Jack will go through the second quarter results and guidance for the third quarter of 2025. Slide two of our earnings release presentation further identifies forward-looking statements made in this call and factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially, and information regarding reconciliation of non-GAAP measures. Our most recent ManpowerGroup employment outlook survey of more than 40,000 employers across 42 countries also supports this view. The global hiring outlook is holding steady, up very slightly year-over-year and just one point lower than last quarter.

and parts of Europe and a return to revenue growth in our Manpower and Talent Solutions brands. This quarter, system-wide revenue, which includes our expanding franchise revenue base, was $4.9 billion. Adjusting for restructuring cost, EBITDA was $89 million, representing a decrease of 25% in constant currency year-over-year. Earnings per basic share was a -$1.44 on a reported basis while earnings per diluted share was $0.78 on an adjusted basis.

Leveraging our proprietary data, we continuously assess real-time market dynamics to identify and act on growth opportunities. At the same time, we're taking swift, targeted actions to protect and optimize performance in sectors experiencing headwinds such as automotive, ensuring we remain focused on profitable growth and long-term resilience. We know client demand is reactive to many factors, and we are staying closely connected to our clients, anticipating their evolving needs and ensuring we remain the strategic. As technology transformation accelerates, we continue to build a strong enterprise sales pipeline, simplify organization, and manage costs with discipline by prioritizing growth initiatives that will deliver the greatest value.

What went well
  • Organic days adjusted constant currency revenue declined only 1%, favorable to the midpoint guidance of a 2% decline, with system-wide revenue of $4.9 billion.
  • The Manpower brand returned to growth at 1% and Talent Solutions returned to growth at 1% on an organic constant currency basis.
  • U.S. Manpower revenue increased 9% on a days adjusted basis, an improvement from 7% in the first quarter, reflecting strong market performance.
  • Adjusted EPS of $0.78 came in $0.08 above the guidance midpoint of $0.70, and U.S. Talent Solutions grew 13% driven by RPO and Right Management.
  • Italy grew 4% and APME grew 8% organic constant currency with Japan up 7%; the company was named Forbes America's number one best temp staffing firm.
What went wrong
  • Reported loss per share was $1.44, including non-cash goodwill and intangible impairment charges of $1.79 related to Switzerland and the U.K.
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $89 million declined 25% in constant currency, with adjusted EBITDA margin of 2.0%, down 50 basis points year over year, and adjusted EPS down 43% in constant currency.
  • Gross margin of 16.9% came in just below the low end of guidance, driven by mix shift toward enterprise accounts (30 basis point staffing reduction).
  • The Experis brand declined 9% organic constant currency, with Experis U.S. down 14% days adjusted on the non-recurrence of healthcare technology projects.
  • Northern Europe revenue fell 10% constant currency with the U.K. down 13%, Germany down 22%, and the Nordics down 9%; free cash flow was an outflow of $207 million.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
U.S. business revenueQ3 2025slightly improved low single-digit percentage decline (raised, sequential improvement expected)
Organic days adjusted constant currency revenueQ3 2025flat (raised, reflecting improving momentum)
France revenue trendQ3 2025stable activity, slightly improved rate of decline (raised)
Italy revenue growthQ3 2025similar to slightly improved growth trend (reiterated)
Germany revenue trendQ3 2025slightly improved year-over-year decline (raised modestly)
Adjusted EBITDA marginQ3 20252.1% (raised 10 basis points on typical seasonal improvement)

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Total revenue (constant currency) -3% challenging conditions in certain markets but continued strong market performance overall
Manpower brand (organic constant currency) +1% return to growth, led by strong U.S. Manpower up 9% days adjusted
Experis brand (organic constant currency) -9% non-recurrence of prior-year healthcare technology projects; six-month trend of -8% more indicative of underlying activity
Talent Solutions brand (organic constant currency) +1% strong MSP revenue increase, offset by slight RPO decrease and mid-single digit Right Management decline
Adjusted EBITDA -25% constant currency gross margin decline from enterprise mix shift and lower perm contribution
Adjusted EPS -43% constant currency $0.78, $0.08 above guidance midpoint
Americas segment revenue (constant currency) +2% U.S. Talent Solutions up 13% offsetting a 3% U.S. days adjusted decline
Northern Europe segment revenue (constant currency) -10% Germany automotive weakness, challenging U.K., and difficult Nordics conditions
APME segment revenue (organic constant currency) +8% consistent Japan performance up 7%

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
Employer sentiment and uncertaintyQ1: heightened uncertainty around trade negotiations, paused hiringQ2: uncertainty beginning to ease, employers proving resilient and absorbing shocks with greater pragmatism
AI and workforce readinessQ1: early AI explorationQ2: 58% of employers investing in AI but only 26% believe their workforce is ready; Work Intelligence Lab launched to deliver workforce intelligence; sales targeting engine lifts revenue opportunities about 50%
Transformation and PowerSuiteQ1: building digital coreQ2: nearly 65% of revenues on PowerSuite back office, 90% on front office, on track to cross over in second half of 2026
Portfolio optimizationQ1: reviewing portfolioQ2: moved some smaller markets to franchise models, continuing to evaluate markets where a local approach could grow brands faster

Q&A Summary

You remain focused on market share gains; who are you gaining share from and what is the strategy?
The company built a strong pipeline using proprietary data and an AI sales targeting engine that identifies leads generating up to 50% higher revenue than human-only efforts, competing well across major markets.
Will you move more businesses to a franchise model in other geographies?
This has been a multi-year effort; some markets, big and small, benefit from a more local franchise approach, and the company continues to evaluate existing and new markets.
What are the U.S. trends and true underlying organic growth?
U.S. came in at -3%, slightly better than expected; Manpower grew 9% while Experis fell 14% on go-live comparisons, with the six-month Experis trend around -8% in line with the sluggish professional staffing industry.
What will it take to improve Northern Europe revenue and what are the long-term profitability aspirations?
Improvement depends on economic recovery and easing geopolitical headwinds like energy costs and the Ukraine war; the bench model causes faster deleverage, but when Northern Europe grows it can reach the company average profitability.
Are you still on track with back-office and front-office system transformation for 2026 benefits?
Yes; nearly 65% of revenues run through PowerSuite back office with 10 countries moved into shared services, on track to cross over in the second half of 2026, and 90% of revenues on the front office platform.
What is driving the Manpower U.S. acceleration to 9%, and is it market or share gains?
Fulfillment is a bit stronger on the manufacturing side with improving PMI; growth reflects both share gains from granular data-driven targeting and a market that appears to be slowly improving.
Where would you expect AI to impact the labor market and what percentage of revenue could be affected?
Impact is expected mainly in basic coding, which is not a large part of revenue and where the company runs no bench; the focus is pivoting recruiters to in-demand IT skills, and clerical roles are expected to be augmented rather than replaced.
How did perm activity trend through the quarter and what is expected in Q3?
Perm was relatively stable, coming in at 15.3% of GP versus an expected 15.5%; the U.S. saw flattish to very slight perm growth and Europe stable at lower levels, with more of the same expected in Q3.
Your tone sounds better even though macro clarity has not improved much; how do you reconcile that?
The improved tone is based on client feedback showing stabilizing confidence as employers look through the noise; the flat Q3 organic days adjusted guide is a change from prior guidance, though management is not calling an inflection point.
On the recent dividend cut, what conditions could lead to raising it again?
The dividend was reset to the current environment in May; as the environment improves, the company expects to lean in and increase the dividend again as it has historically.

More on ManpowerGroup Inc.

Reported 2025-07-17 · figures from the ManpowerGroup Inc. Q2 2025 earnings call.

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