Advertisement
KFY vs ZIP
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Korn Ferry (KFY) vs. ZipRecruiter (ZIP) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- KFY delivered consistent fee revenue growth of 7% in fiscal 2026, supported by five consecutive quarters of top-line expansion and a recent acquisition of AMS that broadens its talent consulting platform.
- ZIP reported Q2 2026 revenue of $118.1 million, up 5% year over year, with Adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 12% and a significant debt reduction through discounted note repurchases.
- KFY trades at a market capitalization of approximately $4.3 billion with analyst consensus rated Strong Buy and price targets clustered around $81–$86.
- ZIP maintains a smaller market capitalization near $350 million and guides for low single-digit revenue growth in the full year, aided by AI-driven product enhancements that increased qualified applications.
- Relative performance shows KFY with stronger year-to-date returns near 30% compared with more modest or flat trajectories for ZIP amid sector headwinds in online recruitment.
- Sector exposure differs markedly: KFY operates in diversified organizational consulting while ZIP focuses on digital job matching with heavy reliance on AI matching algorithms.
Introduction
This comparison examines KFY and ZIP to highlight differences in business models, recent financial results, and market positioning within the human capital and recruitment sectors. Investors and traders seeking exposure to talent management trends or digital hiring platforms may find the analysis relevant when evaluating relative performance and risk profiles. The review draws on verifiable earnings data, analyst commentary, and sector developments from recent market activity to provide an objective framework for assessment.
KFY Overview and Recent Performance
Korn Ferry provides global organizational consulting, executive search, and talent management services. In recent weeks, the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter 2026 results that exceeded estimates, with fee revenue rising 7% year over year to $759.8 million and adjusted diluted earnings per share reaching $1.40. Full-year fee revenue grew 7% to $2.91 billion. Sentiment benefited from the early-September completion of the AMS acquisition, which expands geographic reach and service offerings. Shares have traded near $84–$85 amid analyst upgrades and a Strong Buy consensus, with year-to-date returns approaching 30%. Upcoming first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings, scheduled for September 9, 2026, represent the next near-term catalyst.
ZIP Overview and Recent Performance
ZipRecruiter operates an online employment marketplace connecting job seekers and employers. Recent market activity centered on second-quarter 2026 results released in early August, showing revenue of $118.1 million, up 5% year over year, and Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion to 12%. The company recorded net income of $43.4 million, aided by a gain on debt extinguishment after repurchasing a substantial portion of its senior notes at a discount. AI-powered product updates drove higher qualified applications and employer response rates. Guidance points to low single-digit full-year revenue growth. Shares have traded near $4.20, reflecting a smaller market capitalization and more variable sentiment amid broader recruitment sector pressures.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots page curates the strongest performing artificial intelligence trading bots from a library of hundreds that cover thousands of tickers. Only bots demonstrating superior adaptability to prevailing market conditions earn placement in this section. Available robots span diverse trading styles, strategies, timeframes, performance metrics, and ticker universes, with historical statistics ranging from short-term momentum approaches to longer-horizon trend-following systems. Users can review detailed backtested results and live performance data to identify configurations aligned with specific objectives. Explore the full selection on the Trending AI Robots page for additional insights.
Head-to-Head Comparison
KFY and ZIP operate in adjacent segments of the talent ecosystem yet differ in scale, revenue stability, and growth drivers. Korn Ferry’s diversified consulting model supports steadier fee revenue and cross-selling opportunities, reinforced by the recent AMS acquisition that adds complementary capabilities. ZipRecruiter’s platform relies more heavily on digital matching and AI features, delivering sequential revenue acceleration in the latest quarter but facing greater exposure to cyclical hiring demand. Market capitalization, dividend policy, and analyst coverage further distinguish the names, with KFY offering broader institutional visibility and ZIP presenting a higher-beta profile tied to online recruitment metrics. Risk factors include macroeconomic sensitivity for both, offset by differing balance-sheet strengths and product innovation pipelines.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on observable factors such as trend consistency in fee revenue, balance-sheet resilience following the AMS transaction, and broader analyst support, Tickeron’s AI models currently assign a higher probabilistic preference to KFY over ZIP in the near term. ZIP demonstrates notable AI-driven engagement gains and debt reduction, yet its smaller scale and sector-specific volatility introduce greater uncertainty relative to Korn Ferry’s more diversified positioning.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is KFY is a Buy and ZIP is a Hold.
