BBSI Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Rhea-AI Summary
Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ: BBSI) reported second quarter 2026 revenues of $319.3 million, up 4% year over year, with gross billings rising 3% to $2.29 billion and average WSEs up 0.5%. Net income declined to $12.9 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, from $18.5 million, or $0.70, as workers’ compensation expense rose to 2.5% of gross billings and favorable prior-year adjustments fell to $2.0 million from $8.8 million.
Unrestricted cash and investments were $67.9 million at June 30, 2026, and BBSI remained debt free. The company repurchased $15.0 million of stock (486,811 shares) and paid $1.9 million in dividends in the quarter, returning over $39 million to shareholders year-to-date. The quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share is payable September 4, 2026. For 2026, BBSI guides to gross billings growth of 3%–4%, WSE growth of 2%–3%, gross margin of 2.70%–2.75% of gross billings, and an effective tax rate of 26%–27%, excluding an $11.6 million non-recurring tax charge recorded in the first quarter.
Positive
- Revenue growth 4% to $319.3 million in Q2 2026
- Gross billings up 3% year over year to $2.29 billion
- Debt-free balance sheet with $67.9 million unrestricted cash and investments
- Shareholder returns over $39 million YTD via buybacks and dividends
- Stock repurchases $15.0 million (486,811 shares at $30.92) in Q2 2026
- Non-GAAP net income $9.6 million and $0.39 EPS for six months 2026
Negative
- Net income decline to $12.9 million from $18.5 million year over year
- Gross margin compression to 2.8% from 3.3% of gross billings in Q2
- Higher workers’ compensation ratio 2.5% vs. 2.1% of gross billings
- Weaker WSE growth average WSEs up only 0.5% in Q2 2026
- Lower liquidity unrestricted cash and investments down to $67.9 million from $91.9 million at March 31, 2026
- GAAP net loss of $1.9 million for six months 2026 due to $11.6 million tax adjustment
Key Figures
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 06 | Q1 2026 earnings | Negative | +1.6% | Net loss and tax charge accompanied revenue growth and reaffirmed outlook. |
| Feb 25 | Q4 2025 earnings | Positive | -14.7% | Strong quarterly and full-year results contrasted with a -14.74% reaction. |
| Nov 05 | Q3 2025 earnings | Positive | -14.2% | Revenue, billings, earnings, and WSE growth preceded a -14.17% reaction. |
| Aug 06 | Q2 2025 earnings | Positive | +5.6% | Revenue, billings, earnings, and outlook growth accompanied a 5.59% reaction. |
| May 07 | Q1 2025 earnings | Negative | -0.9% | Net loss despite revenue and WSE growth accompanied a -0.86% reaction. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
BBSI's earnings-tagged news produced divergence in 3 of 5 historical events, with an average move of -4.52%.
Key Terms
peo financial
wse financial
gross billings financial
non-gaap financial
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
- Revenues up
VANCOUVER, Wash., Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barrett Business Services, Inc. (“BBSI” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: BBSI), a leading provider of business management solutions, reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.
Second Quarter 2026 Financial Summary vs. Year-Ago Quarter
- Revenues up
4% to$319.3 million . - Gross billings up
3% to$2.29 billion . - Average worksite employees (“WSEs”) up
0.5% . - Net income of
$12.9 million , or$0.52 per diluted share, compared to net income of$18.5 million , or$0.70 per diluted share.
“BBSI delivered second quarter results in line with the trends we've been communicating, with strong new client additions once again exceeding our expectations," said Gary Kramer, President and CEO of BBSI. "Continued softness in client hiring remains our primary growth headwind and has not yet shown the recovery we had anticipated. We saw positive client pricing trends improve throughout Q2 as the workers' compensation market continues to firm up. This has been offset by a slowing of favorable prior-year claims adjustments — a trend we're seeing across the industry. We continue to view 2026 as the low point for margin as our cumulative pricing actions continue to build in the periods ahead.”
Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Revenues in the second quarter of 2026 increased
Total gross billings in the second quarter of 2026 increased
Workers’ compensation expense as a percent of gross billings was
Net income for the second quarter of 2026 was
Liquidity
As of June 30, 2026, unrestricted cash and investments were
Capital Allocation
Continuing under the Company’s stock repurchase program established in August 2025, BBSI repurchased
The Company paid
Through a combination of stock repurchases and dividends, year-to-date capital returned to shareholders totaled more than
Outlook
BBSI is updating its outlook for 2026 as follows:
- Gross billings growth of
3% to4% . - Growth in the average number of WSEs of
2% to3% . - Gross margin as a percent of gross billings of
2.70% to2.75% . - Effective annual tax rate to remain at
26% to27% , excluding the one-time charge related to prior-year tax credits.
Conference Call
BBSI will conduct a conference call on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (2:00 p.m. Pacific time) to discuss its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.
BBSI’s CEO Gary Kramer and CFO Anthony Harris will host the conference call, followed by a question and answer period.
Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (2:00 p.m. Pacific time)
Toll-free dial-in number: 1-800-717-1738
International dial-in number: 1-646-307-1865
Conference ID: 1103264
Please call the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact Gateway Group at 1-949-574-3860.
The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay here and via the Investors section of the BBSI website at ir.bbsi.com.
A replay of the conference call will be available after 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on the same day through September 5, 2026.
Toll-free replay number: 1-844-512-2921
International replay number: 1-412-317-6671
Replay ID: 1103264
Key Performance Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures
During the first quarter of 2026, the Company recorded tax-effected charges of
The reconciliation of net loss and diluted loss per share to non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted income per share for the six months ended June 30, 2026 is shown in the table below (in thousands, except per share amounts):
| (Unaudited) | ||||||||
| Six Months Ended | ||||||||
| June 30, | ||||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||
| Net (Loss) Income | Diluted (Loss) Income Per Share | |||||||
| GAAP net loss | $ | (1,933 | ) | $ | (0.08 | ) | ||
| Non-recurring tax adjustment | 11,565 | 0.47 | ||||||
| Non-GAAP net income | $ | 9,632 | $ | 0.39 | ||||
| Weighted average number of diluted common shares outstanding | 24,689 | |||||||
We report PEO revenues net of direct payroll costs because we are not the primary obligor for wage payments to our clients’ employees. However, management believes that gross billings and wages are useful in understanding the volume of our business activity and serve as important performance metrics in managing our operations, including the preparation of internal operating forecasts and establishing executive compensation performance goals. We therefore present for purposes of analysis gross billings and wage information for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025.
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Gross billings | $ | 2,292,861 | $ | 2,234,472 | $ | 4,454,132 | $ | 4,323,141 | ||||||||
| PEO and staffing wages | $ | 1,984,228 | $ | 1,939,966 | $ | 3,848,893 | $ | 3,749,434 | ||||||||
In monitoring and evaluating the performance of our operations, management also reviews the following ratios, which represent selected amounts as a percentage of gross billings. Management believes these ratios are useful in understanding the efficiency and profitability of our service offerings.
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |||||||
| Percentage of Gross Billings | Percentage of Gross Billings | |||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, | Six Months Ended June 30, | |||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | |||||
| PEO and staffing wages | ||||||||
| Payroll taxes | ||||||||
| Benefit costs | ||||||||
| Workers' compensation | ||||||||
| Gross margin | ||||||||
We refer to employees of our PEO clients as WSEs. Management reviews average and ending WSE growth to monitor and evaluate the performance of our operations. Average WSEs are calculated by dividing the number of unique individuals paid in each month by the number of months in the period. Ending WSEs represents the number of unique individuals paid in the last month of the period.
