What 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.
Historical snapshot · Market data: April 2026 · Revenue and growth checked against SEC facts; other fields have separate limits
Separate temporary staffing gross profit per billed hour from permanent-placement fees and technology consulting. Revenue can decline while a higher-value mix improves margin. Reconcile payroll funding, client collections, contractor classification and recruiter productivity before drawing a private-agency valuation conclusion. Retained private ranges are planning scenarios.
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 operating cash remains after cash capital spending, using the basis stated per profile. When a PE firm or buyer looks at your books, these are the metrics they dig into.
Metric
RHI
KFRC
ASGN
TBI
KELYA
51 days
52 days
62 days
55 days
61 days
16 days
25 days
36 days
11 days
20 days
1.55x
1.78x
2.16x
2.15x
1.50x
5%
3.5%
7.2%
-4.6%
2.7%
1%
1.1%
1%
1%
0.2%
10.4%
27.9%
6.3%
-17.5%
-26%
35.8%
23%
21.5%
23%
19.4%
Apply these numbers to your business
Collection Speed (DSO)
A receivables-to-sales ratio expressed in days, not the measured average payment time of individual invoices. Model a weekly-payroll versus 45-75-day collection scenario, then reconcile actual invoice aging, credits and cash receipts.
Comparison and operating check
Illustrative private funding scenarios: 55-75 days, and an 80+ day healthcare stress case; these are not measured sector distributions. Public companies run 51-62 days (RHI 51, KFRC 52, TBI 55, KELYA 61, ASGN 62).
At an illustrative $5M in revenue, reducing comparable DSO by 20 days releases about $274K once. At an assumed 10% avoided borrowing cost, that is approximately $27K yearly interest. More importantly, every day of DSO represents working capital you need to fund from your own pocket (or a credit line). TrueBlue's $58M operating cash outflow in 2025 shows how fast this gets ugly.
Bill-Pay Spread (Gross Margin)
The gap between what you charge clients per hour and what you pay workers per hour, expressed as a percentage. For placement economics, include worker burden and distinguish this hourly spread from blended reported gross margin.
Comparison and operating check
Illustrative private gross-margin planning assumptions, not measured vertical benchmarks: 18-40%. Light industrial: 18-24%. Administrative: 22-28%. Professional: 28-35%. Healthcare: 25-32%. Technology: 30-40%. Public companies range from 20.1% (Kelly) to 37.2% (Robert Half).
At fixed $5M revenue and fixed overhead, one percentage point of gross margin is $50K of additional operating contribution before interest and tax; revenue mix and overhead changes can alter the result. PE firms look at your spread to determine if there's margin expansion opportunity, and whether your pricing discipline will survive an acquisition.
Recruiter Productivity (Revenue per Recruiter)
How much revenue each recruiter generates annually. The fundamental productivity metric of any staffing business, it tells you whether your recruiters are filling enough placements at high enough rates.
Comparison and operating check
Illustrative recruiter-revenue scenarios are $250-400K and $150-250K, not measured top-performing or average agency bands. Below $150K is a diagnostic prompt, not a profitability cutoff; contribution margin, recruiter costs and attribution determine the result. The public headcount definitions differ: ASGN's $178K per employee includes billable staff, while Kforce's $831K uses internal associates. Compare internal recruiter counts and placement attribution in your own model.
If your agency has 10 recruiters generating $150K each, that's $1.5M in revenue. In that hypothetical example, improving to $250K each produces $2.5M, a 67% revenue increase without more internal headcount. Worker payroll still rises with billed revenue; recruiter overhead is the cost held flat. Check whether placement attribution and contribution after worker burden improve along with the modeled revenue.
Cash Actually Generated (FCF Margin)
Level cash capital-spending free cash flow is matched annual operating cash flow minus cash PPE or productive-assets spending. It is before financing distributions and can exclude other capitalized costs; it is not all available owner cash or a company-defined adjusted FCF.
Comparison and operating check
Test a private cash shortfall by separating operating earnings, receivable changes, accrued payroll, acquisitions and financing; no private FCF prevalence is measured here. Public staffing FCF margins in 2025: ASGN 7.2%, RHI 5.0%, KFRC 3.5%, KELYA 2.7%, TBI -4.6%. ASGN has an approximately 62% FY2025 consulting mix (63% in Q4); the comparison does not isolate its effect on free cash flow.
