BBSI vs MAN Stock Comparison

Barrett Business Services and ManpowerGroup Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MAN ManpowerGroup Inc.
$47.56 -17.1% 1M +41.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.17B
P/E
20.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.72B
Div. yield
–
Staffing Industrials
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

ManpowerGroup leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (ManpowerGroup 5, Barrett Business Services 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBBSIMANLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $812.25M $2.17B MAN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 23.2x 20.8x MAN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.7x 12.9x MAN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.6% +6.7% MAN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.8% 0.6% BBSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 4.2% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.3x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -20.3% +41.4% MAN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.3%/yr -14.1%/yr BBSI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.5% 60.5% BBSI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 51/100 49/100 BBSI

Percentile Scorecard

BBSIMAN

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

AxisBBSIMAN
Valuation 57 #49 of 112 87 #16 of 112
Growth 37 #61 of 96 47 #51 of 96
Profitability 44 #53 of 93 35 #61 of 93
Financial Health 55 #57 of 126 40 #76 of 126
Shareholder Returns 62 #26 of 67 35 #44 of 67
Overall 51 49
  • BBSI ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • MAN ranked among 130 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodBBSIMANSPY
1 month +1.9%-17.1% -1.0%
3 months -16.4%-7.4% +2.9%
6 months +9.0%+61.4% +6.4%
Year to date -8.3%+60.0% +11.4%
1 year -20.3%+41.4% +13.1%
3 years +51.3%-31.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +14.8%-11.7% +21.5%
5 years +63.0%-53.3% +67.7%
5 years, per year +10.3%-14.1% +10.9%
10 years +195.3%-40.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year +11.4%-5.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureBBSIMANSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.5%60.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.0%55.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.20-0.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.480.68 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.4%-77.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -20.9%-24.4% -2.5%
52-week high $42.00$62.92 $779.14
52-week low $26.83$25.75 $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.

MultipleBBSIMAN
P/E now vs peer median 23.1xmedian 21.0x 21.4xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 0.9x 0.1xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 12.3x 8.3xmedian 12.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 51.5xmedian 15.1x 32.1xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 2.4x 1.1xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -3.93median 1.02 -0.76median 1.02

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 monthsBBSIMAN
Revenue $1.27B $18.72B
Gross profit $253.07M $3.04B
Operating income $52.24M $287.50M
Net income $35.08M $104.20M
Free cash flow $15.52M $68.90M
EPS (diluted) $1.42 $2.20
Cash & equivalents $27.04M $180.60M
Total debt – $4.69B
Shares (diluted) 24.71M 47.40M
Enterprise value $385.55M $616.62M

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
MetricBBSIMAN
P/E 23.1x 21.4x
P/FCF 51.5x 32.1x
P/Operating cash flow 21.8x 20.2x
P/S 0.6x 0.1x
P/B 3.9x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 3.9x 1.3x
EV/EBITDA 12.0x 8.3x
EV/EBIT 14.0x 10.7x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 0.2x
EV/FCF 47.1x 44.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.0x 28.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.93 -0.76

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBBSIMAN
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.6% 6.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% -0.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.3% 1.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.3% -4.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -17.0% 102.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -3.1% -16.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -34.9% 743.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -9.2% -29.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -30.9% 731.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.9% -28.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 854.5% 1,038%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% -33.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 234.5% 197.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.5% -38.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBBSIMAN
Gross margin 20.0% 16.2%
EBITDA margin 4.8% 2.0%
Operating margin 4.1% 1.5%
Pretax margin 4.8% 1.2%
Net margin 2.8% 0.6%
FCF margin 1.2% 0.4%
Operating cash flow margin 2.9% 0.6%
Return on equity 17.1% 5.0%
Return on assets 4.7% 1.2%
Return on invested capital – 4.2%
Return on capital employed 15.4% 8.3%
Asset turnover 1.7x 2.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBBSIMAN
Debt / assets – 12.5%
Debt / equity – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.3x
Debt / FCF – 15.1x
Liabilities / assets 71.4% 74.8%
Equity / assets 28.6% 25.2%
Interest coverage 312.8x 5.0x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.40 3.22

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBBSIMAN
Dividend yield 1.0% 3.0%
Net buyback yield 7.2% 0.0%
Shareholder yield 8.1% 3.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

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.

ConsensusBBSIMAN
Forward P/E 23.7xFY2026 12.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.40FY2026 $3.68FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -32.7%FY2026 +23.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +37.9% +23.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.34BFY2026 $19.58BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.0%FY2026 +9.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.8% +4.5%

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

BBSIMAN
BBSI 1.00 0.34
MAN 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BBSI and MAN?

ManpowerGroup (MAN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) $812.25M, ManpowerGroup (MAN) $2.17B.

Which stock is cheaper, BBSI and MAN?

ManpowerGroup (MAN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 23.2x, ManpowerGroup (MAN) 20.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, ManpowerGroup (MAN) is cheapest (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 23.7x, ManpowerGroup (MAN) 12.9x). 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) +6.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Barrett Business Services (BBSI) has the highest net margin (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 2.8%, ManpowerGroup (MAN) 0.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year ManpowerGroup (MAN) returned the most: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) -20.3%, ManpowerGroup (MAN) +41.4%. Over five years, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) compounded fastest (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) +10.3%/yr, ManpowerGroup (MAN) -14.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) has been the steadiest (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 42.5%, ManpowerGroup (MAN) 60.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do BBSI and MAN move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.34, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, BBSI and MAN?

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.