| (Unaudited) | ||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||
| 2026 | Year-over-year % Growth | 2025 | Year-over-year % Growth | |||||||||||
| Average WSEs | 139,712 | 138,969 | ||||||||||||
| Ending WSEs | 141,561 | 140,671 | ||||||||||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||||||||||||
| Six Months Ended June 30, | ||||||||||||||
| 2026 | Year-over-year % Growth | 2025 | Year-over-year % Growth | |||||||||||
| Average WSEs | 137,353 | 135,714 | ||||||||||||
| Ending WSEs | 141,561 | 140,671 | ||||||||||||
About BBSI
BBSI (NASDAQ: BBSI) is a leading provider of business management solutions, combining human resource outsourcing and professional management consulting to create a unique operational platform that differentiates it from competitors. The Company’s integrated platform is built upon expertise in payroll processing, employee benefits, workers’ compensation coverage, risk management and workplace safety programs, and human resource administration. BBSI’s partnerships help businesses of all sizes improve the efficiency of their operations. The Company works with more than 8,200 PEO clients in all 50 states. For more information, please visit www.bbsi.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this release about future events and financial outlook are forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect future results include: our ability to retain current clients and attract new clients; technology disruption, including the displacement of employees through the adoption of AI and automation by our clients; the outcome of audits and other determinations by the IRS; difficulties associated with integrating clients into our operations; economic trends in the Company’s service areas and the potential effects of changing governmental policies, including those related to immigration, tariffs, other trade policies, or climate regulation; risks to our business and the business of our clients arising from current or future tariffs or other trade restrictions, supply chain issues, changes in labor force, or geopolitical instability, including the wars in Ukraine and Iran, other conflicts in the Middle East, and the potential for future conflicts or disruptions in other parts of the world; natural disasters; the potential for material deviations from expected future workers’ compensation claims experience; changes in the workers’ compensation regulatory environment in the Company’s primary markets; PEO client benefit costs, particularly with regard to health insurance benefits; security breaches or failures in the Company’s information technology systems; collectability of accounts receivable; changes in executive management; changes in effective payroll tax rates and federal and state income tax rates; the carrying values of deferred income tax assets and goodwill (which may be affected by our future operating results); the effects of inflation on our operating expenses and those of our clients; the impact of and potential changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, escalating medical costs, and other health care legislative initiatives on our business; the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and other recently enacted legislation on our business; the effect of changing monetary policy, interest rates and conditions in the global capital markets on the Company’s investment portfolio; and the availability of capital, borrowing capacity on our revolving credit facility, or letters of credit necessary to meet state-mandated surety deposit requirements for maintaining our status as a qualified self-insured employer for workers’ compensation coverage or our insured program. Other important factors that may affect the Company’s prospects are described in the Company’s 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K and in subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although forward-looking statements help to provide complete information about the Company, readers should keep in mind that forward-looking statements are less reliable than historical information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements in this release to reflect events or changes in circumstances that occur after the date of this release.
