UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024

OR

Commission File No. 1-10686

MANPOWERGROUP INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (414) 961-1000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant's executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by nonaffiliates of the registrant was $3,329,979,382 as of June 30, 2024. As of February 17, 2025, there were 46,692,203 of the registrant’s shares of common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

ManpowerGroup Inc.

Form 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

The terms “we,” “our,” “us,” "ManpowerGroup," or “the Company” refer to ManpowerGroup Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Item 1. Business

Introduction and History

ManpowerGroup Inc. is a global leader in innovative workforce solutions. Through our network of over 2,100 offices in approximately 75 countries and territories, we put millions of people to work each year with our global, multinational and local clients across all major industry segments. Our strong and distinct brands provide specialized solutions that drive organizations forward, accelerate individual success and help build more sustainable communities. We power the future of work.

By offering a comprehensive range of workforce solutions and services, we help companies improve strategy, quality, and efficiency, increase productivity and reduce costs across their workforce to achieve their business goals. ManpowerGroup’s offerings of innovative workforce solutions and services includes:

Our expert family of global brands - Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions - provide innovative workforce solutions across the globe for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year.

Manpower is a global leader in contingent staffing and permanent recruitment, providing strategic and operational flexibility to organizations and connecting people to meaningful work while helping them develop skills to stay employable. With our data driven insight into people’s motivation, skills adjacencies, and performance potential, we provide learning programs, on the job training and market based certifications for rapid reskilling and upskilling at scale.

Experis is a global leader in information technology (IT) professional resourcing and project services specializing in Enterprise Applications, Business Transformation, Cloud and Infrastructure, Digital Workspace and Cyber Security. As digital transformation and skills shortages continue in the technology field, Experis provides talent with the combination of in-demand technical skills together with the soft skills that are critical for business success.

Talent Solutions combines leading global offerings Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), TAPFIN - Managed Service Provider (MSP) and Right Management to provide data-driven capabilities that help organizations with their workforce transformation. Talent Solutions helps organizations more effectively source, manage and develop talent at scale. From talent attraction and acquisition to upskilling, development and retention, we leverage our integrated HR tech stack PowerSuite to deliver workforce solutions across multiple countries at scale.

Our leadership position enables us to be a pathway to quality employment opportunities for people at all points in their career journey and we have connected people to meaningful work for over 75 years. Governments and policy makers in the markets where we operate look to us to provide employment advice, opportunities and training to assist the unemployed in gaining the skills they need to enter the workforce, providing a bridge to employment and helping build more sustainable communities.

We, and our predecessors, have been in business since 1948 when we were incorporated as a Wisconsin corporation, and have had our shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange since 1967.

Our website is www.manpowergroup.com. The Investor Relations section (investor.manpowergroup.com) provides our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, we also make available through our website:

Documents available on the website are also available in print for any shareholder who requests them. Requests may be made by writing to Secretary, ManpowerGroup, 100 Manpower Place, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53212. We are not including the information contained on or available through our website as a part of, or incorporating such information by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Our Operations

Client demand for workforce solutions and services is dependent on the overall strength of the labor market and secular trends toward greater workforce flexibility within each of the segments where we operate. Improving economic growth typically results in increasing demand for labor, resulting in greater demand for our workforce solutions and staffing services while demand for our outplacement services typically declines. During periods of increasing demand, we are generally able to improve our profitability and operating leverage as our cost base can support some increase in business without a similar increase in selling and administrative expenses.

Correspondingly, during periods of weak economic growth or economic contraction, the demand for our staffing services typically declines, while demand for our outplacement services typically accelerates. When demand drops, our operating profit is typically impacted unfavorably as we experience a deleveraging of our selling and administrative expense base as expenses may not decline at the same pace as revenues. In periods of economic contraction, we may have more significant expense deleveraging, as we believe it is prudent not to reduce selling and administrative expenses to levels that could negatively impact the long-term potential of our branch network and brands.

The nature of our operations is such that our most significant current asset is accounts receivable, with a days sales outstanding of 52 days as of December 31, 2024. Our most significant current liabilities are payroll related costs, which are generally paid either weekly or monthly. As the demand for our services increases, we generally see an increase in our working capital needs, as we continue to pay our associates on a weekly or monthly basis while the related accounts receivable is outstanding for much longer, which may result in a decline in operating cash flows.

Conversely, as the demand for our services declines, we generally experience a decrease in our working capital needs, as the existing accounts receivable are collected and not replaced at the same level, resulting in a decline of our accounts receivable balance, with less of an effect on current liabilities due to the shorter cycle time of the payroll related items. While this may result in an increase in our operating cash flows, longer payment terms and timing of payroll, tax and supplier related payments significantly impact our cash positions and cash flows each period. Any increase in operating cash flows from an economic slowdown would not be sustained in the event that a downturn continues for an extended period.

Due to our industry’s sensitivity to economic factors, the inherent difficulty in forecasting the direction and strength of the economy and the short-term nature of staffing assignments, it is difficult to forecast future demand for our services with certainty. As a result, we monitor a number of economic indicators, as well as recent business trends, to predict future revenue trends for each of the countries and territories where we operate. Based upon these anticipated trends, we determine what level of personnel and office investments are necessary to take full advantage of growth opportunities.

During the last several years, secular trends toward greater workforce flexibility have impacted the demand for our innovative workforce solutions and services around the world. As companies attempt to increase the variability of their cost base, the workforce solutions we provide help them to effectively address the fluctuating demand for their products or services. As the global economy continues to grow and adapt with new technology, we are helping clients manage their workforce transformation and ensure they have the right skills now and in the future. Whether it is through workforce assessments, targeted training or by creating longer-term development paths, we help organizations and candidates adapt their skills to changing workforce needs.

Our portfolio of recruitment services includes permanent, temporary and contract recruitment of professionals, as well as administrative, industrial and IT professional positions. These services are provided under our Manpower and Experis brands. We have provided services under our core Manpower brand for over 75 years with a primary focus on the areas of office and industrial services and solutions. Our Talent Based Outsourcing offering within our Manpower brand includes outcome-based solutions such as management of financial and administrative processes, including call center and customer service activities.

We provide IT resourcing and services under our Experis brand. Our experience and expertise allow us to accurately assess candidates’ workplace potential and technical skills to match them to the needs of our clients. We plan to continue to build our Experis brand and attract the talent our clients need as skills shortages arise or continue.

Our Talent Solutions brand specializes in the delivery of customized workforce strategies and new solutions and creating added value that addresses our clients’ complex global workforce needs. Through our RPO offering, we manage customized, large-scale recruiting and workforce productivity initiatives for clients through exclusive outsourcing contracts. We can manage a single element or all of a client's permanent recruiting and hiring processes, from job profiling to on-boarding, globally or in a single location. MSP services include overall program management, reporting and tracking, supplier selection and management and order distribution. The MSP and RPO offerings both provide specialty expertise in contingent workforce management and broader administrative functions. Our Right Management offering includes our career management services that have historically been counter-cyclical to our staffing services, which helps to offset the impact of an economic downturn on our overall financial results.

Americas

We provide services as Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions through both branch and franchise offices. The Americas segment had 416 branch and 137 franchise offices as of December 31, 2024. In the United States, where we realized 65% of the Americas’ revenue, we had 288 branch and 130 franchise offices as of December 31, 2024, as well as on-site locations at clients with significant permanent, temporary and contract recruitment requirements. In Other Americas, the largest operations of which include Canada, Mexico and Colombia, we had 128 branch and 7 franchise offices as of December 31, 2024. We provide a number of central support services to our branches and franchises, which enable us to maintain consistent service quality throughout the region regardless of whether an office is a branch or franchise.

