The Level Market Monitor
StaffingWhat the biggest staffing companies tell us about your agency
These five public companies aren’t your peers — they’re what an exit looks like at scale. PE firms use their financials as the starting comp set when they value your staffing agency.
Updated quarterly · Last update: April 2026 · All data from SEC filings
$16.6B
Combined Revenue
5 public staffing companies
47K+
Combined Employees
Internal headcount (excl. temps)
7.3x
Median EV/EBITDA
What the market pays
6
Acquisitions Tracked
Major deals since 2024
Industry Scorecard
Five public staffing companies, side by side
| Company | Revenue | Growth | Gross Margin | EBITDA Margin | Backlog | EV/EBITDA | Rev/Employee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHIRobert Half Inc. | $5.4B | +-7.2% | 37.2% | 2.9% | N/A | 13.3x | $371K |
| KFRCKforce Inc. | $1.3B | +-5.4% | 27.2% | 5.5% | N/A | 8.3x | $831K |
| ASGNASGN Incorporated | $4.0B | +-2.9% | 28.9% | 10.6% | N/A | 6.3x | $178K |
| TBITrueBlue Inc. | $1.6B | +3.1% | 22.8% | 0.7% | N/A | x | $462K |
| KELYAKelly Services, Inc. | $4.3B | +-1.9% | 20.1% | 2.6% | N/A | 3.8x | $763K |
What this means for you
A $5M staffing agency won’t trade at 15x EBITDA. But these public multiples set the ceiling for the entire staffing industry. Private agencies in the $3–30M range typically trade at 4–8x EBITDA. The gap is explained by specialization, client diversification, and management depth. Understanding the ceiling helps you understand what to work toward.
Operating Benchmarks
How these companies manage cash, margins, and overhead
Revenue and margins only tell half the story. These are the numbers that show how efficiently a staffing business actually runs — how fast they collect, bill-pay spreads, and how much cash they actually take home. When a PE firm or buyer looks at your books, these are the metrics they dig into.
| Metric | RHI | KFRC | ASGN | TBI | KELYA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Collection SpeedHow many days before you get paid | 51 days | 52 days | 62 days | 55 days | 61 days |
Supplier Payment SpeedHow many days you take to pay vendors | 16 days | 25 days | 36 days | 11 days | 20 days |
Short-Term LiquidityCan you cover bills due in 12 months? | 1.55x | 1.78x | 2.16x | 2.15x | 1.50x |
Cash Actually Generated% of revenue that becomes real cash | 4.2% | 3.5% | 7.2% | -4.6% | 2.7% |
Equipment & Vehicle SpendTrucks, tools, facilities as % of revenue | 1% | 1.1% | 1% | 1% | 0.2% |
Return on Owner’s InvestmentProfit per dollar invested in the business | 10% | 25% | 6.3% | -16% | -23% |
Overhead RateNon-job costs as % of revenue | 35.8% | 23% | 21.5% | 23% | 19.4% |
Click any row to see what the metric means for your businessand where private staffing agencies typically stand.
The cash conversion gap
Public staffing companies collect in 45–65 days (DSO) but pay temporary workers weekly or biweekly. That funding gap is the defining cash challenge of staffing: you’re the bank for your clients’ workforce. At $5M revenue, a 45-day DSO with weekly payroll means you’re funding $400K+ in working capital at any given time. Improving DSO by even 10 days saves real money.
The Valuation Bridge
From public multiples to your exit number
PE firms start with public company valuations as the ceiling, then adjust down. Here’s how the math works.
Public Companies (4–13x EBITDA)
RHI 13.3x, KFRC 8.3x, ASGN 6.3x, KELYA 3.8x, TBI N/M. Wide range reflects specialization and margin quality. Robert Half commands a premium for its 37.2% gross margin and zero-debt balance sheet. Kelly trades at deep discount after $254M net loss and goodwill impairment. TBI multiple not meaningful with near-zero EBITDA.
PE Platform Companies (7–12x EBITDA)
Professionalized staffing platforms at $30M–$200M revenue with multiple offices, managed service contracts, ATS/CRM technology, and diversified client bases. Heidrick & Struggles went private at ~11x in Dec 2025, setting a recent ceiling.
