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U.S. Professional Services Industry Analysis

UpdatedMar 19, 2026
DataAggregated Company Financials
Companies151
  • 7D-2.4%
  • 3M-16.3%
  • 1Y-20.6%
  • YTD-14.7%

Over the last 7 days, the Professional Services industry has dropped 1.5%, driven by a pullback from Automatic Data Processing of 3.5%. Meanwhile, UL Solutions actually outperformed within the industry, gaining 5.1% in the last week. Overall the industry is down 19% in 12 months. Looking forward, earnings are forecast to grow by 14% annually.

Industry Valuation and Performance

Has the U.S. Professional Services Industry valuation changed over the past few years?

DateMarket CapRevenueEarningsPEAbsolute PEPS
Thu, 19 Mar 2026US$383.7bUS$245.2bUS$11.6b19.1x33x1.6x
Sat, 14 Feb 2026US$383.7bUS$245.8bUS$12.5b19.4x30.7x1.6x
Mon, 12 Jan 2026US$487.4bUS$251.6bUS$13.9b25.1x35.1x1.9x
Wed, 10 Dec 2025US$463.2bUS$251.8bUS$13.9b24.9x33.4x1.8x
Fri, 07 Nov 2025US$467.3bUS$249.6bUS$14.0b24.6x33.3x1.9x
Sun, 05 Oct 2025US$503.4bUS$251.4bUS$14.9b26.8x33.7x2x
Tue, 02 Sep 2025US$516.7bUS$251.5bUS$14.7b26.4x35.1x2.1x
Thu, 31 Jul 2025US$513.2bUS$250.4bUS$14.9b23.4x34.4x2x
Sat, 28 Jun 2025US$495.3bUS$245.0bUS$14.9b24.8x33.2x2x
Mon, 26 May 2025US$508.3bUS$244.7bUS$15.0b22.5x33.8x2.1x
Wed, 23 Apr 2025US$459.4bUS$240.7bUS$15.0b19.7x30.6x1.9x
Fri, 21 Mar 2025US$493.8bUS$241.8bUS$14.8b21.2x33.4x2x
Sun, 16 Feb 2025US$557.5bUS$244.5bUS$14.8b23.2x37.7x2.3x
Tue, 14 Jan 2025US$541.3bUS$246.0bUS$14.8b24x36.5x2.2x
Thu, 12 Dec 2024US$570.8bUS$242.3bUS$15.3b25.3x37.3x2.4x
Sat, 09 Nov 2024US$594.0bUS$247.7bUS$15.3b27.1x38.9x2.4x
Mon, 07 Oct 2024US$557.2bUS$235.5bUS$12.6b27.8x44.2x2.4x
Wed, 04 Sep 2024US$546.0bUS$234.8bUS$12.8b27.8x42.5x2.3x
Fri, 02 Aug 2024US$526.5bUS$234.0bUS$12.9b26.5x40.8x2.3x
Sun, 30 Jun 2024US$493.3bUS$238.6bUS$12.4b24.6x39.6x2.1x
Tue, 28 May 2024US$500.8bUS$238.7bUS$12.5b24.8x40.2x2.1x
Thu, 25 Apr 2024US$493.6bUS$236.1bUS$11.5b26.5x43x2.1x
Sat, 23 Mar 2024US$504.1bUS$232.9bUS$11.4b26.7x44.1x2.2x
Mon, 19 Feb 2024US$508.7bUS$232.6bUS$12.8b27x39.8x2.2x
Wed, 17 Jan 2024US$501.1bUS$237.0bUS$12.8b26x39.1x2.1x
Fri, 15 Dec 2023US$506.8bUS$237.0bUS$12.7b26.6x39.9x2.1x
Sun, 12 Nov 2023US$464.5bUS$236.3bUS$12.2b23.8x38.2x2x
Tue, 10 Oct 2023US$498.7bUS$239.1bUS$9.6b23.4x52.1x2.1x
Thu, 07 Sep 2023US$498.9bUS$234.3bUS$9.2b22.8x54.3x2.1x
Sat, 05 Aug 2023US$498.2bUS$234.5bUS$9.1b23.3x54.8x2.1x
Mon, 03 Jul 2023US$492.0bUS$232.0bUS$9.5b22.3x51.8x2.1x
Wed, 31 May 2023US$456.8bUS$231.8bUS$9.5b20.7x48.2x2x
Fri, 28 Apr 2023US$458.6bUS$228.4bUS$10.5b21.4x43.6x2x
Sun, 26 Mar 2023US$448.4bUS$228.4bUS$10.7b22.8x42x2x
Price to Earnings Ratio

