Korn Ferry (KFY) 2026 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the Korn Ferry third quarter fiscal year 2026 conference call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded for replay purposes. We have also made available in the Investor Relations section of our website at kornferry.com, a copy of the financial presentation that we will be reviewing with you today.

女士們、先生們，感謝各位的耐心等待，歡迎參加 Korn Ferry 2026 財年第三季電話會議。（操作員說明）提醒各位，本次電話會議將會被錄音，以便重播。我們還在其網站 kornferry.com 的投資者關係部分提供了財務簡報的副本，我們今天將與您一起審查該簡報。

Before I turn the call over to your host, Mr. Gary Burnison, let me first read a cautionary statement to investors. Certain statements made in the call today, such as those relating to future performance, plans and goals constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

在將電話交給主持人加里·伯尼森先生之前，請允許我先宣讀一份給投資者的警示聲明。今天電話會議中所做的某些陳述，例如與未來績效、計畫和目標相關的陳述，構成 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》意義上的前瞻性陳述。

Although the company believes and that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties, which are beyond the company's control.

儘管公司認為此類前瞻性聲明中所反映的預期是基於合理的假設，但投資者應注意不要過度依賴此類聲明。由於存在許多公司無法控制的風險和不確定因素，未來期間的實際結果可能與目前預期或希望的結果有重大差異。

Additional information concerning such risks and uncertainties can be found in the release relating to this presentation and in the periodic and other reports filed by the company with the SEC, including the company's annual report for fiscal year 2025 and in the company's soon to be filed quarterly report for the quarter ended January 31, 2026.

有關此類風險和不確定性的更多信息，請參閱與本次演示相關的公告以及公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的定期報告和其他報告，包括公司 2025 財年年度報告和公司即將提交的截至 2026 年 1 月 31 日的季度報告。

Also, some of the comments today may reference non-GAAP financial measures such as constant currency amounts, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. Additional information concerning these measures, including reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, is contained in the financial presentation and earnings release relating to this call, both of which are posted in the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.kornferry.com.

此外，今天的一些評論可能會提及非GAAP財務指標，例如以固定匯率計算的金額、EBITDA和調整後的EBITDA。有關這些措施的更多信息，包括與最直接可比較的 GAAP 財務指標的調節表，請參閱與本次電話會議相關的財務報表和收益發布，這兩份文件均發佈在公司網站 www.kornferry.com 的投資者關係部分。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Mr. Burnison. Please go ahead, Mr. Burnison.

接下來，我會把電話交給伯尼森先生。請繼續，伯尼森先生。

Okay. Thank you, Regina, and thank you, everybody, for joining us. Our outstanding performance during the quarter reflects the ongoing evolution of our firm from One Korn Ferry to We Are Korn Ferry. Fundamentally, our purpose is to enable people and organizations to be more --

好的。謝謝雷吉娜，也謝謝大家的到來。本季我們出色的業績反映了我們公司從「一個光輝國際」到「我們是光輝國際」的持續發展。從根本上講，我們的目標是使個人和組織更有效率。--

As I reflect on all the recent conversations surrounding AI and disintermediation, it strikes me that the question isn't simply will AI take away jobs? The fact is there won't be enough workers. The prism we need to look through is of a stark and balance in labor supply.

當我回顧最近圍繞人工智慧和去中介化的所有討論時，我意識到，問題不僅僅是人工智慧是否會搶走工作？事實是，工人數量不足。我們需要透過一個棱鏡來觀察勞動供給的鮮明對比和平衡。

So while there may be fewer jobs compared to the last couple of decades, there will also be a lot less people in the labor force and let's be clear on what this means. It's not simply that AI will take away your job, it's that those not embracing technology in AI will be left out.

因此，雖然與過去二十年相比，工作可能會減少，但勞動力人口也會減少很多，讓我們明確一下這意味著什麼。人工智慧不僅會搶走你的工作，還會讓那些不接受人工智慧技術的人被淘汰。

Today, the world is enveloped by unprecedented levels of change ripple effects from the pandemic, aging demographics, and technological advancement from something out of Star Wars, all of which is converging to exert greater impact on the way people live, work and consume.

如今，世界正經歷前所未有的變革浪潮，包括疫情、人口老化以及如同《星際大戰》般的技術進步，所有這些因素都在匯聚，對人們的生活、工作和消費方式產生更大的影響。

For example, birth rates in the U.S. have been falling since the late 1960s. They've essentially been cut by more than half in each year. 10,000 baby boomers are retiring every day. That's $4 million a year for the next several years. Over the next 10 years, labor force participation is forecasted to decline further.

例如，自 20 世紀 60 年代末以來，美國的出生率一直在下降。他們的人數每年基本上都減少了一半以上。每天都有1萬名嬰兒潮世代退休。這意味著未來幾年每年將獲得 400 萬美元。預計未來10年，勞動參與率將進一步下降。

And today, it's already lower than pre-COVID levels. As the labor force gets smaller, technology or immigration will need to fill the gap between supply and demand to maintain economic growth and AI will absolutely play a critical role.

而如今，這一數字已經低於新冠疫情前的水平。隨著勞動力規模縮小，技術或移民需要填補供需缺口以維持經濟成長，而人工智慧絕對將發揮關鍵作用。

And at Korn Ferry, we're at the forefront of working directly with global decision-makers who are grappling with these issues as they seek answers to creating and sustaining a high-performing workforce. The outliers of achievement and performance are going to be more in demand, not less in demand.

在光輝國際，我們始終走在與全球決策者直接合作的最前沿，他們正努力解決這些問題，尋求創造和維持高績效員工隊伍的答案。那些成就和表現突出的人將會更受歡迎，而不是更不受歡迎。

The need for highly skilled, agile talent will only increase. It will be more critical than ever to identify the 20% doing the 80%. Companies must identify, hire, develop and retain the scarce, experienced professionals needed to lead this transformation, which invariably means doing more with less. And when we look at our own business, and our clients, it supports this macroeconomic thesis.

對高技能、彈性人才的需求只會增加。找出那 20% 的人，也就是做了 80% 工作的人，將比以往任何時候都更重要。公司必須識別、僱用、培養和留住引領這項變革所需的稀缺、經驗豐富的專業人才，這必然意味著要用更少的資源做更多的事。當我們檢視自身業務和客戶時，也印證了這個宏觀經濟論點。

Internally, we have become far more efficient and productive. Over the last three years, revenue is up and costs are down. Our revenue per head count has increased by almost one third. As a result, we are more profitable and we've grown our margins by more than 300 basis points. And we're continuing to drive a major transformation from One Korn Ferry to We Are Korn Ferry. What does it mean?

在內部，我們的效率和生產力都大大提高了。過去三年，收入上升，成本下降。我們的人均收入成長了近三分之一。因此，我們的獲利能力更強了，利潤率提高了 300 多個基點。我們正在繼續推進從 One Korn Ferry 到 We Are Korn Ferry 的重大轉型。這是什麼意思？

Well, it means that we're not five businesses. We're one business with five solutions and 9,000 colleagues all with a unified mindset and it begins with client centricity, deepening our solutions with our existing clients to unlock growth. We've got more than 10,000 clients around the world but 4,500 of those represent 90% of our revenue.

也就是說，我們不是五家公司。我們是一家擁有五項解決方案和 9000 名員工的企業，所有員工都擁有統一的思維模式，一切都以客戶為中心，透過與現有客戶的合作深化解決方案，從而釋放成長潛力。我們在全球擁有超過 10,000 個客戶，但其中 4,500 個客戶貢獻了我們 90% 的收入。

And when I look at that set of clients, our penetration is only one and a half or two solutions per client for two third of the 4,500 clients. That means there's a lot of runway to deepen the relationship. So with We Are Korn Ferry, we are taking a top-down and bottom-up systematic process to tap this growth opportunity. Our margin (inaudible) again outperform the portfolio, up 9%, contributing 40% of our overall total revenue.

