Korn Ferry

KFY · NYSE · Industrials · Financials, fiscal 2017 to 2026

KFY · Last close · October 26, 2026

$78.85

Korn Ferry's revenue rose 6.4% to $2.9 billion in fiscal 2026. Its operating margin was 12.8%, up from 12.5% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $324 million, up 7.4%. It paid out $220 million in dividends and buybacks, 68% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.5%.

KORN FERRY Latest fiscal year ended April 30, 2026 10-K filed June 26, 2026 · 0000056679-26-000021 Updated October 11, 2026

Revenue

$2.9B

6.4%

Operating margin

12.8%

0.2 pts

Net income

$277M

12.8%

Free cash flow

$324M

7.4%

Return on capital

21.9%

0.7 pts

Market cap

$4.0B

Oct 26 close

P/E

14.9x

On $5.29 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

What Korn Ferry does

Korn Ferry is a consulting firm that works on the people side of business. It helps clients choose and develop leaders, hire staff, design pay and benefits, and plan the roles and skills they need. Its clients include large companies, which it says range from emerging businesses to global enterprises.

It gets fees from several services. Executive search finds senior leaders, and professional search and interim staffing fill other roles. Recruitment process outsourcing runs a client's hiring for it. Consulting and Digital sell advice, assessments and software, including subscription products such as its Korn Ferry Talent Suite. It reports segments for executive search in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America, and others for its other services. Its fee revenue was $924.1 million in fiscal 2026.

The firm says it has studied how people and organizations perform for over 50 years. It had 8,965 full-time employees on April 30, 2026. Its fiscal year ends on April 30.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Competition that could cost it market share or force it to lower its fees.
Limits on recruiting from certain clients because of off-limit agreements.
Failing to recruit and keep experienced consultants, which could cost it clients.
Damage to its professional reputation and brand.
Fixed-fee projects that cost more than it estimated, and keeping its consultants busy and billing.

From Korn Ferry's annual report on Form 10-K, filed June 26, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new 10-K.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue

US$ billions, fiscal years

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2017 to 2026, earnings per share grew 15.1% a year and net income 14.2% a year, as buybacks cut the share count by 8%.

Net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow

US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value Korn Ferry yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

What Korn Ferry says to expect

Second quarter fiscal 2027: fee revenueQ2 FY’27 fee revenue is expected to be in the range of $860 million and $878 million
Second quarter fiscal 2027: adjusted EBITDA marginQ2 FY'27 adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to range from 16.8% to 17.2%
Second quarter fiscal 2027: adjusted earnings per shareQ2 FY’27 adjusted diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range from $1.30 to $1.40

The company's own words, from its earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99), filed September 9, 2026. They are its expectations, not ours, and not a forecast or price target from The Filing Desk. Replaced when the next release is out.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Korn Ferry's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Korn Ferry's fiscal 2026 free cash flow of $324M, net cash of $731M at April 30, 2026 and 52 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Korn Ferry: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 0.9% a year; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 11%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Human Resource & Employment Services), plus 1 point as a smaller company, worth $4.0B, plus 1 point for unsteady results (revenue fell in two of the last five years); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

From the filings

Starting free cash flow, US$ millions

Cash from operations minus capital spending in fiscal 2026.

Net cash, US$ millions

Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at April 30, 2026. Negative means net debt.

Diluted shares, millions

Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2026.

Your assumptions

Start from

Fitted to Korn Ferry's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of -1% then 0.5% a year, 2% after year 10, a 12% discount rate. Base: growth of 1% then 2% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 11% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 3% then 3% a year, 3% after year 10, a 10% discount rate.

Free cash flow growth, years 1 to 5 (% a year)

Free cash flow growth, years 6 to 10 (% a year)

Growth after year 10 (% a year)Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.

Discount rate (% a year)The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.

Value per share on these assumptions

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $78.85
Value on these assumptions, against the last close: —

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today: —
Everything after year 10, valued today: —
Plus net cash: —
Share of value from after year 10: —

Projected free cash flow

US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.

Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.

How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Korn Ferry's earnings per share of $5.29 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 26.7×, the middle of Korn Ferry's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (the Industrials median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 12%, 11% and 10%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Earnings per share, US$

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to July 31, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.

P/E multiple

P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: Paylocity, Robert Half, Paychex, Upwork.

Earnings growth in the years ahead (% a year) Starts at Korn Ferry's revenue growth over the last 3 years, 0.9% a year, as the base scenario does.

Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.

Apply the multiple to earnings

A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.

Discount rate (% a year) The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.

