Insperity Announces Third Quarter Results

Insperity, Inc. reported its third-quarter 2024 results, showcasing a slight decrease in worksite employees (WSEEs) by 2% year-over-year, with a total of 309,088 WSEEs. Despite this, Q3 net income stood at $3 million with a diluted EPS of $0.07 and adjusted EPS of $0.39. The total revenue for the quarter reached $1.6 billion, reflecting a 1% increase. Year-to-date figures also indicated stable growth, with net income of $100 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $247 million. The company returned $119 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. Insperity’s strategic focus includes leveraging AI and enhancing its partnership with Workday to foster growth in 2025.

HOUSTON–Insperity, Inc. (NYSE: NSP), a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions for America’s best businesses, today reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. Insperity will be hosting a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss these results and our updated 2024 outlook and will be posting an accompanying presentation to its investor website at http://ir.insperity.com.

• Q3 average number of WSEEs paid within our expected range, down 2% year-over-year
• Q3 net income of $3 million; diluted EPS of $0.07
• Q3 adjusted EPS of $0.39; adjusted EBITDA of $39 million
• YTD average number of paid WSEEs down 1%, while revenues up 1%
• YTD net income and diluted EPS of $100 million and $2.63, respectively
• YTD adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS of $247 million and $3.53, respectively
• Return to shareholders of $119 million during the first nine months of 2024 through the repurchase of 551,000 shares at a cost of $52 million and $67 million in cash dividends

Third Quarter Results

As forecasted, the average number of worksite employees (“WSEE”) paid per month decreased 2% from Q3 2023 to 309,088 WSEEs. The continued softness in hiring by our client base and the loss of several midmarket accounts at the beginning of the year contributed to this year over year decline. Revenues in Q3 2024 increased 1% to $1.6 billion on a 3% increase in revenue per WSEE on higher pricing, offset by the 2% decrease in paid WSEEs.

“We are pleased with our Q3 financial results, especially with a measurable headwind of uncertainty in the small to medium sized business marketplace,” said Paul J. Sarvadi, Insperity chairman and chief executive officer. “We are focused on a successful fall selling and retention season to achieve a solid starting point in 2025. We see an opportunity for growth acceleration next year with sales and service improvements as we leverage our data infrastructure with AI and our Workday strategic partnership.”

An 11% decrease in gross profit from Q3 2023 to $229 million included a difficult comparison to the prior year’s quarter that was positively impacted by favorable development of healthcare claims activity. Q3 2024 benefits costs were slightly above expectations, while other areas of gross profit, including pricing, payroll taxes and workers’ compensation, were generally in line.

“Our guidance includes a continued higher cost trend in Q4 compared to the favorable cost trend in the first half of 2024. We continue to expect the full year cost trend to be at the low end of our initial budgeted range of 4.5% to 6%,” said James D. Allison, Insperity executive vice president. “We have maintained our long-term pricing strategy and believe we are well positioned relative to our goal of matching price and cost going forward.”

Operating expenses increased 15% over Q3 2023, with the majority of the increase associated with the implementation of our Workday strategic partnership. We managed other expenses, including various G&A costs, below forecast.

Reported net income and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) were $3 million and $0.07, respectively. Adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA were $0.39 and $39 million, respectively.

Third quarter’s effective tax rate was positively impacted by research and development credits and contributed $0.02 per share in earnings above our Q3 2024 forecast. We continue to forecast a full year 2024 effective tax rate of 28%.

Year-to-Date Results

The average number of WSEEs paid per month decreased 1% from 2023 to 306,650 WSEEs. Revenues increased by 1% to $5.0 billion on a 3% increase in revenue per WSEE, offset in part by the 1% decrease in paid WSEEs.

“Our year-to-date earnings have exceeded our initial budget as pricing, effective management of our direct cost areas and operating expense savings have more than offset lower paid worksite employees,” said Douglas S. Sharp, executive vice president of finance, chief financial officer and treasurer. “Our recent results have allowed us to continue to invest in our strategic objectives, which we believe positions us for long-term growth.”

Gross profit increased 2% on a 4% increase in gross profit per WSEE per month, primarily due to increased pricing and more favorable results from our benefits costs program.

Operating expenses increased 13% over the 2023 period. This increase included approximately $40 million associated with the implementation of our Workday strategic partnership. Operating expenses have also included ongoing investments in our sales, service and technology areas, and the impact of the recent inflationary environment.

Reported net income and diluted EPS were $100 million and $2.63, respectively. Adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA were $3.53 and $247 million, respectively.

Cash outlays in the first nine months of 2024 included the repurchase of approximately 551,000 shares of our common stock at a cost of $52 million, dividends totaling $67 million, and capital expenditures of $25 million. Adjusted cash at September 30, 2024 totaled $212 million and $280 million remains available under our $650 million credit facility.