Regional Staffing Agencies (4–7x EBITDA)
Owner-operated agencies at $3M–$30M revenue. Multiple depends on specialization, gross margin (bill-pay spread), DSO, and customer concentration. The typical PE add-on target.
Small / Single-Office (2–5x SDE)
Under $3M revenue. Valued on seller's discretionary earnings (SDE). Owner is often the primary recruiter and salesperson. Buyer pool is individuals, SBA loans, and operators looking to expand geography.
What drives the gap between public and private multiples
Specialization & Bill-Pay Spread
Robert Half's 37.2% gross margin vs. Kelly's 20.1% is the specialization premium. Agencies that place specialized professionals (healthcare, technology, engineering) command wider spreads than those placing commodity labor. This is the #1 valuation driver.
Revenue Mix (Staffing vs. Consulting vs. MSP)
ASGN's 63% IT consulting mix drove FCF conversion of 68% — despite a 2.9% revenue decline — and let them buy back $170M of stock. Pure temp placement is worth 5-7x. Add consulting or MSP/RPO layers and you're at 10x+. Robert Half's 36% Protiviti consulting revenue is why they trade at 13.3x vs. TBI's near-zero multiple.
DSO & Working Capital Efficiency
Staffing agencies pay workers weekly but collect from clients in 45-75 days. Public staffing companies manage DSO at 51-62 days (RHI 51, KFRC 52, TBI 55). Private agencies often run 60-90 days. TrueBlue's negative $58M operating cash flow in 2025 shows how unforgiving working capital can be in commodity staffing.
Client Concentration
If one client is 20%+ of revenue, your multiple drops 1-2x. Public staffing companies spread risk across thousands of clients. PE explicitly prices client concentration risk because losing one big client can tank the business overnight.
Recruiter Productivity
Revenue per internal employee at the publics ranges from $178K (ASGN, blended) to $831K (KFRC, pure Tech). Top agencies generate $300K+ per recruiter. Commodity agencies generate $150K. PE firms look at this to assess margin expansion potential post-close.
Technology & Data Assets
Agencies with proprietary candidate databases, ATS/CRM systems, and automated sourcing workflows are worth more because they reduce time-to-fill and cost-per-placement. Kelly spent all of 2025 consolidating SET's acquisitions onto a unified platform — a reminder that tech integration is often where M&A value leaks out.
Multiple arbitrage: why PE keeps buying staffing agencies
PE firms buy regional staffing agencies at 4-6x EBITDA, combine them into specialized platforms with better technology, cross-selling, and managed service capabilities, and build toward an 8-12x exit. A $600K EBITDA staffing agency at 5x is worth $3M standalone. Inside a platform valued at 10x, that same EBITDA is worth $6M. The math is especially compelling in specialty staffing (healthcare, technology, engineering) where the bill-pay spread is widest and client switching costs are highest. Heidrick & Struggles just went private at ~11x on a trailing adjusted EBITDA basis — a fresh ceiling for what scaled, specialty staffing platforms can fetch.
What private staffing agencies sell for (by revenue tier)
| Revenue Tier | Typical Multiple | Typical Buyer | Key Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $3M revenue | 2–5x SDE / 3–5x EBITDA | Individuals, SBA loans, owner-operators | Owner dependence, candidate database quality, client retention, specialization |
| $3M–$15M revenue | 5–7x EBITDA | Lower middle-market PE, strategic add-ons | Bill-pay spread, recruiter productivity, client diversification, technology adoption |
| $15M–$50M revenue | 6–9x EBITDA | PE platforms, strategic acquirers | Managed service contracts, geographic coverage, specialization depth, management team |
| $50M+ / platform | 8–12x+ EBITDA | Large PE, public company strategics (RHI, ASGN, Recruit Holdings) | Scale, diversification, MSP/RPO capabilities, technology platform, audited financials |
Company Profiles
Inside each company’s financials
Robert Half Inc.
