BBSI vs NSP vs KELYA Stock Comparison

Barrett Business Services, Insperity and Kelly Services Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NSP Insperity, Inc.
$51.66 +10.1% 1M +12.8% 1Y
Market cap
$1.76B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.87B
Div. yield
0.05%
Staffing Industrials
4 wins
KELYA Kelly Services Inc
$16.47 -0.4% 1M +37.1% 1Y
Market cap
$559.54M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.06B
Div. yield
0.02%
Staffing Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Insperity leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Insperity 4, Barrett Business Services 4, Kelly Services 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionBBSINSPKELYALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $790.82M $1.76B $559.54M NSP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.5x -110.0x -2.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.2x 23.2x 14.6x KELYA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.6% +2.6% -9.6% BBSI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.8% -0.2% -6.7% BBSI
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -0.7% -8.5% NSP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -4.9x -1.1x NSP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.05% 0.02% NSP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -21.6% +12.8% +37.1% KELYA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.6%/yr -16.2%/yr -1.8%/yr BBSI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.6% 67.6% 42.3% KELYA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 40/100 34/100 BBSI

Percentile Scorecard

BBSINSPKELYA

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

AxisBBSINSPKELYA
Valuation 60 #46 of 113 62 #44 of 113 55 #51 of 113
Growth 36 #62 of 96 23 #74 of 96 10 #87 of 96
Profitability 43 #53 of 92 31 #64 of 92 26 #68 of 92
Financial Health 55 #57 of 125 44 #70 of 125 62 #48 of 125
Shareholder Returns 59 #28 of 67 38 #42 of 67 18 #55 of 67
Overall 50 40 34
  • BBSI ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • NSP 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

PeriodBBSINSPKELYASPY
1 month +5.2%+10.1%-0.4% +0.9%
3 months -20.8%-2.8%+4.2% +5.9%
6 months +2.8%+38.8%+68.6% +8.5%
Year to date -10.4%+33.4%+87.2% +13.3%
1 year -21.6%+12.8%+37.1% +12.4%
3 years +47.3%-46.0%-6.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year +13.8%-18.6%-2.2% +23.5%
5 years +58.2%-58.7%-8.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year +9.6%-16.2%-1.8% +11.0%
10 years +187.6%+41.2%-9.9% +263.4%
10 years, per year +11.1%+3.5%-1.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureBBSINSPKELYASPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.6%67.6%42.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 53.1%73.3%46.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.20-0.030.39 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.510.190.88 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.4%-84.7%-67.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.6%-5.2%-4.7% -0.9%
52-week high $41.37$54.48$17.28 $779.14
52-week low $26.83$19.90$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.

MultipleBBSINSPKELYA
P/E now vs peer median 22.5xmedian 21.5x -122.7xmedian 21.5x -2.1xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.6xmedian 0.9x 0.3xmedian 0.9x 0.1xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.7xmedian 11.9x 43.2xmedian 11.9x -11.2xmedian 11.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 50.3xmedian 13.9x 10.2xmedian 13.9x 25.3xmedian 13.9x
P/B now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 2.3x 32.3xmedian 2.3x 0.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median -3.84median 0.92 4.41median 0.92 0.08median 0.92

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 monthsBBSINSPKELYA
Revenue $1.27B $6.87B $4.06B
Gross profit $253.07M $886.00M $799.40M
Operating income $52.24M -$3.00M -$91.80M
Net income $35.08M -$16.00M -$273.40M
Free cash flow $15.52M $194.00M $20.50M
EPS (diluted) $1.42 $-0.41 $-7.77
Cash & equivalents $27.04M $619.00M $24.20M
Total debt – $419.00M $78.10M
Shares (diluted) 24.71M 39.00M 35.20M
Enterprise value $364.12M -$514.22M $446.64M

