Kelly Services, Inc.

Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.

Kelly Services, Inc. trades at $16.1, between stages. That is +55.7% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 100% of a 52-week range of $8 to $16. On relative strength it has been ahead of the S&P 500 on a trailing-13-week view for 11 straight weeks.

Today the stock is between stages. At $16.1 it trades +55.7% versus its 200-day average and sits at 100% of its 52-week range ($8–$16).

Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 1.0 years the stock moved +30% while the S&P 500 moved +19% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock has been ahead for 11 straight weeks — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.

What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.

→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: how the P/E reads against its own history.

Valuation P/E is the price of $1 of annual profit: how many dollars the market pays for each dollar the company earns in a year.

P/E does not price Kelly Services, Inc. — earnings are negative, so there is no multiple to rank against its own history. The revenue and margin lines below are where a turn, when it comes, would show first. On sales the market values Kelly Services, Inc. at 0.2× its FY25 revenue of $4.3 B.

With earnings negative, P/E does not price — there is no multiple to rank against its own history. The revenue and margin lines below are where the turn, when it comes, will show first.

Put together: the multiple is unremarkable against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.

→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.

Stage: Deteriorating Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).

Kelly Services, Inc. reads as deteriorating on its fundamental arc. Deteriorating — revenue and EPS growth are shrinking (revenue growth −7.2% latest against +0.7% at its 12-quarter best), ROCE holding at 4.0%. The read is built from 12 quarters across 3 curves, on partial evidence.

🚨 Why it matters: falling curves mean every cheap-looking ratio below needs a discount for direction.

A partial read: at least one curve is short, or the returns curve is not the computed quarterly series — hold the stage word a little more loosely.

→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.

4-Factor Sector Score

No sector-relative score — Kelly Services, Inc. is not present in the sector comparison for Staffing & Employment Services.

The score is a rank WITHIN a peer set: every metric is scored by percentile against the other members. Without the peer set there is no score to state, so none is invented here.

Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.

Kelly Services, Inc. reported $1.0 B of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, −10.3% year on year. Over 3 years it has compounded at −4.7% a year. The last full year, FY25, came in at $4.3 B. The last four reported quarters add to $4.1 B.

Kelly Services, Inc. reported $1.0 B of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, −10.3% year on year. Over 3 years it has compounded at −4.7% a year. The last full year, FY25, came in at $4.3 B. The last four reported quarters add to $4.1 B.

FY25 revenue came in at $4.3 B (−1.8% on the year), capping 3 years at −4.7% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed $1.0 B, −10.3% year on year.

Pace check: the last four quarters averaged −7.0% growth against the decade's −4.7% — the current year is running slower than its own long-run rate.

Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew −7.2% over the last 4 quarters against −5.5%/yr over the last 8 — stabilising.

→ Revenue slipped — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 0.0% this quarter (−1.7 pp YoY).

Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every $100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.

Kelly Services, Inc.'s operating margin is 0.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.7 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 1.0% to 1.6%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

Kelly Services, Inc.'s operating margin is 0.0% in the Mar 26 quarter, −1.7 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 1.0% to 1.6%. The current quarter is running below every full year in that window.

The latest quarter's operating margin is 0.0%, −1.7 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged 1.0%–1.6%.

🚨 Why the margin moved: operating margin went −1.7 pp year on year while gross margin went −1.5 pp — the loss came mostly from the gross line: input costs and pricing.

→ Margins slipped — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit −200.0% in the latest quarter.

Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.

Kelly Services, Inc. posted a net loss of $0.01 B in the Mar 26 quarter. The full FY25 year was a loss of $0.3 B. That loss is 1.0% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned $0.0 B. 4 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

Kelly Services, Inc. posted a net loss of $0.01 B in the Mar 26 quarter. The full FY25 year was a loss of $0.3 B. That loss is 1.0% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned $0.0 B. 4 of the last 12 reported quarters were loss-making.

Mar 26 profit was $−0.0 B, −200.0% year on year. On the full year, FY25 printed $−0.3 B (null).

→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 89% of the last 2 years' profit arrived as cash.

Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.

Over the last 2 fiscal years 89% of Kelly Services, Inc.'s reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY25 that was $0.1 B of operating cash against $−0.3 B of profit. After $0.0 B of capital spending, $0.1 B was left as free cash.