The world's largest specialized talent solutions firm, founded in 1948. Professional staffing across finance & accounting, technology, administrative, marketing/creative, and legal, plus Protiviti global consulting. Operates in the U.S. and 18 other countries. Zero long-term debt and $464M cash at year-end 2025.
$5.4B
Revenue
2.9%
EBITDA Margin
13.3x
EV/EBITDA
14,500
Employees
Why staffing agency owners should care
Robert Half is the apex predator of specialized staffing, but they just posted a 7.2% revenue decline and operating income collapsed from $241M to $76M in one year. Here's what that means for a private staffing owner: even the best-run staffing business in the world can't out-execute a soft hiring cycle — so if your agency is getting hammered, it isn't because you're broken, it's because the cycle is. What RHI does right is hold 37.2% gross margin through the downturn (they don't cut price to chase volume) and run zero debt with $464M of cash. That's what lets them survive into the recovery. If your bill-pay spread is compressing below 28% and your credit line is stretched, you're the one who won't make it to 2027.
“For the fourth quarter of 2025, global enterprise revenues were $1.302 billion, down 6 percent from last year's fourth quarter on a reported basis and down 7 percent on an adjusted basis. We are very pleased to see talent solutions and enterprise revenues return to positive sequential growth on a same-day constant currency basis for the first time in over three years. Weekly revenue trends during the quarter continued to show positive momentum, which extended into the first three weeks of January.”
— M. Keith Waddell, President & CEO — Robert Half Q4 2025 Earnings Release (January 29, 2026)
Kforce Inc.
Pure-play professional staffing firm specializing in technology and finance & accounting. Based in Tampa, Florida. Kforce places ~7,800 consultants per quarter at Fortune 500 clients, with Technology representing 93% of revenue — one of the most hyper-specialized public staffing businesses.
$1.3B
Revenue
5.5%
EBITDA Margin
8.3x
EV/EBITDA
1,600
Employees
Why staffing agency owners should care
Kforce is what hyper-specialization looks like at $1.3B — 93% of revenue from one vertical (technology), and they're still generating 27.2% gross margin and 25% ROE while the whole sector is shrinking. Their Flex GP margin actually ticked up in Q4 despite revenue falling 3.4%. The real lesson for a sub-$30M agency owner: KFRC runs with only 1,600 internal associates producing $1.33B — that's $831K of revenue per internal employee. If your agency is under $300K per internal recruiter, you have a productivity problem, not a market problem. Pick one vertical, own it, and let your recruiters go deep instead of wide.
“We are pleased to have delivered fourth quarter revenues that exceeded our expectations, which we believe are reflective of the continued build of momentum that we began to experience in the third quarter. The sequential Flex revenue growth we delivered in our Technology business represents the highest sequential billing day growth since the second quarter of 2022. This momentum appears to be carrying over into the first quarter as January 2026 results represent our best start since 2022.”
— Joseph J. Liberatore, President & CEO — Kforce Q4 2025 Earnings Release (February 2, 2026)
ASGN Incorporated
IT services and staffing firm rebranding as Everforth in 2026. Provides IT consulting, digital engineering, and contract staffing to commercial enterprises and the U.S. federal government through six brands: Apex Systems, Creative Circle, CyberCoders, ECS, GlideFast, and TopBloc. Now 63% IT consulting vs. traditional assignment staffing — the clearest public proof of the specialty-consulting pivot.
TrueBlue Inc.
Specialized workforce solutions provider based in Tacoma, WA. Operates PeopleReady (on-demand industrial staffing), PeopleManagement (dedicated industrial workforce), and PeopleSolutions (RPO/MSP via PeopleScout brand plus healthcare staffing via Jan 2025 HSP acquisition). Taryn Owen has served as CEO since September 2023.
