RHI vs BBSI vs KELYA Stock Comparison

Robert Half, Barrett Business Services and Kelly Services Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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RHI Robert Half Inc.
$45.90 +22.8% 1M +56.8% 1Y
Market cap
$4.49B
P/E
39.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.29B
Div. yield
–
Staffing Industrials
2 wins
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
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Barrett Business Services leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Barrett Business Services 5, Robert Half 2, Kelly Services 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionRHIBBSIKELYALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.49B $812.25M $575.33M RHI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.1x 23.2x -2.1x BBSI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 35.3x 23.7x 14.9x KELYA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -4.9% +5.6% -9.6% BBSI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.2% 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 +56.8% -20.3% +33.5% RHI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.4%/yr +10.3%/yr -2.6%/yr BBSI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.6% 42.5% 42.4% KELYA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 42/100 51/100 34/100 BBSI

Percentile Scorecard

RHIBBSIKELYA

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

AxisRHIBBSIKELYA
Valuation 46 #61 of 112 57 #49 of 112 55 #51 of 112
Growth 3 #93 of 96 37 #61 of 96 8 #88 of 96
Profitability 49 #48 of 93 44 #53 of 93 26 #69 of 93
Financial Health 48 #66 of 126 55 #57 of 126 63 #47 of 126
Shareholder Returns 65 #24 of 67 62 #26 of 67 18 #55 of 67
Overall 42 51 34
  • RHI ranked among 130 companies in Business Services
  • BBSI 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

PeriodRHIBBSIKELYASPY
1 month +22.8%+1.9%+2.1% -1.0%
3 months +30.0%-16.4%+10.8% +2.9%
6 months +79.2%+9.0%+74.7% +6.4%
Year to date +69.0%-8.3%+90.8% +11.4%
1 year +56.8%-20.3%+33.5% +13.1%
3 years -36.4%+51.3%-4.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year -14.0%+14.8%-1.5% +21.5%
5 years -59.2%+63.0%-12.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year -16.4%+10.3%-2.6% +10.9%
10 years +18.1%+195.3%-9.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year +1.7%+11.4%-0.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureRHIBBSIKELYASPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.6%42.5%42.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 49.3%53.0%46.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.050.200.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.92-0.480.79 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -82.4%-45.4%-67.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-20.9%-2.8% -2.5%
52-week high $45.90$42.00$17.28 $779.14
52-week low $21.86$26.83$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.

MultipleRHIBBSIKELYA
P/E now vs peer median 40.0xmedian 21.0x 23.1xmedian 21.0x -2.1xmedian 21.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.9x 0.6xmedian 0.9x 0.1xmedian 0.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 50.5xmedian 12.3x 12.0xmedian 12.3x -11.4xmedian 12.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 15.1x 51.5xmedian 15.1x 25.7xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.9xmedian 2.4x 3.9xmedian 2.4x 0.5xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -1.02median 1.02 -3.93median 1.02 0.09median 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 monthsRHIBBSIKELYA
Revenue $5.29B $1.27B $4.06B
Gross profit $1.95B $253.07M $799.40M
Operating income $10.65M $52.24M -$91.80M
Net income $114.78M $35.08M -$273.40M
Free cash flow $215.06M $15.52M $20.50M
EPS (diluted) $1.14 $1.42 $-7.77
Cash & equivalents $324.71M $27.04M $24.20M
Total debt – – $78.10M
Shares (diluted) 100.31M 24.71M 35.20M
Enterprise value $3.06B $385.55M $462.43M

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
MetricRHIBBSIKELYA
P/E 40.0x 23.1x -2.1x
P/FCF 21.8x 51.5x 25.7x
P/Operating cash flow 18.3x 21.8x 19.5x
P/S 0.9x 0.6x 0.1x
P/B 3.9x 3.9x 0.5x
P/Tangible book 3.9x 3.9x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA 50.5x 12.0x -11.4x
EV/EBIT 410.6x 14.0x -6.3x
EV/Revenue 0.8x 0.6x 0.1x
EV/FCF 20.3x 47.1x 28.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.1x 20.0x 21.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.02 -3.93 0.09

