The world's largest personnel services provider, with leading positions in most of the largest staffing markets, giving economies of scale. Substantial operations in the relatively high margin professional staffing segment. Well-diversified geographic coverage and client base. Moderate leverage levels benefiting from high free cash flow generation and low capital expenditure requirements. Highly cyclical industry, currently experiencing a downturn in Europe. Staffing sector is generally highly competitive and fragmented, characterized by low barriers to entry, low margins, and limited price flexibility. Material exposure to the low-gross-margin French market. The ratings on Switzerland-headquartered Adecco S.A. reflect Standard&Poor's Ratings Services' view of its business risk profile as "satisfactory". This is supported by the group's leading position in the global staffing industry,