42x


Total Market Cap: US$448.4bTotal Earnings: US$10.7bTotal Revenue: US$228.4bTotal Market Cap vs Earnings and Revenue0%0%0%
U.S. Professional Services Industry Price to Earnings3Y Average 40x202420252026
Current Industry PE
  • Investors are pessimistic on the American Professional Services industry, indicating that they anticipate long term growth rates will be lower than they have historically.
  • The industry is trading at a PE ratio of 33.1x which is lower than its 3-year average PE of 40.1x.
  • The 3-year average PS ratio of 2.1x is higher than the industry's current PS ratio of 1.6x.
Past Earnings Growth
  • The earnings for companies in the Professional Services industry have grown 3.0% per year over the last three years.
  • Revenues for these companies have grown 2.5% per year.
  • This means that more sales are being generated by these companies overall, and subsequently their profits are increasing too.

Industry Trends

Which industries have driven the changes within the U.S. Industrials industry?

US Market-2.19%
Industrials-2.66%
Professional Services-2.43%
Research and Consulting Services-1.78%
HR Services-2.79%
Industry PE
  • Investors are most optimistic about the HR Services industry, which is trading close to its 3-year average PE ratio of 35.7x.
    • Analysts are expecting annual earnings growth of 11.3%, which is higher than its past year's earnings decline of 2.2% per year.
  • Investors are most pessimistic about the Research and Consulting Services industry, which is trading below its 3-year average of 145x.
Forecasted Growth
  • Analysts are most optimistic on the Research and Consulting Services industry, expecting annual earnings growth of 17% over the next 5 years.
  • This is better than its past earnings decline of 0.4% per year.
  • In contrast, the HR Services industry is expected to see its earnings grow by 11% per year over the next few years.

Top Stock Gainers and Losers

Which companies have driven the market over the last 7 days?

CompanyLast Price7D1YValuation
VRSK Verisk AnalyticsUS$204.393.2%
+US$875.9m		-29.0%PE31x
ULS UL SolutionsUS$86.434.3%
+US$723.8m		60.7%PE53.5x
BAH Booz Allen Hamilton HoldingUS$78.663.6%
+US$328.0m		-30.2%PE11.4x
TRU TransUnionUS$73.052.0%
+US$277.3m		-14.2%PE30.9x
NSP InsperityUS$23.0816.0%
+US$120.0m		-74.6%PS0.1x

Latest News

EFX
US$183.79
Equifax
7D
-4.1%
1Y
-24.1%
TRU
US$73.05
TransUnion
7D
2.0%
1Y
-14.2%
PSN
US$51.11
Parsons
7D
-13.0%
1Y
-16.0%

PSN: Federal And Municipal Contracts Will Drive Future Upside Potential

Analysts have kept Parsons' fair value estimate steady at $80.82 while slightly adjusting assumptions such as the discount rate and future P/E. This signals a largely unchanged price target framework with only modest fine tuning to the valuation inputs.
J
US$127.79
Jacobs Solutions
7D
-3.9%
1Y
2.8%
BAH
US$78.66
Booz Allen Hamilton Holding
7D
3.6%
1Y
-30.2%

BAH: Future Returns Will Reflect Short Interest Risks And AI Cyber Opportunities

Analysts have nudged their price targets for Booz Allen Hamilton higher by single-digit dollar amounts, citing updated expectations around modestly better revenue growth, slightly firmer profit margins, a higher future P/E multiple, and a small adjustment to the discount rate. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research has centered on fine tuning price targets and updating assumptions around earnings quality, tax effects, and positioning heading into upcoming quarters.
PAYX
US$90.64
Paychex
7D
-3.6%
1Y
-38.6%

