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    DHX
    Earnings call· Jun 2026(Q2 FY26)

    DHI GROUP Q2 FY26 earnings call DHX

    Aug 5, 2026 Source

    Executive summary

    DHI Group Q2 FY26 — ClearanceJobs Drives Growth, Dice Shows Recovery Signs

    DHI Group delivered a mixed quarter, with ClearanceJobs serving as the primary growth engine, driven by increased defense spending and expanding market opportunities. Dice showed encouraging signs of recovery in the tech hiring market, supported by product innovation and a skills-based approach. The company continues to focus on operational efficiency and capital allocation, generating healthy free cash flow while investing in growth and returning capital to shareholders.

    Highlights

    5

    • ClearanceJobs bookings increased by 24% year-over-year.

    • ClearanceJobs new business sales grew approximately 75% compared with the prior year quarter.

    • ClearanceJobs revenue retention rate was 110%, demonstrating strong customer value.

    • Dice's adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 26% from 23% in the prior year quarter.

    • Non-GAAP earnings per share increased to $0.09 from $0.07 year-over-year.

    Concerns

    5

    • Dice revenue declined 14% year-over-year to $15.8 million.

    • Dice bookings were down 14% year-over-year to $13.4 million.

    • Dice recruitment package customers decreased by 15% year-over-year to 3,702.

    • Deferred revenue was $41.5 million, down 12% from the second quarter of last year.

    • Total committed contract backlog was $92.3 million, down 9% from the prior year.

    Guidance & targets

    15
    CategoryTargetConfidence
    ClearanceJobs bookings growth
    accelerate
    high materiality
    High
    Dice bookings growth
    decline rate to improve, no growth
    high materiality
    High
    DHI total revenue
    $124 million to $128 million
    high materiality
    High
    DHI total revenue
    $30 million to $32 million
    medium materiality
    High
    ClearanceJobs revenue
    $62 million to $64 million
    medium materiality
    High
    ClearanceJobs revenue
    $15 million to $16 million
    medium materiality
    High
    Dice revenue
    $62 million to $64 million
    medium materiality
    High
    Dice revenue
    $15 million to $16 million
    medium materiality
    High
    DHI adjusted EBITDA margin
    25%
    high materiality
    High
    ClearanceJobs adjusted EBITDA margin
    40%
    medium materiality
    High
    Dice adjusted EBITDA margin
    24%
    medium materiality
    High
    Total capital expenditures
    $6 million and $7 million
    medium materiality
    High
    Free cash flow generation
    at or above 10% of revenues
    high materiality
    High
    Leverage ratio
    1x adjusted EBITDA
    medium materiality
    High
    Dice bookings growth
    flat to marginal growth
    high materiality
    Medium

    Segment performance

    2
    SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
    ClearanceJobs
    Strong performance driven by new business sales and expanding market opportunity. PSG contributed $2M to revenue and bookings. Adjusted EBITDA margin declined YoY due to PSG acquisition.
    Bookings: $14.3MBookings growth YoY: 24%Organic bookings growth YoY: 7%Recruitment package customers: 1,735Recruitment package customers YoY change: -7%Recruitment package customers QoQ change: flatAverage annual revenue per customer: $28,255Average annual revenue per customer YoY change: 9%Average annual revenue per customer QoQ change: 4%Revenue renewal rate: 87%Retention rate: 110%
    		$15.6M14%11%$6M adjusted EBITDA (39% margin)
    Dice
    Revenue and bookings declined year-over-year, but bookings decline improved sequentially. Customer count reduction primarily due to churn with smaller customers. Adjusted EBITDA margin improved YoY.
    Bookings: $13.4MBookings growth YoY: -14%Recruitment package customers: 3,702Recruitment package customers YoY change: -15%Recruitment package customers QoQ change: -3%Average annual revenue per customer: $15,899Average annual revenue per customer YoY change: 3%Average annual revenue per customer QoQ change: 3%Revenue renewal rate: 66%Retention rate: 98%
    		$15.8M-14%1%$4.2M adjusted EBITDA (26% margin)

    Operational metrics

    26
    Total operating expenses
    $27.5Mdown 17% YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Represents a $5.8 million decrease compared to the prior year quarter, highlighting improved operating efficiency.

    Net income
    $2.6Mvs. net loss of $0.8M YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Reported net income compared to a net loss in the prior year, which included a $4.2 million restructuring charge.