FY25: operating cash of $0.1 B against reported profit of $−0.3 B, leaving free cash of $0.1 B after $0.0 B of capital spending. Across the last 2 fiscal years the conversion rate is 89% of profit.

Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.

Why: conversion is measured cleanly, but the working-capital day-counts behind it sit below what we hold — the move is shown without inventing its driver.

Router verdict: the visible cash user is investment — the next section checks what the spending is buying.

→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: $0.0 B of building over 3 years.

Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).

Kelly Services, Inc. does not report the debtor, inventory and payable day-counts a cash cycle is built from, so this section reads the investment side instead. Capital spending ran $0.0 B over the last 3 years. Averaged over those years that is 0.0% of FY25 revenue a year.

Working-capital day-counts are not in our numbers for this stock, so this section reads the investment side — where the cash is being put to work.

On the investment side: capital spending of $0.0 B over the last 3 fiscal years.

The synthesis: the cash is going into capacity, not disappearing into the cycle — the question becomes whether the new capacity earns.

→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROE is −24% and the ROIC − WACC spread is −4.5 pp.

Return on equity Return on equity (ROE) is the profit the business earns on its shareholders’ money. With the full capital-employed split not in our numbers, ROE is the cleanest long ladder we can draw here.

Kelly Services, Inc. earns a ROE of −26% in FY25. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by −4.5 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses. The wiring behind it is −5.9% net margin on 1.89× asset turns.

FY25 ROE is −26%.

🚨 Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY25): −5.9% net margin × 1.89× asset turns × 2.30× balance-sheet leverage ≈ −25.6% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.

The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 3.3% − 7.8% = a −4.5 pp spread. The 7.8% is an estimate of this company's own cost of capital — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. Negative — growth at these returns destroys value until the returns recover.

→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 0.19.

Dividend A dividend is cash paid out per share. Dividend per share is the declared amount for the period; the trailing twelve-month total is the four most recent quarters added together.

Kelly Services, Inc. paid $0.30 per share over the last four reported quarters. The most recent declaration was $0.07 for Mar 26. Against the current price of $16.1 that is a trailing yield of 1.86%, measured on dividends already paid rather than on a forecast.

Kelly Services, Inc. paid $0.30 per share over the last four reported quarters. The most recent declaration was $0.07 for Mar 26. Against the current price of $16.1 that is a trailing yield of 1.86%, measured on dividends already paid rather than on a forecast.

Kelly Services, Inc. paid $0.30 per share across the last four reported quarters, most recently $0.07 for Mar 26. Against the current price of $16.1 the trailing twelve months work out to 1.86% — trailing dividends measured against today's price, not a forward estimate.

→ A payout is cash leaving the business. Next: what the balance sheet looks like behind it.

Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.

Kelly Services, Inc. carries total debt of $0.2 B against shareholder equity of $1.0 B as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 0.19 — effectively unlevered. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.06 in FY22 to 0.16 in FY25. The returns elsewhere on this page are therefore earned rather than borrowed.

Mar 26: total debt of $0.2 B against shareholder equity of $1.0 B — a debt-to-equity of 0.19. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.06 (FY22) to 0.16 (FY25). The returns on this page are earned, not borrowed.

→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: short interest is 5.1% of the float.

Ownership There is no quarter-by-quarter holder register to read here, so we read the crowd through short interest — the slice of tradable shares currently sold short, positioned for a fall.

5.1% of Kelly Services, Inc.'s tradable float is currently sold short — some money is positioned against it. At typical trading volumes those positions would take about 3.4 days to buy back. There is no quarter-by-quarter holder register to read for this filer, so the crowd is read through short interest instead.

The latest reading: 5.1% of the float is sold short, and at typical trading volumes it would take about 3.4 days to buy those positions back. Some money is positioned against it. This is a single point-in-time reading — we do not yet hold its history, so we show no trend chart.

Why it sits there: who is doing the shorting, and why, does not travel with the number — the level is shown without inventing its story.

→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.

Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.

Kelly Services, Inc.: the Z-score reads 2.92. A Z-score above roughly 3 reads as safe and below roughly 1.8 as the distress zone, so this sits in the grey band between the two. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure.

Why it matters: a Z-score of 2.92 sits in the grey band — neither clearly safe nor clearly distressed.

The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score reads 2.92.

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