當我查看這組客戶時，發現對於 4500 位客戶中的三分之二，我們的滲透率僅為每位客戶提供 1.5 到 2 個解決方案。這意味著雙方還有很大的發展空間來加深彼此的關係。因此，透過 We Are Korn Ferry，我們正在採取自上而下和自下而上的系統性流程來抓住這一成長機會。我們的利潤率（聽不清楚）再次跑贏投資組合，成長了 9%，貢獻了我們總收入的 40%。

Our cross business referrals are now at a near-high of 27% of our business. And at the top of the house, our work has never been more impactful. Recently, a well-known TV broadcast highlighted seven major CEO transitions over the last few months, and we were involved in six of them. Further reflecting our client centricity, we've won several significant transformation engagements across the globe.

我們跨業務推薦量目前已接近業務總量的 27%。而在高層，我們的工作也從未像現在這樣有影響力。最近，一家知名電視台重點介紹了過去幾個月發生的七起重大 CEO 更迭事件，而我們參與了其中六起。為了進一步體現我們以客戶為中心的理念，我們在全球贏得了多個重要的轉型專案。

A major aerospace and defense company is one of our first end-to-end Talent Suite customers, utilizing our proprietary data to make better talent decisions across 40,000-plus employees. This is a multiyear Talent Suite engagement. For me, Talent Suite isn't a product. It's moneyball for business based on data beyond compare.

一家大型航空航太和國防公司是我們首批端到端人才套件客戶之一，利用我們專有的數據，在超過 40,000 名員工中做出更好的人才決策。這是一項為期多年的人才套件合作計畫。對我而言，Talent Suite 不是一款產品。這是基於無可比擬的數據，為商業領域打造的「點球成金」理論。

It gives clients decades of insight of what separates great from good. And it powers the entire firm. As one of the top financial institutions in the world with nearly 100,000 employees, we're supporting a new enterprise-wide talent excellence program, incorporating our world-class assessment capability and leadership accelerator programs.

它為客戶提供數十年的洞察，幫助他們了解優秀與卓越之間的差異。它為整個公司提供動力。作為全球頂尖金融機構之一，我們擁有近 10 萬名員工，我們正在支持一項全新的企業級人才卓越計劃，該計劃融合了我們世界一流的評估能力和領導力加速器計劃。

And finally, we're proud to be a founding partner of the LA '28 Olympic and Paralympic games, powering the people who power the games. We're not only building their C-suite but also helping them design the organization and hiring the nearly 5,000 people who will perform on the world's most inspiring stage.

最後，我們很自豪能成為洛杉磯 2028 年奧運會和殘奧會的創始合作夥伴，為那些為奧運會提供動力的人們提供支持。我們不僅在幫助他們組建高階主管團隊，還在幫助他們設計組織架構，並招募近 5000 名將在世界上最鼓舞人心的舞台上表演的人員。

With that, I will turn it over to Bob Rozek. Bob, go ahead.

接下來，我將把麥克風交給鮑伯·羅澤克。鮑勃，你先說。

Great. Thanks, Gary, and good afternoon or good morning. We're very pleased with our third quarter results. This is our fifth consecutive quarter of accelerating year-over-year fee revenue growth, and we continue to deliver earnings growth, driving strong profitability and free cash flow. Our go-to-market approach continues to be intentional and focused on opportunities where we can build broader relationships with clients by selling larger integrated solutions that support their evolving talent issues.

偉大的。謝謝你，加里，下午好/早安。我們對第三季的業績非常滿意。這是我們連續第五個季度實現年比費用收入加速成長，我們也持續實現獲利成長，推動了強勁的獲利能力和自由現金流。我們的市場策略仍然是有計劃的，專注於透過銷售更大的整合解決方案來支援客戶不斷變化的人才問題，從而與客戶建立更廣泛的關係。

Now what's really impressive is we are doing this in an environment where business conditions and labor markets remain challenged. It is very clear that our strategy is working, and our results demonstrate that we have built a company that is different from others in the industry. We performed differently because we are different. Now turning to overall company results comparing Q3 of FY26 to Q3 of FY25.

真正令人印象深刻的是，我們是在一個商業環境和勞動力市場仍然充滿挑戰的環境下做到這一點的。很明顯，我們的策略正在奏效，我們的成果證明，我們已經建立了一家與業內其他公司不同的公司。我們表現不同，是因為我們本身就不同。現在來看看公司整體業績，比較一下 2026 財年第三季和 2025 財年第三季。

Our consolidated fee revenue grew 7% to $717 million, again, our fifth consecutive quarter of accelerating year-over-year growth. Earnings continued to grow in line with fee revenue and profitability remains strong. Adjusted EBITDA grew $9 million or 7.5% to $123 million. Our adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.2%, up 10 basis points and adjusted diluted earnings per share grew $0.09 or 8% to $1.28.

我們的綜合費用收入成長了 7%，達到 7.17 億美元，這是我們連續第五個季度實現同比增長加速。收益與手續費收入同步成長，獲利能力依然強勁。調整後 EBITDA 成長 900 萬美元，增幅 7.5%，達到 1.23 億美元。調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 17.2%，上升 10 個基點；經調整後的稀釋每股收益成長 0.09 美元，增幅 8%，達到 1.28 美元。

Total company new business, excluding RPO, grew 11%, with both consulting and digital reaching all-time quarterly highs. RPO delivered $54 million of new business in the quarter with 78% coming from new logos and 22% from renewals. Estimated remaining fees under existing contracts at the end of the quarter were $1.85 billion.

公司新業務總量（不包括 RPO）成長了 11%，諮詢和數位化業務均創下季度歷史新高。RPO 本季帶來了 5,400 萬美元的新業務，其中 78% 來自新客戶，22% 來自續約。截至本季末，現有合約項下剩餘費用估計為 18.5 億美元。

It's up 11% year-over-year and we estimate that approximately 60% or about $1.1 billion will be recognized within the next year with the remaining 40% or about $734 million estimated to be recognized beyond the next four quarters. And finally, our capital allocation during the quarter remained balanced.

年比成長 11%，我們估計約 60%（約 11 億美元）將在未來一年內確認，剩餘的 40%（約 7.34 億美元）預計將在未來四個季度之後確認。最後，本季我們的資本配置保持平衡。

Through the end of the third quarter, we have returned about $113 million to shareholders through combined share repurchases and dividends, and we've invested $64 million back into capital expenditures, focused on Talent Suite, productivity tools and other solution and product enhancements.

截至第三季末，我們透過股票回購和分紅向股東返還了約 1.13 億美元，並將 6,400 萬美元重新投入資本支出，重點用於人才套件、生產力工具和其他解決方案和產品改進。

In a separate announcement last week, our Board has approved a 15% increase in our quarterly cash dividend to $0.55 per share, and that's our seventh dividend increase in the last six years. Our cash flow remains strong, and we are confident in the outlook for our business.

在上週的另一份公告中，我們的董事會批准將季度現金股利提高 15%，至每股 0.55 美元，這是我們在過去六年中的第七次提高股息。我們的現金流依然強勁，我們對公司前景充滿信心。

In addition to the detailed results found in our posted earnings presentation, here are a few company-wide in solution-specific highlights for the third quarter. You saw fee revenue growth was very broad-based across all solutions. The interim portion of our PS&I solution grew 4%, continuing to benefit from new business referrals, which were a key factor driving our outperformance in an industry that has been challenged for more than 36 months.