| Barrett Business Services, Inc. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) | ||||||||
| June 30, | December 31, | |||||||
| (in thousands) | 2026 | 2025 | ||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current assets: | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 27,037 | $ | 95,033 | ||||
| Investments | 40,852 | 62,154 | ||||||
| Trade accounts receivable, net | 301,492 | 248,626 | ||||||
| Income taxes receivable | — | 2,965 | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other | 24,583 | 18,652 | ||||||
| Restricted cash and investments | 72,353 | 97,210 | ||||||
| Total current assets | 466,317 | 524,640 | ||||||
| Property, equipment and software, net | 74,031 | 67,230 | ||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 23,236 | 23,218 | ||||||
| Restricted cash and investments | 91,616 | 106,216 | ||||||
| Goodwill | 47,820 | 47,820 | ||||||
| Other assets | 8,256 | 9,869 | ||||||
| Deferred income taxes | — | 74 | ||||||
| Total assets | $ | 711,276 | $ | 779,067 | ||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | ||||||||
| Current liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 7,003 | $ | 7,433 | ||||
| Accrued payroll and related benefits | 272,487 | 237,783 | ||||||
| Payroll taxes payable | 48,462 | 62,463 | ||||||
| Income taxes payable | 10,565 | — | ||||||
| Current operating lease liabilities | 7,238 | 6,969 | ||||||
| Current premium payable | 22,327 | 38,992 | ||||||
| Other accrued liabilities | 9,436 | 19,357 | ||||||
| Workers' compensation claims liabilities | 30,367 | 32,875 | ||||||
| Total current liabilities | 407,885 | 405,872 | ||||||
| Long-term workers' compensation claims liabilities | 67,539 | 75,709 | ||||||
| Deferred income taxes | 115 | — | ||||||
| Long-term premium payable | — | 26,025 | ||||||
| Long-term operating lease liabilities | 17,259 | 17,484 | ||||||
| Customer deposits and other long-term liabilities | 14,698 | 12,977 | ||||||
| Stockholders' equity | 203,780 | 241,000 | ||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ | 711,276 | $ | 779,067 | ||||
| Barrett Business Services, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | Six Months Ended | |||||||||||||||
| June 30, | June 30, | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share amounts) | 2026 | 2025 | 2026 | 2025 | ||||||||||||
| Revenues: | ||||||||||||||||
| Professional employer services | $ | 304,969 | $ | 290,170 | $ | 597,966 | $ | 565,096 | ||||||||
| Staffing services | 14,299 | 17,487 | 28,307 | 35,127 | ||||||||||||
| Total revenues | 319,268 | 307,657 | 626,273 | 600,223 | ||||||||||||
| Cost of revenues: | ||||||||||||||||
| Direct payroll costs | 10,634 | 13,165 | 21,116 | 26,471 | ||||||||||||
| Payroll taxes | 158,165 | 155,026 | 332,261 | 324,416 | ||||||||||||
| Benefit costs | 28,918 | 18,251 | 56,366 | 35,867 | ||||||||||||
| Workers' compensation | 56,697 | 47,956 | 108,491 | 97,586 | ||||||||||||
| Total cost of revenues | 254,414 | 234,398 | 518,234 | 484,340 | ||||||||||||
| Gross margin | 64,854 | 73,259 | 108,039 | 115,883 | ||||||||||||
| Selling, general and administrative expenses | 47,194 | 48,188 | 94,674 | 93,026 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | 2,257 | 2,038 | 4,430 | 3,996 | ||||||||||||
| Income from operations | 15,403 | 23,033 | 8,935 | 18,861 | ||||||||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||||||||
| Investment income, net | 1,910 | 2,300 | 3,932 | 4,920 | ||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (42 | ) | (44 | ) | (84 | ) | (88 | ) | ||||||||
| Other, net | 52 | 41 | 102 | 99 | ||||||||||||
| Other income, net | 1,920 | 2,297 | 3,950 | 4,931 | ||||||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 17,323 | 25,330 | 12,885 | 23,792 | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 4,453 | 6,876 | 14,818 | 6,359 | ||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 12,870 | $ | 18,454 | $ | (1,933 | ) | $ | 17,433 | |||||||
| Basic income (loss) per common share | $ | 0.53 | $ | 0.72 | $ | (0.08 | ) | $ | 0.68 | |||||||
| Weighted average number of basic common shares outstanding | 24,348 | 25,592 | 24,689 | 25,700 | ||||||||||||
| Diluted income (loss) per common share | $ | 0.52 | $ | 0.70 | $ | (0.08 | ) | $ | 0.66 | |||||||
| Weighted average number of diluted common shares outstanding | 24,708 | 26,215 | 24,689 | 26,309 | ||||||||||||
Investor Relations:
Gateway Group, Inc.
Cody Slach
Tel 1-949-574-3860
BBSI@gateway-grp.com
