Start here if you're new
what it is
BBSI handles payroll, benefits, workers' comp, and HR so small businesses can avoid expensive administrative mistakes.
how it gets paid
Last year Barrett Bus made $1.2B in revenue. payroll processing was the main engine at $0.42B, or 35% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 8.4% last year. That is the contrast. Revenue grew 188% vs. prior year.
what just happened
Revenue hit $919M, while EPS reached $1.45 and gross margin held at 21.0%.
At a glance
B++ balance sheet — above average — nothing keeping you up at night
80/100 earnings predictability — you can trust these numbers
15.1x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
1.2% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
23.9% return on capital — every dollar works hard here
xvary composite: 54/100 — below average
What they do
BBSI handles payroll, benefits, workers' comp, and HR so small businesses can avoid expensive administrative mistakes.
BBSI wins by bundling the boring stuff you cannot screw up. Payroll, benefits, workers' comp, safety, and HR admin come in one system, delivered by local teams usually within 50 miles of clients across 47 states and D.C. That creates switching costs (switching costs → leaving is painful and risky → clients think twice before moving) and helps produce a 23.9% return on capital.
How they make money
$1.2B
annual revenue · their business grew +8.4% last year
payroll processing
$0.42B
workers' compensation coverage
$0.30B
employee benefits administration
$0.22B
risk management and workplace safety
$0.16B
human resources administration
$0.10B
The products that matter
outsourced hr platform
PEO services
core to $1.2B revenue
this is the center of the company — payroll, benefits, and compliance bundled together so clients have more reasons to stay. Sticky does a lot of work in this business.
sticky relationships
wage and tax administration
Payroll administration
supports 5.9% margin
payroll sounds dull right up until you try moving it. On a 5.9% operating margin, dull and repeatable is exactly the point.
repeat revenue
risk and rules management
Workers' comp and compliance
23.9% return on capital
compliance work keeps clients close and supports the 23.9% return on capital. It also means trust matters. When an accounting review shows up, that trust becomes the whole conversation.
watch execution
Key numbers
23.9%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on money put into the business → 23.9% says this plain business is far better than it looks.
5.9%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the business → 5.9% means execution matters because there is not much cushion.
$18M
long-term debt
Long-term debt → money owed over years → $18M is only 3% of capital, so the balance sheet is not the problem here.
15.1x
trailing p/e
P/E → stock price divided by earnings → 15.1x is a plain multiple for a business growing sales 5.5% and earnings 8.5% historically.
Financial health
B++
strength
- balance sheet grade B++ — above average financial health
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 80 / 100
- long-term debt $18M (3% of capital)
B++ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for BBSI right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $919M, while EPS reached $1.45 and gross margin held at 21.0%.
That is the contrast. Revenue grew 188% vs. prior year, but the real test is whether BBSI can keep turning that scale into steady margin in a 5.9% operating-margin business.
$919M
revenue
$1.45
eps
21.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
$919M matters most because this business needs volume. More client payroll moving through the system spreads fixed costs across a larger base.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the central risk is not abstract. BBSI disclosed an accounting-irregularities investigation, and that lands directly on a company valued at 15.1x earnings with only a 5.9% operating margin.
high
accounting-irregularities investigation
BBSI retained Stoll Berne attorneys Keith Ketterling and Tim DeJong to investigate potential accounting irregularities. You do not need extra spin around that. The fact is enough.
credibility risk reaches the whole equity story, not just one line item
med
client payroll and employment sensitivity
this is a PEO. when client headcount or payroll volume slows, the pressure runs through the model fast. With only one disclosed revenue line, most of the $1.2B business sits close to the same operating engine.
a slowdown would pressure revenue before valuation gets a chance to recover
med
thin-margin execution
a 5.9% operating margin means the model works, but the margin for error is small. Higher servicing costs, client churn, or cleanup expenses hit harder here than they would in a fatter-margin business.
margin pressure matters quickly when the starting point is only 5.9%
between the investigation, payroll-linked revenue, and the 5.9% operating margin, this is a stock where trust and execution sit in the same bucket.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
risk
investigation status
any update on the accounting-irregularities review matters more than short-term price noise. this is the headline risk.
metric
operating margin holding 5.9%
this margin is workable, not luxurious. if it slips, the cheap multiple stops looking generous.
trend
revenue after the 8.4% gain
last year's growth was solid. you want to see whether that pace holds while the investigation still hangs over the name.
calendar
the next filing and earnings cycle
with thin coverage and stale estimate boxes, the next clean company update matters more than usual.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
80 / 100
in human-speak, the business has usually produced numbers investors can model without too much drama.
balance sheet strength
B++
above average financial health. good enough to reassure you, not good enough to carry the thesis by itself.
valuation
15.1x p/e
you're paying a modest multiple for a niche services business with a 23.9% return on capital and a live trust problem. that's the entire setup.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for BBSI is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$31
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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