Mark Marcon (Baird) asked how the quarter progressed in key markets (U.S., France) and exit rates, plus whether AI screening is measurably improving fill rates and time-to-hire.
Jack McGinnis said U.S. revenue strength built over the quarter (Manpower +16%, Experis back to flat), France was very stable (flat, in line with industry data), Italy solid, and Japan steady, with no discernible Iran impact; Becky Frankiewicz said nine months into AI interview tools they are seeing a material 67% decrease in time-to-fill, scaling to 70% of revenue by year-end.
Jeff Silber (BMO) asked about the general tone of business from clients and back-half expectations.
Frankiewicz said clients remain resilient amid geopolitical, economic, and demographic uncertainty and are increasingly seeking flexible workforce solutions (Manpower's strength), and that they now struggle to get benefit from (rather than access to) AI, which Experis's partnership strategy addresses as a growth and profit multiplier.
Andy Grobler (BNP Paribas) asked about the temp gross-margin decline (mix vs. price) and when it troughs, plus the Jefferson Wells impact.
McGinnis said staffing margin was very close to expectations (down 60 bps YoY but up sequentially to 16.1%, absorbing ~5-10 bps of Jefferson Wells and above-plan Manpower Enterprise growth), signaling rational, stable pricing; he expects contingent resumption plus recovering Experis/Perm to lift GP margin going forward, and pegged the JW impact at ~10 bps.
George Tong (Goldman Sachs) asked how much performance reflects market recovery versus company actions, and the timing/functions of the $200 million cost savings.
Jonas Prising said ManpowerGroup is executing and leading in many markets (U.S. +16%, double-digit growth in Spain/Canada/Poland/Latin America) via agile vertical targeting; McGinnis detailed the savings ramp (~$20M back-office in 2026, ~$80M in 2027 weighted to Q2-Q4, $200M full-year in 2028) with ~$13M of Q2 program costs.
Ronan Kennedy (for Manav Patnaik, Barclays) asked for a holistic read on stabilization versus recovery and to unpack U.S. Manpower strength.
Prising said Manpower has moved from stabilization into recovery (five quarters of growth) while Experis, Talent Solutions, and Perm are still stabilizing with encouraging trends; Frankiewicz attributed U.S. Manpower strength to both improved demand and real-time targeting of high-growth verticals (manufacturing/consumer goods, retail, aerospace, logistics).
Trevor Romeo (William Blair) asked about internal headcount needs in growth mode and the evolving IT skill demand within Experis.
Prising said the company feels well-positioned with capacity to leverage existing headcount, adding carefully while AI tools boost productivity; Frankiewicz cited demand for infrastructure skills (database architects, data scientists, computer network engineers for data centers) and said the Experis Academy upskills talent to meet demand.
Josh Chan (UBS) asked how to interpret classic early-cycle recovery signs absent a recession, and about resuming contingent demand in the U.S.
Prising said the focus is less on predicting the cycle and more on controllable levers (structural cost actions, portfolio prioritization, higher-value capabilities like the $200M transformation), leveraging ~80 years of adapting to shifting demand; Frankiewicz confirmed early signs of contingent improvement among smaller/mid-size U.S. customers, visible in the pipeline.
Tyler Barishaw (for Tobey Sommer, Truist) asked where AI has brought new business and about the decision not to repurchase shares.
Frankiewicz cited the sales-targeting engine (scaling to 70% of revenue), AI-powered off-hours interviews (30% of interviews), and commercial partnerships (SoundHound, IBM watsonx) as growth/profit multipliers; McGinnis said no near-term capital-allocation change is expected after prioritizing balance-sheet strengthening, but buybacks remain part of the long-term mix.
Mark Marcon (Baird, follow-up) asked about Perm's share of gross profit and the growth/margin outlook for Experis and its partnerships.
McGinnis said Perm was 15.3% of GP (crossed to flat in the quarter), with a normalized range of 15.5%-16.5% (peaked at 20% in 2022); on Experis, he cited improving trends (-2% globally, U.S. flip to slight growth expected in Q3), and Frankiewicz sized partnership revenue at $50-$100 million this year with ~100 qualified leads.