Our franchise agreements provide the franchisee with the right to use the Manpower® service mark in a specifically defined exclusive territory. In the United States, franchise fees generally range from 2% to 3% of franchisee sales. Our franchise agreements provide that in the event of a proposed sale of a franchise to a third party, we have the right to acquire the franchise at the same price and on the same terms as proposed by the third party. We have exercised this right in the past and may do so in the future if opportunities arise.

Our Manpower and Experis operations provide a variety of workforce solutions and services, including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, and training. Our Talent Solutions operations provide a variety of workforce solutions offerings including RPO, MSP and Right Management. During 2024 in this segment, 90% of revenues were derived from our staffing/interim services, 4% from permanent recruitment services, 2% from outcome-based solutions and consulting and 4% from other services.

Southern Europe

We are a leading provider of permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, training and outsourcing services throughout Europe. The Southern Europe segment had 1,166 branch offices as of December 31, 2024. Our largest operations in this segment are in France (56% of the segment revenue) and Italy (20% of the segment revenue).

We conduct our operations in France as a leading workforce solutions and service provider through 647 branch offices as Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions, and 169 branch offices under the name Supplay as of December 31, 2024. The employment services market in France calls for a wide range of our services including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, and training. The temporary recruitment market is predominantly focused on recruitment for industrial positions. During 2024 in France, 91% of revenues were derived from our staffing/interim services, 1% from permanent recruitment services, 6% from outcome-based solutions and consulting and 2% from other services.

In Italy, we are a leading workforce solutions and services provider. As of December 31, 2024, ManpowerGroup Italy conducted operations through a network of 204 branch offices. It provides a comprehensive suite of workforce solutions and services offered through Manpower, Experis or Talent Solutions, including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, training and outsourcing. During 2024 in Italy, 93% of revenues were derived from our staffing/interim services, 3% from permanent recruitment services, 2% from outcome-based solutions and consulting and 2% from other services.

Northern Europe

Our largest operations in Northern Europe are in the United Kingdom, the Nordics, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium providing a comprehensive suite of workforce solutions and services through Manpower, Experis, and Talent Solutions. Collectively, we operate through 282 branch offices in this region.

In the United Kingdom, where we have the largest operation in this segment, we are a leading provider of workforce solutions and services. As of December 31, 2024, we conducted operations in the United Kingdom as Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions through a network of 46 branch offices and also provided on-site services to clients who have significant permanent, temporary and contract recruitment requirements. In the United Kingdom, we also conduct operations as Brook Street Bureau PLC, or Brook Street. Its core business is secretarial, office and light industrial recruitment. Brook Street operates as a local network of branches and competes primarily with local or regional independents. Brook Street’s revenues are comprised of temporary and contract placements as well as permanent recruitment.

During 2024 in Northern Europe, 85% of revenues were derived from our staffing/interim services, 4% from permanent recruitment services, 8% from outcome-based solutions and consulting and 3% from other services.

APME

We operate through 110 branch offices in the Asia Pacific Middle East (APME) region. The largest of these operations are located in Japan and India, which operate through branch offices. Our APME operations provide a variety of workforce solutions and services offered through Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions, including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, assessment and selection, training and outsourcing. During 2024 in this segment, 81% of revenues were derived from our staffing/interim services, 2% from permanent recruitment services, 15% from outcome-based solutions and consulting and 2% from other services.

Competition

We compete in the employment services industry by offering a broad range of services, including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment, project-based workforce solutions, assessment and selection, training, career and talent management, managed service solutions, outsourcing, consulting and professional services.

Our industry is large and fragmented, comprised of thousands of firms employing millions of people and generating billions of United States dollars in annual revenues. In most areas, no single company has a dominant share of the employment services market. In addition to us, the largest publicly owned companies specializing in recruitment services are The Adecco Group and Randstad. We also compete against a variety of regional or specialized companies such as Recruit Holdings, Allegis Group, Kelly Services, Robert Half, Kforce, PageGroup, Korn/Ferry International and Alexander Mann. It is a highly competitive industry, reflecting several trends in the global marketplace such as the increasing demand for skilled people, employers’ desire for more flexible working models and consolidation among clients and in the employment services industry itself, as well as low entry costs for small firms wishing to compete in the industry, especially at the local level. We manage these trends by leveraging established strengths, including several of the employment services industry’s most recognized and respected brands; geographic diversification; size and service scope; an innovative product mix; recruiting and assessment expertise; and a strong client base. While staffing is an important aspect of our business, our strategy is focused on providing both the skilled employees our clients need and higher-value workforce management, outsourcing and consulting solutions.

Our client mix consists of both small- and medium-size businesses, and large national and multinational clients. Client relationships with small- and medium-size businesses are based on a local or regional relationship, and tend to rely less on longer-term contracts, and the competitors for this business are primarily locally-owned businesses. On the other hand, the large national and multinational clients, which comprised approximately 60% of our revenues in 2024, will frequently enter into non-exclusive arrangements with several firms, with the ultimate choice among them being left to local managers. As a result, employment services firms with a large network of offices compete most effectively for this business which generally has agreed-upon pricing or mark-up on services performed.

Legal Regulations

The employment services industry is closely regulated in all of the major markets in which we operate, except the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. Employment services firms are generally subject to one or more of the following types of government regulation:

In many markets, the existence or absence of collective bargaining agreements with labor organizations has a significant impact on our operations and the ability of clients to use our services. In some markets, labor agreements are structured on an industry-wide, rather than company-by-company, basis. Changes in these collective bargaining agreements have occurred in the past and are expected to occur in the future and may have a material impact on the operations of employment services firms, including us.

In most countries, workforce solutions and services firms are considered the legal employers of temporary and contract workers. Therefore, laws regulating the employer/employee relationship, such as tax withholding or reporting, social security or retirement, health and other benefits, anti-discrimination and workers’ compensation, govern the firm.

In many countries, particularly in continental Europe and Asia, entry into the employment services market is restricted by the requirement to register with, or obtain licenses from, a government agency. In addition, a wide variety of ministerial requirements may be imposed, such as record keeping, written contracts and reporting. The United States, United Kingdom and Canada do not presently have any form of national registration or licensing requirement.

In addition to licensing or registration requirements, many countries impose substantive restrictions on the use of temporary and contract workers. Such restrictions include regulations affecting the types of work permitted, the maximum length of assignment, wage levels or reasons for which temporary and contract workers may be employed. In some countries, special taxes, fees or costs are imposed in connection with the use of temporary and contract workers. For example, temporary and contract workers in France are entitled to a 10% allowance for the uncertain duration of employment, which is eliminated if a full-time position is offered to them after assignment termination.

Our outplacement and consulting services generally are not subject to governmental regulation in the markets in which we operate.

In the United States, we are subject to various federal and state laws relating to franchising, principally the Federal Trade Commission’s Franchise Rules and analogous state laws which impact our agreements with our franchised operations. These laws and related rules and regulations impose specific disclosure requirements. Virtually all states also regulate the termination of franchises.

Changes in applicable laws or regulations have occurred in the past and are expected in the future to affect the extent to which workforce solutions and services firms may operate. These changes could impose additional costs, taxes, record keeping or reporting requirements; restrict the tasks to which contingent workers may be assigned; limit the duration of or otherwise impose restrictions on the nature of the relationship (with us or the client); or otherwise adversely affect the industry.

Trademarks

We maintain a number of registered trademarks, trade names and service marks in the United States and various other countries and territories. We believe that many of these marks and trade names, including ManpowerGroup®, Manpower®, Experis®, Right Management®, Brook Street®, Jefferson Wells®, Supplay®, PowerSuite® and MyPath® have significant value and are materially important to our business. In addition, we maintain other intangible property rights. The trademarks have been assigned an indefinite life based on our expectation of renewing the trademarks, as required, without material modifications and at a minimal cost, and our expectation of positive cash flows beyond the foreseeable future.

