MAN Stock Surges 122% in 6 Months: Here's What You Should Know

ManpowerGroup MAN stock has soared 122% over the past six months, outperforming the industry’s 76% rally and the Zacks S&P 500 Composite's 11.1% rise.

6-Month Share Price Performance

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Let us delve deeper into the factors that have contributed to the company’s outperformance.

Recovering Demand Trajectory

The first quarter of 2026 marked ManpowerGroup's fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year top-line growth. During the aforementioned quarter, revenues gained 3% year over year on a constant-currency basis. The growth rate accelerated to 6% year over year on a constant-currency basis in the second quarter of 2026. The company witnessed this enhancement across the United States, Latin America, APME and a few European markets, while the top-line trajectory took off across Experis and Talent Solutions.

Cost-Savings Enhance Operating Leverage

ManpowerGroup indulged in reducing the cost base through prudent expense management and an expansion in the global strategic transformation program targeted at stripping away structural costs and improving efficiency. This program is anticipated to generate $200 million in cost savings by 2028.

In the first quarter of 2026, this strategy resulted in cutting selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses by 2.2% year over year on a constant-currency basis despite a 2.9% uptick in the top line, generating operating leverage. This trend continued during the second quarter of 2026 as SG&A expenses declined 6% year over year on a constant-currency basis, while the top line gained 5.8%.

Solid Liquidity Profile

ManpowerGroup’s current ratio improved to 1.04 in the second quarter of 2026 from 0.98 a year earlier, indicating an improvement in covering short-term obligations. As of June 30, total debt stood at $1.04 billion, including $456 million in notes due in 2027 and $567 million due in 2030. The sharp decline in reported long-term debt from year-end partly reflects the repayment of pre-funded 2026 notes and reclassification of 2027 maturities rather than pure deleveraging.

Current Ratio

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Shareholder-Friendly Strategy

ManpowerGroup returned $179.8 million, $140 million and $38 million through share repurchases in 2023, 2024 and 2025, whereas dividend payments totaled $144.3 million, $145.8 million and $66.7 million, respectively. This consistent return of capital underscores management's commitment to enhancing shareholder value.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

ManpowerGroup currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are The Geo Group GEO and Figure Technology Solutions FIGR, each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Geo Group has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 14%. GEO delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 24.6%, on average.

Figure Technology Solutions has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 51.7%. FIGR delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 28.2%, on average.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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