AI Adoption And HCM Data Scale Will Reshape This Payroll Leader’s Long-Term Potential

Catalysts About Paychex Paychex provides payroll, HR, benefits and HCM technology solutions to small and midsize businesses across its Paychex Flex, SurePayroll and Paycor platforms. What are the underlying business or industry changes driving this perspective?
NSP
US$23.08
Insperity
7D
16.0%
1Y
-74.6%
BKSY
US$25.38
BlackSky Technology
7D
7.4%
1Y
182.9%
ULS
US$86.43
UL Solutions
7D
4.3%
1Y
60.7%
FCN
US$164.99
FTI Consulting
7D
1.6%
1Y
1.9%

FCN: AI Adoption And Leadership Transition Will Support Measured Future Opportunity

Analysts have reduced their price target on FTI Consulting from $177.50 to $174.00, reflecting updated assumptions around the discount rate, revenue growth, profit margins, and future P/E expectations. What's in the News FTI Consulting highlighted growing adoption of IQ.AI by FTI Technology among large corporate legal departments and law firms, positioning the tool as a generative AI solution used across antitrust, data breach, cross border litigation, and complex investigations globally.
VRSK
US$204.39
Verisk Analytics
7D
3.2%
1Y
-29.0%

VRSK: Proprietary Insurance Data And AI Partnerships Will Drive Future Reassessment

The analyst price target for Verisk Analytics has been raised from $221.12 to $230.06, with analysts pointing to reaffirmed medium term targets, resilient proprietary data assets in a regulated insurance market, and the ongoing debate around AI disruption as key drivers behind the updated view. Analyst Commentary Recent research paints a mixed picture around Verisk Analytics, with targets moving both higher and lower as analysts weigh resilient fundamentals against execution risks and questions around AI disruption.
BR
US$174.94
Broadridge Financial Solutions
7D
-4.5%
1Y
-25.7%

BR: Digital Asset Connectivity And Voting Technology Will Drive Future Upside Potential

Analysts have kept their fair value estimate for Broadridge Financial Solutions steady at about $245.88 per share, with only slight adjustments to assumptions on discount rate, revenue growth, profit margin, and future P/E refining rather than changing their overall view. What's in the News Broadridge is integrating Crypto.com with its NYFIX order routing network globally, supporting NYFIX's first cryptocurrency connection in Asia and allowing crypto orders to use the same FIX-based infrastructure as traditional markets (Key Developments).
ADP
US$208.28
Automatic Data Processing
7D
-2.2%
1Y
-30.3%

ADP: Dividend Strength And AI HR Execution Will Support Premium P/E

Analysts have trimmed their average price target on Automatic Data Processing by about $5 to $272. This reflects slightly softer revenue growth assumptions, a modestly higher discount rate, and only a small adjustment to long term P/E expectations, despite relatively steady margin forecasts.
SSNC
US$71.52
SS&C Technologies Holdings
7D
-2.0%
1Y
-13.7%

SSNC: Client Wins And Buybacks Will Support Higher Future Cash Flows

Analysts have adjusted their price target on SS&C Technologies Holdings by $6, reflecting updated views on discount rates, profit expectations, and future P/E assumptions informed by recent research commentary. Analyst Commentary Recent research on SS&C Technologies Holdings points to a mixed but focused view on valuation, execution, and growth, with one firm reducing its price target by $6 and another raising it by $4.
LDOS
US$166.75
Leidos Holdings
7D
-3.8%
1Y
20.3%
CACI
US$608.73
CACI International
7D
0.7%
1Y
57.3%

CACI: Growing Defense Awards Will Support Multi Year Earnings Power

Narrative Update on CACI International The analyst price target for CACI International has been raised by about $49, from roughly $751 to $800, as analysts factor in updated assumptions for revenue growth, profit margins, discount rate, and future P/E, following a series of recent target increases across the Street. Analyst Commentary Recent Street research around CACI International points to a cluster of higher price targets, with several bullish analysts revisiting their models and adjusting assumptions on growth, margins, and valuation multiples.