Employees

We had approximately 26,700 full-time equivalent employees as of December 31, 2024. In addition, we recruit millions of permanent, temporary and contract workers on a worldwide basis each year on behalf of our clients.

As described above, in most jurisdictions, we, as the employer of our temporary and contract workers or as otherwise required by applicable law, are responsible for employment administration. This administration includes collection of withholding taxes, employer contributions for social security or its equivalent outside the United States, unemployment tax, workers’ compensation and fidelity and liability insurance, and other governmental requirements imposed on employers. In most jurisdictions where such benefits are not legally required, including the United States, we provide health and life insurance, paid holidays and paid vacations to qualifying temporary and contract employees.

Human Capital

We Are a Workforce Solutions and Human Capital Company.

Human capital management is at the core of our business. Our purpose is to provide meaningful and sustainable employment and is rooted in our values: People, Knowledge and Innovation. Our 26,700 employees, spanning approximately 75 countries, help improve the lives of approximately 500,000 workers daily by providing guidance, advice, assessments, coaching, upskilling, reskilling and pathways to long-term sustainable employment. These efforts support local economies by increasing employability and opportunity for the millions of lives that we reach each year.

Through our sustainability report Working to Change the World, we report progress on our People & Prosperity pillar, where we are focused on being Creators of Talent at Scale, championing diversity, and improving employability and prosperity. For over 75 years, we have developed global insights on the issues and trends impacting organizations and individuals in today’s fast changing world of work. Our own research and solutions, coupled with partnerships with clients and Non-Governmental Organizations (e.g. World Economic Forum, World Employment Confederation and Junior Achievement, among others), enable us to advance the global discussion around the future of work and future for workers. These include the impact of digitization and generative AI, the green transition and shift in in-demand skills, exacerbating talent shortages, and the increased need for reskilling and upskilling. Our most recent annual Talent Shortage Survey reported that 74% of companies cannot find the skilled workers they need.

We Seek to Create Talent at Scale.

Our Manpower MyPath program is designed to deliver targeted upskilling at speed and scale to our Manpower associates in order to accelerate their employability at higher wage levels, while also growing the pool of in-demand talent for our clients. Through this program, Manpower recruiters provide personalized and data-driven guidance, development, training, and access to jobs especially in growth sectors including advanced manufacturing, information technology, supply chain and customer service. MyPath has impacted over 270,000 lives through 2024, and MyPath associates now represent 30% of our associate talent pool in MyPath certified countries, across over 14,000 clients and 12 markets.

We are also targeting the creation of IT talent through our Experis Academy. This accelerated development program features custom-designed curricula to upskill people into specialized roles that can meet the demand for cloud, infrastructure, business transformation and digital workforce skills. Paired with coaching and soft skills training, upon completion most Academy graduates receive a permanent job offer from our clients. Through the end of 2024, we have trained more than 4,500 developers while also bridging the skills gaps for more than 170 tech companies across approximately 20 countries.

We Are Focused on Strengthening Our Culture and Developing Our People.

Our Global Footprint

We have a global footprint, though our teams are managed locally: 31% of our people are in the Americas, 33% in Southern Europe, 19% in Northern Europe and 17% in Asia Pacific/Middle East.

Developing our People

We believe our success in creating value for individuals and organizations around the world will depend on our ability to leverage the potential of our own people. We are investing in our people to support both our strategic ambitions and their personal goals.

In 2024, we continued to broaden and deepen our investment through our Leadership Development Programs, incorporating the 3 E’s of our development philosophy: Education, Exposure and Experience.

Upon completion of these programs, the majority of our participants have made positive leadership career moves.

Strengthening our Culture

We believe that all people deserve to feel safe, respected and able to thrive in the workplace. Our focus encompasses four areas of focus : (1) globally, support gender diversity at leadership levels; (2) locally, address a second dimension of diversity based on gaps or opportunities within a country; (3) culturally, foster an inclusive environment that supports our diverse workforce; and (4) societally, advance employment security for workers while promoting upskilling, well-being, flexibility and income opportunity.

Our Board of Directors has exceeded 30% gender diversity for more than 10 years. As of December 31, 2024, 18% are racially diverse and 36% are non-US born. Our Executive Leadership Team, which reports directly to the CEO, is 30% women, 40% racially diverse and 70% non-US born. Our Global Leadership Team, the top 86 leaders in the company, is 38% women. Gender diversity across all our markets globally aligns to our values. We will continue to develop our talent across all markets and at all levels, including working to ensure that the gender diversity of our leadership is aligned to the representation of the organization. Diversity in our workplaces also means that we prioritize people’s health and wellbeing and have committed to flexible work models across the globe to attract, engage and retain our people. In several markets, we have launched initiatives and trained our managers to promote greater awareness of mental wellbeing. We see diversity as a strategic enabler of our business and therefore we are focused on actions to support our diverse organization, our culture and the impact we have on the communities we serve across the globe.

Additionally, encouraging active engagement among our workforce is important for nurturing a strong and inclusive culture. We believe regular pulse surveys offer valuable insights into employee sentiments, spanning various areas such as the effectiveness of our People & Culture strategy, leadership assessments, ethics, values, and developmental opportunities. Our Culture Matters initiative has been refined, and we incorporated these behaviors into Our Standards. Our business strategy guides our actions for achieving our goals, and the behaviors in Our Standards—Clarity, Care, and Grow— illustrate how we execute these strategies. We believe our global leaders should provide clarity to our people and our clients, care about themselves and others through our people practices, and make decisions that grow our business and ourselves. Our core belief is that for ManpowerGroup to be successful, each of us needs to be accountable to delivering on these at all levels of our organization.

In 2024, we conducted a global employee survey with over 22,000 staff participating, achieving an 80% response rate. Over 11,000 employees left nearly 26,000 comments to help leaders improve the employee experience at ManpowerGroup.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (each a "forward-looking statement"). Statements made in this report that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. In addition, from time to time, we and our representatives may make statements that are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current assumptions and expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control. This section provides you with cautionary statements identifying, for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, important factors that could materially adversely affect our business, operational and financial results and cash flows. In addition, these factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements made in this report or otherwise made by us or on our behalf. You can identify these forward-looking statements by forward-looking words such as “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “may”, “will”, “believe”, “seek”, “estimate”, and similar expressions. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We caution that any forward-looking statement reflects only our belief at the time the statement is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

The following are some of the factors that could materially adversely affect our business, operational and financial results and cash flows or cause actual results to differ materially from estimates contained in our forward-looking statements. Risks in this section are grouped in the following categories: (1) Company and Operational Risks; (2) Strategic Risks; (3) Financial and Market Risks; and (4) Regulatory and Legal Risks. Many risks affect more than one category, and the risks are not in order of significance or probability of occurrence because they have been grouped by categories.

Company and Operational Risks

Strategic Risks

Financial and Market Risks

Regulatory and Legal Risks

Some or all of these factors may be beyond our control. We caution you that any forward-looking statement reflects only our belief at the time the statement is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made.

RISK FACTORS

In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider the following factors which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations (including revenues and profitability) or stock price. Our business is also subject to general risks and uncertainties that may broadly affect companies. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or stock price.

Company and Operational Risks

Our results of operations have been and may in the future be materially adversely affected by volatile, negative, or uncertain economic conditions, including the risk of recession.

