (TTM) was -26.8. Robert Walters's current Cash Flow from Operations (TTM) was 10.3. ==> 10.3 > -26.8 ==> CFROA > ROA ==> Score 1.

Funding

Question 5. Change in Gearing or Leverage

Compare this year's gearing (long-term debt divided by average total assets) to last year's gearing.

Score 0 if this year's gearing is higher, 1 otherwise.

Gearing (This Year: Dec25)=Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation/Average Total Assets from Dec24 to Dec25
=50.8/325
=0.15630769

Gearing (Last Year: Dec24)=Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation/Average Total Assets from Dec23 to Dec24
=54.2/385.6
=0.14056017

Robert Walters's gearing of this year was 0.15630769. Robert Walters's gearing of last year was 0.14056017. ==> Last year is lower than this year ==> Score 0.

Question 6. Change in Working Capital (Liquidity)

Compare this year's current ratio (current assets divided by current liabilities) to last year's current ratio.

Score 1 if this year's current ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower

Current Ratio (This Year: Dec25)=Total Current Assets/Total Current Liabilities
=179.1/140.4
=1.27564103

Current Ratio (Last Year: Dec24)=Total Current Assets/Total Current Liabilities
=230/160.5
=1.43302181

Robert Walters's current ratio of this year was 1.27564103. Robert Walters's current ratio of last year was 1.43302181. ==> Last year's current ratio is higher ==> Score 0.

Question 7. Change in Shares in Issue

Compare the number of shares in issue this year, to the number in issue last year.

Score 0 if there is larger number of shares in issue this year, 1 otherwise.

Robert Walters's number of shares in issue this year was 65.779. Robert Walters's number of shares in issue last year was 65.754. ==> There is larger number of shares in issue this year. ==> Score 0.

Efficiency

Question 8. Change in Gross Margin

Compare this year's gross margin (Gross Profit divided by sales) to last year's.

Score 1 if this year's gross margin is higher, 0 if it's lower.

Gross Margin (This Year: TTM)=Gross Profit/Revenue
=274.2/781.1
=0.3510434

Gross Margin (Last Year: TTM)=Gross Profit/Revenue
=321.4/892.1
=0.36027351

Robert Walters's gross margin of this year was 0.3510434. Robert Walters's gross margin of last year was 0.36027351. ==> Last year's gross margin is higher ==> Score 0.

Question 9. Change in asset turnover

Compare this year's asset turnover (total sales for the year divided by total assets at the beginning of the year) to last year's asset turnover ratio.

Score 1 if this year's asset turnover ratio is higher, 0 if it's lower

Asset Turnover (This Year)=Revenue/Total Assets at the Beginning of This Year (Dec24)
=781.1/355.5
=2.19718706

Asset Turnover (Last Year)=Revenue/Total Assets at the Beginning of Last Year (Dec23)
=892.1/415.7
=2.14601876

Robert Walters's asset turnover of this year was 2.19718706. Robert Walters's asset turnover of last year was 2.14601876. ==> This year's asset turnover is higher. ==> Score 1.

Evaluation

Piotroski F-Score= Que. 1+ Que. 2+ Que. 3+Que. 4+Que. 5+Que. 6+Que. 7+Que. 8+Que. 9
=0+1+0+1+0+0+0+0+1
=3

