ManpowerGroup Returns to Profit as Adjusted EPS Hits Five-Quarter High
ManpowerGroup swung to $53.5 million in net earnings and posted adjusted earnings of $0.99 a share, its strongest print in five quarters.
ManpowerGroup (MAN) reported a return to profitability in the second quarter, with net earnings of $53.5 million, or $1.13 a share, reversing a $67.1 million net loss a year earlier. The staffing firm's results were lifted by a $30.0 million gain on the sale of its Jefferson Wells U.S. business, a one-time item not present in any prior-quarter release.
The quarter capped a stretch of improving trends rather than a single turnaround event. Adjusted earnings of $0.99 a share rose 27% in constant currency from a year earlier, the strongest adjusted print in five quarters and a reversal from three consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines that had bottomed at $0.83 in the third quarter of 2024. Operating profit reached $112.0 million, a 2.3% margin, up from $28.3 million in the first quarter of 2025 and a $25.3 million operating loss a year earlier that had included an $88.7 million goodwill and intangible impairment.
Revenue rose 8% on a reported basis to $4.9 billion, or 6% in constant currency, with constant-currency growth improving sequentially each of the last three quarters even as reported growth held near double digits. The Manpower brand led the acceleration, with organic constant-currency growth climbing to 8% from 6% in the first quarter and 5% in the fourth quarter of 2024. Experis and Talent Solutions both narrowed their declines: Experis improved to -2% from -9% in the first quarter, driven by the U.S., while Talent Solutions reached flat growth from -1%, helped by RPO and MSP demand that offset a modest decline at Right Management.
Segment performance was uneven. The Americas posted accelerating reported growth of 14%, or 12% in constant currency, up from 6% in the first quarter, with adjusted operating margin rising to 3.7% on strength in Other Americas and Latin America. Northern Europe turned adjusted operating profit positive for the first time in three quarters, at $2 million versus an $8 million loss in the first quarter, extending a steady margin recovery in a historically loss-making segment. Southern Europe's reported growth roughly halved to 7% from 15%, though its margin ticked up slightly, and APME was the only segment to post a reported year-over-year revenue decline, down 1% even as constant-currency growth held at 5%.
Gross margin slipped to 16.1% from 16.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 16.6% in the third quarter, a roughly 50-basis-point compression over four quarters attributed to a softer mix of permanent recruitment and outplacement work even as top-line trends improved. The company offset that pressure with cost discipline: SG&A excluding impairment fell 4.6% on a reported basis and 6.0% in constant currency, building on roughly flat first-quarter spending, as the global transformation program launched in the first quarter targeting $200 million in permanent run-rate savings by 2028 progressed as expected, without an updated savings figure.
ManpowerGroup guides to third-quarter adjusted earnings of $0.96 to $1.06 a share, a range that implies sequential deceleration from the second quarter's $0.99 result, though the company had also guided the second quarter to $0.91 to $1.06 and beat the top end. Consolidated EBITA margin guidance for the third quarter of 2.1% to 2.3% sits close to the 2.4% margin actually delivered in the second quarter, a narrower guide-to-actual gap than the first quarter's 2.0% to 2.2% guide against a 0.8% actual result.
The balance sheet moved substantially during the quarter. Cash fell to $180.6 million at June 30 from $871.0 million at year-end 2024, while long-term debt dropped to $567.3 million from $1.05 billion, reflecting a roughly $485 million debt paydown funded in part by the cash draw-down. Net debt-to-EBITDA leverage improved to 2.51 times from 2.86 times at the end of the first quarter and 2.78 times at year-end 2024, marking two consecutive quarters of deleveraging.