Our business is sensitive to changes in global macroeconomic conditions. We have at times experienced uncertainty and volatility in global economic conditions, including in rates of growth or decline in the markets we serve. Our operating countries and regions, which are increasingly interdependent, have experienced periods of volatile growth patterns or declines, and we expect that global conditions will continue to be characterized by instability and unpredictability. Such conditions have and may continue to cause our clients to reduce or defer their spending on new projects that require our solutions which could decrease demand for our various staffing services. If our business growth is slow, or if it contracts for an extended period of time, this could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our profitability is sensitive to decreases in demand. Based on current macroeconomic conditions, there is a significant risk that some of our most important markets will experience a recession, which would likely be accompanied by a decline in demand for our services. When demand drops or remains low, our operating profit is impacted unfavorably as we experience a deleveraging of our selling and administrative expense base as expenses do not decline as quickly as revenues. For example, our ability to achieve cost containment through reductions in our headcount may be impeded or slowed by applicable legal requirements to consult with employee representative bodies such as works councils. In periods of decline, we may not be able to reduce selling and administrative expenses without negatively impacting the long-term potential of our branch network and brands. Additionally, some clients may slow the rate at which they pay us, or become unable to pay their obligations and our cash flow and profitability may suffer.

Economic conditions in the countries and territories where we do business may be affected by recent or emerging events, such as the rise of populism, political volatility, civil violence and unrest, election results or other changes in ruling parties or governmental leadership, trade disputes, protectionism or changes in global trade policies, capital flows, the global refugee crisis, social justice movements, energy shortages or instability in the global energy market, global health crises, changes in immigration policy, the impact of supply chain challenges on our clients, changes in employment policy, changes in interest rates, inflation, the impact of terrorist activity, or by other political or economic developments. In addition, there is a risk the current inflationary environment and efforts to combat inflation could have an impact on the countries and territories where we do business. We are particularly susceptible to changes in demand patterns and economic conditions in Europe, which represents two of our operating segments and 64% of our revenue.

There is a risk that economic conditions in European markets or elsewhere may continue to be negatively impacted by geopolitical events. In recent years these have included labor unrest, civil protest, heightened trade tensions, refugee crises, and military conflicts, including the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas. We cannot predict the potential consequences arising from these conflicts and the further escalation of geopolitical tensions globally, including whether they could have an effect on the global economy and on our business and results of operations. Geopolitical events could give rise to the imposition of further sanctions, regional or international expansion of current conflicts, instability in energy supplies, potential retaliatory action by governments, heightened cybersecurity threats, disruptions in the global supply chain, volatility in foreign exchange rates, and inflationary pressures. Any of these events or trends could have a material adverse effect on our business and operating results, particularly our European operations.

There is a risk that even when overall global economic conditions are positive, we could experience declines in all, or in portions, of our business. During past periods of recovery, we have experienced inconsistent results, with some geographical regions, or countries within a region, suffering declines or weakness in economic activity while others improve. Differing economic conditions and patterns of economic growth or contraction may affect demand for our solutions and services, and there is a risk that, even during times of strengthening global economic conditions, we may not experience uniform, or any, increases in demand for our solutions and services within the markets where our business is concentrated.

Even without uncertainty and volatility, it is difficult for us to forecast future demand for our services due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting the direction and strength of economic cycles, and the short-term nature of many of our staffing assignments. When it is difficult for us to accurately forecast future demand, we may not be able to determine the optimal level of personnel and office investments necessary to profitably operate our business or take advantage of growth opportunities.

We may lack the speed, agility, and resiliency to effectively operate our business and respond to the needs of our clients.

There is a risk we may not be able to respond with sufficient speed and agility to the needs of our diverse clients, which span all industries and whose needs may change rapidly as their businesses and industries evolve. The size and breadth of our organization, comprising approximately 26,700 employees based out of over 2,100 offices in approximately 75 countries and territories, may make it difficult for us to effectively manage our resources, to maintain our corporate culture throughout the organization, to drive service improvements and to provide coordinated solutions to our clients who require our services in multiple locations. For example, client demands for uniform service across borders may be difficult to satisfy because of variation in local laws and customs. We see a trend in more multi-country and enterprise-level relationships, and we may have difficulty in profitably managing and delivering projects involving multiple countries. Also, our size and organizational structure may make it difficult to develop and implement new processes and tools across the enterprise in a consistent manner. If we are not effective at anticipating or meeting the widely ranging needs of our current and prospective clients, or our competitors are more agile or effective at doing so, our business and financial results could be materially adversely affected.

Our ability to perform at speed, and to meet client expectations, may also be adversely affected by limitations in our own information systems and those of our third-party vendors. We are increasingly dependent on these systems, which are subject to damage or interruption from multiple causes, including power outages, facility damage, computer and telecommunications failures, vandalism, malware, hacking and other malicious acts, catastrophic events and human error. If our information systems are damaged, fail to work properly, or otherwise become unavailable, we may incur substantial costs to repair or replace them, and may experience reputational damage, loss of critical information, customer disruption, and interruptions or delays in our ability to perform essential functions and implement new and innovative services.

The worldwide employment services industry is highly competitive with limited barriers to entry in many markets, which could limit our ability to maintain or increase our market share or profitability.

The worldwide employment services industry is highly competitive with limited barriers to entry in many markets, and in recent years has undergone significant consolidation. We compete in markets throughout the world with full-service and specialized employment services agencies. Several of our global competitors have very substantial marketing and financial resources and may be better positioned in certain markets. Portions of our industry may become increasingly commoditized, with the result that competition in key areas could become more focused on pricing. We expect that we will continue to experience pressure on price from competitors and clients. There is a risk that we will not compete effectively, including on price, which could limit our ability to maintain or increase our market share and could materially adversely affect our financial results. This may worsen as clients increasingly take advantage of low-cost alternatives including using their own in-house resources rather than engaging a third party. The increased availability and maturation of artificial intelligence (AI) tools may enable clients to use advanced automation capabilities in lieu of services provided by our employees, contractors and associates.

We could incur liabilities or suffer reputational damage from a cyberattack or improper disclosure or loss of personal or confidential data, and our use of data is subject to complex and ever-changing privacy and cybersecurity legal requirements that could negatively impact our business or subject us to claims and/or fines for non-compliance.

In connection with the operation of our business, we store, process and transmit a large amount of data, including personnel and payment data, about our employees, clients, associates and candidates, a portion of which is personal data and/or confidential data. We expect our use of data to increase, including through the use of analytics, AI and machine learning (ML). In engaging in these data-related activities, we rely on our own technology systems and software, and those of third-party vendors we use for a variety of processes, including, but not limited to cloud-based technology and systems, mobile technologies and social media. Unauthorized access to, disclosure, modification, use or loss of personal or confidential data may occur through various methods. These include, but are not limited to, ransomware, systems failure, employee negligence or malfeasance, fraud or misappropriation, or unauthorized access to or through our information systems, whether by our employees, vendors or third parties, including a cyberattack by hackers, members of organized crime and/or state-sponsored organizations, who may develop and deploy supply chain interruptions, social engineering attacks, viruses, worms or other malicious software programs, or obtain credentials to our systems through other unrelated cyberattacks.

