The Adecco Group, a global leader in workforce solutions, released its Half-Year 2025 results today, showing a strong gain in market share amid continued macroeconomic uncertainty and structural headwinds in key markets such as Germany. While topline growth remained flat, the company continued to invest in digital transformation and AI-driven service delivery to prepare for long-term competitive advantage.

Revenue and Market Share Performance

For the first half of 2025, Adecco reported consolidated revenues of €11.35 billion, down 2% year-on-year on a reported basis and 1% lower organically when adjusted for trading days. Despite this decline, the Group gained 205 basis points in market share globally, with the core Adecco business unit contributing 130 basis points of that gain.

By region, Adecco Americas saw a standout performance with a 14% year-on-year revenue increase, led by strong growth in North America and Latin America. APAC also delivered solid results with 9% organic growth, particularly in Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, Adecco France saw a 4% revenue decline, and the broader EMEA region excluding France reported a 1% organic decrease, with notable weaknesses in Germany, the UK, and Nordics.

The Adecco GBU maintained flat revenue growth overall on an organic and trading days adjusted basis, while Akkodis declined 7% and LHH contracted by 3%.

Profitability and EBITA Trends

Gross profit for the first half came in at €2.17 billion, representing a gross margin of 19.2%, down 40 basis points from the prior year. The decrease was primarily driven by a less favorable business mix, notably lower volumes in Permanent Placement and Outsourcing services, and some margin compression in Flexible Placement. Currency effects had a marginally positive 5 basis points impact on margin.

EBITA excluding one-offs was €273 million, down 19% year-on-year, yielding a 2.4% EBITA margin. The decline reflected lower gross profit conversion, coupled with reduced contribution from FESCO JV income (€27 million vs. €31 million prior year) and continued margin compression in the Akkodis segment, particularly in Germany. On a reported basis, EBITA fell 7% to €257 million.

The company’s SG&A expenses (excluding one-offs) were €1.93 billion, representing 17.0% of revenue. Cost control initiatives and agile workforce management resulted in a 1% organic reduction in SG&A, with full-time equivalents (excluding consultants) down 5% year-over-year.

Segment Highlights

The Adecco business unit, accounting for 79% of Group revenue, continued to show resilience. While overall revenue was flat, the Americas and APAC regions posted double-digit growth. EBITA margin for Adecco stood at 3.1%, slightly down 10 basis points year-on-year due to the timing of income recognition from joint ventures.

Akkodis, representing 15% of Group revenue, experienced the most significant decline with revenues down 7% and EBITA margin dropping to 2.5% (a decline of 290 basis points). The German business continues to struggle under industry-wide pressure from the automotive and manufacturing sectors. The company confirmed that Phase 1 and Phase 2 of its turnaround plan in Germany have been executed, targeting €40 million in run-rate savings.

LHH, the Group’s talent development and transition arm, reported revenue of €679 million, down 3% organically. Despite this, Career Transition and the Ezra digital coaching platform posted strong growth of 3% and 22% respectively. The LHH EBITA margin stood at 8.6%, down 60 basis points year-on-year, primarily due to geographic and segmental mix.

Cash Flow, Net Debt and Capital Structure

Free cash flow for the half-year was an outflow of €113 million, compared to a positive €35 million in the prior year period. This was largely attributed to seasonal working capital needs and the payment of €176 million in dividends. Operating cash flow was negative €63 million.

Net debt increased to €2.88 billion as of June 30, 2025, up from €2.48 billion at the end of 2024. This brought the net debt to EBITDA ratio (excluding one-offs) to 3.6x, compared to 2.8x at year-end 2024. The Group emphasized that it maintains a robust liquidity position, with €101 million in total available liquidity and no financial covenants on existing debt.

EPS and Shareholder Returns

Basic earnings per share for the first half was €0.70, down from €0.78 in the previous year. Adjusted EPS declined more sharply to €0.94 from €1.24, a 24% drop, reflecting reduced operating leverage and higher tax provisions. The effective tax rate was 33%, influenced by geographic earnings mix and discrete items.

Strategic Focus: AI and Digital Delivery

CEO Denis Machuel reiterated the Group’s strategic focus on AI-powered innovation and digital service delivery, stating:
“We continued to gain share, outperforming a mixed market environment, while disciplined cost management improved our SG&A performance. Through stringent execution, we have seen clear improvement in Adecco France and Adecco US. Our ambitious innovation strategy, including pioneering generative and agentic AI, is gaining traction and will support our positive momentum into the second half.”

In particular, the company is investing in expanding its Digital Delivery platform, strengthening its MSP (Managed Service Provider) capabilities, and deploying agentic AI solutions across recruitment and skilling services.

Outlook

While management expects market conditions to remain mixed, Q2 volumes showed signs of improvement and Q3 to date has continued that trend. The company forecasts a sequential improvement in gross margin, continued SG&A efficiency, and overall improved profitability in H2 2025.

With solid execution, enhanced digital capabilities, and a focused restructuring roadmap, Adecco Group positions itself to navigate market headwinds while maintaining leadership in the global HR solutions space.