M&A Deal Tracker
The consolidation wave is real
Major staffing acquisitions since 2024. Who’s buying, what they’re paying, and what it means for the industry.
| Buyer | Target | Deal Value | Multiple | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASGN Incorporated | Quinnox Inc. Digital solutions and agile engineering platform. Adds enterprise consulting capabilities to ASGN's Commercial Segment in support of the Everforth rebrand. | $290M cash | N/A disclosed | Closed Feb 25, 2026 |
| Advent International + Corvex (PE consortium) | Heidrick & Struggles (HSII) Take-private of the publicly-listed executive search leader. Stock delisted from Nasdaq after 20+ years public. Signals PE willingness to pay mid-teens multiples for scaled, specialty staffing platforms. | $1.3B total ($59.00/share) | ~11x trailing Adj EBITDA | Completed December 10, 2025 |
| ASGN Incorporated | TopBloc, LLC Tech-enabled Workday implementation consultancy. Drove ASGN Commercial consulting revenue +19.2% in Q4 2025. | $340M (90% cash / 10% equity) | N/A disclosed | Closed March 4, 2025 |
| TrueBlue | Healthcare Staffing Professionals, Inc. (HSP) Long-term healthcare staffing (nursing, allied health, behavioral health) for state/local government. Moved TrueBlue's TAM from $45B to $90B. | $42M cash + up to $14M earnout | ~6-8x segment profit | Closed January 31, 2025 |
| Kelly Services | Motion Recruitment Partners (MRP) Kelly's largest acquisition ever. IT staffing + RPO platform. Took $102M goodwill impairment in FY2025 due to demand softness. | $425M cash + up to $60M earnout | Est. 10-12x EBITDA | Closed May 31, 2024 |
| Private Equity (aggregate) | Regional staffing platforms Over 50 PE-backed staffing platform add-ons in the past 18 months. Highest activity in healthcare staffing, technology staffing, and specialized industrial. | Typically $15-80M | ~5-8x EBITDA | 2024-2025 |
Sources: Company IR press releases, SEC filings, Reuters. Deal values and multiples as disclosed by buyers. “N/A” where terms were not publicly disclosed.
What the CEOs Are Saying
Key themes from recent earnings calls
Specialization is the only path to premium multiples
Robert Half (37.2% gross margin, 13.3x EBITDA) and ASGN (28.9%, 6.3x with 63% consulting mix) pull ahead of generalists like Kelly (20.1%, 3.8x) and TrueBlue (22.8%, no meaningful multiple after near-zero EBITDA). The 15-17 point gross margin gap between specialist professional staffing and commodity light industrial is the clearest signal in the industry: niches command premiums, commodity placement gets commoditized.
Sources: RHI Q4 2025 release; KELYA Q4 2025 release; TBI Q4 2025 release; ASGN FY2025 10-K
Heidrick & Struggles going private resets the specialty platform ceiling
Advent International and Corvex took Heidrick & Struggles private in December 2025 at $59.00/share ($1.3B enterprise value), paying approximately 11x trailing adjusted EBITDA on a company with ~$1.2B revenue and 10%+ EBITDA margin. That price-point is the new reference for what scaled, specialty staffing platforms can fetch — and it sits meaningfully above what the remaining public comps trade at today.
Sources: Heidrick & Struggles December 10, 2025 press release
AI is reshaping recruiter productivity — not replacing recruiters
Every public staffing CEO cited AI as a tool for recruiter efficiency in 2025, not a replacement for the recruiter relationship. Robert Half rolled out AI-driven skills assessment. ASGN's TopBloc acquisition drove 19% Q4 consulting revenue growth on an AI-heavy Workday practice. Kforce reported its best January start since 2022, anchored in higher-skill tech placements. The agencies that adopt AI for sourcing and screening while maintaining human relationships are pulling ahead.
Sources: KFRC Q4 2025 release; RHI Q4 2025 release; ASGN Q4 2025 release
Managed services (MSP/RPO) and consulting layers drive platform valuations
The shift from transactional staffing to managed service contracts and consulting wrap is the structural trend shaping valuations. ASGN's IT consulting went from 59% to 63% of revenue. Protiviti is 36% of Robert Half. TrueBlue added healthcare staffing via HSP to diversify from commodity light industrial. Agencies with 30%+ MSP/RPO/consulting revenue command 1-2x multiple premiums over pure transactional agencies.
