Korn Ferry (KFY) shares pushed higher Tuesday after the talent and consulting firm reported quarterly results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Investors seemed pleased with the momentum building across the company's business segments, particularly as demand for organizational transformation services continues picking up steam.

The numbers tell a pretty straightforward story. Korn Ferry delivered second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.33 per share, edging past the analyst consensus of $1.31. Revenue came in at $729.80 million, comfortably ahead of the $705.970 million Wall Street was expecting. Not a massive beat, but solid execution nonetheless.

Growth Across the Board

What's more interesting is where that growth came from. Fee revenue hit $721.7 million for the quarter, up 7% from the same period last year. The real standouts were Executive Search and Professional Search & Interim, which posted growth of 10% and 17%, respectively. That's the kind of broad-based strength that suggests companies are actually investing in talent strategies, not just talking about them.

CEO Gary D. Burnison sounded upbeat about the performance: "Our performance during the quarter was outstanding, as we achieved our fourth consecutive quarter of accelerated growth, led by our Marquee and Diamond accounts." Four straight quarters of acceleration is a nice trend to ride.

The firm's pitch is basically that in a world where everything is digital, uncertain, and changing fast, companies need help aligning their strategy, operations, and talent. Korn Ferry positions itself as the partner that can make that happen and drive lasting organizational change.

Profitability Holds Steady

Adjusted EBITDA climbed 7% year-over-year to $124.8 million, though the margin stayed flat at 17.3%. The EBITDA growth came from higher fee revenue, but that was partially offset by increases in compensation, benefits, and cost of services. Makes sense when you're growing headcount to support expanding business.

The balance sheet looks healthy too. Korn Ferry ended the quarter with $761.579 million in cash and equivalents. Perhaps more importantly, estimated remaining fees under existing contracts reached $1.842 billion by quarter-end, up 20% year-over-year. That's a solid pipeline of locked-in future revenue.

Dividend and Guidance

The company announced a quarterly cash dividend of 48 cents per share, payable January 15, 2026, to shareholders of record on December 19, 2025.

Looking ahead, Korn Ferry expects third-quarter adjusted EPS between $1.19 and $1.25, which brackets the Street's estimate of $1.24. The GAAP EPS forecast of $1.15 to $1.21 comes in a bit below the $1.26 consensus. For revenue, the company is projecting fee revenue between $680 million and $694 million for the third quarter.

The guidance is mixed but reasonable. The adjusted EPS range includes the consensus, while GAAP earnings are expected to run slightly lighter. Nothing that screams concern, just normal quarterly fluctuations.

KFY Price Action: Korn Ferry shares were trading up 3.52% at $67.26 at the time of publication on Tuesday.