Growth

14 metrics
MetricRHIBBSIKELYA
Revenue growth (1Y) -4.9% 5.6% -9.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -8.5% 5.9% -6.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -8.0% -3.3% -13.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -12.0% 2.3% -9.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -93.6% -17.0% -335.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -74.8% -3.1% -58.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -35.5% -34.9% -4,310%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -40.4% -9.2% -23.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -35.4% -30.9% -4,372%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -39.2% -5.9% -25.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -25.6% 854.5% -76.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -29.4% -4.5% 28.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -24.5% 234.5% -80.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -32.0% -18.5% 28.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricRHIBBSIKELYA
Gross margin 36.8% 20.0% 19.7%
EBITDA margin 1.6% 4.8% -1.3%
Operating margin 0.2% 4.1% -2.3%
Pretax margin 3.5% 4.8% -2.4%
Net margin 2.2% 2.8% -6.7%
FCF margin 4.1% 1.2% 0.5%
Operating cash flow margin 4.8% 2.9% 0.7%
Return on equity 9.4% 17.1% -28.0%
Return on assets 4.1% 4.7% -12.1%
Return on invested capital – – -8.5%
Return on capital employed 0.8% 15.4% -6.6%
Asset turnover 1.9x 1.7x 1.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x 1.0x -0.1x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.8% 0.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricRHIBBSIKELYA
Debt / assets – – 3.4%
Debt / equity – – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -1.1x
Debt / FCF – – 3.8x
Liabilities / assets 57.8% 71.4% 56.9%
Equity / assets 42.2% 28.6% 43.1%
Interest coverage – 312.8x –
Current ratio 1.5x 1.1x 1.5x
Quick ratio 0.8x 1.6x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 0.0x
Altman Z-score – 3.40 2.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricRHIBBSIKELYA
Dividend yield 5.1% 1.0% 1.7%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 7.2% –
Shareholder yield 5.7% 8.1% 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.

ConsensusRHIBBSIKELYA
Forward P/E 35.3xFY2026 23.7xFY2026 14.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.30FY2026 $1.40FY2026 $1.13FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -2.3%FY2026 -32.7%FY2026 -10.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +54.6% +37.9% +70.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.49BFY2026 $1.34BFY2026 $3.86BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.1%FY2026 +8.0%FY2026 -9.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.7% +8.8% +16.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersRHIBBSIKELYA
Held by institutions 100.0% 88.6% 83.1%
Institutions holding 443 198 167
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.7% +1.1% +7.9%
Institutions buying 269 111 95
Institutions selling 117 55 46
Buyers to sellers 2.30 2.02 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.

RHIBBSIKELYA
RHI 1.00 0.34 0.50
BBSI 0.34 1.00 0.45
KELYA 0.50 0.45 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, RHI, BBSI and KELYA?

Robert Half (RHI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Robert Half (RHI) $4.49B, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) $812.25M, Kelly Services (KELYA) $575.33M.

Which stock is cheaper, RHI, BBSI and KELYA?

Barrett Business Services (BBSI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Robert Half (RHI) 39.1x, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 23.2x, Kelly Services (KELYA) -2.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kelly Services (KELYA) is cheapest (Robert Half (RHI) 35.3x, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 23.7x, Kelly Services (KELYA) 14.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Barrett Business Services (BBSI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Robert Half (RHI) -4.9%, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) +5.6%, Kelly Services (KELYA) -9.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Barrett Business Services (BBSI) has the highest net margin (Robert Half (RHI) 2.2%, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 2.8%, Kelly Services (KELYA) -6.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Robert Half (RHI) returned the most: Robert Half (RHI) +56.8%, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) -20.3%, Kelly Services (KELYA) +33.5%. Over five years, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) compounded fastest (Robert Half (RHI) -16.4%/yr, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) +10.3%/yr, Kelly Services (KELYA) -2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kelly Services (KELYA) has been the steadiest (Robert Half (RHI) 61.6%, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 42.5%, Kelly Services (KELYA) 42.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, RHI, BBSI 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, Barrett Business Services (BBSI) 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.