PE firms value cash generation, not accounting profit. If your DSO is eating your profit and you need a credit line to make payroll, that's a red flag. Strong FCF signals a well-managed agency.
Overhead Rate (SG&A)
Everything that isn't direct labor cost or COGS: office rent, internal staff, technology, sales team, management salaries, insurance. As a percentage of revenue.
Comparison and operating check
Illustrative private SG&A planning assumptions, not measured prevalence: 15-25%. Under $5M: 22-30%. $5-20M: 18-24%. $20M+: 14-20%. Public companies: 19.4% (Kelly) to 35.8% (Robert Half, heavy Protiviti consulting compensation).
Test which overhead is duplicated and which supports placement quality before proposing cuts. But be careful, some SG&A (recruiter compensation, technology) directly drives revenue. The right benchmark depends on your model, not just the number.
Revenue Mix (Staffing vs. Consulting vs. MSP)
What percentage of your revenue comes from temp placements vs. permanent placement fees vs. consulting/MSP. Temp is lower margin but recurring. Perm is higher margin but volatile. Consulting and MSP contract durability depends on actual renewal, cancellation, volume commitments, delivery cost and collection terms; a label does not guarantee a multi-year commitment or a premium.
Comparison and operating check
Use 70-90% temporary revenue as an illustrative private mix scenario, not a measured agency distribution. Robert Half: 56% contract + 8% perm + 36% Protiviti consulting. ASGN: 62% consulting + 38% assignment. Test resilience with contribution, client retention and payroll funding rather than assume a balanced mix wins.
Stress-test a 90% temporary or 50% permanent-placement scenario against renewal, demand and contribution changes. These mix thresholds are illustrative, not measured valuation discounts. MSP/RPO or consulting revenue also needs cancellation, delivery-cost and collection tests before assuming resilience.
Return on Closing Book Equity (ROE)
Matched NetIncomeLoss divided by closing StockholdersEquity. Closing equity differs from average equity, invested owner cash and market value; losses, buybacks and preferred interests can change its meaning.
Comparison and operating check
A 15% return is an illustrative planning assumption, not a quality threshold. Matched FY2025 closing-equity returns are 27.9% for Kforce and 10.4% for Robert Half; different equity bases and earnings definitions limit comparability. Kelly’s retained negative ROE reference accompanies about $254M in net losses; the net loss is not the amount of goodwill impairment. Do not treat it as a single operating cash charge.
If a hypothetical agency earns 8% on closing book equity, reconcile the earnings and equity bases before diagnosing it. Compare average and closing equity, distributions, debt-funded buybacks and cash payroll needs; the ratio alone does not establish an operating problem or an investment return.
Click any row to see what the metric means for your business and the operating checks to run on your own agency.
The cash conversion gap
The retained public DSO references span 45-65 days of sales represented by receivables; they are not measured invoice-to-payment times. Weekly or biweekly payroll can fall due before a client pays. At illustrative $5M annual credit sales, 45-day DSO implies about $616K of receivables, not $400K+ of proved payroll funding. Build the financing need from actual payroll, overhead and payment dates, customer deposits and available cash. A comparable 10-day DSO reduction releases approximately $137K once; at assumed 10% borrowing cost, the annual interest sensitivity is about $14K while receivables and borrowing remain lower. This is a scenario, not an observed agency result.
The Valuation Bridge
From public multiples to your exit number
Use public company valuations as one reference point, then examine the adjustments and return requirements a buyer would apply.
Public Companies4-13x EBITDA
PE Platform Companies7-12x EBITDA
Regional Staffing Agencies4-7x EBITDA
Small / Single-Office2-5x SDE
Public Companies (4-13x EBITDA)
RHI 13.3x, KFRC 8.3x, ASGN 6.3x, KELYA 3.8x, TBI N/M. The retained multiple range combines different mixes, historical EBITDA definitions and market-price dates; it does not isolate specialization or margin quality. Robert Half's 37.2% blended gross margin includes permanent placement and consulting, while its historical 13.3x reference uses depressed earnings; neither isolates a specialization premium. 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, providing one dated transaction reference.
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. This is an illustrative private-company tier, not a measured PE add-on distribution.