除了我們在已發布的收益報告中詳細列出的結果外，以下是第三季公司整體及特定解決方案的一些亮點。您可以看到，所有解決方案的費用收入成長都非常普遍。我們的 PS&I 解決方案的過渡部分成長了 4%，繼續受益於新的業務推薦，這是推動我們在一個已經面臨 36 個月多挑戰的行業中取得優異業績的關鍵因素。

Our new business referrals and Marquee & Diamond Accounts program continue to be contributors of growth enabled by our We Are Korn Ferry go-to-market initiative. As Gary mentioned, new business referrals accounted for 27.2% of our consolidated fee revenue, that's up 200 basis points year-over-year and the Marquee & Diamond Accounts continued to be strong at 40% of our total fee revenue.

我們透過「我們是光輝國際」市場推廣計劃，持續推動業務成長，而新業務推薦和重點客戶及鑽石客戶計劃也持續為成長做出貢獻。正如 Gary 所提到的，新業務推薦占我們合併費用收入的 27.2%，年增 200 個基點，而 Marquee & Diamond Accounts 繼續保持強勁勢頭，占我們總費用收入的 40%。

Also in the third quarter, subscription and licensed new business grew 30% year-over-year and accounted for 43% of Digital's total new business. Additionally, in the third quarter, subscription and license fee revenue grew 8%. And finally, our average hourly bill rates for consulting, and interim grew by 2% and 15%, respectively, again, demonstrating the high value our clients place on these solutions.

第三季度，訂閱和授權新業務年增 30%，佔 Digital 新業務總額的 43%。此外，第三季訂閱費和授權費收入成長了 8%。最後，我們的諮詢和臨時服務平均小時收費標準分別增加了 2% 和 15%，再次證明了我們的客戶對這些解決方案的高度重視。

Now turning to our regions. Fee revenue in the Americas was up 6%, led by growth in Executive Search and RPO. EMEA fee revenue continued to be strong, growing 13% with double-digit growth in Executive Search, Consulting, Digital and PS&I and APAC fee revenue declined slightly at 2% with growth in Executive Search being offset by modest weakness in other solutions.

現在讓我們來看看我們所在的地區。美洲地區的收費收入成長了 6%，主要得益於高階主管搜尋和招募流程外包 (RPO) 業務的成長。歐洲、中東和非洲地區的收費收入持續保持強勁成長，成長了 13%，其中高階主管搜尋、諮詢、數位和 PS&I 業務實現了兩位數的成長；亞太地區的收費收入略微下降了 2%，高階主管搜尋業務的成長被其他解決方案的輕微疲軟所抵消。

Now turning to our outlook for the fourth quarter of fiscal '26. Assuming no material negative impact from the recent Middle East conflict and no further changes in worldwide geopolitical conditions, economic conditions, financial markets, and foreign exchange rates, we expect fee revenue in the fourth quarter to range from $730 million to $750 million.

現在讓我們展望一下 2026 財年第四季。假設近期中東衝突沒有造成實質負面影響，且全球地緣政治情勢、經濟情勢、金融市場和外匯匯率沒有進一步變化，我們預期第四季費用收入將在 7.3 億美元至 7.5 億美元之間。

Our adjusted EBITDA margin to range from 17.1% to 17.3% and our consolidated adjusted diluted earnings per share as well as our GAAP diluted earnings per share to range from $1.34 to $1.40. Now in closing, our financial results over the last five quarters demonstrate that our unique combination of foundational assets, expertise and capabilities truly matter to our clients.

我們調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率預計在 17.1% 至 17.3% 之間，合併調整後攤薄每股收益以及 GAAP 攤薄每股收益預計在 1.34 美元至 1.40 美元之間。最後，我們過去五個季度的財務表現表明，我們獨特的資產基礎、專業知識和能力組合對我們的客戶至關重要。

Looking to the future, I'm very excited about our opportunities to drive continued top line growth. You heard Gary talk about our top 4,500 clients.

展望未來，我對我們有機會推動營收持續成長感到非常興奮。你聽 Gary 談到了我們的前 4500 名客戶。

With the rollout of Talent Suite and our We are Korn Ferry, we continue to see significant opportunity to expand those relationships in what we call the green space that is horizontal expansion where we bring additional solutions to our clients, vertical expansion where we leverage our strong C-suite relationships and provide solutions at scale to what we call the [vital many], and that's down into an organization's professional ranks.

隨著人才套件和「我們是光輝國際」的推出，我們繼續看到在所謂的「綠色空間」中拓展這些關係的巨大機會，即橫向擴張，即我們為客戶提供更多解決方案；縱向擴張，即我們利用強大的高管關係，並大規模地為我們所說的「至關重要的大多數人」提供解決方案，也就是深入到組織的專業層級。

We have a great playbook to run from our Marquee & Diamond Accounts where we have a strong track record of successfully expanding those relationships. I also see further opportunities in our joint go-to-market activities particularly between consulting and digital. And as I've said many times before on these calls, I am more convinced than ever that our best is yet to come.

我們擁有一套完善的策略，可以運用到我們的重點客戶和鑽石級客戶身上，我們在拓展這些客戶關係方面有著良好的業績記錄。我也看到我們在聯合市場推廣活動中，尤其是在諮詢和數位化領域，有更多機會。正如我之前在電話會議上多次說過的那樣，我比以往任何時候都更加確信，我們最好的時刻尚未到來。

With that, we would be glad to answer any questions you may have.

如有任何疑問，我們非常樂意為您解答。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Tobey Sommer, Truist Securities Inc.

Tobey Sommer，Truist Securities Inc.

Thank you. So markets are certainly reacting to a number of potential outcomes as a result of AI. How do you see AI impacting Korn Ferry?

謝謝。因此，市場無疑會對人工智慧可能帶來的諸多結果做出反應。您認為人工智慧將如何影響光輝國際？

Well, I think it's going to -- at the end of the day, it's going to allow us to drive more efficiency as we've done over the last three years, number one. And number two, where we play, we're playing at the high end -- at the high end of the labor force. I mean take the United States, there's only 25,000 companies that have 1,000 employees or more.

嗯，我認為最終它會——就像過去三年一樣，它將使我們能夠提高效率，這是第一點。第二，我們所處的市場，是高端市場──是勞動市場的高端市場。我的意思是，以美國為例，只有 25,000 家公司擁有 1,000 名或以上的員工。

And so when I look at the U.S. labor force today of 171 million, and really look through the categories of talent, Korn Ferry and its clients are very much at the high end. And so I don't really see that high-end labor talent being disintermediated. And so I believe long term, but it's actually going to create more opportunity for us, not just an efficiency in how we deliver services, but also in terms of our client solutions and delivery.

因此，當我審視當今美國 1.71 億的勞動力，並真正深入了解各種人才類別時，Korn Ferry 及其客戶都處於高端水平。因此，我並不認為高端勞動力人才會被去中介化。因此，我相信從長遠來看，這實際上會為我們創造更多機會，不僅提高我們提供服務的效率，而且提高我們為客戶提供的解決方案和交付效率。

I mean we've got a number of engagements where we're using what we have is proprietary AI-ready leadership assessment tool. And we're using that through the Talent Suite to help companies transform their workforce. So I -- look, I just look at the numbers in the labor force.

