At a glance
Korn Ferry is worth $4.10B, about 14 times its fiscal 2026 earnings. Revenue grew 6.4% to $2.94B in fiscal 2026, with 9.4% kept as profit; over 5 years it has grown 10.1% a year. It pays a 2.83% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 5 years, and returned $751.8M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2022–FY2026. The stock returned +10.3% over the past year with dividends reinvested and +1.8% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 47.7% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 39.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 8 months and 24 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Korn Ferry is a global talent and organizational consulting firm. It helps companies organize, hire, develop and pay their staff, and advises boards and CEOs on succession. It earns fees from advisory projects, recruiting, and subscriptions to tools built on its own data, which includes more than 115 million assessments. Revenue for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026 was about $2.94 billion.
The work falls into five solution areas. Consulting was the largest reported segment in fiscal 2026, at 24% of revenue. Executive search, which finds senior leaders, is split into four regional segments that together are larger: North America about 20%; Europe, the Middle East and Africa about 7%; Asia Pacific 3%; and Latin America 1%. Professional Search & Interim, which fills mid-level and temporary roles, was about 19%. Recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), which runs hiring for clients, was about 13%. Digital, its technology-based products, was about 12%.
Across fiscal 2025 and 2026 it worked with 82% of S&P 500 companies. Its 350 priority accounts produced about 40% of fee revenue in fiscal 2026. By client industry, industrial companies made up the most, at 31% of revenue, followed by financial services at about 19% and life sciences and healthcare at about 17%. It had 98 offices in 51 countries as of April 30, 2026.
Price history
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KFY +10.3% over the year to Oct 28, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By product or service
| Industrial | $910.5M | 31% |
| Financial Services | $547.4M | 18.6% |
| Life Sciences/Healthcare | $485.9M | 16.5% |
| Technology | $432.5M | 14.7% |
| Consumer Goods | $348.4M | 11.9% |
| Education/Non–Profit/General | $182.8M | 6.2% |
| Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expenses | $31.2M | 1.1% |
By business segment
| Consulting | $704.1M | 24% |
| North America | $589.3M | 20.1% |
| Professional Search & Interim | $566.3M | 19.3% |
| RPO | $371.8M | 12.7% |
| Digital | $364.4M | 12.4% |
| EMEA | $216.5M | 7.4% |
| Asia Pacific | $98.1M | 3.3% |
| Latin America | $28.1M | 1% |
Latest results
- In Q1 FY2027 (ended Jul 31, 2026), revenue was $764.6M, up 6.9% from a year earlier, and net income was $69.0M (+3.5%).
- For fiscal 2026, revenue was $2.94B (+6.4% year over year; +10.1% a year from FY2021 to FY2026) with a 9.4% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2021–FY2026) | +10.1% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 12.8% watch |
| Free cash flow margin | 11% good |
| Return on equity (FY2026) | 14.1% watch |
| Return on assets (FY2026) | 6.8% watch |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $652.3M good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $1.82B | $114.5M | $220.3M |
| FY2022 | $2.64B | $326.4M | $452.3M |
| FY2023 | $2.86B | $209.5M | $273.5M |
| FY2024 | $2.80B | $169.2M | $228.8M |
| FY2025 | $2.76B | $246.1M | $301.9M |
| FY2026 | $2.94B | $277.4M | $324.3M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $4.10B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | 14.4 |
| Dividend yield | 2.83% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Korn Ferry’s market value went from $1.69B at the end of 2016 to $4.10B on Oct 28, 2026, about 2.4 times as much; since the end of 2025 it is up 19%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 28, 2026 | $4.10B | +19.0% |
| 2025 | $3.45B | -1.0% |
| 2024 | $3.48B | +11.6% |
| 2023 | $3.12B | +16.9% |
| 2022 | $2.67B | -35.3% |
| 2021 | $4.12B | +75.6% |
| 2020 | $2.35B | +0.2% |
| 2019 | $2.34B | +4.5% |
| 2018 | $2.24B | -4.2% |
| 2017 | $2.34B | +38.4% |
| 2016 | $1.69B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KFY price data to Oct 28, 2026 | +16.6% | +10.3% | +21.8% | +1.8% | +15.8% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +16.6% |
| 2025 | +0.6% |
| 2024 | +16.1% |
| 2023 | +19.1% |
| 2022 | -32.3% |
| 2021 | +75.3% |
| 2020 | +4.0% |
| 2019 | +8.3% |
| 2018 | -3.7% |
| 2017 | +42.2% |
| 2016 | -9.9% |
| 2015 | +16.7% |
| 2014 | +10.1% |
| 2013 | +64.7% |
| 2012 | -7.0% |
| 2011 | -26.2% |
| 2010 | +40.1% |
| 2009 | +44.5% |
| 2008 | -39.3% |
| 2007 | -18.0% |
| 2006 | +22.9% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 55.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 59.6%, back to its old high 21.1 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 47.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 47.7%, back to its old high 8.1 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 33.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 39.3%, back to its old high 23.7 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (20 read): 0 open-market purchases and 4 sales ($982K).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 17, 2026 | Angel R Martinez Director | sell | $295K |
| Sep 23, 2026 | Robert P Rozek EVP, CFO & CCO | sell | $278K |
| Jul 15, 2026 | Michael Distefano See Remarks | sell | $251K |
| Jul 16, 2026 | Lesley Uren CEO of Consulting | sell | $158K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| BlackRock, Inc. | 13.8% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 6.67% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Wellington Management Group LLP | 5% | Jun 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 4.99% | Sep 30, 2026 |
ETFs with the most weight in KFY
| RSMC Rockefeller U.S. Small-Mid Cap ETF | 3.73% |
| DGRS WisdomTree US Smallcap Quality Dividend Growth Fund | 1.15% |
| SOVF Sovereign's Capital Flourish Fund | 1.11% |
| XSLV Invesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF | 0.75% |
| SFLO VictoryShares Small Cap Free Cash Flow ETF | 0.58% |
| DSMC Distillate Small/Mid Cash Flow ETF | 0.57% |
| SVAL iShares US Small Cap Value Factor ETF | 0.56% |
| QSML WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund | 0.53% |
What could go wrong
- Client work limits who it can recruit. Under 'off-limits' agreements, Korn Ferry agrees not to recruit executives away from certain clients. Serving more big companies shrinks the pool of candidates it can approach. Search firms with fewer clients face fewer limits.