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% and Kelly's 20.1% are blended gross margins from different service mixes. Robert Half includes permanent placement and Protiviti consulting; the difference is not a contract-staffing bill-pay spread or an isolated specialization premium. Test whether specialized roles produce a wider contribution spread after employer taxes, insurance, recruiting cost and retention in your own placement book. This is a diligence question; these blended figures do not isolate a multiple premium.
Revenue Mix (Staffing vs. Consulting vs. MSP)
ASGN’s approximately 62% FY2025 consulting mix (63% in Q4) coincided with roughly 68% FCF conversion, despite a 2.9% revenue decline, and let them buy back $170M of stock. Level's 5-7x temp-placement and 10x+ consulting/MSP examples are illustrative planning scenarios, not measured transaction premiums. Robert Half includes a substantial Protiviti consulting business. Its retained 13.3x reference uses depressed FY2025 earnings; TrueBlue’s multiple is not meaningful on near-zero EBITDA. This comparison does not identify the valuation effect of consulting.
DSO & Working Capital Efficiency
Use a weekly-payroll and 45-75-day collection scenario to size funding, then replace both assumptions with your actual schedule. The retained public DSO references are 51-62 days (RHI 51, KFRC 52, TBI 55); their receivable definitions are not reproduced here. A private 60-90-day comparison is an illustrative stress scenario, not a measured agency distribution. TrueBlue's negative $58M operating cash flow in 2025 shows how unforgiving working capital can be in commodity staffing.
Client Concentration
A client at 20%+ of revenue raises concentration risk; a 1-2x multiple discount is an unverified planning scenario, not a measured rule. 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
The retained revenue-per-employee figures use different employee definitions: $178K for ASGN includes billable staff, while $831K for Kforce uses internal associates. They are not a like-for-like recruiter productivity range. An illustrative recruiter revenue range is $250K-$400K for stronger productivity and $150K-$250K for the comparison case. These are planning assumptions, not measured market thresholds. PE firms look at this to assess margin expansion potential post-close.
Technology & Data Assets
Candidate databases, ATS/CRM systems and sourcing workflows are diligence assets only when ownership, consent, usable records, placement attribution and measured time-to-fill or cost-per-placement support the claim. A technology label alone does not establish a higher value. Kelly's retained platform-consolidation commentary is a prompt to check duplicate candidates, placement IDs and revenue attribution after an acquisition; its investment does not measure integration ROI.
Multiple arbitrage: why PE keeps buying staffing agencies
Illustrative acquisition planning uses 4-6x entry and 8-12x exit assumptions; these are not a reproduced transaction distribution or a guaranteed roll-up outcome. A $600K EBITDA staffing agency at 5x is worth $3M standalone. Inside a platform valued at 10x, that same EBITDA is worth $6M. That arithmetic excludes acquisition debt, integration expense, dilution and earnings changes; test each before calling the difference owner proceeds. Heidrick & Struggles just went private at ~11x on a trailing adjusted EBITDA basis, a dated transaction reference with a separately defined EBITDA basis.
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 (approx.)
Why staffing agency owners should care
Robert Half’s 7.2% FY2025 revenue decline and historical operating-income references of $241M to $76M make cost flexibility a useful diligence question. Its 37.2% blended gross margin includes permanent-placement fees and Protiviti consulting, so it cannot be read as a temp-staffing bill-pay spread or proof that pricing held. The matched annual cash-flow bridge is $320M operating cash flow minus cash capital spending, giving $267M free cash flow (5.0% of revenue); period-end cash is $464M. For a private agency, separate contract spread after worker burden, permanent-placement fees, consulting delivery cost and payroll funding before explaining a margin change. TrueBlue’s 3.1% reported growth included HSP, so it is not an organic-growth control group.
“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)Retained historical quote; exact wording has not been independently checked.
KFRC
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 (approx.)
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 27.9% return on closing book equity while its annual revenue declined. 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. The retained $300K-per-internal-recruiter scenario is a diagnostic starting point, not a measured failure threshold. Reported revenue per internal employee is a different denominator, and ASGN includes billable staff. Before narrowing a private agency's vertical, compare contribution after worker burden, placement retention, fill rate and client concentration. Kforce's mix does not identify the effect of specialization.
“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)Retained historical quote; exact wording has not been independently checked.
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. IT consulting represented approximately 62% of FY2025 revenue and 63% in Q4; the annual and quarter mix use different periods.