    Non-GAAP earnings per share
    $0.09vs. $0.07 YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Adjusted EPS for the quarter.

    Diluted shares outstanding
    42.1Mdown 7% YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Represents a decrease of 3.3 million shares from the prior year quarter due to share repurchase program.

    Adjusted EBITDA
    $8.3Mvs. $8.5M YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Company-wide adjusted EBITDA and margin, stable year-over-year.

    Capital expenditures
    $1.6Mvs. $2M YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Primarily consists of capitalized development costs.

    Capitalized development costs
    $649,000vs. $306,000 YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Increase primarily related to improvements to AgileATS and premium candidate experience products.

    Capitalized development costs
    $900,000vs. $1.6M YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Capitalized development costs for Dice.

    Cash balance
    $3.8M
    Q2 FY26

    Cash and equivalents at the end of the quarter.

    Total debt
    $32Mdecreased $1M QoQ
    Q2 FY26

    Total debt outstanding, decreased despite cash outlays for share repurchases and debt refinancing costs.

    Leverage ratio (Net Debt / Adjusted EBITDA)
    0.89x
    Q2 FY26

    Leverage at the end of the quarter, targeting 1x.

    Share repurchase authorization remaining
    $4.5M
    Q2 FY26

    Remaining amount on the $10 million share repurchase program.

    Share repurchase executed
    $2M
    Q2 FY26

    Amount spent on share repurchases during the quarter.

    New technology job postings
    30%YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Indicates strengthening in the technology hiring market, with June approaching 300,000 monthly postings.

    AI-related skills in new tech job postings
    75%vs. 38% 1 year ago
    Q2 FY26

    Highlights increasing demand for professionals with AI skills, challenging the misperception of AI replacing tech jobs.

    Cleared candidate profiles
    2M+
    Q2 FY26

    ClearanceJobs surpassed this milestone, reinforcing its position in the industry.

    Technology profiles
    8M
    Q2 FY26

    Dice's total number of technology profiles.

    Total customers
    5,500
    Q2 FY26

    Approximately 5,500 employers, staffing firms, and recruiting organizations subscribe to DHI platforms.

    Recurring revenue
    90%
    Q2 FY26

    Approximately 90% of DHI's revenue is recurring.

    New business sales growth
    75%YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Significant increase in new customer activity for ClearanceJobs.

    Pipeline level
    highest level in more than 5 years
    Q2 FY26

    Indicates strong future demand for ClearanceJobs.

    New defense companies entering market
    10,000
    last 2 years

    According to an analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, these companies are increasingly competing for DoD programs.

    Deferred revenue
    $41.5Mdown 12% YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Deferred revenue at the end of the quarter.

    Total committed contract backlog
    $92.3Mdown 9% YoY
    Q2 FY26

    Total backlog at the end of the quarter.

    Short-term backlog
    $72.5M
    Q2 FY26

    Portion of backlog to be recognized within 12 months.

    Long-term backlog
    $19.8M
    Q2 FY26

    Portion of backlog to be recognized in 13 or more months.

    Industry KPIs

    3
    MetricValueDetails
    CAPEX compute commitments$1.6MUSD
    Share buyback capital returned$2MUSD
    Ai feature adoption monetizationLaunched Dice Model Context Protocol (MCP) server

    Product announcements

    3
    ProductTypeDetails
    Dice Model Context Protocol (MCP) serverlaunch
    AgileATSupdate
    Premium candidate subscription for CJ mobile experiencelaunch

    Deals & partnerships

    7
    Point Solutions Group (PSG)Acquisition to extend 'Expand the Mission' strategy, deepening customer relationships beyond recruiting into adjacent defense workforce solutions.

    Acquired earlier this year, PSG exceeded expectations and is expanding relationships with major government contractors.

    Shield AINew business customer for ClearanceJobs.almost $100,000 in ACV

    Shield AI is a significant defense tech company, representing a new cohort of clients for ClearanceJobs.

    York Space SystemsNew client onboarded for ClearanceJobs.

    Onboarded as a notable client in Q2.

    Texas InstrumentsNew client onboarded for ClearanceJobs.

    Onboarded as a notable client in Q2.

    Tech LabsNew client onboarded for Dice.

    Onboarded as a notable client in Q2.

    Yada SystemsNew client onboarded for Dice.

    Onboarded as a notable client in Q2.