An incident involving disclosure, system failure, data modification, loss or security breach could harm our reputation and subject us to significant monetary damages or losses, litigation, negative publicity, regulatory enforcement actions, fines, criminal prosecution, as well as liability under our contracts and laws that protect personal and/or confidential data, resulting in increased costs or loss of revenues. Cybersecurity threats continue to increase in frequency and sophistication, thereby increasing the difficulty of detecting and defending against them. In the past, we have experienced data security breaches resulting from unauthorized access to our systems and other fraudulent activities, such as social engineering, which to date have not had a material impact on our operations or financial results. We regularly engage an independent external security firm to assess our defenses to a potential cyberattack, and these assessments may uncover new or additional vulnerabilities and weaknesses that could lead to a compromise of our systems and/or a loss of personal data. In a recent evaluation, vulnerabilities were identified that could facilitate or contribute to a security incident involving personal data. The assessment firm was able to penetrate defensive protections adopted by us, as well as protections that we obtain from third party providers. We are prioritizing the resolution of security gaps that could lead to a loss of personal data or to other damage. Despite our efforts to identify and address vulnerabilities in our systems, vulnerabilities in software products used by us are disclosed by our software providers on a daily basis, and attackers grow continuously more sophisticated in their attack methods, which may additionally make use of AI technology such as AI-generated 'deep-fake' impersonation or social engineering, making it impossible to give assurance that our cybersecurity efforts will be successful.

There is a risk that our and our third-party vendors’ preventative security controls and practices will be inadequate to prevent unauthorized access to, disclosure of, or loss of personal and/or confidential data, or fraudulent activity, especially given that third party attacks have become more common. In the past, our data has been exposed due to data security breaches at our third party vendors, but to date none of these incidents have had a material impact on our operations or financial results. Any such future events, such as unauthorized access or fraudulent activity with our third party vendors could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

More of our employees are working from their homes or other remote locations than before, which makes it more difficult for us to monitor their activities, the security of their work locations, insider threats, and data exfiltration. This has increased the risk of security incidents, which could include unauthorized access to, disclosure of, or loss of personal and/or confidential data, as well as other types of fraudulent activity. Any such unauthorized access or fraudulent activity could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results.

The potential risk of security breaches, fraud and cyberattacks may increase as we continue to introduce services and offerings, whether mobile, cloud, or otherwise. Any additional services and offerings inevitably increase the potential for a cyberattack against us. Further, data privacy and cybersecurity are subject to frequently changing laws and regulations, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”), the California Privacy Rights Act (the “CPRA”), and additional legislation in place, or expected to become effective, in various U.S. states and other countries. These laws and regulations are increasing in number, complexity, burden and potential financial penalties, and are often inconsistent among the various jurisdictions and countries in which we provide services. For example, the GDPR and the CPRA impose significant compliance obligations that add costs and operational burdens to our business with respect to our collection, use, storage and retention of personal data. Compliance with these obligations could reduce operational efficiency and increase our regulatory compliance costs, and failure to satisfy these requirements may lead to significant regulatory enforcement actions and/or large private litigation in the event of a security breach or other violation. Under the GDPR, the maximum fine can be up to 4% of a company’s global revenue, and there is no maximum penalty under the CPRA. In addition, our liability insurance might not be sufficient in scope or amount to cover us against claims and losses related to violations of data privacy and cybersecurity laws or security breaches, social engineering, cyberattacks and other related data disclosure, loss or breach.

We have outsourced aspects of our business, which could result in disruption, increased costs, and reputational risk.

We have increasingly outsourced, and may further outsource, important processes of our business to third party vendors, which exposes us to other risks, including increased costs, supply chain interruptions, potential disruptions to our business operations, and reputational risk. For example, we rely on third parties to host, manage and secure certain aspects of our data center information and technology infrastructure, to develop and maintain new technology for attracting, onboarding, managing, and analyzing our workforce, and to provide important back-office support. We have increasingly centralized our vendor profile so that we are reliant on a small number of vendors for highly critical corporate and technology functions. While we believe these third-party vendors provide greater efficiency and expertise, our dependence on a small number of vendors increases the risk that our business will be adversely affected if our vendors are unable to provide these services consistent with our needs. Similarly, our business continuity and our margins could be adversely affected if we needed to replace one of our critical vendors for performance or economic reasons.

Our operations also depend significantly upon these vendors’ and our ability to protect our data and to ensure the availability of our servers, software applications and websites. Despite our and our third-party vendors’ implementation of security measures, our systems remain susceptible to system failures, computer viruses, natural disasters, unauthorized access, cyberattacks and other similar incidents, any of which could result in disruptions to our operations. Our vendors have experienced data losses in the past, and we can expect such data incidents will occur in the future. A successful breach of the security of our technology systems, or those of our vendors, could result in the theft of confidential, personally identifiable, or other sensitive data, including data about our employees and/or associates, or our human resources operations, any of which could damage our reputation in the market. If we are not able to realize the savings associated with outsourcing services or if there is a disruption or security breach of our outsourced services that results in a loss or damage to our data, or in an inappropriate disclosure of confidential, personally identifiable, or sensitive data, our business and financial results could be materially adversely affected.

Risks and uncertainties related to the development and use of AI could harm our business operations, reduce demand for our services, and raise legal or regulatory challenges .

Leveraging AI-based technology for our internal operations and service offerings presents risks, costs, and challenges as we begin to implement AI capabilities, including generative AI, to improve our operating efficiency and develop client offerings. If we fail to continue to develop and implement AI-based services and solutions or if those technologies fail to perform as predicted, we may not be able to recover our investment in these technologies and we may fail to realize the potential benefits of AI.

The rapidly increasing deployment of AI technology by our customers may lead to reduced demand for our services and solutions. As these technologies evolve, some services and tasks currently performed by our associates may be replaced by AI automation, which could lead to reduced demand for our services if we cannot replace such demand with new services.

The development, adoption, and use of AI technologies is still in early stages and could involve significant legal, reputational and financial harm. AI algorithms and training methodologies may be flawed and datasets may be overbroad, insufficient, or contain biased information. Moreover, the use of AI may give rise to risks related to harmful content, accuracy, bias, intellectual property infringement or misappropriation, defamation, data privacy, cybersecurity and health and safety, among others. These risks also bring the possibility of new or enhanced governmental or regulatory scrutiny, litigation or other legal liability, or ethical concerns that could adversely affect our business, reputation, or financial results.

Evolving rules, regulations, and industry standards governing AI may require us to incur significant costs to modify, maintain, or align our business practices, services and solutions to comply with US and non-US rules and regulations, the nature of which cannot be determined at this time and may be inconsistent across jurisdictions. Several jurisdictions where we operate are considering or have enacted legislation and policies regulating AI, such as the European Union’s AI Act. These regulations may impose significant requirements on how we design, build and deploy AI and use AI to make employment decisions on behalf of ourselves or our clients.

A loss or reduction in revenues from large client accounts could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our client mix consists of both small- and medium-size businesses, which are based upon a local or regional relationship with our presence in each market, and large national and multinational clients. These large national and multinational clients will frequently enter into non-exclusive arrangements with several firms, and the client is generally able to terminate their contract with us on short notice without penalty. The deterioration of the financial condition or business prospects of one or more large national and/or multinational clients, or a change in their strategy around the use of our services, could reduce their need for our services and result in a significant decrease in the revenues and earnings we derive from them. A loss or reduction in revenues from our large national and multinational clients could have a material adverse effect on our business.

If we lose our key personnel, then our business may suffer.

Our operations are dependent on the continued efforts of our officers and executive management and the performance and productivity of headquarters management and staff, our local managers and field personnel. Our ability to attract and retain business is significantly affected by local relationships and the quality of service rendered. If we were to lose key personnel who have acquired significant experience in managing our business or managing companies on a global basis or in key markets, it could have a significant impact on our operations.

Intense competition may limit our ability to attract, train and retain the qualified personnel necessary for us to meet our clients’ staffing needs.

