Q2 2026 Ziprecruiter Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Revenue grew 5% year over year to $118.1 million, exceeding guidance midpoint by $6 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 12% in Q2 2026, up from 8% in Q2 2025.
- Next-generation search and matching engine increased qualified application volume by 34% quarter over quarter.
- Employer response rate per application doubled year over year due to product improvements.
- Repurchased $294.6 million of senior notes at a $65 million discount, reducing debt burden.
- Performance marketing revenue grew 15% year over year, driven by programmatic bidding tools.
- New AI features like Smart Outreach and audio messages in Be Seen First are driving higher engagement.
- Quarterly paid employers increased 7% year over year to over 70,000.
- Full-year revenue growth expectation raised to low single digits, up from flat.
- New CFO Carmen Chan brings extensive experience from Barclays, Noom, and Goldman Sachs.
- Revenue per paid employer declined 1% year over year and 2% sequentially.
- Macro labor market remains subdued, with hires and quits near 15-year lows.
- Total operating expenses decreased, but primarily due to lower stock-based compensation and personnel costs.
- Q3 revenue guidance of $121 million implies only 5% year-over-year growth, indicating continued slow growth.
- The company's growth is still heavily dependent on product improvements, not a macro recovery.
- Debt repurchase reduced cash reserves, though balance sheet remains strong.
- Traffic from AI platforms like ChatGPT and Claude is still a small portion of overall traffic.
- The company faces uncertainty in a stable but weak hiring environment.
- Cost discipline is a key driver of margin expansion, which may limit future investment.
- The company's ability to sustain growth relies on continued innovation in a competitive market.
Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the ZipRecruiter, Inc., second-quarter 2026 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)
I will now hand the conference over to Emilio Sartori, Head of Investor Relations. Emilio, please go ahead.
Thank you, operator, and good afternoon. Thank you for joining us on our earnings conference call, during which we will discuss ZipRecruiter's performance for the second quarter and the June 30, 2026, and our guidance for the third quarter of 2026. Joining me on the call today are Ian Siegel, Co-founder and CEO; and David Travers, President and Interim CFO.
Before we begin, please be reminded that forward-looking statements made today are subject to risks and uncertainties relating to future events and/or the future financial performance of ZipRecruiter. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. A discussion of some of the risk factors that could
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