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Side-by-side financial comparison of KORN FERRY (KFY) and MERCER INTERNATIONAL INC. (MERC), based on the latest 10-Q / 10-K filings. Click either name above to swap in a different company.
KORN FERRY is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($729.8M vs $449.5M, roughly 1.6× MERCER INTERNATIONAL INC.). KORN FERRY runs the higher net margin — 9.9% vs -68.7%, a 78.6% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, KORN FERRY posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (7.0% vs -8.0%). KORN FERRY produced more free cash flow last quarter ($100.7M vs $32.0M). Over the past eight quarters, KORN FERRY's revenue compounded faster (3.8% CAGR vs -9.9%).
Korn Ferry is a management consulting firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1969 and as of 2019, operates in 111 offices in 53 countries and employs 8,198 people worldwide. Korn Ferry operates through four business segments: Consulting, Digital, Executive Search, Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Professional Search.
Mercer is an American consulting firm founded in 1945. It is one of the four operating subsidiaries of global professional services firm Marsh McLennan. Mercer is headquartered in New York City with offices in 43 countries and operations in 130 countries. The company primarily provides human resources and financial services consulting services to its clients.
KFY vs MERC — Head-to-Head
Income Statement — Q2 2026 vs Q4 2025
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $729.8M | $449.5M |
| Net Profit | $72.4M | $-308.7M |
| Gross Margin | — | — |
| Operating Margin | 13.5% | -62.0% |
| Net Margin | 9.9% | -68.7% |
| Revenue YoY | 7.0% | -8.0% |
| Net Profit YoY | 19.1% | -1947.7% |
| EPS (diluted) | $1.36 | $-4.61 |
Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align — see 8-quarter trend below.
8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend
Side-by-side quarterly history — bar widths are scaled to the larger of the two companies so you can eyeball the size gap and growth trajectory without doing math. Quarters aligned by calendar period (report date) so offset fiscal years line up.
| Q4 25 | $729.8M | $449.5M | ||
| Q3 25 | $715.5M | $458.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $719.8M | $453.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $676.5M | $507.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $682.0M | $488.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $682.8M | $502.1M | ||
| Q2 24 | $699.9M | $499.4M | ||
| Q1 24 | $676.9M | $553.4M |
| Q4 25 | $72.4M | $-308.7M | ||
| Q3 25 | $66.6M | $-80.8M | ||
| Q2 25 | $64.2M | $-86.1M | ||
| Q1 25 | $58.4M | $-22.3M | ||
| Q4 24 | $60.8M | $16.7M | ||
| Q3 24 | $62.6M | $-17.6M | ||
| Q2 24 | $65.2M | $-67.6M | ||
| Q1 24 | $59.1M | $-16.7M |
| Q4 25 | 13.5% | -62.0% | ||
| Q3 25 | 11.7% | -14.8% | ||
| Q2 25 | 14.5% | -12.9% | ||
| Q1 25 | 11.6% | 1.3% | ||
| Q4 24 | 12.8% | 10.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | 11.1% | 1.8% | ||
| Q2 24 | 11.9% | -8.8% | ||
| Q1 24 | 7.4% | -0.1% |
| Q4 25 | 9.9% | -68.7% | ||
| Q3 25 | 9.3% | -17.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 8.9% | -19.0% | ||
| Q1 25 | 8.6% | -4.4% | ||
| Q4 24 | 8.9% | 3.4% | ||
| Q3 24 | 9.2% | -3.5% | ||
| Q2 24 | 9.3% | -13.5% | ||
| Q1 24 | 8.7% | -3.0% |
| Q4 25 | $1.36 | $-4.61 | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.26 | $-1.21 | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.19 | $-1.29 | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.10 | $-0.33 | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.14 | $0.25 | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.17 | $-0.26 | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.25 | $-1.01 | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.13 | $-0.25 |
Balance Sheet & Financial Strength
Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest filing — the kind of financial-strength check premium terminals charge for.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand | $801.1M | $186.8M |
| Total DebtLower is stronger | — | $1.6B |
| Stockholders' EquityBook value | $1.9B | $68.1M |
| Total Assets | $3.7B | $2.0B |
| Debt / EquityLower = less leverage | — | 23.58× |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $801.1M | $186.8M | ||
| Q3 25 | $721.1M | $98.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.0B | $146.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $820.0M | $181.5M | ||
| Q4 24 | $735.5M | $184.9M | ||
| Q3 24 | $674.0M | $239.0M | ||
| Q2 24 | $983.7M | $263.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $782.5M | $274.3M |
| Q4 25 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q3 25 | — | $1.5B | ||
| Q2 25 | — | $1.5B | ||
| Q1 25 | — | $1.5B | ||
| Q4 24 | — | $1.5B | ||
| Q3 24 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q2 24 | — | $1.6B | ||
| Q1 24 | — | $1.6B |
| Q4 25 | $1.9B | $68.1M | ||
| Q3 25 | $1.9B | $359.5M | ||
| Q2 25 | $1.9B | $446.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $1.8B | $437.4M | ||
| Q4 24 | $1.8B | $429.8M | ||
| Q3 24 | $1.8B | $516.8M | ||
| Q2 24 | $1.7B | $487.7M | ||
| Q1 24 | $1.7B | $573.6M |
| Q4 25 | $3.7B | $2.0B | ||
| Q3 25 | $3.6B | $2.3B | ||
| Q2 25 | $3.9B | $2.4B | ||
| Q1 25 | $3.6B | $2.3B | ||
| Q4 24 | $3.5B | $2.3B | ||
| Q3 24 | $3.4B | $2.5B | ||
| Q2 24 | $3.7B | $2.5B | ||
| Q1 24 | $3.6B | $2.6B |
| Q4 25 | — | 23.58× | ||
| Q3 25 | — | 4.30× | ||
| Q2 25 | — | 3.42× | ||
| Q1 25 | — | 3.44× | ||
| Q4 24 | — | 3.43× | ||
| Q3 24 | — | 3.09× | ||
| Q2 24 | — | 3.22× | ||
| Q1 24 | — | 2.82× |
Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency
How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Net income can be massaged; cash flow is harder to fake.
