Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI) Stock

Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI) is a Technology stock trading at $33.56 (as of 2026-08-21), with a market capitalization of $824.22M and a trailing P/E of 35.5. Figures are sourced from first-party U.S. SEC EDGAR filings and market data.

Barrett Business Services, Inc. provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry. It offers professional employer services under which it enters into a client services agreement to establish a co-employment relationship with each client company, assuming responsibility for payroll, payroll taxes, workers' compensation coverage, and other administration functions for the client's existing workforce. The company also provides staffing and recruiting services, such as on-demand or short-term staffing assignment, contract staffing, direct placement, and long-term or indefinite-term on-site management services. It serves electronics manufacturers, light-manufacturing industries, agriculture-based companies, transportation and shipping enterprises, food processors, telecommunications companies, public utilities, general contractors in various construction-related fields, and professional services firms. The company was incorporated in 1965 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Washington.

Understand Barrett Business Services, Inc.: how it makes money

Barrett Business Services provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies, and it makes money primarily through professional employer services where it enters client services agreements and takes responsibility for payroll, payroll taxes, workers' compensation coverage, and related administration functions.

The profit model is driven by the scale of its professional employer services client agreements, where the company assumes ongoing administration responsibilities (payroll, taxes, workers' compensation) in exchange for professional employer services revenue, while staffing contributes only a smaller share of revenue.

Revenue by segment (latest quarter)
PES$0.3B
Staffing$0.0B

Business quality (Weak): Revenue is concentrated in professional employer services, but the latest quarter shows modest gross margin and a negative operating margin, indicating the cost structure needs to be tightly controlled to reach profitability.

Valuation: Trades at 22× trailing earnings · $1B market cap.

Bull case

  • Revenue concentration in professional employer services: Professional Employer Services Revenue is about 0.29B out of total 0.3B, making the main growth and profitability driver more visible than the smaller staffing line.
  • Service model built around recurring client administration: Under its professional employer services, the company enters client services agreements and assumes responsibility for payroll, payroll taxes, workers' compensation coverage, and other administration functions.

Bear case

  • Negative operating profitability in the latest quarter: Operating margin is -2.1% (operating loss), which means current revenues are not covering operating costs.
  • Low gross margin: Gross margin is 14.1%, leaving a smaller buffer between gross profit and operating expenses.
  • Staffing is a small portion of revenue: Staffing services revenue is about 0.02B, so profitability improvement is less likely to come from staffing diversification alone.
Valuation — source: SEC EDGAR (first-party)
Price$33.56
Market Cap$824.22M
P/E Ratio35.5
EV / EBITDA16.3
Price / Book4.01
Price / Sales0.67
FCF Yield-13.1%
DCF Value (model)$74.59
DCF Upside vs Price122.3%
Profitability & Growth — source: SEC EDGAR
Revenue (TTM)$1.24B
Net Margin4.4%
Revenue Growth (YoY)8.4%
EPS Growth (YoY)4.9%
FCF Growth (YoY)-1258.3%
Financial Health — source: SEC EDGAR
Altman Z-Score3.35 (safe)
Valuation vs Sector & Industry
Stock P/E35.5
Sector P/E (Technology)33.9
Industry P/E (Business Services)29.9
vs Sector4.7%
vs Industry18.7%
Smart-Money Activity — SEC Form 4 / 13F / Congressional disclosures
Top Institutional HolderBlackRock, Inc. ($55.68M)
Institutional Holders Tracked10
Company
SectorTechnology
IndustryBusiness Services
CEOGary Edward Kramer Jr.
Employees135,727
CountryUS
IPO Date1993-06-11

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BBSI earnings history · BBSI institutional & insider holders · BBSI KPIs & operating metrics · BBSI financials · BBSI investor presentations & press releases · BBSI SEC filings · BBSI peers · Congress trades · Insider trades · Short interest · Stock screener

Data as of 2026-08-21.

Figures sourced from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC EDGAR) filings and market data. Not personalized investment advice.