By Elias Schisgall

Shares of Geo Group dropped after the company issued disappointing first-quarter earnings guidance and said its chief executive would retire.

The stock was down 15%, at $13.41, Thursday afternoon after hitting a 52-week low of $12.81 earlier in the session. The stock has fallen 52% in the past year.

Chief Executive J. David Donahue said Thursday that he would retire at the end of the month. Founder and Executive Chairman George Zoley is expected to succeed Donahue on March 1, the company said.

Donahue's exit comes as the company issued guidance that partially missed Wall Street estimates.

It said it expects first-quarter revenue of between $680 million and $690 million, with earnings of between 17 cents and 19 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet are expecting $690.7 million in revenue and earnings per share of 24 cents.

For the current year, the company is forecasting revenue between $2.9 billion and $3.1 billion, with earnings between 99 cents and $1.07 a share. Analysts are expecting $2.95 billion in revenue and earnings of $1.27 a share.

Geo Group on Thursday recorded a fourth-quarter profit of $31.8 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a profit of $15.5 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, the company posted earnings of 25 cents a share, ahead of analysts' expectations of 24 cents a share, according to FactSet.

Revenue rose to $707.7 million, up from $607.7 million a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $667.3 million in revenue.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2026 14:22 ET (19:22 GMT)

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