Barrett Business Services
BBSI on Nasdaq. Barrett Business Services sells business management services to small and mid-sized companies. Market value $757m.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
We can't read total debt from the filing, so debt is left out.
Should I look at this?
Not a fit for our list right now
Why it could be worth it
See Technology stocks that passed both tests
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $2.05 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
Quality score: 58 of 100. Price score: 53 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$31.28 a share, 23% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $25.33 to $45.53.
Dividend: 1.1% a year
Paid every year for at least 5 years
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
Spare cash swings from quarter to quarter here: $16 million in the past 12 months, $47 million in the year to December 2025.
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $955m | $1.1bn | $1.1bn | $1.1bn | $1.2bn |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 4.6% | 5.6% | 5.7% | 5.2% | 5.0% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.01bn | 0.01bn | 0.03bn | 0.03bn | 0.02bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive3 of 5 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
- Financial strength (Piotroski)6 of 8 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
- DebtUnknown
- Revenue growth, five yearsSlow, 7.1% a year
- Buying back its own sharesNo, 248% more shares since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $319 million last quarter, up 4% on a year ago.
- Profit: $13 million, down 30% on a year ago.
- It keeps 4 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, down from 5 cents a year earlier.
- Spare cash over the past 12 months: $16 million. A year earlier it spent $12 million more than it brought in.
- 6% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
- Sales grew on a year ago in each of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $294m |
| December 2024 | $305m |
| March 2025 | $293m |
| June 2025 | $308m |
| September 2025 | $319m |
| December 2025 | $321m |
| March 2026 | $307m |
| June 2026 | $319m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $20m |
| December 2024 | $17m |
| March 2025 | -$1m |
| June 2025 | $18m |
| September 2025 | $21m |
| December 2025 | $16m |
| March 2026 | -$15m |
| June 2026 | $13m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 26 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 5 November 2026
Who owns it
6 long-term investors we follow own it, unchanged from 6 last quarter. 197 funds in all.
- Heartland AdvisorsBill Nasgovitz
- Value
- $16m
- Share of fund
- 0.7%
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royce & AssociatesChuck Royce | $46m | 0.4% | Cut |
| Mawer Investment ManagementMawer team | $44m | 0.3% | Cut |
| Heartland AdvisorsBill Nasgovitz | $16m | 0.7% | |
| Polaris Capital ManagementBernard Horn | $2m | 0.2% | Added |
| Boston PartnersBoston Partners team | $2m | <0.1% | Added |
| Cullen Capital ManagementJames Cullen | $598,299 | <0.1% | Added |
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$73mAdded
- Thrivent Financial for Lutherans$61m
- Royce & Associates$46mCut
- Mawer Investment Management$44mCut
- Private Capital Management$43mAdded
- Vanguard Capital Management$37m
- Wellington Management Group LLP$30m
- Trigran Investments$28mAdded
- Dimensional Fund Advisors LP$26mAdded
- State Street$24mAdded
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
5 investors own more than 5%.
- THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANSPassive investor7.4%+1.1 ptsSince 30 September 2025
- Royce & AssociatesPassive investor5.5%Since 31 March 2026
- Mawer Investment ManagementPassive investor5.0%−1.7 ptsSince 30 June 2026
- Vanguard Capital ManagementPassive investor5.0%Since 31 March 2026
- FMR LLCPassive investorat least 3.3%−1.8 pts(filed with 1 related holder)Since 30 September 2025
- Private Capital Management, LLCPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 30 September 2026
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS Passive investor | 7.4%+1.1 pts | 30 September 2025 | |
Royce & Associates Passive investor | 5.5% | 31 March 2026 | |
Mawer Investment Management Passive investor | 5.0%−1.7 pts | 30 June 2026 | |
Vanguard Capital Management Passive investor | 5.0% | 31 March 2026 | |
FMR LLC Passive investor | at least 3.3%−1.8 pts (filed with 1 related holder) | 30 September 2025 | |
Private Capital Management, LLC Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 30 September 2026 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
In the last 12 months, 3 insiders bought $435,514 of shares on the open market. 2 sold $837,958, $383,732 of it under preset trading plans.
- Potts James REVP Gen Counsel & SecretarySoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 7 July 2026
- Shares
- 3,490
- Price
- $38.00
- Value
- $132,620
- Potts James REVP Gen Counsel & SecretarySoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 6 July 2026
- Shares
- 3,487
- Price
- $37.55
- Value
- $130,926
- Potts James REVP Gen Counsel & SecretarySoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 2 July 2026
- Shares
- 1,802
- Price
- $38.00
- Value
- $68,476
- MEEKER ANTHONYDirectorSold
- Date
- 2 July 2026
- Shares
- 12,000
- Price
- $37.85
- Value
- $454,226
- Finn Mark StevenDirectorBought
- Date
- 13 May 2026
- Shares
- 1,000
- Price
- $28.60
- Value
- $28,600
- Finn Mark StevenDirectorBought
- Date
- 26 March 2026
- Shares
- 1,000
- Price
- $29.40
- Value
- $29,400
- Finn Mark StevenDirectorBought
- Date
- 20 March 2026
- Shares
- 500
- Price
- $27.88
- Value
- $13,940
- Finn Mark StevenDirectorBought
- Date
- 19 March 2026
- Shares
- 500
- Price
- $27.93
- Value
- $13,965
- Potts James REVP Gen Counsel & SecretarySoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 17 March 2026
- Shares
- 1,803
- Price
- $28.68
- Value
- $51,710
- Kramer GaryPresident & CEOBought
- Date
- 13 March 2026
- Shares
- 8,370
- Price
- $26.89
- Value
- $225,069
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 July 2026 | Potts James R EVP Gen Counsel & Secretary | Sold under a preset trading plan | 3,490 | $38.00 | $132,620 |
| 6 July 2026 | Potts James R EVP Gen Counsel & Secretary | Sold under a preset trading plan | 3,487 | $37.55 | $130,926 |
| 2 July 2026 | Potts James R EVP Gen Counsel & Secretary | Sold under a preset trading plan | 1,802 | $38.00 | $68,476 |
| 2 July 2026 | MEEKER ANTHONY Director | Sold | 12,000 | $37.85 | $454,226 |
| 13 May 2026 | Finn Mark Steven Director | Bought | 1,000 | $28.60 | $28,600 |
| 26 March 2026 | Finn Mark Steven Director | Bought | 1,000 | $29.40 | $29,400 |
| 20 March 2026 | Finn Mark Steven Director | Bought | 500 | $27.88 | $13,940 |
| 19 March 2026 | Finn Mark Steven Director | Bought | 500 | $27.93 | $13,965 |
| 17 March 2026 | Potts James R EVP Gen Counsel & Secretary | Sold under a preset trading plan | 1,803 | $28.68 | $51,710 |
| 13 March 2026 | Kramer Gary President & CEO | Bought | 8,370 | $26.89 | $225,069 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the warning signs we check for were found.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 26 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 6 Aug 2026 and 4 later 8-Ks.
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
Cheap for a reason is the question the numbers cannot answer.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.