Good or high score = 7, 8, 9
Bad or low score = 0, 1, 2, 3

Robert Walters has an F-score of 3. It is a bad or low score, which usually implies poor business operation.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Piotroski F-Score →
What does a Piotroski F-Score of 3 mean?
Robert Walters (CHIX:RWAL) has a Piotroski F-Score of 3 as of Jun. 25, 2026. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on Robert Walters and its competitors. This is 50% below median its historical median of 6.00. Over the past decade, Robert Walters' Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 3.00 to 8.00. According to the industry distribution chart, Robert Walters ranks #902 out of 1063 companies in the Business Services industry, placing it in the top 84.9%.
Is Robert Walters' Piotroski F-Score too high?
Robert Walters' current Piotroski F-Score of 3 is 50% below median its 10-year median of 6.00. Over the past 10 years, this metric has ranged from a low of 3.00 to a high of 8.00. The Business Services industry median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00. Robert Walters' value of 3 is 40% below this industry median. Based on the distribution chart, Robert Walters ranks #902 out of 1063 companies in the Business Services industry, which is in the bottom quartile relative to peers. Overall, Robert Walters has a GF Score™ of 51/100 and is considered Possible Value Trap, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Robert Walters' Piotroski F-Score compare to KFY and RHI?
According to the Business Services industry distribution chart, Robert Walters ranks #902 out of 1063 companies for Piotroski F-Score. This places Robert Walters in the lower half of its industry. The industry median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00. Robert Walters' value of 3 is 40% below this benchmark. Historically, Robert Walters' own Piotroski F-Score has ranged from 3.00 to 8.00 over the past decade. While the company's 10-year median is 6.00 vs. the industry median of 5.00, Robert Walters has consistently been below the industry average. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Piotroski F-Score for a Business Services company?
The median Piotroski F-Score among Business Services companies is 5.00, based on 1,063 companies in the industry. Companies in the top quartile (top 25%) have a Piotroski F-Score significantly above this median, while those in the bottom quartile fall well below. However, Piotroski F-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Robert Walters's current Piotroski F-Score of 3 is 40% below the industry median. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Piotroski F-Score mean?
A high Piotroski F-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Piotroski F-score grades a company's business operating strength from 0-9. View historical data on Robert Walters and its competitors. For the Business Services industry, the median Piotroski F-Score is 5.00 — values significantly above this may indicate overvaluation, while values below may suggest a bargain or underlying issues. Robert Walters's current Piotroski F-Score is 3, which is 50% below median its own 10-year median of 6.00. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Robert Walters stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Robert Walters (CHIX:RWAL) is currently considered Possible Value Trap. The stock's GF Value™ is £2.72, compared to a current price of £0.83 — trading 69.4% below its estimated fair value. The current Piotroski F-Score is 3, which is 50% below median its 10-year median of 6.00 and 40% below the Business Services industry median of 5.00. Robert Walters' overall GF Score™ is 51/100 with 2 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Piotroski F-Score calculated?
Piotroski F-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Robert Walters (CHIX:RWAL), the current Piotroski F-Score is 3 as of Jun. 25, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Robert Walters (CHIX:RWAL) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Robert Walters stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of £0.83 is trading 69.4% below its estimated GF Value™ of £2.72. GuruFocus considers Robert Walters to be Possible Value Trap.

Key valuation signals for CHIX:RWAL:

  • Piotroski F-Score: 3 (50% below median its 10-year median of 6.00)
  • GF Value™: £2.72 vs. price of £0.83 (69.4% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 51/100 with 2 warning signs
  • Industry Position: 40% below the Business Services median (#902 of 1063)

No single metric tells the full story. See the CHIX:RWAL stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Robert Walters Business Description

Other Exchanges RWA:UKRBW:Germany
Address 11 Slingsby Place, St Martin\'s Courtyard, London, GBR, WC2E 9AB
Robert Walters PLC is a specialist professional recruitment group. The company specialises in the placement of professionals across the disciplines of accountancy and finance, banking, engineering, HR, healthcare, IT, legal, sales, marketing, secretarial and support and supply chain, logistics, and procurement. The company's client base ranges from blue-chip corporates and financial services organizations to SMEs and start-ups. The company provides three core services: Specialist professional recruitment, Recruitment outsourcing, and Talent advisory. Its geographical area of operation includes Asia Pacific, the UK, Europe, and the Rest of World. It generates the majority of its revenue from the Asia Pacific region.
51GF Score

Get the complete analysis for CHIX:RWAL

Piotroski F-Score is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

£0.83
Price
£2.72
GF Value