gross margin
—
Q3 2026
official guidance
RANDSTAD N.V.
Last · Amsterdam€38.68+0.10 (+0.26%)stale · yahoo · 228h ago
Market cap€6.8B175.5M sh
P/E · TTM21.7fwd 13.3 · eps 1.78
Beta0.97vs S&P 500
Div yield4.20%annual · TTM
52w range
€21.30€40.68
Volume301.1Ksession
| Revenue | €23.1B |
|---|---|
| Operating income | €512.0M |
| Net income | €299.0M |
| Free cash flow | €803.0M |
| Operating margin | 2.2% |
| Net margin | 1.3% |
| Return on equity | 7.5% |
| Period | 2025 |
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OpenFilings analyst
Our analyst
Agentic read of the latest earnings call — recommendation updates when we process a new transcript. Research synthesis, not investment advice.
BuyHoldSell
Operational leverage is improving, but margin dilution and uneven demand leave execution risk insufficiently resolved.
Randstad’s recovery is becoming broader:
Q2 revenue was €5.9 billion, organic growth accelerated to 1.9%, and EBITA rose 8% to €182 million at a 3.1% margin, with Operational up 4% and North American Operational up 13%. However, gross profit still declined 1.5% year over year, gross margin fell 70 bps, Q3 gross margin is expected to decline modestly again, and Digital revenue remained down 4%; the improving cost base is encouraging but not yet enough for a clean buy.
Themes
- Organic Growth Recovery
- Operational Staffing
- Gross Margin Pressure
- Digital Marketplaces
- Cost Productivity
- North America
Near term
Q3 gross margin is expected to decline modestly sequentially because of seasonality, lower perm/RPO mix and continued large-client/geographic mix pressure.
September seasonality and the conversion of the strong June/early-July exit rate will determine whether growth broadens beyond large clients.
North American Operational profitability is expected to become more material in Q3 and the second half, while declining Digital and weak Professional remain offsets.
Second-half cash generation should benefit from higher EBITA and the reversal of bonus and holiday-related working-capital outflows.
Longer term
The 82% four-quarter recovery ratio, 5% increase in talents working per FTE and 3% year-over-year opex reduction support a structurally higher EBITA conversion rate as volumes recover.
Digital marketplaces and talent centers could create a durable cost-to-serve advantage; 1.7 million self-scheduled shifts in Q2 and 50% lower recruiting costs at Torc are promising, but rollout remains complex and still requires refinement.
The recovery is concentrated in Operational, manufacturing, logistics, automotive and large clients; Professional, perm, SMEs and parts of Digital have not yet fully recovered.
Randstad is simplifying Digital around talent services after exiting smaller-scale systems-integration activities, reducing strategic complexity but also narrowing its offering.
Red flags
Management did not quantify the Q3 gross-margin decline or provide a clear medium-term margin framework, despite repeated analyst questions about incremental margins and drop-through.
Gross profit remains negative year over year even as revenue returns to growth; France, the Netherlands and Randstad Digital remain the principal drags.
Growth is being led by large clients with planned demand, while smaller clients remain weak, creating concentration and early-cycle recovery risk.
Digital revenue declined 4% overall and 3% in North America despite strong digital-first usage metrics; management acknowledged that platform implementation and model refinement are still not a walk in the park.
The €1.3 billion of first-half client wins was presented as bookings/wins rather than quantified recognized revenue, margin or timing, limiting its immediate earnings value.
The LTM transaction is expected to close in the second half, but the call did not quantify the earnings, margin or cash-flow effects of the divested businesses.
Forward outlook
Recommendation history
OpenFilings analyst view from primary-source filings and earnings calls — not investment advice.
Earnings transcripts
Documents
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