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.
Retained transaction reference. A disclosed price is not a disclosed EBITDA multiple. Unless a calculation and primary source are shown, the multiple and target financial estimates have not been independently reproduced. Earnouts, assumed debt and forecast periods can change the ratio.
$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. The retained approximately 11x reference is low-double-digit and uses a stated adjusted-EBITDA basis; it is not a market-wide willingness-to-pay measure.
Retained transaction reference. A disclosed price is not a disclosed EBITDA multiple. Unless a calculation and primary source are shown, the multiple and target financial estimates have not been independently reproduced. Earnouts, assumed debt and forecast periods can change the ratio.
Retained transaction reference. A disclosed price is not a disclosed EBITDA multiple. Unless a calculation and primary source are shown, the multiple and target financial estimates have not been independently reproduced. Earnouts, assumed debt and forecast periods can change the ratio.
$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.
Retained transaction reference. A disclosed price is not a disclosed EBITDA multiple. Unless a calculation and primary source are shown, the multiple and target financial estimates have not been independently reproduced. Earnouts, assumed debt and forecast periods can change the ratio.
$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 FY 2025 due to demand softness.
Retained transaction reference. A disclosed price is not a disclosed EBITDA multiple. Unless a calculation and primary source are shown, the multiple and target financial estimates have not been independently reproduced. Earnouts, assumed debt and forecast periods can change the ratio.
$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 original historical observation window, whose exact coverage has not been reproduced. Highest activity in healthcare staffing, technology staffing, and specialized industrial.
Retained transaction reference. A disclosed price is not a disclosed EBITDA multiple. Unless a calculation and primary source are shown, the multiple and target financial estimates have not been independently reproduced. Earnouts, assumed debt and forecast periods can change the ratio.
Typically $15-80M
~5-8x EBITDA
2024-2025
Sources and verification limits are linked with each company and deal. Values may be disclosed or reported; a multiple labeled implied is a calculation rather than necessarily a buyer disclosure. Check the price and earnings basis in the source before treating it as a transaction comp. “N/A” or “Not disclosed” means the terms were not publicly disclosed here.
Historical results and operator tests
What the dated results can help you test
Separate service mix from a specialization premium
Robert Half has 37.2% blended gross margin and a retained 13.3x reference; Kelly has 20.1% and 3.8x. Their 17.1-point margin difference combines permanent fees, consulting and staffing, not one comparable worker-pay spread. ASGN has 28.9% margin and 6.3x, below Kforce's 8.3x despite a consulting-heavy mix. Before calling any difference a specialization premium, reconcile service mix, adjusted earnings, net debt and market-price date. In your agency, compare client-level contribution after worker burden and placement retention rather than copying a blended public margin.
Heidrick & Struggles provides a specialty-platform transaction reference
Advent International and Corvex took Heidrick & Struggles private in December 2025 at $59.00/share (announced transaction value approximately $1.3B; EV adjustments not reproduced), paying approximately 11x trailing adjusted EBITDA on a company with ~$1.2B revenue and about 10% implied EBITDA margin if the unreconciled $1.3B transaction-value and 11x bases are used. That is one historical executive-search reference, not a staffing platform target, and it sits above several retained April 2026 public-comp references, but below RHI; its adjustment basis differs.
Sources: Heidrick & Struggles December 10, 2025 press release
Measure AI-assisted recruiting against placement outcomes
AI recruiter-efficiency statements are retained qualitative observations, not a verified claim about every CEO in 2025, not a replacement for the recruiter relationship. The retained Robert Half skills-assessment and TopBloc Workday observations do not establish an AI-driven outcome. Kforce's historical January commentary also does not isolate an AI effect. Operator test: keep eligible candidate count, consent, shortlist acceptance, time-to-fill and placement retention before and after a defined workflow change; a higher message volume is not a successful placement.
Test the contract economics behind a consulting mix
ASGN's retained Q4 consulting mix moved from approximately 59% to 63%, while FY2025 mix was approximately 62%. Those periods should not be combined into an annual growth attribution. Protiviti is 36% of Robert Half. TrueBlue added healthcare staffing via HSP to diversify from commodity light industrial. A 30%+ MSP/RPO/consulting mix is a diligence question about revenue durability. The historical 1-2x premium scenario is unverified and is not established by these public-company multiples.
