Korn Ferry(US:KFY)2025-12-09 20:21Financial Performance - Q2 FY'26 fee revenue was $721.7 million, a year-over-year increase of 7%[109] - Net income attributable to Korn Ferry was $72.4 million, a 19% year-over-year increase, with a margin of 10.0%, up 100bps year-over-year[109] - Diluted earnings per share increased to $1.36 in Q2 FY'26, up 19% compared to the year-ago quarter[109] - Total revenue for the three months ended October 31, 2025, was $729.8 million, reflecting a 7.0% increase from $682.0 million in the same quarter of 2024[112] - Net income attributable to Korn Ferry increased by $11.6 million, or 19%, to $72.4 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to $60.8 million in the year-ago quarter[145] - Net income attributable to Korn Ferry increased by $15.6 million, or 13%, to $139.0 million in the six months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $123.4 million in the year-ago period[192] Revenue Breakdown - Executive Search fee revenue grew 10% year-over-year, while Professional Search & Interim grew 17% year-over-year[109] - Consulting fee revenue for the three months ended October 31, 2025, was $172.8 million, accounting for 23.9% of total fee revenue, compared to $166.8 million and 24.7% in the prior year[113] - Digital fee revenue for the six months ended October 31, 2025, was $180.2 million, representing 12.6% of total fee revenue, slightly down from $181.1 million and 13.4% in the same period of 2024[110] - Executive Search North America reported fee revenue of $142.1 million, an increase of $12.2 million, or 9%, attributed to a 5% increase in the weighted-average fee billed per engagement[118] - Professional Search & Interim fee revenue increased by $20.0 million, or 17%, to $141.1 million, largely due to interim fee revenue associated with the acquisition of Trilogy International[122] - Fee revenue for the three months ended October 31, 2025, was $721.7 million, an increase of $47.3 million, or 7%, compared to $674.4 million in the year-ago quarter[115] Expenses and Costs - Compensation and benefits expense increased by $24.6 million, or 6%, to $462.0 million, primarily due to higher performance-related bonuses[124] - General and administrative expenses for the three months ended October 31, 2025, decreased to 7.0% of total revenue from 9.6% in the same period of 2024[110] - Cost of services expense increased by $14.4 million, or 22%, to $79.1 million, with Professional Search & Interim accounting for $14.0 million of the increase[142] - Depreciation and amortization expenses increased by $11.9 million, or 60%, to $31.6 million, primarily due to accelerated depreciation related to the sunset of the Digital platform[143] - General and administrative expenses decreased by $10.4 million, or 8%, to $114.1 million in the six months ended October 31, 2025 from $124.5 million in the year-ago period, primarily due to a $13.9 million gain from the modification of an office lease[179] Adjusted EBITDA - Adjusted EBITDA for Q2 FY'26 was $124.8 million, a 7% year-over-year increase, with a margin of 17.3%, essentially flat year-over-year[109] - Adjusted EBITDA for the six months ended October 31, 2025, was $245.2 million, with an EBITDA margin of 17.1%, up from $228.2 million and 16.9% in the same period of 2024[114] - Adjusted EBITDA increased by $7.8 million, or 7%, to $124.8 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to $117.0 million in the year-ago quarter[146] - Executive Search North America Adjusted EBITDA increased by $11.2 million, or 16%, to $83.2 million in the six months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $72.0 million in the year-ago period[196] - Professional Search & Interim Adjusted EBITDA was $58.2 million in the six months ended October 31, 2025, an increase of $5.3 million, or 10%, compared to $52.9 million in the year-ago period[200] Cash and Working Capital - The company had $1,038.3 million in cash and cash equivalents as of October 31, 2025, down from $1,277.0 million as of April 30, 2025[213] - Working capital increased to $857.0 million as of October 31, 2025, up from $794.5 million as of April 30, 2025, primarily due to a decrease in compensation and benefits payable[216] - Cash used in investing activities was $41.9 million for the six months ended October 31, 2025, compared to $36.3 million in the prior year[217] - Cash used in financing activities decreased to $87.8 million for the six months ended October 31, 2025, from $111.1 million in the same period last year[218] Other Financial Metrics - Interest expense for the three months ended October 31, 2025, was $5.8 million, representing 0.8% of total revenue, compared to $5.6 million and 0.9% in the same period of 2024[112] - The provision for income tax was $51.9 million with an effective tax rate of 26.9%, compared to $47.3 million and 27.2% in the previous year[204] - Other income, net was $7.1 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to $5.4 million in the year-ago quarter[155] - Other income, net was $19.8 million for the six months ended October 31, 2025, slightly down from $19.9 million in the same period last year[202] - Net interest expense decreased to $9.3 million for the six months ended October 31, 2025, compared to $9.6 million in the prior year[203]