我的意思是，我們有很多專案都在使用我們自主研發的、具備人工智慧功能的領導力評估工具。我們正透過人才套件利用這些技術來幫助企業轉型其員工。所以，我——你看，我只是看看勞動市場的數字。

And over the last 20 years, the U.S. labor force has created something like 20 million to 25 million jobs. Over the next 10 years, it's estimated to be 5 million. And last year, we produced as a country very, very few jobs. And so I think you've got this huge imbalance between the demand and supply of labor that either has to get filled through immigration or technology.

在過去 20 年裡，美國勞動力創造了約 2,000 萬到 2,500 萬個就業機會。預計未來 10 年內將達到 500 萬。去年，我們國家創造的就業機會非常非常少。所以我認為，勞動需求和供給之間存在著巨大的不平衡，這種不平衡要嘛需要透過移民來填補，要嘛需要透過科技來填補。

And I would say it's going to be heavily on technologies. So for me, it's not -- it's not a simple question that AI will take away jobs. It's the people that don't embrace AI; they're going to be left out. So I -- look, this is early days.

我認為這將很大程度上取決於技術。所以對我來說，人工智慧是否會搶走工作並不是一個簡單的問題。那些不接受人工智慧的人，終將被時代拋棄。所以，你看，現在還為時過早。

And most -- when we talk to most clients, truthfully, they haven't fully figured out how to use AI to drive efficiency. But when I look at the demographic trends, it's quite clear that companies are going to have to do more with less. It's mathematics around demographics.

說實話，當我們與大多數客戶交談時，他們還沒有完全弄清楚如何使用人工智慧來提高效率。但從人口趨勢來看，很明顯，企業將不得不以更少的資源做更多的事情。這是關於人口統計的數學。

In that context, I want to just double click, if we had a higher -- or an increase in unemployment, do you think the company can grow in that kind of environment that typically used to be characterized or would reflect an economic recession and maybe it would or maybe it won't in this -- if AI goes to the (inaudible) degree as some are thinking?

在這種情況下，我想雙擊一下，如果我們失業率更高，或者失業率上升，你認為公司還能在這種通常被認為是經濟衰退的環境下發展嗎？也許能，也許不能──如果人工智慧發展到某些人認為的那種程度（聽不清楚）？

Well, we're trying -- I mean, this is my 95th earnings call -- quarterly earnings call. And many years ago, the company was dependent on one solution, which was Executive Search, and that was directly tied not only to the stock market with a high correlation but to unemployment and what was happening in the labor force.

嗯，我們正在努力——我的意思是，這是我的第95次財報電話會議——季度財報電話會議。很多年前，公司依賴一種解決方案，即高階主管獵頭，而這不僅與股市高度相關，還與失業率和勞動力市場狀況直接​​相關。

Today, you've got a much more diversified business with five different solutions. And I think we've demonstrated over the last 36 months, which I consider a labor recession that there's quarters that one solution is up and another is down.

如今，你們的業務更加多元化，擁有五種不同的解決方案。我認為在過去的 36 個月裡（我將其視為勞動力衰退期），我們已經證明，在某些季度裡，一種解決方案會上升，而另一種解決方案則會下降。

And the thing that's very interesting is when you look at the Executive Search solution, and you think about the labor market over the last 36 months, you would have expected based on historical data going back many years, that the Executive Search solution would actually be down.

非常有趣的是，當你審視高階主管獵頭解決方案，並回顧過去 36 個月的勞動力市場時，根據多年的歷史數據，你會預期高階主管獵頭解決方案實際上會下滑。

When in fact, it's the opposite. And so I think that tells you part of the story there is around demographics. I mean, clearly, it's around the strategy. There's no doubt about that. But it's also reflective of demographics. It's reflected of post-COVID life and it's reflective of boards looking at leadership teams and saying, hey, what got you here isn't going to get you there.

但事實上，情況恰恰相反。所以我認為這揭示了人口統計數據背後的部分故事。我的意思是，很明顯，問題出在戰略上。這點毋庸置疑。但這同時也反映了人口結構的變化。這反映了後疫情時代的生活，也反映了董事會審視領導團隊並表示：嘿，讓你們走到今天的方法，並不能讓你們走到明天。

I mean people are making choices about opting out of the labor force because most of those people in the C-suite were leading businesses during COVID. And so maybe it's worked life balance. But there is something going on here that's interesting. And I look at it and say, our clients, the people that are making decisions around us are truly the outliers of achievement.

我的意思是，人們選擇退出勞動市場，是因為大多數高階主管在新冠疫情期間都在領導企業。所以，或許關鍵在於工作與生活的平衡。但這裡面有些事情很有意思。我看著這一切，不禁感嘆：我們的客戶，那些在我們周圍做決策的人，才是真正成就的傑出人物。

And I just don't -- I don't look at it and think, oh, my god, out of 171 million people in the labor force, 20 million are in management roles. I just don't see that they're going to be wiped out here. We have not disintermediated humanity.

我根本不會——我不會看著這個數字想，哦，我的天哪，在 1.71 億勞動力中，有 2000 萬人擔任管理職位。我並不認為他們會在這裡被徹底消滅。我們並沒有消除人與人之間的中介。

Okay. Thank you very much. If I could ask one more, and I'll get back in the queue. With respect to Talent Suite, do you think that is more likely to have the biggest impact deepening existing relationships, making them stickier somehow? Or is it more about expanding into new customer relationships? And I'm sure there's an element of both. But if you had to choose which way would you go?

好的。非常感謝。如果我能再問一個問題，我就重新排隊。關於人才套件，您認為它更有可能對深化現有關係、增強關係黏性產生最大影響嗎？或者，這更多的是拓展新的客戶關係？我相信兩者兼而有之。但如果必須二選一，你會選擇哪一條路？

I think it's the former. The thing where there is incredible and we've been working now for it's 12 months on We are Korn Ferry. And the crux of it when you look at it, there's 4,500 clients that represent 90% of our revenue. And when you look at that client base, what you're going to find is that you look at two third of them, and we're only doing one and a half or two solutions.

我認為是前者。這件事令人難以置信，我們已經為此努力了 12 個月。我們是 Korn Ferry。而問題的關鍵在於，我們有 4500 個客戶，他們貢獻了我們 90% 的收入。當你查看這些客戶群時，你會發現，我們只為其中三分之二的客戶提供了一種半或兩種解決方案。

So I look at Talent Suite as not a digital solution play. I look at it as empowering the entire firm. And ultimately, the goal is to try to infuse Korn Ferry's language of talent in the companies, how they hire, how they design an organization, how they retain, how they pay, how they develop.

所以我認為 Talent Suite 不是數位化解決方案提供者。我認為這是賦予整個公司更多權力。最終目標是嘗試將 Korn Ferry 的人才理念融入到各個公司中，包括他們的招募方式、組織架構設計、人才保留方式、薪酬方式和人才發展方式。

So I look at it much broader, but the goal absolutely is a little bit like a Trojan horse to embed the language of client. And then when it comes to the digital solution and Talent Suite, the reality is you've got -- we've probably got about 6,000 clients on Talent Suite, something like that.

所以我從更廣闊的角度來看這個問題，但其目標確實有點像特洛伊木馬，目的是嵌入客戶的語言。至於數位化解決方案和人才套件，實際情況是——我們大概有 6000 個客戶在使用人才套件，差不多就是這個數字。

And when you look at that, what you're going to find is that 70% of them are only using one product within Talent Suite. And so there's enormous opportunity there. So for me, it comes down to having a systematic approach on the go-to-market side and having client service teams that are targeting and servicing the world's biggest companies.

當你仔細觀察時，你會發現其中 70% 的人只使用 Talent Suite 中的一款產品。因此，那裡蘊藏著巨大的機會。所以對我來說，關鍵在於市場推廣方面要採取系統性的方法，並且要有專門針對並服務全球最大公司的客戶服務團隊。

Thank you very much.