DSO stretch, thin spreads and growth-driven payroll funding can consume cash. The retained 55-day reference is not a universal failure threshold. TrueBlue grew revenue 3.1% in 2025 but burned $74M of free cash flow, which coincided with 22.8% blended gross margin; a cash-flow bridge is needed to separate earnings, working capital and other effects. Robert Half's 51-day DSO paired with zero debt and $464M of cash is a balance-sheet observation, not proof that collections discipline caused the cash balance. Kelly generated $114M FCF even while taking a $254M net loss, showing why net-income and operating-cash bridges must be reviewed separately.
Get the full report: Level Staffing & Workforce Benchmarks 2026
Operating benchmarks for private staffing agencies, bill-pay spread, gross margin %, DSO, EBITDA margins, and historical public-company references for private-business diligence. Free PDF.
April 2026 historical snapshot. Snapshot last updated: April 2026. Financials come from filings and earnings releases; fiscal periods and adjusted earnings definitions vary. Market valuations are historical snapshots, and the report does not promise current prices or automatic quarterly updates.
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Methodology & Sources
Financial Data
Annual revenue and growth have been checked against the linked historical SEC facts. Each profile states its financial period. Other retained margins, headcounts, ratios and quotes have independent evidence limits. This review does not make the April 2026 market-price snapshot current.
Valuations & Multiples
Enterprise value and EV/EBITDA multiples use publicly available market data. Private staffing agency multiple ranges are Level planning scenarios, not a verified distribution of disclosed transaction multiples. 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. Company forward-looking statements reflect company guidance. Private multiple ranges and Level scenarios are planning assumptions, not predictions. Any analyst estimates have their own source limits. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
SEC Filings Referenced
RHI Annual period ended 2025-12-31; SEC filing dated 2026-02-13
KFRC Annual period ended 2025-12-31; SEC filing dated 2026-02-20
ASGN Annual period ended 2025-12-31; SEC filing dated 2026-02-25
TBI Annual period ended 2025-12-28; SEC filing dated 2026-02-18
KELYA Annual period ended 2025-12-28; SEC filing dated 2026-02-12
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should a $5M staffing agency care about companies doing $5B in revenue?
These companies provide different operating models to interrogate, not a private-company valuation formula. When a PE firm evaluates your agency, they compare your bill-pay spread, DSO, and recruiter productivity to these public benchmarks. Robert Half's historical 37.2% blended gross margin includes permanent-placement and consulting revenue; Kelly's 20.1% uses a different service mix. Neither establishes a staffing ceiling or floor. Reconcile your own bill-pay spread, client concentration and payroll funding before assessing value.
What EBITDA multiple can a private staffing agency realistically expect?
Illustrative private planning scenarios, not a reproduced transaction distribution: under $3M revenue, 3-5x EBITDA; $3-15M, 5-7x; $15-50M, 6-9x; $50M+ platforms, 8-12x+. Diligence questions include service mix, gross margin (bill-pay spread), DSO, and whether you have managed service contracts or purely transactional placements. Heidrick & Struggles, an executive-search rather than temp-staffing business, went private in December 2025; the historical ~11x trailing adjusted EBITDA reference needs its transaction-value basis checked.
How should an agency compare bill-pay spread with public gross margin?
Start with bill rate less worker pay, then subtract employer taxes, insurance, benefits and other directly attributable worker costs. Gross margin may include those costs and other service lines, so it is not automatically the unburdened bill-pay spread. Demand, pricing, wage floors and overhead can all change. Robert Half’s retained 37.2% is a blended gross-margin reference including permanent-placement fees and Protiviti consulting. It is not a contract-staffing bill-pay spread or an isolated effect of premium pricing. The retained 18-24% industrial band is an illustrative planning assumption. Compare the same cost definition, period and placement mix before drawing a conclusion.
How often is this data updated?
This is a retained April 2026 market snapshot, reviewed October 7, 2026. Market prices and deal status have not been refreshed to the review date. Annual revenue and specifically listed financial fields are checked against historical SEC facts. Other ratios, quotes, market prices and estimated deal multiples have independent evidence limits. 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. Reported filing financials and historical April 2026 market observations have separate bases. Deal estimates, private planning ranges and operating reference points are not all verified filing facts.