Our business depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified associates who meet the requirements of our clients and possess skill sets and experience that match client needs. In many markets, we have recently experienced an unusually tight labor market, with historically low levels of unemployment, and there is a risk that we may be unable to meet our clients’ requirements in identifying an adequate number of associates. These labor shortages have been exacerbated by employees and potential employees leaving the labor market due to burn-out, resignation, early retirement, immigration challenges, workplace safety concerns, and childcare responsibilities. Workers have also impacted the labor market through increasing demands for change in employment conditions, such as demands for higher wages, remote work, and additional flexibility in work schedule. We must continually evaluate and upgrade our base of available qualified personnel through recruiting and training programs to keep pace with changing client needs and emerging technologies. This is especially acute for individuals with critical IT capabilities and other technology skills that are in high demand by many companies, as competition for such individuals with proven professional skills is intense, and we expect demand for such individuals to remain strong for the foreseeable future. Qualified personnel with relevant skills may not be available to us in sufficient numbers and on terms of employment acceptable to us. Additionally, our clients may look to us for assistance in identifying and integrating into their organizations’ workers from diverse backgrounds, and who may represent different generations, geographical regions, and skillsets. These needs may change due to business requirements, or in response to geopolitical and societal trends. There is a risk that we may not be able to identify workers with skills that match client demand, or that our training programs may not succeed in developing effective or adequate skills. If we fail to recruit, train and retain qualified associates who meet the needs of our clients, our reputation, business and financial results could be materially adversely affected.

Our global operations subject us to certain risks beyond our control.

With operations in approximately 75 countries and territories around the world, we are subject to numerous risks outside of our control, including risks arising from political unrest and other political events, regional and international hostilities and international responses to these hostilities, strikes and other worker unrest, natural disasters, the impact of global climate change, acts of war, terrorism, international conflict, severe weather conditions, pandemics, and other global health emergencies, disruptions of infrastructure and utilities including energy, cyberattacks, and other events beyond our control.

Although it is not possible to predict such events or their consequences, these events could materially adversely affect our reputation, business and financial results.

Our ability to attract and retain business and employees may depend on our reputation in the marketplace.

We believe our reputation, along with our brand equity in the ManpowerGroup name and our various other brands, are important corporate resources that help distinguish our services from those of competitors and also contribute to our efforts to recruit and retain talented employees. However, our corporate reputation is potentially susceptible to material damage by events such as disputes with clients, information technology security breaches, internal control deficiencies, delivery failures or compliance violations. Similarly, our reputation could be damaged by actions or statements of current or former clients, employees, competitors, vendors, franchisees and other third-party brand licensees, adversaries in legal proceedings, government regulators, as well as members of the investment community or the media. There is a risk that negative information about ManpowerGroup, even if based on rumor or misunderstanding, could materially adversely affect our business. Damage to our reputation could be difficult, expensive and time-consuming to repair, could make potential or existing clients reluctant to select us for new engagements, resulting in a loss of business, and could materially adversely affect our recruitment and retention efforts. Damage to our reputation could also reduce the value and effectiveness of the ManpowerGroup name and our other brand names, and could reduce investor confidence in us, materially adversely affecting our share price.

Changes in sentiment toward the staffing industry could affect the marketplace for our services.

From time to time, the staffing industry has come under criticism from unions, works councils, regulatory agencies and other constituents that maintain that labor and employment protections, such as wage and benefits regulations, are subverted when clients use contingent staffing services. Our business is dependent on the continued acceptance of contingent staffing arrangements as a source of flexible labor for our clients. If attitudes or business practices in some locations change due to pressure from organized labor, political groups or regulatory agencies, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We have only a limited ability to protect our thought leadership and other intellectual property, which is important to our success.

Our success depends, in part, upon our ability to protect our proprietary methodologies and other intellectual property including the value of our brands. Existing laws of the various countries in which we provide services or solutions may offer only limited protection. We rely upon a combination of trade secrets, confidentiality, license and other contractual agreements, and copyright and trademark laws to protect our intellectual property rights. We cannot be certain that the legal steps we are taking around the world are sufficient to protect our intellectual property rights and may not be adequate to prevent or deter infringement or other misappropriation of our intellectual property by competitors, former employees or other third parties. In addition, our intellectual property rights may not prevent competitors from independently developing products, services and solutions similar to ours. Failure to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, or changes in law that diminish or remove our current legal protections could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial results.

In addition, we cannot be sure that our services and solutions do not infringe on the intellectual property rights of third parties, and these third parties could claim that we or our clients are infringing upon their intellectual property rights. These claims could harm our reputation, cause us to incur substantial costs or prevent us from offering some services or solutions in the future.

Strategic Risks

We may be unable to effectively implement our business strategy, and there can be no assurance that we will achieve our objectives.

Our business strategy focuses on growing revenues while improving our operating profits. An important element of our strategy is our effort to diversify our revenues beyond our core staffing and employment services. This includes expanding our sales in higher margin professional resourcing, such as our Experis brand in IT recruitment. There is a risk that our growth strategy in Experis may be impeded due to the scarcity of talent in the IT field, which is particularly in demand, and which may restrict our ability to fulfill customer requirements. Similarly, another aspect of our strategy to expand beyond our core staffing and employment services is through the sale of innovative workforce solutions designed to achieve higher operating margins. Our higher-margin Right Management career management services have historically performed well in periods of downturn, and it is part of our business strategy that this counter-cyclical effect would help cushion our results in the event of a period of decline. However, in the event of a downturn, there can be no assurances that the margin contribution from Right Management would increase, or that it would significantly offset other declines we might experience in the business. Additionally, our workforce solutions are often unique, non-repeatable and tailored to a client’s needs, and present costs, risks and complexity that may be difficult to calculate. These solutions may be unprofitable if we are not able to accurately anticipate these costs and risks in our pricing for these solutions. For example, we may fail to structure and price our solutions in a manner that properly compensates us to create an adequate delivery model, to adequately manage new solutions, or to obtain adequate insurance coverage in amount or scope to cover potential risks arising from such solutions.

Our business strategy also includes continuing efforts to transform how we use personnel and technology to manage our financial administration and to enhance our delivery of services. For example, in 2024 we continued to progress in our deployment of PowerSuite, our global cloud-based platforms for front and back office. In addition, during 2024, we opened our Global Business Services center in Porto, Portugal, our regional finance center to serve all of Europe and a central component of our global strategy to standardize, centralize and transform finance service delivery.

These projects are complex and may consume considerable financial and personnel resources. The goal of these transformation initiatives is to become a more agile and effective competitor, to reduce the cost of operating our business and to increase our operating profit and operating profit margin. However, as these efforts may consume considerable resources, they may put pressure on our operating results or ability to address other priorities. They may not be successful, may not be achieved within our timing and cost estimates, and may not ultimately reduce our operating costs or prevent the return of any costs that are eliminated. Additionally, reductions in personnel and other changes emerging from these projects could materially adversely affect our ability to effectively operate our business. If, for these or other reasons, we are not successful in implementing our business strategy or achieving the anticipated results of our transformation initiatives, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and internal control over financial reporting could be materially adversely affected.

Our results of operations and ability to grow could be materially negatively affected if we cannot successfully keep pace with technological changes in the development and implementation of our services and solutions.

Our success depends on our ability to keep pace with rapid technological changes in the development and implementation of our services and solutions. For example, rapid changes in the functionality and potential uses of AI, machine learning and robotics are having a significant impact on some of the industries we serve. This technological disruption could also have significant and unforeseen consequences for the workforce services industry and for our business in particular, such as a reduced demand for our services or challenges to effective implementation of this technology. There is a risk that these, or other developments, could result in significant rapid disruption to our business model, and that we will be unprepared to compete effectively. This challenge is further complicated by rapidly evolving regulatory restrictions governing the permitted uses of artificial intelligence.