Sources: ASGN FY2025 10-K; RHI Q4 2025 release; TBI Q4 2025 release; PE transaction multiples
Working capital management separates survivors from casualties
Staffing agencies that can't manage DSO below 55 days bleed cash through the cycle. TrueBlue grew revenue 3.1% in 2025 but burned $74M of free cash flow — a direct function of thin 22.8% gross margins colliding with working capital intensity. Robert Half's 51-day DSO paired with zero debt and $464M of cash demonstrates what disciplined collections and balance-sheet discipline look like in professional staffing. Kelly generated $114M FCF even while taking a $254M net loss, proving cash discipline can exist alongside P&L pain.
Sources: RHI Q4 2025 release; TBI Q4 2025 release; KELYA Q4 2025 release
Get the full report: Level Staffing Market Monitor Q1 2026
All 5 company profiles, operating benchmarks, M&A deal tracker, valuation bridge, and private staffing agency multiple ranges. Free PDF.
Financial data sourced from SEC EDGAR filings (10-K) and company earnings releases. Market valuations from publicly available data. Updated quarterly.
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Methodology & Sources
Financial Data
All company financials sourced from SEC EDGAR filings (Form 10-K) and official company earnings releases. Revenue, margins, and employee counts are as reported by each company for their most recent completed fiscal year.
Valuations & Multiples
Enterprise value and EV/EBITDA multiples use publicly available market data. Private staffing agency multiple ranges are sourced from M&A advisory reports and disclosed transaction terms. Multiples are point-in-time estimates.
Disclaimer: The Level Market Monitor is for educational and informational purposes only. Level is not a registered investment advisor, broker-dealer, or valuation firm. The information presented does not constitute investment advice, financial advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell securities. All forward-looking statements reflect company guidance and public analyst estimates, not Level projections. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
SEC Filings Referenced
- RHI — FY2025 earnings release (filed Jan 29, 2026, Exhibit 99.1); 2025 Annual Report
- KFRC — FY2025 10-K and Q4/FY2025 earnings release (filed February 2, 2026)
- ASGN — FY2025 10-K (filed Feb 25, 2026); FY2025 earnings release (Feb 4, 2026)
- TBI — Q4/FY2025 earnings release (February 18, 2026); FY2025 10-K (filed Feb 2026)
- KELYA — Q4/FY2025 earnings release (Feb 12, 2026, Exhibit 99.1); FY2025 10-K (filed February 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should a $5M staffing agency care about companies doing $5B in revenue?
Because these companies establish the valuation math. When a PE firm evaluates your agency, they compare your bill-pay spread, DSO, and recruiter productivity to these public benchmarks. Robert Half's 37.2% gross margin is the professional-staffing ceiling. Kelly's 20.1% is the commodity floor. Where you fall in that range — and why — determines your exit multiple.
What EBITDA multiple can a private staffing agency realistically expect?
Under $3M revenue: 3-5x EBITDA. $3-15M: 5-7x. $15-50M: 6-9x. $50M+ platforms: 8-12x+. The biggest drivers are specialization (healthcare/tech command premiums), gross margin (bill-pay spread), DSO, and whether you have managed service contracts or purely transactional placements. Heidrick & Struggles just sold to PE at ~11x on a trailing adjusted EBITDA basis — a fresh reference for scaled specialty platforms.
Why is gross margin (bill-pay spread) the most important metric in staffing?
Because it's the only number you truly control. Revenue can fluctuate with demand. SG&A is relatively fixed. But your bill-pay spread — the gap between what you charge clients and what you pay workers — is the fundamental unit economics of your business. Robert Half maintains 37.2% because they place specialized professionals at premium rates. Light industrial agencies run 18-24% because their workers are interchangeable. Every PE buyer calculates your spread first.
How often is this data updated?
We update the Market Monitor quarterly, after each earnings season. All financial data is sourced directly from SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q) and company earnings releases. Market valuations reflect publicly available data at the time of update.
Is this investment advice?
No. The Level Market Monitor is for educational purposes — helping staffing agency owners understand the capital markets context around their industry. We are not a registered investment advisor. All financial data is sourced from public filings and is presented as-is.
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