2024 Guidance

The company also announced its updated guidance for 2024, including the fourth quarter of 2024. Please refer to the accompanying financial tables at the end of this press release for the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures.

Definition of Key Metrics

Average WSEEs paid — Determined by calculating the company’s cumulative WSEEs paid during the period divided by the number of months in the period.

Adjusted EPS — Represents diluted net income per share computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding the impact of non-cash stock-based compensation.

Adjusted EBITDA — Represents net income computed in accordance with GAAP, plus interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, amortization of SaaS implementation costs and non-cash stock-based compensation.

Conference Call and Webcast

Insperity will be hosting a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss these results and the guidance discussed in this press release, and answer questions from investment analysts. To listen in, call 877-545-0320 and use conference i.d. number 557065. The call will also be webcast at http://ir.insperity.com. The conference call script will be available at the same website later today. A replay of the conference call will be available at 877-481-4010, conference i.d. number 51466. The webcast will be archived for one year.

About Insperity

Since 1986, Insperity’s mission has been to help businesses succeed so communities prosper. Offering the most comprehensive suite of scalable HR solutions available in the marketplace, Insperity is defined by an unrivaled breadth and depth of services and level of care. Through an optimal blend of premium HR service and technology, Insperity delivers the administrative relief, reduced liabilities and better benefit solutions that businesses need for sustained growth. With 2023 revenues of $6.5 billion and more than 100 sales offices throughout the U.S., Insperity is currently making a difference in thousands of businesses and communities nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.insperity.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You can identify such forward-looking statements by the words “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “likely,” “possibly,” “probably,” “could,” “goal,” “opportunity,” “objective,” “target,” “assume,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “predicts,” “appears,” “indicator” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In the normal course of business, in an effort to help keep our stockholders and the public informed about our operations, from time to time, we may issue such forward-looking statements, either orally or in writing. Generally, these statements relate to business plans or strategies, including our strategic partnership with Workday, Inc.; projected or anticipated benefits or other consequences of such plans or strategies; or projections involving anticipated revenues, earnings, average number of worksite employees, benefits and workers’ compensation costs, or other operating results. We base these forward-looking statements on our current expectations, estimates and projections. We caution you that these statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that we cannot predict. In addition, we have based many of these forward-looking statements on assumptions about future events that may prove to be inaccurate. Therefore, the actual results of the future events described in such forward-looking statements could differ materially from those stated in such forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are:

• adverse economic conditions;
• failure to comply with or meet client expectations regarding certain COVID-19 relief programs;
• bank failures or other events affecting financial institutions; labor shortages, increasing competition for highly skilled workers, and evolving employee expectations regarding the workplace;
• impact of inflation;
• vulnerability to regional economic factors because of our geographic market concentration;
• failure to comply with covenants under our credit facility;
• impact of a future outbreak of highly infectious or contagious disease;
• our liability for WSEE payroll, payroll taxes and benefits costs, or other liabilities associated with actions of our client companies or WSEEs, including if our clients fail to pay us;
• increases in health insurance costs and workers’ compensation rates and underlying claims trends, health care reform, financial solvency of workers’ compensation carriers, other insurers or financial institutions, state unemployment tax rates, liabilities for employee and client actions or payroll-related claims;
• an adverse determination regarding our status as the employer of our WSEEs for tax and benefit purposes and an inability to offer alternative benefit plans following such a determination;
• cancellation of client contracts on short notice, or the inability to renew client contracts or attract new clients;
• the ability to secure competitive replacement contracts for health insurance and workers’ compensation insurance at expiration of current contracts;
• regulatory and tax developments and possible adverse application of various federal, state and local regulations;
• failure to manage growth of our operations and the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts;
• the impact of the competitive environment and other developments in the human resources services industry, including the PEO industry, on our growth and/or profitability;
• an adverse final judgment or settlement of claims against Insperity;
• disruptions of our information technology systems or failure to enhance our service and technology offerings to address new regulations or client expectations;
• our liability or damage to our reputation relating to disclosure of sensitive or private information as a result of data theft, cyberattacks or security vulnerabilities;
• failure of third-party providers, such as financial institutions, data centers or cloud service providers;
• our ability to fully realize the anticipated benefits of our strategic partnership and plans to develop a joint solution with Workday, Inc.; and
• our ability to integrate or realize expected returns on future product offerings, including through acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and investments.

These factors are discussed in further detail in Insperity’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any of these factors, or a combination of such factors, could materially affect the results of our operations and whether forward-looking statements we make ultimately prove to be accurate.

Any forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof and, unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.