Barrett Business Services Inc (BBSI) stock analysis

P/E above its 5-year median

Barrett Business Services's P/E of 24.4 is above its own 5-year median of 16.4.

P/E above the industry

Barrett Business Services's P/E of 24.4 is above the Personnel Supply Services median of 22.6.

EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

Barrett Business Services's EV/EBITDA of 11.6 is above its 5-year median of 9.7.

P/B above the industry

Barrett Business Services's price-to-book of 3.59 is above the Personnel Supply Services median of 1.99.

Trading above fair value

The share price of $30.75 is above our fair value estimate of $24.45.

Margin of safety under 20%

The price is 25.8% above fair value, so there is no margin of safety.

Revenue growing under 10% a year

Revenue grew 5.6% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

EPS growing under 10% a year

Diluted EPS grew 8.2% a year over the last three fiscal years.

Earnings growth not accelerating

Net income grew -43.1% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 10.0% a year.

Growing faster than the industry

Revenue grew 4.7% over the last twelve months; the Personnel Supply Services median is 2.1%.

Guidance lowered

Barrett Business Services lowered its 2026 Growth in the average number of WSEs outlook on Aug 5, 2026.

Gross margin slipping

Gross margin was 19.4% over the last twelve months, against 21.6% a year earlier.

Return on equity under 15%

Return on equity was 13.9% over the last twelve months and averaged 23.8% over five years; we look for 15% on both.

Return on capital over 10%

Return on invested capital was 20.4%, above the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

Return on equity above the industry

Barrett Business Services's return on equity of 13.9% is above the Personnel Supply Services median of 4.6%.

Earnings grew over 5 years

Net income grew 10.0% a year on average over the last five fiscal years.

Net margin below its 5-year average

Net margin was 2.4% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of 4.4%.

Net margin above the industry

Barrett Business Services's net margin of 2.4% is above the Personnel Supply Services median of -0.0%.

No debt

Barrett Business Services has no borrowings on its latest balance sheet.

Debt not rising

With no debt today, leverage cannot have risen.

Debt covered by cash flow

There is no debt to cover.

Interest well covered

Operating income covers interest expense 295.1 times.

Short-term assets cover short-term debts

Current assets are 1.18 times current liabilities.

Low bankruptcy risk

The Altman Z-score is 3.21; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Pays a dividend

Barrett Business Services paid dividends worth 1.0% of the share price over the last twelve months.

Yield below Treasuries

The 1.0% yield is below the 4.4% on a 1-year Treasury.

Yield below the top quarter

The top quarter of US dividend payers yield 3.8% or more; Barrett Business Services yields 1.0%.

Dividend not cut

The dividend per share has not fallen by more than 10% in any of the last 10 fiscal years.

Covered by earnings

Dividends take 25.2% of net income.

Not covered by free cash flow

Dividends take 262% of free cash flow.