非常感謝。

Trevor Romeo, William Blair & Company.

特雷弗·羅密歐，威廉·布萊爾公司。

Hi. Good morning. Thank you for taking the questions. Maybe I'll just follow up on the Talent Suite discussion. Because it look like your fees under contract were up double digits for both consulting and digital, I think your subscription and license fee revenue and the new business also accelerated.

你好。早安.感謝您回答這些問題。或許我應該繼續跟進人才套件的討論。因為看起來你們的合約費用（諮詢和數位業務）都實現了兩位數的增長，我認為你們的訂閱費和許可費收入以及新業務也加速增長了。

So would you attribute any of that to, I guess, very early returns from Talent Suite? Is it already having an impact? Or if not, maybe you could speak to what drove that because it seems like a pretty meaningful acceleration for both of those solutions?

所以，你認為這其中有多少要歸功於 Talent Suite 的早期回報？它已經產生影響了嗎？或者，如果不是，您能否談談是什麼原因促成了這一點，因為這似乎對這兩種解決方案來說都是相當顯著的加速？

Yeah. We had a killer -- we had a killer a couple of months in the quarter of new business. We -- again, the strategy is trying to deepen the relationships, driving client centricity. And I would say that the talent suite had a little impact, but not much because we did a soft launch in November. And the harder launch was in January; we converted all of the clients seamlessly.

是的。我們在新業務季度的幾個月裡取得了巨大成功。我們再次強調，我們的策略是努力加深客戶關係，推動以客戶為中心的發展。我認為人才套件產生了一些影響，但影響不大，因為我們在 11 月進行了試營運。而最艱難的發布是在一月；我們順利地完成了所有客戶的轉換。

We didn't have any problems. And now we're embarking on a journey to get all of our 2,000 front-of-the-house colleagues to be able to talk to our clients about our -- what I think our data is beyond compare. I really do. And so I look at it and say it's kind of moneyball for business. And we've got 50-plus years knowing how you separate great from good.

我們沒有遇到任何問題。現在，我們正著手讓所有 2000 名前台同事都能與客戶談論我們的——我認為我們的數據是無與倫比的。我真的這麼認為。所以我覺得這有點像是商業版的《點球成金》。我們擁有超過 50 年的經驗，知道如何區分優秀和良好。

And I think in an environment going forward where companies are going to have to do more with less, I think this could play a big role in our future. But I don't simply look at it as a digital solution play, it's really connected to everything we do, our RPO solution, Executive Search solution, Professional Search solution. It's a foundation for the firm.

我認為，在未來企業必須以更少資源完成更多工作的環境下，這項技術可能會在我們的未來發揮重要作用。但我並不僅僅把它看作是一個數位解決方案，它實際上與我們所做的一切都息息相關，包括我們的招募流程外包解決方案、高階主管搜尋解決方案和專業人才搜尋解決方案。這是公司的基石。

We've never in the past taken all of our IP and put it in a seamless warehouse where you can go in and do benchmarking on your workforce and all that. So look, it's early days, and we rolled out the technology and now it's getting our front of the house colleagues on a very targeted basis to take this to our client base.

我們過去從未將所有智慧財產權放在一個無縫的倉庫中，讓使用者可以進入其中對員工進行基準測試等等。所以你看，現在還處於早期階段，我們已經推出了這項技術，現在正在有針對性地讓我們的前線同事將這項技術推廣給我們的客戶群。

That's encouraging. And then maybe one other Talent Suite question. Now that you have it in place up and running in addition to your other sort of tech and AI investments, how do you view Korn Ferry's technology spending, I guess, in total in the next few years, whether that's CapEx or OpEx? Is the ongoing run rate here, do you think going to be higher or lower than you may have seen in the past or the same, I guess?

這令人鼓舞。然後可能還會問一個關於人才選拔的問題。既然你們已經將這項技術部署到位並投入運營，再加上你們在其他技術和人工智慧方面的投資，那麼，你們如何看待 Korn Ferry 在未來幾年內的技術支出總額，無論是資本支出還是營運支出？你認為目前的運行速度會比過去更高、更低還是持平？

Well, I think Bob can probably address that more. I would just say that when you look back, we've had a fairly balanced approach to capital deployment. And call it, the last trailing 15 months or so, I think the bet has been more towards Talent Suite and CapEx and obviously, dividend, look, we just raised the dividend again. I think it's our seventh raise in six years.

嗯，我覺得鮑伯可能更能回答這個問題。我想說的是，回顧過去，我們在資本部署方面一直採取相當平衡的方法。可以說，在過去的 15 個月左右的時間裡，我認為投資更多地集中在人才套件和資本支出上，當然還有股息，你看，我們剛剛又提高了股息。我想這是我們六年來的第七次加薪。

I think you may see us lean a little bit more heavily in the stock buybacks over the next few months. So there could be a slight change versus call it, the first nine months of this fiscal year because it was heavily tilted towards technology spend.

我認為在接下來的幾個月裡，你們可能會看到我們加大股票回購力道。因此，與本財年的前九個月相比，可能會略有變化，因為前九個月的支出嚴重偏向技術支出。

Yeah. I think that's right, Gary. I think if you -- Trevor, if you look at our CapEx spend, we're probably around the $80 million to $85 million run rate currently, and we had anticipated that coming back down to what you would have seen more historically is, say, $60 million, $65 million run rate, and we'll probably see that drop going into our fiscal '27. So we're in the process of doing our planning for next year right now.

是的。我想你說得對，加里。我認為，特雷弗，如果你看一下我們的資本支出，我們目前的年化支出可能在 8000 萬到 8500 萬美元左右，我們預計它會回落到歷史上更常見的水平，比如 6000 萬到 6500 萬美元的年化支出，我們可能會在 2027 財年看到這種下降。所以，我們目前正在製定明年的計畫。

And as Gary indicated, it's one of the things that we look at and think about quite a bit is how we allocate capital. And I would say you'll see the CapEx probably drop a bit but maybe lean more heavily as Gary indicated into buybacks, certainly, where -- when you see the market dislocated like it is today.

正如 Gary 所指出的，我們經常關注和思考的問題之一就是如何分配資本。我認為資本支出可能會略有下降，但可能會像 Gary 指出的那樣，更側重於股票回購，尤其是在像今天這樣市場錯置的情況下。

Yes. Okay. If I could maybe just ask one more on your interim business. I think you talked about the cross referrals driving outperformance there. Obviously, the [temp] staffing spaces has been very tough the last several years, as you pointed out.

是的。好的。我可以再問一個關於您臨時業務的問題嗎？我想你之前提到過交叉推薦如何推動業績超額完成。正如你所指出的，過去幾年臨時工招聘市場一直非常緊張。

So maybe just what kind of demand trends are you seeing there independent of your cross referrals? Are you seeing maybe a little pickup in conversations in the last few months? And then on the bill rate jumping up to almost 150, anything you'd call out from a mix perspective there?

那麼，撇開交叉推薦不談，您觀察到的當地需求趨勢是什麼？你有沒有註意到，最近幾個月人們的交流似乎有所增加？然後，帳單費率飆升至近 150，從組合角度來看，您有什麼需要指出的嗎？

Yeah. It's the Korn Ferry [lift]. I mean, we're trying to -- we want to compete there at the very high end of talent because of the questions that have been raised around AI and the like. So we want to be focused on the outliers of achievement.