    Kforcetech SolutionsNew client onboarded for Dice.

    Onboarded as a notable client in Q2.

    Risks & headwinds

    3
    Slower tech hiring environmentPast year, ongoing into 2026

    Dice revenue down 14% YoY; Dice bookings down 14% YoY; Dice customer count down 15% YoY.

    Mitigation: Introduction of new Dice platform with monthly subscriptions to offset churn among smaller accounts; focus on AI-related job demand; improving leading indicators in the market.

    Churn with smaller Dice customersQ2 FY26

    Smaller customers spending less than $15,000 per year represented 80% of total Dice customer churn.

    Mitigation: Introduction of new Dice platform with flexible monthly subscriptions to lower upfront commitment and improve affordability.

    Gross margin compressionQ2 FY26

    DHI gross margin down YoY and QoQ; CJ adjusted EBITDA margin 39% vs. 45% YoY.

    Mitigation: Attributable to the Point Solutions Group acquisition, with Q2 reflecting a full quarter of associated labor costs. Management indicated Q2 run rate is a decent expectation.

    What to watch in Q3 FY26

    5

    ClearanceJobs organic bookings growth

    H2 FY26
    Current7% YoY
    TargetDouble-digit growth

    Why it matters

    ClearanceJobs is the primary growth engine for DHI, and accelerating organic bookings growth is key to overall company performance and thesis validation.

    As we've been saying, we are targeting double-digit revenue growth for ClearanceJobs, and we feel like there's definitely a path towards getting there on an organic basis.

    Q&A highlights

    5

    What are the primary drivers behind the strong 110% revenue retention rate for ClearanceJobs, specifically regarding seats, upsells, or pricing?

    The strong retention is a combination of both seats and profile views, with a greater weighting towards profile views. Recruiters use profile views to search, interact with candidates, and create shortlists, making them critical to the search process.

    “I'd say it's a combination of both. I would say more weighted towards profile views. So with any subscription, whether it's Dice or ClearanceJobs, you get a number of seats and then you get a number of profile views.”

    asked by Josh Nichols · answered by Art Zeile

    2 min read5 chapters

    Detailed Narrative

    01

    ClearanceJobs Performance and Market Expansion

    ClearanceJobs delivered strong Q2 performance with bookings up 24% year-over-year, including a 7% organic growth rate excluding the PSG acquisition. New business sales surged by 75% year-over-year, reaching a 5-year high in pipeline. This growth is fueled by traditional defense contractors and an expanding base of commercial companies entering the government sector, with approximately 10,000 new defense firms emerging in the last two years. Revenue retention rates remain strong, and the platform surpassed 2 million cleared candidate profiles.

    02

    Dice Recovery and AI Impact

    Dice is progressing along its anticipated recovery path, with bookings decline improving sequentially. Technology job postings increased by 30% year-over-year in Q2, with 75% now requiring at least one AI-related skill, up from 38% a year ago. This indicates AI is increasing demand for skilled tech professionals rather than displacing them. Dice's skills-based platform, organizing talent around 360+ AI-related skills, is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend.

    03

    Product Innovation and Self-Service Initiatives

    DHI continues to invest in product innovation across both platforms. ClearanceJobs saw improvements in AgileATS and the premium candidate experience, with subscriber growth accelerating after a mobile launch. Dice launched the Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, enabling AI assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini to interact directly with its job database, enhancing the candidate search experience. Progress is also being made with the Dice self-service digital experience, with increased marketing spend recently initiated.

    04

    Financial Strength and Capital Allocation

    DHI generated healthy free cash flow of $4.5 million in Q2, providing flexibility for capital allocation. The company reduced debt by $1 million and repurchased approximately 700,000 shares under its $10 million authorization, with $4.5 million remaining. Operating expenses decreased by 17% year-over-year, highlighting improved operating efficiency. The company targets a 1x leverage ratio and free cash flow generation averaging at or above 10% of revenues.

    05

    Strategic Outlook and Growth Drivers

    DHI Group is strategically positioned at the intersection of rising global defense spending and growing demand for specialized technology talent, particularly in AI. ClearanceJobs is expected to see accelerating bookings growth in the second half of the year, while Dice's year-over-year bookings decline rate is projected to improve. The company remains focused on strengthening its solutions, optimizing go-to-market strategies, and executing efficiently to capitalize on future opportunities.

    AI-generated summary of the company’s earnings call. Not investment advice.