Korn Ferry Q1 Revenue Up 7%, AMS Integration Adds Scale

Korn Ferry International delivered a quarter of broad-based top-line expansion, with fee revenue rising 7% year over year to $756 million. The growth extended the company’s streak of consecutive quarterly increases to six, driven by gains across all major geographic regions. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 7% to $128 million, maintaining a flat 17% margin, while adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 9% to $1.43.

The results reflect the immediate impact of the completed combination with AMS, a merger that has created a firm with nearly 17,000 employees and a backlog of approximately $3.5 billion. Management indicated that this consolidation significantly broadens the company’s technology-enabled workforce capabilities, positioning it to capture larger, complex mandates in the talent and organizational consulting market.

Regional Growth Drives Consolidated Performance

The Americas region led the performance, with fee revenue increasing 9% to $442 million, fueled by strong demand in Search and Workforce Solutions. EMEA followed with a 4% rise to $228 million, showing growth across all solution groups, while APAC posted a 1% increase to $87 million. Chief Financial Officer Bob Rozek noted that consolidated new business grew 12% year over year, with positive growth recorded in every region and industry group.

Operational efficiency metrics also improved, with the internal business referral rate reaching 29.4% of consolidated fee revenue, up approximately 300 basis points from the prior year. Marquee and Diamond accounts continued to anchor the client base, representing about 40% of total fee revenue. The company also shifted its reporting structure to three geographic segments—Americas, EMEA, and APAC—to better align with its go-to-market strategy.

AMS Integration Expands Revenue Backlog

The AMS transaction has materially increased the company’s remaining performance obligations. Estimated remaining fees under existing contracts rose 14% year over year to $1.92 billion. Korn Ferry expects to recognize approximately $1.1 billion of this amount, or 56%, within the next four quarters, with an additional $835 million scheduled for recognition beyond the next year. This backlog provides significant visibility into future revenue streams as the two entities merge their client bases.

Forward Guidance Prioritizes Debt Reduction

For the second quarter, Korn Ferry forecasts fee revenue of $860 million to $878 million and adjusted EPS of $1.30 to $1.40. These figures include two months of results from AMS. Management stated that the primary operational focus will be on customer-focused integration and reducing the debt load incurred during the acquisition. The company remains cautious regarding the potential impact of artificial intelligence on sensitive search and talent data, prioritizing stability in these core services.

CEO Gary Burnison described the quarter’s performance as outstanding, emphasizing that the combined entity now addresses opportunities measured in the billions rather than the hundreds of millions. According to earnings data reported by GN markets, the firm expects AMS’ annualized EBITDA to grow from $100 million to $140 million, potentially ahead of the original schedule, further supporting the long-term earnings trajectory of the expanded organization.