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
MetricBBSINSPKELYA
P/E 22.5x -122.7x -2.1x
P/FCF 50.3x 10.2x 25.3x
P/Operating cash flow 21.3x 8.8x 19.1x
P/S 0.6x 0.3x 0.1x
P/B 3.8x 32.3x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 3.8x 32.3x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA 11.7x 43.2x -11.2x
EV/EBIT 13.7x -591.1x -6.2x
EV/Revenue 0.6x 0.3x 0.1x
EV/FCF 45.9x 9.1x 27.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.5x 7.9x 21.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -3.84 4.41 0.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricBBSINSPKELYA
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.6% 2.6% -9.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 3.0% -6.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -3.3% -9.6% -13.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.3% -5.3% -9.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -17.0% -106.4% -335.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -3.1% -26.3% -58.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -34.9% -140.0% -4,310%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -9.2% -27.8% -23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -30.9% -139.0% -4,372%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.9% -27.8% -25.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 854.5% 524.5% -76.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.5% -4.0% 28.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 234.5% 308.6% -80.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -18.5% -4.0% 28.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricBBSINSPKELYA
Gross margin 20.0% 12.9% 19.7%
EBITDA margin 4.8% 0.6% -1.3%
Operating margin 4.1% 0.0% -2.3%
Pretax margin 4.8% 0.0% -2.4%
Net margin 2.8% -0.2% -6.7%
FCF margin 1.2% 2.8% 0.5%
Operating cash flow margin 2.9% 3.3% 0.7%
Return on equity 17.1% -25.0% -28.0%
Return on assets 4.7% -0.7% -12.1%
Return on invested capital – -0.7% -8.5%
Return on capital employed 15.4% -0.5% -6.6%
Asset turnover 1.7x 3.1x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x -14.1x -0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.8% 0.8% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricBBSINSPKELYA
Debt / assets – 18.8% 3.4%
Debt / equity – 6.9x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – -4.9x -1.1x
Debt / FCF – 2.2x 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 71.4% 97.3% 56.9%
Equity / assets 28.6% 2.7% 43.1%
Interest coverage 312.8x -0.1x –
Current ratio 1.1x 1.1x 1.5x
Quick ratio 1.6x 0.9x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.4x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 3.37 4.11 2.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricBBSINSPKELYA
Dividend yield 1.0% 4.6% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 7.3% 0.2% –
Shareholder yield 8.3% 4.8% 1.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -568.8% -4.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 46.9% 53.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.1% 0.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 3.6% -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.

ConsensusBBSINSPKELYA
Forward P/E 23.2xFY2026 23.2xFY2026 14.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.40FY2026 $2.23FY2026 $1.13FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -32.7%FY2026 +116.5%FY2026 -10.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +37.9% +26.5% +70.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.34BFY2026 $6.45BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +8.0%FY2026 -5.4%FY2026 -9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.8% +6.0% +16.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersBBSINSPKELYA
Held by institutions 88.6% 100.0% 83.1%
Institutions holding 198 276 167
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.1% +2.4% +7.9%
Institutions buying 111 179 95
Institutions selling 55 58 46
Buyers to sellers 2.02 3.09 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.

BBSINSPKELYA
BBSI 1.00 0.44 0.44
NSP 0.44 1.00 0.40
KELYA 0.44 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, BBSI, NSP and KELYA?

Insperity (NSP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) $790.82M, Insperity (NSP) $1.76B, Kelly Services (KELYA) $559.54M.

Which company is growing faster?

Barrett Business Services (BBSI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) +5.6%, Insperity (NSP) +2.6%, 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%, Insperity (NSP) -0.2%, Kelly Services (KELYA) -6.7%). On return on invested capital, Insperity (NSP) leads (Insperity (NSP) -0.7%, Kelly Services (KELYA) -8.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kelly Services (KELYA) returned the most: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) -21.6%, Insperity (NSP) +12.8%, Kelly Services (KELYA) +37.1%. Over five years, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) compounded fastest (Barrett Business Services (BBSI) +9.6%/yr, Insperity (NSP) -16.2%/yr, Kelly Services (KELYA) -1.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Insperity (NSP) has the highest dividend yield: Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 0.00%, Insperity (NSP) 0.05%, Kelly Services (KELYA) 0.02%. Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 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%, Insperity (NSP) 67.6%, Kelly Services (KELYA) 42.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, BBSI, NSP 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, Insperity (NSP) leads on 4. 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.