| KFY | ZIP | KFY / ZIP | |
| Capitalization | 4.23B | 308M | 1,374% |
| EBITDA | 507M | 87.5M | 579% |
| Gain YTD | 19.486 | -4.103 | -475% |
| P/E Ratio | 14.70 | 11.33 | 130% |
| Revenue | 2.94B | 452M | 650% |
| Total Cash | 1.13B | 174M | 652% |
| Total Debt | 592M | 265M | 223% |
KFY | ||
|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 58 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 18 Undervalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 70 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 58 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 46 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 51 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
| KFY | ZIP | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 74% | 2 days ago 88% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 65% | 2 days ago 77% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 63% | 2 days ago 78% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 64% | 2 days ago 88% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 57% | 2 days ago 85% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 53% | 2 days ago 84% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 16 days ago 62% | 24 days ago 76% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 57% | 4 days ago 85% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 67% | 2 days ago 75% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 70% | 2 days ago 88% |
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is overvalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
KFY’s FA Score shows that 1 FA rating(s) are green while ZIP’s FA Score has 0 green FA rating(s).
- KFY’s FA Score: 1 green, 4 red.
- ZIP’s FA Score: 0 green, 5 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
KFY’s TA Score shows that 5 TA indicator(s) are bullish while ZIP’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- KFY’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 4 bearish.
- ZIP’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 7 bearish.
Price Growth
KFY (@Other Consumer Services) experienced а -9.09% price change this week, while ZIP (@Internet Software/Services) price change was -11.37% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Other Consumer Services industry was -3.77%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -5.45%, and the average quarterly price growth was +39.68%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Internet Software/Services industry was -2.63%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -4.18%, and the average quarterly price growth was -3.90%.
Reported Earning Dates
KFY is expected to report earnings on Dec 09, 2026.
ZIP is expected to report earnings on Nov 11, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Other Consumer Services (-3.77% weekly)Other consumer services include companies that provide consumer services, and are not classified elsewhere. Travel fare aggregators, hotel bookings, consumer-to-consumer or business-to-business sales platforms are some examples of services that can be clubbed into this category. Many of such services have expanded online. Booking Holdings Inc, The Priceline Group Inc, and eBay Inc. are some major operators in this segment.
@Internet Software/Services (-2.63% weekly)Companies in this industry typically license software on a subscription basis and it is centrally hosted. Such products usually go by the names web-based software, on-demand software and hosted software. Cloud computing has emerged as a major force in this space, making it possible to save files to a remote database (without requiring them to be saved on local storage device); as long as a device has access to the web, it can access the data and the software programs to run it. This has in many cases facilitated cost efficiency, speed and security of data for businesses and consumers. Alphabet Inc., Facebook, Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. are some well-known names in the internet software/services industry.
Advertisement
KFY and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, KFY has been loosely correlated with ZIP. These tickers have moved in lockstep 41% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if KFY jumps, then ZIP could also see price increases.
ZIP and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, ZIP has been loosely correlated with KFY. These tickers have moved in lockstep 41% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is some statistical probability that if ZIP jumps, then KFY could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To ZIP | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZIP | 100% | +1.36% | ||
| KFY - ZIP | 41% Loosely correlated | -0.70% | ||
| BBSI - ZIP | 38% Loosely correlated | +1.49% | ||
| DHX - ZIP | 37% Loosely correlated | +1.34% | ||
| RHI - ZIP | 34% Loosely correlated | +0.69% | ||
| SNAP - ZIP | 32% Poorly correlated | +2.90% | ||
More | ||||