ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

ManpowerGroup (NYSE:MAN) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The business services provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $4.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.41 billion. ManpowerGroup had a positive return on equity of 6.81% and a negative net margin of 0.07%.The firm’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. ManpowerGroup updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 0.910-1.050 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from ManpowerGroup’s conference call:

• Q1 reported revenue was $4.5 billion (organic constant-currency growth of 3%) with adjusted EPS of $0.51, and management guided Q2 revenue to be +1% to +5% (midpoint 3%) and EPS to $0.91–$1.10, signaling near-term top-line momentum.
• Management announced a global transformation to deliver $200 million of permanent cost savings by 2028 (back-office already progressing; front-office rollouts starting in North America), which management says should add roughly 110 basis points to EBITDA margin in isolation.
• AI and commercial initiatives are already producing measurable gains — an AI sales engine in France has driven about $200 million of incremental revenue, Hubert.ai screening cut screening time by 67% (25,000 AI-led interviews, 87% candidate satisfaction), and a SoundHound partnership targets new human-plus-agentic products.
• Profitability and cash remain pressured: gross margin was ~16% (below guidance) due to bench utilization and mix, adjusted EBITDA margin was only 1.4%, Q1 free cash flow was an outflow of $135 million, net debt rose to $922 million, and management expects negative FCF in H1 2026 while transformation charges continue.

ManpowerGroup Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of ManpowerGroup stock opened at $31.02 on Friday. ManpowerGroup has a fifty-two week low of $25.15 and a fifty-two week high of $47.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $1.44 billion, a PE ratio of -103.40 and a beta of 0.84.

Key Stories Impacting ManpowerGroup

Here are the key news stories impacting ManpowerGroup this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat on both EPS and revenue — reported $0.51 EPS vs. ~$0.49 consensus and revenue of $4.51B (+10% yr/yr), signaling stronger demand and improving operating trends. ManpowerGroup Reports 1st Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company expanded a strategic transformation investing in AI and automation and now targets $200M of permanent cost savings by 2028 — a clear multi-year margin/cash-flow improvement thesis for investors. ManpowerGroup targets $200M permenent cost savings in 2028 and forecasts Q2 EPS of $0.91 to
• Positive Sentiment: Regional demand strength: management cited solid growth in Asia Pacific, Latin America and improving trends in Europe (France flattening sequentially), supporting revenue momentum. ManpowerGroup Reports 1st Quarter 2026 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 guidance set to $0.91–$1.05 EPS (consensus ~ $0.95) — range straddles the street, leaving room for upside but also a degree of uncertainty around near-term margin recovery. ManpowerGroup targets $200M permenent cost savings in 2028 and forecasts Q2 EPS of $0.91 to
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional activity: QSM Asset Management disclosed a new ~197K-share stake, a modest endorsement but not a controlling move. QSM Asset Management Bets on Beaten-Down Manpower Group With New $5.9 Million Stake in ManpowerGroup
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability still thin — reported net margin remained slightly negative and the company’s trailing PE is distorted; the turnaround depends on sustained margin improvement from the transformation. NYSE MAN

Institutional Trading of ManpowerGroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in ManpowerGroup by 558.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 83,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after buying an additional 70,749 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of ManpowerGroup by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $710,000 after acquiring an additional 6,640 shares in the last quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury acquired a new stake in shares of ManpowerGroup in the fourth quarter worth $318,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of ManpowerGroup by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 163,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,850,000 after acquiring an additional 15,743 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of ManpowerGroup by 274.8% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 65,601 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after acquiring an additional 48,099 shares during the period. 98.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of ManpowerGroup from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of ManpowerGroup in a research report on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group set a $35.00 target price on ManpowerGroup in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised ManpowerGroup from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded ManpowerGroup from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.62.

ManpowerGroup Company Profile

ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) is a global leader in workforce solutions, offering a broad spectrum of staffing and talent management services. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the company has grown from a temporary staffing firm to a diversified provider of workforce consultancy, recruitment, and outsourcing services. ManpowerGroup is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MAN.

The company’s service offerings are organized into four principal brands.