Adecco Group AG (AHEXY) AI Stock Analysis

Company Guidance

Management guided Q3 to a modest sequential improvement in gross margin and sequentially lower SG&A (ex‑one‑offs), while noting tougher comps (c.300 bps headwind) but continued positive volume momentum and expected year‑on‑year EBITDA margin improvement into H2; some restructuring one‑offs will spill into Q3 with savings starting in Q4 and full impact in 2027. They reiterated deleveraging priorities — net debt/EBITDA (ex‑one‑offs) is 2.7x (‑0.5x YoY) with a goal of ≤1.5x by end‑2027 — and strong cash focus (Q2 cash from operations €23m, free cash outflow €14m after €37m capex, LTM cash conversion 83%, DSO 53 days). On AI they raised the agentic‑AI target to 70% of revenue by end‑2026 (from 50% at end‑Q2, agents live in 10 countries, 2.2m conversations to date) and cited operating benefits to date (10% fill‑rate improvement, 40% faster time‑to‑submit, 25–35% recruiter time saved). These guidance points sit alongside the quarter’s results (organic revenue +5.6% YoY, gross profit €1.1bn, gross margin 18.6% or ‑20 bps organic, EBITA ex‑one‑offs €165m +21% YoY, EBITDA margin 2.8%, organic drop‑down 64%, adjusted EPS +31%).