| Metric | | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Cash FlowLast quarter | $121.4M | $46.2M |
| Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex | $100.7M | $32.0M |
| FCF MarginFCF / Revenue | 13.8% | 7.1% |
| Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue; lower = less reinvestment burden | 2.8% | 3.1% |
| Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit; >1× = earnings back up with cash | 1.68× | — |
| TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters | $272.6M | $-80.0M |
8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years match up.
| Q4 25 | $121.4M | $46.2M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-237.4M | $-30.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $255.8M | $-4.5M | ||
| Q1 25 | $213.7M | $-3.0M | ||
| Q4 24 | $122.0M | $71.2M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-227.2M | $-13.9M | ||
| Q2 24 | $261.9M | $62.2M | ||
| Q1 24 | $164.0M | $-29.2M |
| Q4 25 | $100.7M | $32.0M | ||
| Q3 25 | $-260.0M | $-60.1M | ||
| Q2 25 | $235.5M | $-28.9M | ||
| Q1 25 | $196.4M | $-23.1M | ||
| Q4 24 | $107.7M | $50.4M | ||
| Q3 24 | $-237.7M | $-41.2M | ||
| Q2 24 | $250.0M | $44.3M | ||
| Q1 24 | $152.3M | $-47.7M |
| Q4 25 | 13.8% | 7.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | -36.3% | -13.1% | ||
| Q2 25 | 32.7% | -6.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 29.0% | -4.6% | ||
| Q4 24 | 15.8% | 10.3% | ||
| Q3 24 | -34.8% | -8.2% | ||
| Q2 24 | 35.7% | 8.9% | ||
| Q1 24 | 22.5% | -8.6% |
| Q4 25 | 2.8% | 3.1% | ||
| Q3 25 | 3.2% | 6.6% | ||
| Q2 25 | 2.8% | 5.4% | ||
| Q1 25 | 2.6% | 4.0% | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.1% | 4.2% | ||
| Q3 24 | 1.5% | 5.4% | ||
| Q2 24 | 1.7% | 3.6% | ||
| Q1 24 | 1.7% | 3.3% |
| Q4 25 | 1.68× | — | ||
| Q3 25 | -3.56× | — | ||
| Q2 25 | 3.98× | — | ||
| Q1 25 | 3.66× | — | ||
| Q4 24 | 2.01× | 4.26× | ||
| Q3 24 | -3.63× | — | ||
| Q2 24 | 4.02× | — | ||
| Q1 24 | 2.78× | — |
Financial Flow Comparison
Sankey diagram of revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company. Charts shown full-width and stacked so both segment hierarchies are readable side-by-side on desktop and mobile.
Revenue Breakdown by Segment
KFY
| Industrial | $234.0M | 32% |
| Technology Service | $104.5M | 14% |
| RPO | $92.3M | 13% |
| Digital | $91.2M | 13% |
| Consumer Goods | $85.0M | 12% |
| Executive Search EMEA | $52.2M | 7% |
| Education Non Profit And General | $43.2M | 6% |
| Executive Search Asia Pacific | $24.3M | 3% |
| Reimbursed Out Of Pocket Engagement Expenses | $8.1M | 1% |
MERC
| Other | $215.3M | 48% |
| Solid Wood | $110.2M | 25% |
| Lumber | $54.9M | 12% |
| Pallets | $23.7M | 5% |
| Energyandchemicals | $18.7M | 4% |
| Manufactured Products | $14.1M | 3% |
| Biofuels | $10.0M | 2% |
| Wood Residuals | $2.6M | 1% |
