Korn Ferry Records Seven Percent Q3 Revenue Increase
March 9, 2026 – Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) has posted Q3 fiscal-year 2026 revenues of $717.4 million, an increase of seven percent year-over-year with growth in all solutions. “Our strong quarterly performance continues to reflect the evolution of our firm,” said Gary D. Burnison, CEO, Korn Ferry. “Today the world is enveloped by unprecedented levels of change – shifts in population, demographics and technological advancement that are converging to exert great impact on the way people live, work and consume. This environment provides tremendous opportunity for Korn Ferry.”
“I am pleased with the synchronization of our expertise, globality and solutions to solve our clients’ toughest performance challenges,” Mr. Burnison said. “Most of all, I am energized by our talented colleagues around the world who are committed to enabling people and organizations to be more than. Success begins and ends with talent. As such, we are proud to be a founding partner of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, powering the people who power the Olympic Games.”
Fee revenue grew in all solutions year-over-year, led by executive search at 13 percent, followed by professional search & interim and consulting, both at five percent
Fee revenue increased due to higher fee revenues in both permanent placement and interim. The year-over-year increase in permanent placement fee revenue was driven by an increase in both the number of engagements billed and the weighted-average fee billed per engagement. The year-over-year increase in interim fee revenue was primarily due to a 16 percent increase in average bill rate.
Net income attributable to Korn Ferry was $65.3 million, compared to Q3 net income attributable to Korn Ferry of $58.4 million. Net income attributable to Korn Ferry increased from the year-ago quarter primarily due to an increase in fee revenue and the impact of adjusted items, partially offset by an increase in compensation and benefits expenses.
New Chief People and Legal Officer
During the quarter, Korn Ferry strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of Jonathan Kuai as chief people and legal officer. He also currently serves as general counsel, corporate secretary and managing director – corporate responsibility & business affairs at the firm.
Mr. Kuai oversees multiple global functions including legal, business affairs, compliance, privacy, and corporate responsibility. He is also a member of the Korn Ferry’s executive corporate leadership team and the global operating committee.
Relatred: Korn Ferry Appoints Chair of the Board and CEO Practice in the U.K.
Previously, Mr. Kuai served as the firm’s deputy general counsel. Prior to joining Korn Ferry, Mr. Kuai was an attorney with Morrison and Foerster LLP, a global law firm. As a thought leader and innovator, Mr. Kuai has been recognized by the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Daily Journal, Corporate Secretary Magazine, Corporate Governance Annual Awards, the Los Angeles Business Journal, M&A Advisor and other groups. He was also recognized as one of the world’s Top 50 Corporate Counsel.
Korn Ferry Becomes Founding Partner of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games
The Olympic and Paralympic Games are among the most complex workforce undertakings, requiring thousands of people to execute successfully. Korn Ferry has now been named a founding partner of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the official talent and organizational consulting partner for LA28 and Team USA. The firm will support the hiring and development of the nearly 5,000-person workforce needed to deliver the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Korn Ferry also launched Korn Ferry Talent Suite, a technology platform that is powered by 50 years of the firm’s proprietary performance IP and data. The new offering combines a powerful set of talent applications built on a single SaaS technology platform. “Talent Suite is a substantial differentiator and will elevate our firm as we seamlessly bring the breadth and depth of our world-class talent capabilities and assets to global organizations,” said Mathias Herzog, president of Korn Ferry’s global technology practice and leader of the firm’s digital solution. “This new technology platform takes all of Korn Ferry’s foundational assets and solutions that permeate everything our firm offers and everything we know about people and makes it accessible for our clients and our consultants at scale.”
Talent Suite embeds Korn Ferry’s talent IP, data, advanced analytics and AI into client workflows and supports scalable, enterprise-wide deployment. Through Talent Suite, all of Korn Ferry’s products such as architect, assess, pay, recruit, sell and more can be deployed in an organization’s environment through subscription- and license-based offerings. In addition, Talent Suite can be embedded broadly into Korn Ferry’s solutions as the firm’s consultants work with global organizations to deliver engagements.
Outlook
Assuming no material negative impact from the recent Middle East conflict and that other worldwide geopolitical conditions, economic conditions, financial markets and foreign exchange rates remain steady, on a consolidated basis Korn Ferry expects Q4 fiscal-year 26 fee revenue to be in the range of $730 million and $750 million; and Q4 fiscal-year 26 diluted earnings per share is expected to range between $1.34 to $1.40.
Related: Korn Ferry Names Chief Information Officer
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