Value per share today at this multiple

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $78.85
Value at this multiple, against the last close: —
Korn Ferry's P/E at the last close: 14.9×

Company	Last close	Earnings per share	P/E today
Robert HalfRHI	$44.98	$1.15	39.1×
PaylocityPCTY	$176.46	$4.92	35.9×
PaychexPAYX	$115.70	$5.05	22.9×
Korn FerryKFY	$78.85	$5.29	14.9×
UpworkUPWK	$9.51	$0.77	12.4×

How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year end	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Cash and short-term investments	1,035	889	984	1,043	1,134
Debt incl. finance leases	398	401	401	401	403
Net debt (negative means net cash)	−637	−488	−583	−643	−731
Net debt to EBITDA	−1.2x	−1.3x	−2.0x	−1.5x	−1.5x
Debt to equity	0.3x	0.2x	0.2x	0.2x	0.2x
Interest coverage	19.1x	12.4x	8.5x	13.7x	15.1x
Current ratio	1.8x	1.7x	1.8x	1.8x	1.9x
Quick ratio	1.8x	1.7x	1.8x	1.8x	1.9x

US$ millions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought Korn Ferry shares on the open market, and 4 insiders sold $982,480.

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Sep 23, 2026	Robert P RozekEVP, CFO & CCO	Sold	3,709	$75.03	$278,286	Form 4
Jul 17, 2026	Angel R MartinezDirector	Sold	3,740	$79.00	$295,460	Form 4
Jul 16, 2026	Lesley UrenCEO of Consulting	Sold	2,000	$78.75	$157,500	Form 4
Jul 15, 2026	Michael DistefanoSee Remarks	Sold	3,370	$74.55	$251,234	Form 4

Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Test	FY24	FY25	FY26
Net income is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Pass	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Fail	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Pass	Pass
Debt fell relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
Current ratio rose	Pass	Pass	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Pass	Fail	Pass
Gross margin rose	—	—	—
Revenue rose relative to assets	Fail	Fail	Pass
F-score	6 of 8	6 of 8	8 of 8
Accruals ratio	−3.2%	−3.1%	−3.5%

The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put Korn Ferry side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Korn Ferry	FY26	6.4%	12.8%	11.0%	21.9%	−1.5x	8
Paylocity	FY26	11.0%	21.8%	28.1%	26.5%	−0.4x	8	Compare
Robert Half	FY25	−7.2%	1.4%	5.0%	6.3%	−3.6x	4	Compare
Paychex	FY26	16.9%	38.5%	35.6%	26.2%	1.2x	6	Compare
Upwork	FY25	2.4%	16.4%	30.8%	31.0%	−2.0x	6	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Income statement
Revenue	1,622	1,820	1,974	1,977	1,820	2,644	2,864	2,796	2,761	2,939
Revenue growth	20.4%	12.2%	8.5%	0.2%	−8.0%	45.2%	8.3%	−2.4%	−1.2%	6.4%
Gross profit	1,550	1,746	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Research and development	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating income	120	208	141	176	156	470	316	213	346	375
Net income	84	134	103	105	114	326	210	169	246	277
Diluted EPS (US$)	1.47	2.35	1.81	1.90	2.09	5.98	3.95	3.23	4.60	5.22
Diluted shares (millions)	57	56	56	55	53	53	52	51	53	52
Cash flow
Cash from operations	106	219	259	236	251	502	344	284	364	414
Capital expenditure	50	42	47	42	31	49	70	55	62	90
Free cash flow	56	177	212	195	220	452	274	229	302	324
Dividends paid	23	23	24	23	22	27	33	54	84	105
Share buybacks	29	33	37	92	30	96	96	53	89	116
Acquisitions	3	0	0	109	0	134	255	0	44	0
Stock-based compensation	19	22	23	23	27	29	36	40	48	48
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	415	535	635	731	914	1,035	889	984	1,043	1,134
Debt incl. finance leases	256	236	—	397	397	398	401	401	401	403
Total assets	2,063	2,288	2,335	2,744	3,056	3,464	3,574	3,679	3,861	4,065
Total liabilities	976	1,068	1,092	1,520	1,688	1,915	1,921	1,942	1,989	2,086
Shareholders' equity	1,083	1,217	1,241	1,221	1,366	1,544	1,648	1,733	1,866	1,973
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	95.6%	96.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Operating margin	7.4%	11.5%	7.1%	8.9%	8.6%	17.8%	11.1%	7.6%	12.5%	12.8%
Net margin	5.2%	7.3%	5.2%	5.3%	6.3%	12.3%	7.3%	6.0%	8.9%	9.4%
Free cash flow margin	3.5%	9.7%	10.8%	9.9%	12.1%	17.1%	9.6%	8.2%	10.9%	11.0%
Return on capital	9.8%	14.9%	—	—	12.6%	40.7%	21.9%	14.2%	21.1%	21.9%
Return on equity	7.9%	11.6%	8.3%	8.5%	8.8%	22.4%	13.1%	10.0%	13.7%	14.4%
Return on assets	4.2%	6.2%	4.4%	4.1%	4.0%	10.0%	6.0%	4.7%	6.5%	7.0%
Net debt to EBITDA	−0.9x	−1.2x	—	−1.4x	−2.4x	−1.2x	−1.3x	−2.0x	−1.5x	−1.5x

US$ millions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Korn Ferry's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Korn Ferry.