Additionally, our business is reliant on a variety of technologies, including those which support applicant on-boarding and tracking systems, order management, billing, payroll, and client data analytics. There is a risk we will not sufficiently invest in technology or industry developments, or evolve our business with the right strategic investments, or at sufficient speed and scale, to adapt to changes in our marketplace. Similarly, from time to time we make strategic commitments to particular technologies to recruit, manage or analyze our workforce or support our business, and there is a risk they will be unsuccessful. Additionally, there are risks and uncertainties associated with our use of, and client demand for, AI technologies which could expose us to regulatory, legal, reputational or financial harm. These and similar risks could have a negative effect on our services and solutions, our results of operations, and our ability to develop and maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Our sustainability commitments and disclosures may expose us to risks, legal liability, and increased costs.

Our business could be impacted in several ways by our corporate sustainability initiatives, including our goals for sustainability, diversity, and inclusion.

Our acquisition strategy may be unsuccessful and may introduce unexpected costs.

From time to time, we make acquisitions of other companies or operating assets. These activities involve significant strategic and operational risks, including:

These risks could have a material adverse effect on our business because they may result in substantial costs to us and disrupt our business. The integration of prior acquisitions, as well as entry into future acquisition transactions, could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. Additionally, we have incurred, and may in the future incur impairment losses on goodwill and other intangible assets with an indefinite life or restructuring charges as a result of acquisitions we make.

From time to time, we undertake dispositions via sales, franchises, joint ventures or other exit activities, and we may face risks related to such transactions.

Occasionally, we dispose of parts of our operations based on risk considerations and to optimize our global strategic and geographic footprint and overall efficiency. We have engaged in such dispositions in the past, including the dispositions of our businesses in Korea and Austria in 2024, the Philippines in 2023 and Russia and Hungary in 2022, respectively. We expect that we will continue to dispose of portions of our business that are not meeting our performance or strategic objectives. Among other alternatives, this could take the form of a closure of a business, the contribution of the business to a joint venture, or an exit by means of a sale to, or a franchise arrangement with, a third party. There are risks and costs associated with any exit activities, which could include difficulties in the separation of operations, services or personnel, the diversion of management attention, and the disruption of our business. Any such transactions may require regulatory or governmental approvals, which could impede the transaction. Divestitures may also involve continued financial involvement in, or liability with respect to, the divested businesses. As a result of divestiture transactions, we could incur severance charges for personnel and payments for lease and other commitments, charges from the impairment or write-off of assets, and other financial loss due to the transaction. Furthermore, there is the risk that we might lose customers, in particular multinational clients with operations in the exited countries or operations. Additionally, if we choose to enter into a franchise arrangement for a third party to operate our business in the exited region using our trademarks and other licensed assets, we face potential counterparty and reputational risks arising from the franchisee’s operation of the business. The reputational risks include the risk that marketplace participants, including clients, candidates and the media, may believe that we continue to control the operations of a divested or franchised business that operates utilizing our name or other trademarks.

Financial and Market Risks

Foreign currency fluctuations may have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Although we report our results of operations in United States dollars, the majority of our revenues and expenses are denominated in currencies other than the United States dollar, and unfavorable fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could have a material adverse effect on our reported financial results. Highly inflationary economies of foreign countries can result in foreign currency devaluation, which may also negatively impact our reported financial results. This occurred in Argentina and is likely to continue while the country attempts to stabilize its currency exchange rate going forward.

During 2024, approximately 85% of our revenues were generated outside of the United States, the majority of which were generated in Europe. Furthermore, $952.8 million of our outstanding indebtedness as of December 31, 2024 was denominated in foreign currencies, including $928.4 million related to our Euro-denominated notes (€900.0 million). Increases or decreases in the value of the United States dollar against other major currencies, or the imposition of limitations on conversion of foreign currencies into United States dollars, could affect our revenues, operating profit and the value of balance sheet items denominated in foreign currencies. Our exposure to foreign currencies, in particular the Euro, could have a material adverse effect on our reported results and shareholders’ equity, however, such fluctuations generally do not affect our cash flow or result in actual economic gains or losses unless we repatriate funds. Furthermore, the volatility of currencies may make year-over-year comparability of our financial results difficult.

We seek to mitigate our exposure to foreign currency fluctuations by utilizing net investment hedges and, from time to time, foreign currency forward exchange contracts and cross-currency swaps. Our Euro-denominated notes are designated as a hedge of our net investment in subsidiaries with a Euro-functional currency as of December 31, 2024, to mitigate our Euro currency translation exposure. The effectiveness of this hedge in part depends on our ability to accurately forecast future cash flows, which is particularly difficult during periods of uncertain or uneven demand for our services and highly volatile exchange rates. Further, hedging activities may only offset a portion, or none at all, of the material adverse financial effects of unfavorable fluctuations in foreign exchange rates over the time the hedge is in place or effective.

Our liquidity could be adversely impacted by economic conditions affecting our clients.

Our working capital is primarily in the form of trade receivables which generally increase as sales increase. One of the ways in which we measure our working capital is in terms of working capital as a percent of revenue with a focus on Days Sales Outstanding (“DSO”). During periods of decline or uncertainty, our clients may slow the rate at which they pay their vendors, or they may become unable to pay their obligations. In addition, some clients have begun to impose more challenging billing terms, which increases the length of time before we receive payment for services. If our clients become unable to pay amounts owed to us, or pay us more slowly, then our DSO will increase, and our cash flow, liquidity, and profitability may suffer.

Our results of operations and share price could be materially adversely affected if we are unable to maintain effective internal controls.

The accuracy of our financial reporting is dependent on the effectiveness of our internal controls. We are required to provide a report from management to our shareholders on our internal control over financial reporting that includes an assessment of the effectiveness of these controls. Internal control over financial reporting has inherent limitations, including human error, the possibility that controls could be circumvented or become inadequate because of changed conditions, and fraud. Because of these inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting might not prevent or detect all misstatements or fraud. If we cannot maintain and execute adequate internal control over financial reporting or implement required new or improved controls that provide reasonable assurance of the reliability of the financial reporting and preparation of our financial statements for external use, we could suffer harm to our reputation, fail to meet our public reporting requirements timely, be unable to properly report on our business and our results of operations, or be required to restate our financial statements. If any of these were to occur, the market price of our securities and our ability to obtain new business could be materially adversely affected.

Our debt levels could materially adversely affect our operating flexibility and put us at a competitive disadvantage.

As of December 31, 2024, we had $952.8 million of total debt. Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by our credit agreements could have important consequences for investors, including the following:

Our failure to comply with restrictive covenants under our revolving credit facilities and other debt instruments could trigger prepayment obligations.

Our failure to comply with the restrictive covenants under our revolving credit facilities and other debt instruments could result in an event of default, which, if not cured or waived, could result in us being required to repay these borrowings before their due date. If we are forced to refinance these borrowings on less favorable terms, our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected by increased costs and rates.

The lenders under our and our subsidiaries’ credit facilities may be unwilling or unable to extend credit to us on acceptable terms or at all.

If our liquidity needs increase, we would expect to use our revolving credit facility, which is provided by a syndicate of banks. Each bank in the syndicate is responsible on a several, but not joint, basis for providing a portion of the loans under the facility. If any of the participants in the syndicate fails to satisfy its obligations to extend credit under the facility, the other participants refuse or are unable to assume its obligations and we are unable to find an alternative source of funding at comparable rates, our liquidity may be materially adversely affected, or our interest expense may increase substantially.

Furthermore, a number of our subsidiaries maintain uncommitted lines of credit with various banks. Under the terms of these lines of credit, the bank is not obligated to make loans to the subsidiary or to make loans to the subsidiary at a particular interest rate. If any of these banks cancel these lines of credit or otherwise refuse to extend credit on acceptable terms, we may need to extend credit to those subsidiaries, or the liquidity of our subsidiaries may be materially adversely affected.

