KELYA vs KFRC Stock Comparison

Kelly Services and Kforce Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KELYA Kelly Services Inc
$16.79 +2.1% 1M +33.5% 1Y
Market cap
$575.33M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.06B
Div. yield
0.02%
Staffing Industrials
3 wins
KFRC Kforce Inc
$58.50 +12.3% 1M +112.3% 1Y
Market cap
$981.81M
P/E
26.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.34B
Div. yield
0.03%
Staffing Industrials
8 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Kforce leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Kforce 8, Kelly Services 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKELYAKFRCLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $575.33M $981.81M KFRC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2.1x 26.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.9x 23.7x KELYA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -9.6% -1.3% KFRC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.7% 2.7% KFRC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -8.5% 17.6% KFRC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.1x 1.8x KELYA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.03% KFRC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +33.5% +112.3% KFRC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.6%/yr -2.1%/yr KFRC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.4% 60.8% KELYA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 34/100 38/100 KFRC

Percentile Scorecard

KELYAKFRC

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

AxisKELYAKFRC
Valuation 55 #51 of 112 41 #66 of 112
Growth 8 #88 of 96 16 #81 of 96
Profitability 26 #69 of 93 55 #42 of 93
Financial Health 63 #47 of 126 50 #63 of 126
Shareholder Returns 18 #55 of 67 27 #49 of 67
Overall 34 38
  • KELYA ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • KFRC ranked among 130 companies in Business Services

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKELYAKFRCSPY
1 month +2.1%+12.3% -1.0%
3 months +10.8%+6.2% +2.9%
6 months +74.7%+80.5% +6.4%
Year to date +90.8%+89.2% +11.4%
1 year +33.5%+112.3% +13.1%
3 years -4.4%+3.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year -1.5%+1.0% +21.5%
5 years -12.4%-10.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year -2.6%-2.1% +10.9%
10 years -9.0%+200.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year -0.9%+11.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureKELYAKFRCSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.4%60.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.5%42.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.37-0.32 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.791.85 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.7%-69.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.8%-3.2% -2.5%
52-week high $17.28$60.41 $779.14
52-week low $8.08$24.54 $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.

MultipleKELYAKFRC
P/E now vs peer median -2.1xmedian 21.0x 26.9xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 0.9x 0.8xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -11.4xmedian 12.3x 19.4xmedian 12.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 15.1x 46.4xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 0.5xmedian 2.4x 8.5xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.09median 1.02 -2.06median 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 monthsKELYAKFRC
Revenue $4.06B $1.34B
Gross profit $799.40M $371.99M
Operating income -$91.80M $54.32M
Net income -$273.40M $36.48M
Free cash flow $20.50M $22.56M
EPS (diluted) $-7.77 $2.15
Cash & equivalents $24.20M $330.00K
Total debt $78.10M $330.00M
Shares (diluted) 35.20M 16.98M
Enterprise value $462.43M $976.75M

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
MetricKELYAKFRC
P/E -2.1x 26.9x
P/FCF 25.7x 46.4x
P/Operating cash flow 19.5x 28.9x
P/S 0.1x 0.8x
P/B 0.5x 8.5x
P/Tangible book 0.7x 8.5x
EV/EBITDA -11.4x 19.4x
EV/EBIT -6.3x 21.3x
EV/Revenue 0.1x 0.9x
EV/FCF 28.4x 51.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.5x 31.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.09 -2.06

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKELYAKFRC
Revenue growth (1Y) -9.6% -1.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -6.4% -6.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -13.6% 0.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -9.4% -7.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -335.1% -10.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -58.6% -19.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -4,310% -16.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -23.6% -17.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -4,372% -13.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -25.0% -13.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -76.2% -49.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.9% -15.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -80.5% -62.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 28.1% -23.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKELYAKFRC
Gross margin 19.7% 27.7%
EBITDA margin -1.3% 4.4%
Operating margin -2.3% 4.0%
Pretax margin -2.4% 3.8%
Net margin -6.7% 2.7%
FCF margin 0.5% 1.7%
Operating cash flow margin 0.7% 2.7%
Return on equity -28.0% 30.3%
Return on assets -12.1% 9.2%
Return on invested capital -8.5% 17.6%
Return on capital employed -6.6% 19.6%
Asset turnover 1.8x 3.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.1x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKELYAKFRC
Debt / assets 3.4% 26.1%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.1x 1.8x
Debt / FCF 3.8x 4.7x
Liabilities / assets 56.9% 69.9%
Equity / assets 43.1% 30.1%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.8x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.0x
Altman Z-score 2.71 8.14

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKELYAKFRC
Dividend yield 1.7% 2.7%
Net buyback yield – 3.2%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 5.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) -4.0% 74.2%
Payout ratio (FCF) 53.7% 120.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.0% -3.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -11.9% 1.6%

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.

ConsensusKELYAKFRC
Forward P/E 14.9xFY2026 23.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.13FY2026 $2.47FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -10.3%FY2026 +18.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +70.8% +17.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.86BFY2026 $1.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -9.2%FY2026 -1.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +16.0% +5.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKELYAKFRC
Held by institutions 83.1% 95.7%
Institutions holding 167 233
Change in shares held, QoQ +7.9% +1.8%
Institutions buying 95 136
Institutions selling 46 71
Buyers to sellers 2.07 1.92

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.

KELYAKFRC
KELYA 1.00 0.43
KFRC 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KELYA and KFRC?

Kforce (KFRC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kelly Services (KELYA) $575.33M, Kforce (KFRC) $981.81M.

Which company is growing faster?

Kforce (KFRC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kelly Services (KELYA) -9.6%, Kforce (KFRC) -1.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kforce (KFRC) has the highest net margin (Kelly Services (KELYA) -6.7%, Kforce (KFRC) 2.7%). On return on invested capital, Kforce (KFRC) leads (Kelly Services (KELYA) -8.5%, Kforce (KFRC) 17.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kforce (KFRC) returned the most: Kelly Services (KELYA) +33.5%, Kforce (KFRC) +112.3%. Over five years, Kforce (KFRC) compounded fastest (Kelly Services (KELYA) -2.6%/yr, Kforce (KFRC) -2.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kforce (KFRC) has the highest dividend yield: Kelly Services (KELYA) 0.02%, Kforce (KFRC) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kelly Services (KELYA) has been the steadiest (Kelly Services (KELYA) 42.4%, Kforce (KFRC) 60.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do KELYA and KFRC move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.43, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, KELYA and KFRC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Kforce (KFRC) leads on 8. 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.