Korn Ferry Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Joshua Chan - UBS Securities LLC - Analyst : It seems like the Executive Search business continues to perform well. Could you talk about where you're seeing the sources of strength within North America and how you think about the business in light of slower job market velocity, but you're still posting pretty good results?

Question: Joshua Chan - UBS Securities LLC - Analyst : Okay. And on that point about the referrals, could you give us a sense on where it has been historically over a long period of time? And then where you think that could go as you focus more on this strategy?

Question: Trevor Romeo - William Blair & Company, L.L.C. (Research) - Analyst : I kind of, I guess, just wanted to follow up on that last line of questioning but maybe a slightly different way. It did look like I think some of your placement type solutions seem like they improved either sequentially or the growth year-over-year accelerated a bit, thinking Pro Search interim, especially on a sequential basis for Interim, RPO, new business wins, sounds like the cross referrals and the We Are Korn Ferry strategy driving some of that. But I also wanted to ask if -- is some of that you're starting to see any turn in the kind of willingness among the client base to hire more or spend more? Or is it mostly just those cross-sell efforts that are driving some improvement there?

Question: Trevor Romeo - William Blair & Company, L.L.C. (Research) - Analyst : Okay. So I guess not that much change in the macro. Maybe just for my follow-up on the consulting solution. Just wanted to ask, I guess, when you look at the bill rates up 10% year-over-year, what would you say about the mix of, I guess, services within that and the mix of senior versus junior consultants, whether either of those dynamics is sort of boosting the bill rate growth and just the content for that question. I think one of the narratives out there is that AI is going to put a bunch of pressure on consulting businesses from a pricing perspective, and you don't appear to be seeing that. So we just want to get your take on those drivers of the bill rate.

Question: Tobey Sommer - Truist Securities Inc. - Analyst : In the Search business, could you maybe describe from a high-level perspective any kind of time savings and efficiencies that you're able to squeeze out using various AI tools throughout the product? And is it in fact shortening the amount of time to fulfill a search? Or are customers kind of filling that savings by requesting more of you, and therefore, the time is equivalent to where it used to be?

Question: Tobey Sommer - Truist Securities Inc. - Analyst : Okay. And then if you could elaborate a little bit more the sunsetting of a system (inaudible) and sort of those accounting elements with now that tax we just launched. So I wasn't exactly sure maybe you could unpack that from a business perspective and an accounting perspective?

Question: Tobey Sommer - Truist Securities Inc. - Analyst : Could you talk about the sunsetting of the system and the accounting impact, and maybe why we're doing it and if it relates to the (inaudible)?

Question: Tobey Sommer - Truist Securities Inc. - Analyst : Okay. Okay. I hope that makes sense. So what are your expectations for the financial impact from lease (inaudible) suite?

Question: Tobey Sommer - Truist Securities Inc. - Analyst : Last question for me. Have you seen any change in (inaudible) behavior since your only public (inaudible) and maybe have or haven't do you expect (inaudible)? LSEG STREETEVENTS | www.lseg.com | Contact Us consent of LSEG. 'LSEG' and the LSEG logo are registered trademarks of LSEG and its affiliated companies. DECEMBER 09, 2025 / 5:00PM, KFY.N - Q2 2026 Korn Ferry Earnings Call

Question: Tobey Sommer - Truist Securities Inc. - Analyst : Yes. Have you seen a change in diverse hired (inaudible).