是的。這是光輝國際[舉起]。我的意思是，我們正在努力——我們希望在頂尖人才領域競爭，因為人工智慧等領域引發了許多疑問。所以我們要專注在那些取得卓越成就的傑出人物。

And yes, you look at what I've seen in the industry, people have reported, they saw slight uptick sequentially late November, saw that in December, sawing it flow through to January, somewhat flat in February because of the shorter number of days.

是的，看看我在業界看到的情況，人們報告說，11 月下旬出現了小幅環比增長，12 月也出現了這種增長，一直延續到 1 月，2 月由於天數較少而略有平穩。

But yes, that we've seen absolutely that go up. It's up -- it was up 4% in the quarter. That's just the interim part of the business and the bill rates have gone up. And so the temp penetration rate is still at historic lows, you know that better than I. I look back over the last 25 years, and generally, in the workforce, there's been about, in the United States, 2.5 million temp workers.

是的，我們確實看到這種情況有所上升。它上漲了——本季上漲了4%。這只是業務的過渡部分，而且收費標準已經上漲了。因此，臨時工的滲透率仍然處於歷史低位，你比我更清楚這一點。回顧過去25年，在美國，勞動市場中約有250萬臨時工。

Obviously, the penetration rate has been significantly higher than it has today. I don't think that's going to go away. In fact, you could make the argument that companies are going to need more flex arrangements to deal with one-off projects and the like. So we're very, very happy with how that solution has done. And the opportunity there quite candidly, is not only the United States for us, but Europe.

顯然，當時的滲透率遠高於現在。我認為這個問題不會消失。事實上，你可以認為，公司需要更靈活的安排來應對一次性專案等情況。所以我們對這個解決方案的效果非常非常滿意。坦白說，對我們來說，機會不僅在美國，而且在歐洲。

And we made an investment in an interim solution and an executive interim solution in Europe going back probably 15, 16 months ago. And that has absolutely outperformed. And one of the reasons why it's outperformed is because how we have integrated not only because there's talented people, but we've also been very, very purposeful on We Are Korn Ferry go-to-market strategy.

大約 15、16 個月前，我們在歐洲投資了一個臨時解決方案和一個高階主管臨時解決方案。而且它的表現絕對超出了預期。而它表現優異的原因之一是，我們整合得非常好，這不僅是因為我們擁有優秀的人才，還因為我們在「我們是光輝國際」的市場進入策略上非常有目的性。

All right. Thank you very much.

好的。非常感謝。

Our next question will come from the line of George Tong with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

我們的下一個問題將來自高盛的George Tong。請繼續。

Hi. This is Alex on for George. I wanted to see if you could provide an update on what you're seeing with sales cycles and how client spending behavior may be differing across segments and whether there's been any impact from macro sensitivity?

你好。這是亞歷克斯替喬治解說。我想了解您目前觀察到的銷售週期情況，以及不同細分市場的客戶支出行為可能存在的差異，以及宏觀經濟敏感度是否產生了任何影響？

I haven't seen any. The reality is more of the same. I mean the BLS numbers in the United States were obviously not great. They weren't great because of health care. But if you just look back over many months, the jobs have been created were in the health care government.

我一個也沒看到。現實情況大同小異。我的意思是，美國勞工統計局的數據顯然不太好。他們的醫療保健狀況並不理想。但如果你回顧過去幾個月，你會發現新增的就業機會都集中在醫療保健和政府部門。

So I mean, to me, it's more of the same. Now what I can't comment on is the last 10 days or so. And I don't think anybody can. We have not factored that into our guidance. 10 days in, we just -- you just don't know. But I can just tell you the direction of travel for this firm is unbelievable.

所以對我來說，這和以前沒什麼兩樣。我無法評論最近十天左右發生的事情。我覺得沒人能做到。我們尚未將此因素納入指導方針。十天過去了，我們──你真的無法預料。但我可以告訴你，這家公司的發展方向令人難以置信。

And I've been here with dot-com crisis, long-term credit crisis, Great Recession, COVID, all of that, Russia, Ukraine, I can go on and on and on, the changes in China and the extended lockdowns there. I can go on and on and on, but the reality is when you look at the direction of travel, this firm is outstanding.

我經歷了網路泡沫破裂、長期信貸危機、大衰退、新冠疫情等等，還有俄羅斯、烏克蘭，我可以一直說下去，還有中國的變化和長期的封鎖。我可以繼續說下去，但現實是，當你審視發展方向時，這家公司是傑出的。

Great. Thanks.

偉大的。謝謝。

The other thing I would add to that, too, is if you look at the new business in the third quarter, Gary mentioned we had a couple of really good months. The thing I found very interesting, usually October and March are high watermarks for new business. And then December is usually one of the slowest months because of the year-end holidays and so on.

我還要補充一點，如果你看一下第三季的新業務，Gary 提到我們有幾個月的業績非常好。我發現一件很有趣的事情，通常十月和三月是新業務的高峰期。此外，由於年底假期等原因，12 月通常是銷售最淡的月份之一。

And we hit an all-time high in new business in October, and we eclipsed that in December this past year. And we saw some very large engagements being signed. In fact, 44% of the consulting new business in the quarter were engagements over $0.5 million.

我們在 10 月的新業務量創下歷史新高，並在去年 12 月超越了這個數字。我們看到一些規模非常大的合作項目簽署了。事實上，本季諮詢新業務中有 44% 的業務金額超過 50 萬美元。

So as Gary mentioned before, we're playing top of the house, people really value what we bring, and they're struggling to work their way through the somewhat chaotic world that we live in today, and they're only going to do that through their talent, and that's exactly where we come in.

正如 Gary 之前提到的，我們處於行業頂峰，人們非常重視我們帶來的東西，他們正在努力適應我們今天所生活的這個有些混亂的世界，而他們只能透過自己的才能做到這一點，而這正是我們發揮作用的地方。

Yeah. Got it. That's very helpful. And then I want to ask on the digital side, which saw some improvement sequentially, but was flat year-over-year on a constant currency basis. So can you touch on what drove this and how the pivot toward enterprise-oriented sales is progressing?

是的。知道了。那很有幫助。然後我想問一下數位業務方面的情況，雖然環比有所改善，但以固定匯率計算，比去年同期持平。那麼，您能否談談促成這項轉變的原因，以及向企業導向型銷售的轉型進展如何？

Yeah. I mean that's something we have to do. We have to continue to look at our own talent, and we have to ensure that all 2,000 of our consultants can have a more enterprise-wide conversation for sure. And when you look at the digital solution only, you're going to find that it's just an increasing percentage is longer term kind of software as a service deal.

是的。我的意思是，這是我們必須要做的事情。我們必須繼續關注我們自身的人才，並且必須確保我們所有的 2000 名顧問都能進行更廣泛的企業級對話。如果你只看數位化解決方案，你會發現，從長遠來看，軟體即服務 (SaaS) 交易所佔的比例越來越高。

So I don't sit there and look at simply revenue. I look at the entire firm and what is it doing in terms of our win loss rate, which we also carefully monitor and study. And is the backlog -- what is the backlog doing? So I sit there and say, in this environment, am I totally satisfied?

所以我不會只盯著收入看。我會審視整個公司，以及我們在勝負率的表現，我們也會仔細監控和研究勝負率。積壓的工作目前進展如何？於是我坐在那裡問自己，在這種環境下，我是否完全滿足？

No, not satisfied. But we've only been at this with this IP in a common warehouse for a couple of months. I mean this has not been very long at all.

不滿意。但我們使用這個IP位址在公共倉庫裡進行這項工作也才幾個月而已。我的意思是，時間其實沒有過去很久。

Makes sense. Thank you.

有道理。謝謝。

Joshua Chan, UBS.