The performance of our subsidiaries and their ability to distribute cash to our parent company may vary, negatively affecting our ability to service our debt at the parent company level or in other subsidiaries.

Since we conduct a significant portion of our operations through our subsidiaries, our cash flow and our consequent ability to service our debt depends in part upon the earnings of our subsidiaries and the distribution of those earnings to our parent company, or upon loans or other payments of funds by those subsidiaries to our parent company or to other subsidiaries. The payment of such dividends and the making of such loans and advances by our subsidiaries may be subject to legal or contractual restrictions, depend upon the earnings of those subsidiaries and working capital requirements, and be subject to various business considerations, including the ability of such subsidiaries to pay such dividends or make such loans and advances.

Our inability to secure guarantees or letters of credit on acceptable terms may substantially increase our cost of doing business in various countries.

In a number of countries and territories in which we conduct business, we are obligated to provide guarantees or letters of credit to secure licenses, lease space or for insurance coverage. We typically receive these guarantees and letters of credit from a number of financial institutions around the world. In the event that we are unable to secure these arrangements from a bank, lender or other third party on acceptable terms, our liquidity may be materially adversely affected, there could be a disruption to our business or there could be a substantial increase in cost for our business.

We could be subject to changes in tax rates, adoption of new United States or international tax legislation or tax audits that could result in additional income tax liabilities.

We are subject to income and other taxes in the United States and international jurisdictions where we have operations. The tax bases and rates of these respective tax jurisdictions change from time to time due to economic and political conditions. Our effective income tax rate is affected by changes in earnings in countries with differing tax rates, changes in valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities or changes in the respective tax laws. Our other taxes are impacted by changes in local tax laws or changes in our business.

In addition, tax accounting involves complex matters and requires our judgment to determine our worldwide provision for income and other taxes and tax assets and liabilities. These complex matters include transfer pricing and reporting related to intercompany transactions. We are routinely subject to tax examinations by the United States Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. Tax authorities have disagreed, and may disagree in the future, with our judgments. Many taxing authorities are taking increasingly aggressive positions opposing the judgments we make, including with respect to our intercompany transactions. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of our audits and tax proceedings to determine the appropriateness of our tax liabilities. However, our judgments might not be sustained as a result of these audits and tax proceedings, and the amounts ultimately paid could be materially different from the amounts previously recorded.

In addition, changes in tax laws, treaties or regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, have become more unpredictable and may become more stringent, which could materially adversely affect our tax position. A number of countries where we do business, including the United States and many countries in the European Union, have implemented, and are considering implementing, changes in relevant tax, accounting and other laws, regulations and interpretations. The overall tax environment has made it increasingly challenging for multinational corporations to operate with certainty about taxation in many jurisdictions. For example, a number of members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development have agreed to enact the Pillar Two international tax reform, which introduces a global minimum effective tax rate whereby certain multinational groups are subject to a 15% minimum tax on income derived in low-tax jurisdictions. These rules became effective in some countries in 2024. As another example, in February 2025 the French government enacted legislation resulting in a one-year temporary increase in the corporate income tax rate for our French business from 25.825% to 36.125% for 2025 and a three-year delay to the scheduled phase-out of the French business tax (CVAE). We estimate this legislation will increase our consolidated global effective tax rate in the range of 4% to 5% based on current projections. These proposed and enacted changes in tax laws, treaties or regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, could have a material adverse impact on our current or future tax positions.

The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, which may result in losses for investors.

The market price for our common stock may be subject to significant volatility. For example, during 2024, the price of our common stock as reported on the New York Stock Exchange ranged from a high of $79.12 to a low of $56.82. Our stock price can fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, including factors listed in these “Risk Factors” and others, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include:

Regulatory and Legal Risks

Our performance on contracts may be materially adversely affected if we or third parties fail to deliver on commitments.

Our contracts are increasingly complex and, in most instances, require that we partner with other parties or subcontractors to provide the workforce solutions required by our clients. Our clients have become more sophisticated in their contractual negotiation process and more detailed in defining their operational requirements, including requirements to use the client's form of agreement. Our ability to deliver these solutions and provide the services required by our clients is dependent on our and our partners’ ability to meet our clients’ delivery requirements and schedules. If we or our partners fail to deliver services on time and in accordance with contractual performance obligations, then our ability to successfully complete our contracts may be affected, which may have a material and adverse impact on our client relations, revenues and profitability. Additionally, we may incur liability for the actions or omissions of our partners, subcontractors or vendors and we may face challenges or be unable to enforce these obligations against those partners.

Government regulations may result in prohibition or restriction of certain types of employment services or the imposition of additional licensing or tax requirements that may reduce our future earnings.

In many jurisdictions in which we operate, such as France, Italy, Germany, Japan and Mexico, the employment services industry is heavily regulated and scrutinized. For example, in 2021, legislation was adopted in Mexico that affects many types of temporary placements under the country’s labor laws. The law broadly prohibits the provision of our traditional temporary staffing services, only allowing outsourced worker assignments for special, deliverables-based projects outside of the client’s core business activity. This has had a material adverse impact on our business in Mexico. In Europe, governmental regulations in Germany restrict the length of contracts and the industries in which our associates may be used. In some countries, special taxes, fees or costs are imposed in connection with the use of our associates. Additionally, in some countries, trade unions have used the political process to target our industry in an effort to increase the regulatory burden and expense associated with offering or utilizing contingent workforce solutions. Moreover, many countries, including the Netherlands and Japan, have established regulations that require equal-pay for equal-work for temporary workers and fixed term employees. Furthermore, some countries are adopting more restrictive immigration regulations, which may lead to greater expense or inability to fulfill client demand, particularly in our cross-border Talent Solutions business. All of these continuously-evolving regulations could have a significant impact on our revenues, costs, and operating margins.

The countries and territories in which we operate may, among other things:

Other types of future regulation may have a material adverse effect on our business and financial results by making it more difficult or expensive for us to continue to cost-effectively provide employment services, particularly if we cannot pass along increases in costs to our clients.

Failure to comply with antibribery and corruption laws could materially adversely affect our business.

We are additionally subject to numerous legal and regulatory requirements that prohibit bribery and corrupt acts. These include the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act 2010, as well as similar legislation in many of the countries and territories in which we operate. Our employees (but not our temporary associates) are required to participate in a global anticorruption compliance training program designed to ensure compliance with these laws and regulations. However, there are no assurances this program will be effective. In many countries where we operate, practices in the local business community may not conform to international business standards and could violate anticorruption law or regulations. Furthermore, we remain subject to the risk that one of our employees (or one of our associates on a temporary or contract-based assignment) could engage in business practices that are prohibited by our policies and these laws and regulations. Any such violations could materially adversely affect our business.

We may be exposed to legal claims, including employment-related claims that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to a wide variety of potential litigation and other legal claims that arise in the ordinary course of our business. The results of litigation and other legal proceedings are inherently uncertain, and adverse judgments or settlements in some, or all of these legal disputes may result in materially adverse monetary damages, fines, penalties or injunctive relief against us.

For example, through our direct interaction with our clients’ businesses and facilities, including functions and systems that are sensitive or critical to their core businesses, we may be exposed to operational, regulatory, reputational and other risks specific to their business, including data security risks. These risks may be reduced through contractual provisions that limit damages or mitigate our responsibility for losses caused by our assigned workers; but these types of contractual protections are not always possible because we may perceive an important economic opportunity, because of the contracting practices of our industry competitors or because our personnel did not adequately follow our contracting guidelines. In addition, as we expand our services and solutions into new areas, we may be exposed to additional and evolving risks specific to these new areas.

We are in the business of employing people and placing them in the workplaces of other businesses. Risks relating to these activities could include possible claims of or relating to: