3 Reasons to Avoid NSP and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

Insperity, Inc. NSP reported lower-than-expected first-quarter 2025 results.

The stock has declined 17% since the earnings release on April 29 in response to dismal earnings and a weak earnings-per-share guidance.

For 2025, the company lowered the adjusted earnings per share (EPS) guidance to $2.23-$3.28 from the previous quarter’s view of $3.10-$3.95. The mid-point ($2.76) of the company’s guidance range is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings of $2.48 per share.

Adjusted earnings (excluding 22 cents from non-recurring items) of 1.57 cents per share missed the consensus estimate by 21.9% and decreased 30.8% year over year. Revenues of $1.9 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a slight margin but increased 3.4% from the year-ago quarter.

The company’s stock has declined 37.6% over the past year compared with the 33.6% fall of its industry and against the 7.8% rise of the Zacks S&P 500 composite.

The average number of worksite employees paid per month increased 1% year over year to 306,023. Revenue per worksite employee (WSEE) per month increased 3% from the year-ago quarter to $2,029.

Insperity, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Insperity, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Insperity, Inc. Quote

Insperity’s Q1 Operating Results

Gross profit declined 10% from the year-ago quarter to $310 million. The gross margin was 16.6%, down 250 basis points from the first quarter of 2024. Operating expenses increased 17% year over year to $233 million. Operating expenses per WSEE per month gained 2% on a year-over-year basis to $264.

NSP reported an operating income of $68 million, down 37% from the year-ago quarter. The company witnessed an operating income per WSEE per month of $74 compared with the year-ago quarter’s $118. Adjusted EBITDA for the reported quarter is $102 million, decreasing 28.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow of NSP

Insperity exited first-quarter 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $551 million compared with $1 billion in the preceding quarter. The long-term debt was $369 million, flat sequentially.

In the reported quarter, NSP distributed $23 million as cash dividends. The capital expenditure totaled $6 million.

Insperity’s Q2 & 2025 Guidance

For the second quarter, NSP’s guidance for the bottom line is 29-67 cents per share. The mid-point (48 cents) of the guided range is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings of 41 cents per share. Insperity’s view for adjusted EBITDA is $33-$53 million.

For 2025, the guidance for adjusted EBITDA is reduced to $190-$245 million from the preceding quarter’s view of $240-$285 million.

Insperity carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Sell) at present.

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Earnings Snapshot

S&P Global Inc. SPGI reported impressive first-quarter 2025 results.

SPGI’s adjusted EPS of $4.37 surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.6% and gained 9% year over year. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.)

Revenues of $3.8 billion beat the consensus estimate by 2% and grew 8.3% year over year.

Verisk VRSK posted impressive first-quarter fiscal 2025 results.

VRSK’s adjusted earnings were $1.73 per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.6% and increasing 6.1% from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues of $753 million beat the consensus estimate marginally and increased 7% on a year-over-year basis.

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

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