Joshua Chan，瑞銀集團。

Hi, good morning, Gary and Bob. I guess on your consulting side of business, this is usually a business that is stronger when the economy is more poor, I guess. And so could you just talk to the recent strengths in this consulting new business and what are some of the common threats that you're getting from sort of the 0.5 million-plus engagements that kind of Bob kind of alluded to earlier?

嗨，早上好，Gary 和 Bob。我想，就你們的諮詢業務而言，經濟越不景氣，業務通常就越強勁。那麼，您能否談談諮詢新業務最近的優勢，以及您在處理鮑勃之前提到的超過 50 萬美元的專案時遇到的一些常見威脅？

It's around transformation. It's around org strategy and transformation. That would be the big ticket theme for those larger engagements. And I read something last night; there was a report that consulting firms in calendar 2025 grew something like 5% or 5.5%. You have to kind of question that a little bit.

它關乎轉型。它與組織策略和轉型有關。這將是那些大型活動的核心主題。我昨晚讀到一份報告，表示到 2025 年，顧問公司將成長約 5% 或 5.5%。你得對此稍作質疑。

But I look at our overall firm over the past, call it, 12 months, and I'm saying, hey, we're in line or better recognizing that part of our business deals with the labor markets, which haven't been exactly fantastic.

但回顧我們公司過去 12 個月的整體情況，我認為，嘿，我們做得很好，甚至更好，因為我們意識到，我們業務的一部分與勞動力市場有關，而勞動力市場的情況並不太理想。

Hey Josh, the other thing I would say, too, is if you look at in the consulting business right now, Gary talked about transformation. A lot of companies are looking at their talent. Now are they ready to be productive in an AI world, and we have solutions that look at AI-ready leaders, AI-ready talent, and that's where you see the assessment and succession having strong year-over-year growth in that quarter as well.

嘿，喬希，我還想說的是，如果你看看現在的顧問業，加里談到了轉型。許多公司都在關注人才問題。現在他們是否準備好在人工智慧世界中高效工作？我們有一些解決方案，著眼於具備人工智慧能力的領導者和人才，因此，你會看到評估和繼任計畫在本季度也實現了強勁的同比增長。

Okay. That's great color. Thank you both. And then maybe a quick question on margin. So if Korn Ferry continues to grow at the similar revenue growth rate that you're kind of guiding to, what's the right way to think about kind of margin expansion for the company as a whole kind of going forward?

好的。顏色真好看。謝謝你們兩位。然後或許會問一個關於利潤率的簡單問題。如果 Korn Ferry 繼續以您預測的類似營收成長率成長，那麼對於公司整體而言，未來利潤率擴張的正確想法是什麼？

I mean in this investment, the investment horizon we have right now, we've -- I think what we've said is 16% to 18%. Part of it depends on the M&A execution. And for example, how much -- if there's more opportunities, which I think there are around the interim market in the interim solution, that obviously -- that mix change has a big impact on that question.

我的意思是，就這項投資而言，就我們目前的投資期限而言，我們——我想我們說過的是 16% 到 18%。部分原因取決於併購的執行情況。例如，如果臨時解決方案市場出現更多機會（我認為臨時解決方案市場有更多機會），那麼顯然，這種組合變化會對這個問題產生很大影響。

But we also have to make sure that we are making the right investments as a firm, particularly around talent. So I think for now that over this investment horizon, that's reasonable. But if you look back over the last kind of three years or four years, something like that, this is after the great resignation which probably ended somewhere late '22, early mid- ‘23.

但我們也必須確保公司進行正確的投資，尤其是在人才方面。所以我認為，就目前的投資期間而言，這是合理的。但如果你回顧過去三、四年，大概就是那次大辭職之後，那次辭職可能在 2022 年底或 2023 年年中結束。

The reality is our head count per colleague is up almost like 35%. So we've got a track record of being able to drive client impact the top line but also be more profitable.

實際情況是，我們每位同事所負責的員工人數增加了近 35%。因此，我們有良好的業績記錄，既能提升客戶滿意度，提高營收，也能實現更高的獲利能力。

That's right. Yeah. Thanks for the call, Gary, and yeah, congrats on the good result.

這是正確的。是的。謝謝你的來電，加里，還有，恭喜你取得了好結果。

Thanks Josh.

謝謝你，喬希。

Mark Marcon, Baird.

馬克馬爾孔，貝爾德。

Good afternoon. I just wanted to follow up on the last series of questions. Gary, when you're talking about the investment horizon, how long are you thinking in terms of that 16% to 18%? Because I can't help but notice you're increasing your revenue.

午安.我只是想就上一組問題做個後續跟進。Gary，當你談到投資期間時，你認為16%到18%的收益率是指多久？因為我注意到你的收入正在成長。

And then if we go through all the charts, it's like the number of consultants on staff has actually been flat to down, most frequently down. And so I'm trying to think through like when you think long term and you think about like, hey, we've got 2,000 front-facing consultants, 9,000 colleagues in total, and we're probably in the early stages in terms of implementing AI.

然後，如果我們查看所有圖表，就會發現顧問員工人數實際上保持平穩或下降，而且大多數情況下都在下降。所以我一直在思考，當你從長遠角度考慮問題時，你會想到，嘿，我們有 2000 名一線顧問，總共有 9000 名同事，而我們在實施人工智慧方面可能還處於早期階段。

I'm just wondering like how -- when you really think about longer term, how efficient can you be? And I know you've got to make some investments in terms of people, but how are you thinking about that longer term?

我只是想知道，當你真正從長遠角度考慮問題時，效率究竟能達到什麼程度？我知道你們需要在人才方面進行一些投資，但你們是如何考慮長遠發展的呢？

Clients have asked me that question, Mark, as they're looking at their organization. And I'm not -- this comment is not specifically to Korn Ferry. And this is clearly an estimate. But I think if you were to say look out over five to seven years and given the demographic trends that were -- that we've talked about on this call, and the shrinking labor force, not as many people coming into the labor force, not only in the United States but other countries as well.

馬克，客戶在審視自身組織時都問過我這個問題。而且我並不是──這則評論並非專門針對光輝國際。這顯然只是一個估計值。但我認為，如果你展望未來五到七年，考慮到我們在這次電話會議中討論過的人口趨勢，以及勞動力萎縮，進入勞動力市場的人數減少，不僅在美國，在其他國家也是如此。

And then the promise -- then the question is, well, how do you fill all that gap? Will you either do it through immigration or technology? So given the mathematics around labor force participation and the promise of AI, what I've told clients is if you look out that kind of five years, median of the bell curve, I would expect your labor force to be smaller by, say, 15% for sure.

然後，承諾——然後問題是，如何填補所有這些差距？你打算透過移民途徑還是技術途徑來實現？因此，考慮到勞動參與率的數學原理和人工智慧的前景，我告訴客戶，如果你觀察未來五年左右的鐘形曲線中位數，我預計你的勞動力規模肯定會減少 15%。

Now I'm not talking about every company, every industry, every sector. But just generally speaking, the theme would have to be as it is for the country of the United States, it would have to be more with less. So that wouldn't -- that's the advice that I've been giving to clients.

我說的並不是每家公司、每個產業、每個領域。但總的來說，主題必須像美國一樣，那就是以更少的資源獲得更多。所以那樣做是行不通的──這也是我一直給客戶的建議。

Great. And I mean, where would you say you are in terms of harnessing AI in terms of increasing the efficiency? Are you -- is it the first inning? Are we seeing the national anthem? Or are we in the third inning?

