ADECCO R : Off the call: Good growth but focus on GM and higher costs

Research evidence excerpt

ADECCO R : Off the call: Good growth but focus on GM and higher costs

EQUITIES

BUSINESS SERVICES

ADECCO ADR NEUTRALPRICE* USD11.7  TARGET PRICE USD12.6 (UPSIDE 7%)

ADECCO R NEUTRALPRICE* CHF18.3  TARGET PRICE CHF20 (UPSIDE 9%)

FLASH NOTE

Off the call: Good growth but focus on GM and higher costs

13 MAY 2026 Securities Research Report Production time: 10:31* (London time)

Research Analyst & Publishing Entities

Andrew Grobler BNP Paribas London Branch +(44) 207 039 9451 andrew.grobler@uk.bnpparibas.com

What happened?

Adecco management hosted a conference call following its Q1 results.

BNPP View:

Overall, a consistently bullish tone from management that is not matched by the share price (shares down -13% at the

time of writing). Topline momentum is good, but the gross margin miss and the absence of a clear near-term margin

inflection remain an issue for the shares.

Management emphasised market share momentum, AI-driven productivity, and strong profit conversion, with the CEO

closing emphatically on confidence in the growth agenda. However, the Q&A was dominated by gross margin scrutiny,

with questions repeatedly pressing on why AI efficiency gains are not visibly flowing through, why incremental organic

gross margins appear structurally low, and why Q2 guidance combines lower gross margin with higher SG&A.

Key highlights from the call:

- Strong start to the year for revenue acceleration, made good market share gains. Organic revenue growth of 5.3%

YoY (trading day adj.).

- Gross margin of 18.8% missed expectations, down 40bps organically YoY, driven by large-account client mix,

higher-growth lower-margin country mix, and a 20bps FX headwind.

- Q2 guidance: gross margin guided marginally lower sequentially (~20 basis points) and SG&A guided marginally

higher.