BBSI vs MAN vs KELYA Stock Comparison

Barrett Business Services, ManpowerGroup and Kelly Services Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MAN ManpowerGroup Inc.
$45.78 -20.3% 1M +39.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.12B
P/E
25.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.92B
Div. yield
–
Staffing Industrials
5 wins
KELYA Kelly Services Inc
$16.45 -0.2% 1M +34.5% 1Y
Market cap
$569.43M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.06B
Div. yield
0.02%
Staffing Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

ManpowerGroup leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (ManpowerGroup 5, Barrett Business Services 3, Kelly Services 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBBSIMANKELYALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $787.17M $2.12B $569.43M MAN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.4x 25.5x -2.1x BBSI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.3x 12.4x 14.6x MAN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.6% +7.3% -9.6% MAN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.8% — -6.7% BBSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — -8.5% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -1.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -21.6% +39.4% +34.5% MAN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.7%/yr -14.2%/yr -2.0%/yr BBSI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.6% 60.6% 42.4% KELYA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 57/100 34/100 MAN

Percentile Scorecard

BBSIMANKELYA

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisBBSIMANKELYA
Valuation 60 #46 of 112 77 #27 of 112 55 #51 of 112
Growth 36 #62 of 96 47 #51 of 96 10 #87 of 96
Profitability 43 #52 of 91 49 #47 of 91 27 #67 of 91
Financial Health 55 #57 of 125 – 62 #48 of 125
Shareholder Returns 61 #27 of 67 55 #31 of 67 15 #57 of 67
Overall 51 57 34
  • BBSI ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • MAN ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • KELYA ranked among 130 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodBBSIMANKELYASPY
1 month +4.6%-20.3%-0.2% -0.2%
3 months -20.7%-17.4%+1.9% +3.9%
6 months +3.4%+46.6%+66.5% +8.2%
Year to date -10.1%+54.0%+86.9% +12.9%
1 year -21.6%+39.4%+34.5% +12.3%
3 years +47.9%-33.9%-6.4% +87.4%
3 years, per year +13.9%-12.9%-2.2% +23.3%
5 years +58.9%-53.4%-9.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +9.7%-14.2%-2.0% +10.9%
10 years +197.2%-40.4%-10.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year +11.5%-5.0%-1.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureBBSIMANKELYASPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.6%60.6%42.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.1%55.4%46.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.20-0.070.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.510.650.81 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.4%-77.7%-67.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.6%-27.2%-4.8% -1.2%
52-week high $41.53$62.92$17.28 $779.14
52-week low $26.83$25.75$8.08 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleBBSIMANKELYA
P/E now vs peer median 22.6xmedian 21.2x 25.5xmedian 21.2x -2.1xmedian 21.2x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 0.9x 0.1xmedian 0.9x 0.1xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 11.9x —median 11.9x -11.2xmedian 11.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 50.5xmedian 13.7x 38.2xmedian 13.7x 25.2xmedian 13.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 2.4x 1.0xmedian 2.4x 0.5xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.86median 1.00 —median 1.00 0.08median 1.00

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsBBSIMANKELYA
Revenue $1.27B $18.92B $4.06B
Gross profit $253.07M $3.04B $799.40M
Operating income $52.24M $303.20M -$91.80M
Net income $35.08M $120.30M -$273.40M
Free cash flow $15.52M – $20.50M
EPS (diluted) $1.42 – $-7.77
Cash & equivalents $27.04M $233.10M $24.20M
Total debt – – $78.10M
Shares (diluted) 24.71M 47.40M 35.20M
Enterprise value $360.47M $2.12B $456.53M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricBBSIMANKELYA
P/E 22.6x 25.5x -2.1x
P/FCF 50.5x 38.2x 25.2x
P/Operating cash flow 21.4x 50.8x 19.1x
P/S 0.6x 0.1x 0.1x
P/B 3.8x 1.0x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 1.2x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.8x – -11.2x
EV/EBIT 13.7x – -6.2x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 0.1x 0.1x
EV/FCF 46.1x – 27.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.6x 50.8x 21.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.86 – 0.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBBSIMANKELYA
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.6% 7.3% -9.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% -0.3% -6.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.3% 1.7% -13.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.3% -3.9% -9.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -17.0% 120.2% -335.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -3.1% -8.5% -58.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -34.9% 672.9% -4,310%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -9.2% -18.5% -23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -30.9% – -4,372%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.9% – -25.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 854.5% 218.4% -76.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% -51.6% 28.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 234.5% – -80.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.5% – 28.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBBSIMANKELYA
Gross margin 20.0% – 19.7%
EBITDA margin 4.8% – -1.3%
Operating margin 4.1% – -2.3%
Pretax margin 4.8% – -2.4%
Net margin 2.8% – -6.7%
FCF margin 1.2% – 0.5%
Operating cash flow margin 2.9% 0.2% 0.7%
Return on equity 17.1% 5.7% -28.0%
Return on assets 4.7% 1.4% -12.1%
Return on invested capital – – -8.5%
Return on capital employed 15.4% – -6.6%
Asset turnover 1.7x 2.3x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 0.3x -0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.1% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBBSIMANKELYA
Debt / assets – – 3.4%
Debt / equity – – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -1.1x
Debt / FCF – – 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 71.4% – 56.9%
Equity / assets 28.6% 25.9% 43.1%
Interest coverage 312.8x – –
Current ratio 1.1x 1.1x 1.5x
Quick ratio 1.6x – 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x – 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.38 – 2.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBBSIMANKELYA
Dividend yield 1.0% 3.1% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 7.3% – –
Shareholder yield 8.3% 3.1% 1.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – -4.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 53.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 0.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – -11.9%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusBBSIMANKELYA
Forward P/E 23.3xFY2026 12.4xFY2026 14.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.40FY2026 $3.68FY2026 $1.13FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -32.7%FY2026 +23.9%FY2026 -10.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +37.9% +23.1% +70.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.34BFY2026 $19.58BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.0%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026 -9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.8% +4.5% +16.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBBSIMANKELYA
Held by institutions 88.6% 100.0% 75.2%
Institutions holding 198 308 167
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% +4.8% +7.9%
Institutions buying 111 179 95
Institutions selling 55 94 46
Buyers to sellers 2.02 1.90 2.07

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

BBSIMANKELYA
BBSI 1.00 0.34 0.45
MAN 0.34 1.00 0.61
KELYA 0.45 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BBSI, MAN and KELYA?

ManpowerGroup (MAN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) $787.17M, ManpowerGroup (MAN) $2.12B, Kelly Services (KELYA) $569.43M.

Which stock is cheaper, BBSI, MAN and KELYA?

Barrett Business Services (BBSI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 22.4x, ManpowerGroup (MAN) 25.5x, Kelly Services (KELYA) -2.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, ManpowerGroup (MAN) is cheapest (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 23.3x, ManpowerGroup (MAN) 12.4x, Kelly Services (KELYA) 14.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

ManpowerGroup (MAN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) +5.6%, ManpowerGroup (MAN) +7.3%, Kelly Services (KELYA) -9.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Barrett Business Services (BBSI) has the highest net margin (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 2.8%, Kelly Services (KELYA) -6.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year ManpowerGroup (MAN) returned the most: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) -21.6%, ManpowerGroup (MAN) +39.4%, Kelly Services (KELYA) +34.5%. Over five years, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) compounded fastest (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) +9.7%/yr, ManpowerGroup (MAN) -14.2%/yr, Kelly Services (KELYA) -2.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 0.00%, ManpowerGroup (MAN) 0.00%, Kelly Services (KELYA) 0.02%. Barrett Business Services (BBSI) and ManpowerGroup (MAN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kelly Services (KELYA) has been the steadiest (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 42.6%, ManpowerGroup (MAN) 60.6%, Kelly Services (KELYA) 42.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BBSI, MAN and KELYA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, ManpowerGroup (MAN) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.