M&A activity snapshot
IT staffing is in a slow recovery, and that shapes what buyers will pay. Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) reports that staffing industry revenue fell 14% in 2023, 12% in 2024, and 3% in 2025, and forecasts IT staffing revenue to grow 1% in both 2026 and 2027. SIA projects the total U.S. staffing market at $180.2 billion in 2026. BLS counts 2,355.4 thousand jobs in computer systems design and related services in September 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), down from 2,387.6 thousand a year earlier.
The market is concentrated at the top and fragmented below it. SIA found 57 firms with at least $100 million in U.S. IT staffing revenue generated $28.1 billion in 2024, 73% of the market. By Axia's arithmetic, the remaining 27% is spread across smaller firms, which is where add-on buyers look.
Deal counts are tracked for staffing as a whole, not IT alone. Capstone Partners reports HR and staffing services transactions rose 9.4% to 197 deals in 2024. Its deal log includes IT staffing tuck-ins such as Javelin IT Consulting & Staffing's purchase of IRIS Consulting.
Who is buying
Private strategics. Private strategic buyers made up 59.3% of HR and staffing deals in early 2025, followed by PE add-ons at 33.9%. Sponsor activity was rising, up 26.3% year over year to 24 deals.
Public firms moving up-market. ASGN, where IT consulting was 58% of 2024 revenue, closed its acquisition of Workday consultancy TopBloc for $340 million in cash and equity in March 2025. The thesis is to own higher-value project consulting, not more contractors.
Foreign strategics. Belgian IT firm Cegeka agreed to buy Computer Task Group for $10.50 per share in a transaction valued at approximately $170 million, a 44.8% premium to its trailing 90-day average price. That 2023 deal shows overseas IT groups buying U.S. client bases.
What buyers look for
Specialization over headcount. The TopBloc price reflects a certified platform practice. ASGN's announcement said TopBloc expected approximately $150 million in revenues for 2025, year-over-year growth above 20 percent, and EBITDA margins in the high teens. By Axia's arithmetic, $340 million on $150 million of expected revenue is about 2.3x revenue.
Gross margin by channel. At ASGN, commercial gross margin was 32.5% in 2024 against 20.4% for the federal segment. Revenue procured through MSP and VMS programs is also discounted: Kforce reports administrative fees typically ranging from 1% to 4% of revenue and resulting margin compression.
Pricing and tenure. Kforce's Technology segment reports an average bill rate of about $89 per hour and an average assignment duration of 10 months. Buyers compare a target's spread and assignment length against public benchmarks like these.
Policy exposure. The September 2026 proclamation renewing the $100,000 payment requirement on certain H-1B petitions names IT staffing and outsourcing firms directly. The fee has been challenged in court, but buyers will still measure how much of a bench depends on visa-sponsored workers.
What makes a strong company
- Gross margin near public benchmarks. Kforce reported a 28.5% gross margin and a 26.9% flex (contract) gross margin in Q2 2026.
- Direct client relationships, with program (MSP/VMS) revenue a minority of the mix.
- Project or statement-of-work revenue alongside time-and-materials staffing, ideally tied to a platform practice such as Workday, ServiceNow, or Salesforce.
- No single client dominating revenue, and a recruiting engine that does not depend on the owner's relationships.
- Clean worker classification and documented visa status for every consultant.
Valuation and deal structure
Capstone reports HR and staffing services M&A averaged 2.2x EV/revenue and 9.4x EV/EBITDA from 2022 through YTD 2025, up from 7.8x in 2019-2021 and 7.0x in 2016-2018. That average includes HR services businesses at 17.2x EV/EBITDA, so staffing on its own runs below it. No public source publishes an IT-staffing-only multiple.
Platform consultancies sit above generic staffing. TopBloc's roughly 2.3x forward revenue, by Axia's arithmetic from ASGN's disclosures, compares with Capstone's 2.2x sector average, and TopBloc was growing faster than 20%. Generic staff augmentation with program-heavy revenue should expect the lower end of the market.
Earnouts tied to gross profit retention are common in staffing deals because revenue walks with recruiters and client relationships. The sources above do not quantify how often, so treat that as a general pattern. To see where a specific firm might land, use the valuation tool.
Outlook
Expect a flat-to-modest market through 2027, with SIA forecasting 1% IT staffing growth in each year. AI cuts both ways. Kforce links part of its 2023-2025 decline to the early phases of technology disruption with generative AI, but reported three consecutive quarters of revenue growth through Q2 2026.
The gap between specialist consultancies and commodity staffing will likely widen. Firms with a certified platform practice, direct clients, and limited visa dependence will attract strategic buyers. Others are more likely to sell as add-ons to a larger platform.
For the broader picture, see the Technology & IT Services overview and why vertical-focused buyers source differently.