Korn/ferry International Stock Earnings Reports

Korn Ferry reported a strong Q2 FY2026 with broad-based improvement across solutions driven by their "We Are Korn Ferry" one-business strategy. Consolidated fee revenue grew 7% y/y to $722M; adjusted EBITDA rose 7% to $125M with a 17.3% margin; adjusted diluted EPS was $1.33, up $0.12 (10% y/y). Key operational highlights: business referrals rose to 27.6% of fee revenue (up ~250 bps y/y and sequentially), estimated remaining fees under existing contracts increased 20% y/y to $1.84B (≈57% to be recognized in the next year), Executive Search grew 10% y/y (sixth consecutive quarter of growth), Professional Search & Interim were up 17% y/y (interim +24% including Trilogy), RPO delivered $253M of new business (84% renewals), and Digital saw improvements in subscription/licensing mix (43% of Digital new business). Consulting and Interim hourly bill rates remained strong ($460 and $142, respectively) and Consulting new business skewed toward larger transformational engagements (about 40% > $500K). Management launched Talent Suite (Nov 17) consolidating foundational IP and data (single sign-on, harmonized data) and sunset legacy systems (resulted in accelerated depreciation in the quarter). Capital allocation remained balanced: ~$70M returned to shareholders via buybacks/dividends and $43M invested in capex (Talent Suite, productivity). Guidance for Q3 FY2026 (assuming no major macro/FX/geopolitical shifts): fee revenue $680M–$694M, adjusted EBITDA margin ~17.2%–17.4%, adjusted diluted EPS $1.19–$1.25 (GAAP diluted EPS $1.15–$1.21). Management emphasized continued focus on cross-sell/referrals, monetizing Talent Suite, and scaling larger, enterprise-level engagements as drivers of durable, profitable growth.