- AI could let companies hire without help. AI search tools and sites such as LinkedIn, Indeed and Eightfold AI make it easier for employers to recruit on their own. The company also warns technology could weaken overall demand for workers.
- Losing key consultants could mean losing clients. The business depends on experienced consultants and their client relationships. If they leave, clients may follow. Little stops new firms from entering executive search, and new recruiting firms keep entering the market.
- Hiring demand rises and falls with the economy. Companies tend to cut back on searches, recruiting and consulting when business slows. Profits can swing widely: net income fell from about $326 million in fiscal 2022 to about $169 million in fiscal 2024.
- Larger, well-funded rivals in every business. It competes with large consulting firms such as McKinsey, Deloitte and Mercer, and search firms such as Heidrick & Struggles and Spencer Stuart. Many are larger, and competition could force lower prices.
- Sensitive data on candidates and clients. Korn Ferry holds information from clients, job candidates and employees. It says cyber incidents have exposed such information before, and privacy laws such as Europe's GDPR may limit how it uses data.
Recent events
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Investor presentation or announcement
- Investor presentation or announcement; Other company announcement
- Quarterly results released
- Other company announcement
- Acquisition or sale of assets completed; Unregistered sale of shares; Investor presentation or announcement
- Major agreement signed; New debt or financial obligation; Other company announcement
- Other company announcement
- Major agreement signed
- Major agreement signed; Unregistered sale of shares; Investor presentation or announcement
For income and retirement investors
Korn Ferry has raised its dividend five years in a row, from $0.40 a share in fiscal 2021 to $1.99 in fiscal 2026. Fiscal 2026 dividends used about 38% of earnings and 32% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). The dividend yield, or yearly dividends divided by the share price, was 2.83% as of October 28, 2026. Dividends are not guaranteed, and the company's debt agreements limit them. It spent about $449 million on buybacks from fiscal 2022 to 2026, but the share count barely changed, so buybacks mostly offset new shares.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns. It dropped about 60% in the 2008 financial crisis and took about 21 months to recover. It fell 48% in the 2020 COVID crash, recovering in about eight months, and 39% in the 2022 bear market, needing almost two years to regain its high. As with any single stock, Korn Ferry carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Korn Ferry make money?
Korn Ferry earns fees for helping organizations hire, develop, organize and pay their people. Revenue was about $2.94 billion in the fiscal year ended April 30, 2026. Consulting was the largest reported segment at 24%. Executive search, which finds senior leaders, is reported in four regional segments, and North America alone brought in about 20%. Professional Search & Interim made up about 19%, recruitment process outsourcing about 13% and Digital, its technology-based products, about 12%.
Does Korn Ferry pay a dividend?
Yes. Korn Ferry paid $1.99 a share in dividends in fiscal 2026, up from $0.40 in fiscal 2021, and has raised the payout five years in a row. The dividend yield was 2.83% as of October 28, 2026. Dividends used about 38% of fiscal 2026 earnings and 32% of free cash flow (cash left after running and investing in the business). The company warns that dividends are not guaranteed and that its debt agreements restrict them.
Who are Korn Ferry's competitors?
Korn Ferry competes on several fronts. In human resources consulting, rivals include Aon, Deloitte, McKinsey, Mercer and Willis Towers Watson, many of them much larger. In executive search, they include Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds Associates and Spencer Stuart. In recruitment process outsourcing, it faces Alexander Mann Solutions, Allegis, Cielo and Randstad. It also competes with online and AI hiring tools such as LinkedIn, Indeed and Eightfold AI, which help companies recruit on their own.
Does Korn Ferry have a lot of debt?
Not compared with its cash. As of July 31, 2026, Korn Ferry had about $399 million of debt and about $1.05 billion in cash and investments, so it held about $652 million more in cash than it owed. Its annual report (10-K) still flags debt risks, including variable-rate debt that costs more when interest rates rise and loan terms that restrict its operations and dividends. It also reported a new debt or financial obligation in August 2026, after those figures were measured.
How has Korn Ferry stock performed?
It has done well over ten years and poorly over five, with big swings along the way. As of October 28, 2026, the stock returned about 335% in total over ten years, about 9% over five years and about 10% over one year. In 2026 through October 28, it was up about 17%. Full calendar years ranged from a 75% gain in 2021 to a 32% loss in 2022. Its worst drop from a high to a low in about 21 years of price history was about 72%.