偉大的。我的意思是，您認為您在利用人工智慧提高效率方面處於什麼階段？現在是第一局嗎？我們看到的是國歌嗎？還是我們現在才到第三局？

Oh. We've taken the field. Look, the reality with all this talk, I think that many, many, many companies are in the first inning here. But there's enough there, there where you say, okay, I get it. Technology can definitely make you more efficient. And then the question is behavioral change.

哦，我們已經上場了。說實話，我認為很多很多公司都還處於起步階段。但其中也包含了足夠的內容，讓你覺得，好吧，我明白了。科技無疑可以提高效率。接下來的問題就是行為改變。

So the real question is people don't change unless there's a reason to change. And the question for leadership of companies is how do you create that change? How do you get people to truly embrace the ever-evolving technology that's out there? That's really the question. And I think, look, the reality is, I think most people are in the first inning, Mark.

所以真正的問題是，除非有改變的理由，否則人們不會改變。對企業領導者來說，問題在於如何創造這種改變？如何讓人們真正接受不斷發展的新技術？這才是真正的問題。我覺得，你看，現實情況是，我認為大多數人還處於第一局，馬克。

Okay. Great. And then with regards to Talent Suite, can you talk a little bit about like when you're doing these big deals and you mentioned the aerospace company with 40,000 employees, when you're pricing this and you're pricing it for complete access to Talent Suite, how do you price it? How should we think about that sort of lift in terms of size of margins and revenue?

好的。偉大的。關於人才套件，您能否談談在進行這些大型交易時，例如您提到的擁有 4 萬名員工的航空航天公司，當您為完全訪問人才套件定價時，您是如何定價的？我們該如何看待這種成長對利潤率和收入的影響？

Yeah. Size of company and number -- size of company and number of seats. I mean, that's generally how we do it. And is it an existing client of Korn Ferry. So what we've seen is that, for example, people we'll ask the questions. CEOs will ask the question. Is my labor force AI-ready, which a lot of that will come down to agility in dealing with ambiguity.

是的。公司規模和人數——公司規模和座位數。我的意思是，我們通常都是這麼做的。它是光輝國際的現有客戶嗎？所以我們看到的情況是，例如，我們會問人們這些問題。執行長們會問這個問題。我的勞動力是否已做好迎接人工智慧的準備？這很大程度上取決於應對不確定性的靈活性。

So then what you would do is go in and assess 5,000, 10,000 people, and we produce an MRI that would say, okay, this is what the thinking style, leadership style of the organization looks like. Based on our research, this is what a future-ready workforce would look like.

所以，接下來你要做的就是對 5000 人、10000 人進行評估，然後產生一份 MRI 報告，這份報告會說，好的，這就是組織的思維方式和領導風格。根據我們的研究，這就是一支面向未來的勞動力隊伍應該具備的特質。

And here are the -- here's how you stack up. Here's the gaps and here's a plan towards remediation. And it also depends, too, is what level of consulting is wrapped around that.

以下是——以下是你的排名。以下是存在的差距，以下是補救計劃。此外，也要看諮詢服務的具體程度如何。

Got it. And then a question for Bob. Maybe with regards to consulting in the third quarter, you had a 5% lift in terms of revenue, but the margins went down by 70 basis points year-over-year and the head count is down. What's the underlying reason for those margins to be down? And this is in the context of a great quarter so just kind of understand (inaudible).

知道了。然後我問鮑伯一個問題。或許在第三季諮詢業務方面，你們的收入成長了 5%，但利潤率比去年同期下降了 70 個基點，而且員工人數也有所減少。導致利潤率下降的根本原因是什麼？而且這是在業績表現優異的季度背景下發生的，所以請理解。（聽不清楚）

Yeah, it is Mark. And one of the things is our fee revenues were well above our guidance range, they attract more bonus dollars. So we had an opportunity to get caught up there on the bonus that we provide for folks that put a little bit of downward pressure on the margin in the quarter.

是的，是馬克。其中一點是，我們的手續費收入遠遠超出預期，這為我們帶來了更多的獎金。因此，我們有機會彌補先前因業績下滑而導致季度利潤率略微下降的員工所獲得的獎金。

Got it. Okay. That's great. And then, Gary, one last one for you, if you'll take it. And I know you were only 10 days in, but generally speaking, like after all of the various things that you've gone through, what's your expectation in terms of like how long this would have to continue before plans would change or that you'd actually see a meaningful difference just in terms of client behavior?

知道了。好的。那太棒了。最後，加里，如果你願意的話，再給你最後一個問題。我知道你才上了10天班，但總的來說，經歷了這麼多事情之後，你覺得這種情況需要持續多久才能改變計劃，或者你才能真正看到客戶行為方面有實質性的變化？

Well, this is just one person -- I mean, one person's view. It's -- I don't think anybody really knows the answer to that. I mean in the United States, transportation and transportation costs, including gas are 17% to 20% of consumer spending. And so elevated oil prices are not good for consumer spending, which you're already dealing with the K-shaped economy, there's a cost of living crisis.

嗯，這只是一個人的觀點——我的意思是，一個人的看法。我覺得──恐怕沒人真正知道答案。我的意思是，在美國，交通運輸和交通運輸成本（包括汽油費）佔消費者支出的 17% 到 20%。因此，高油價不利於消費者支出，而你們已經面臨 K 型經濟，存在生活成本危機。

So that's clearly a negative. And to what extent have we opened [those box] on the least qualified person to answer that question, but that's certainly one. Our colleagues in the Middle East, which we have an incredible, incredible business -- our colleagues are continuing under very difficult circumstances, much like our colleagues in Ukraine have done throughout this time.

所以這顯然是個負面因素。我們究竟在多大程度上允許最不具備回答這個問題資格的人來回答這個問題，但這無疑是其中之一。我們在中東的同事們——我們在那裡擁有非常非常棒的業務——正在非常困難的情況下繼續工作，就像我們在烏克蘭的同事在這段時間所做的那樣。

They're working from home, taking safety precautions. As of last week, it hasn't materially impacted our delivery of services. But I think you go out -- I think it will be another 90 days or so before you really get line of sight on what all this means beyond oil -- I mean beyond oil, what does this really mean?

他們居家辦公，並採取了安全防護措施。截至上週，這尚未對我們的服務提供造成實質影響。但我認為，再過大約 90 天，你才能真正看清這一切除了石油之外的意義——我的意思是，除了石油之外，這一切究竟意味著什麼？

Okay. Great. Thank you very much.

好的。偉大的。非常感謝。

And it appears there are no further questions at this time, Mr. Burnison.

伯尼森先生，目前看來沒有其他問題了。

Okay. Thank you all for the questions. I'm incredibly proud of this organization and to be a founding partner, which may seem a ways away of LA 28, but it's not. And I think that will highlight just the power of our organization for sure. We're excited about that. So with that, thank you for your questions, and we'll talk to you next time. Bye-bye.

好的。感謝大家的提問。我為這個組織感到無比自豪，也能成為創始合夥人之一。這看起來似乎與 LA 28 相距甚遠，但實際上並非如此。我認為這肯定會凸顯我們組織的實力。我們對此感到興奮。那麼，感謝大家的提問，我們下次再聊。再見。

Ladies and gentlemen, this conference call will be available for replay for one week starting today running through the end of the day, March 16, 2026, and again midnight. (Operator Instructions). Additionally, the replay will be available for playback at the company's website, www.kornferry.com in the Investor Relations section. This concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，本次電話會議的錄音回放將從今天起持續一周，直至 2026 年 3 月 16 日當天結束，並在午夜再次提供回放。（操作說明）此外，觀眾還可以在公司網站 www.kornferry.com 的「投資者關係」欄位中觀看回放。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝各位的參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。