CBIZ Reports First-Quarter 2026 Financial Results
YoY Growth in Revenue, Earnings, and Cash Flow
Increased Adjusted Diluted EPS Outlook for Completed Share Repurchases
Executing on Capital Allocation Priorities
First-Quarter Financial Highlights:
- Total revenue of
$849M , up 1.3%; Financial Services revenue up 2.1% - Net income of
$162M , up 31.6%; GAAP EPS of$2.63 , up 37.7% - Adjusted EBITDA of
$244M , up 1.5%; Adjusted diluted EPS of$2.50 , up 7.3% - Operating cash flow up 71.1%; Free cash flow up 69.5%
- Repurchased ~2M shares for
~$63M through end of April; net leverage decreased 0.5x YoY - 2026 outlook continues to contemplate low to mid-single digit revenue growth, improved earnings and strong free cash flow conversion over prior year
Management Commentary:
Grisko continued, “As we look ahead, we are encouraged by the momentum building across the business and the strong performance of our teams during our first busy season as a fully integrated organization. We remain focused on investing in our people, strengthening our brand, deepening our industry specialization, and enhancing the breadth and depth of services provided to our clients. We believe our strategy and continued execution position CBIZ to drive attractive growth and deliver long-term value for our clients and shareholders.”
Business Highlights:
- Named a Top Workplace in the nation by
USA Today for the sixth consecutive year - Elevated
Peter Scavuzzo , one of the leading voices on technology and AI in our industries, to Chief Information and Technology Officer to bring Enterprise IT, Business Transformation and Innovation all under one strategic leader - CBIZ team members continue to be recognized by the market as among the most highly regarded leaders in a number of industry groups, including Construction, Real Estate, Consumer and Industrial Products, Tech and Life Science and Private Equity
- Attracted new senior professional hires with strong retention levels across the business
- Driving cross-serve and new logo wins through industry groups, increasing share of wallet and pipeline conversion across key verticals, such
as Private Equity , Construction and Alternative Investments - Expanding breadth and depth of services through integrated delivery, collaborating across practices and geographies to support large, multi-service engagements, including cross-border tax, transaction advisory and technology-led work
- Achieved meaningful progress in deploying an agentic AI platform to drive productivity, consistency, and quality across operations
- Accelerating our access to global capabilities to expand capacity and improve efficiency; on track to achieve 2026 target of 10% of total tax and attest hours completed by global resources
- Advanced integration milestones during the quarter and on track to realize
$12M in additional operational synergies in 2026 - continue to expect greater than$50M cumulatively - Launched spring national brand campaign, featuring targeted, nationally televised ads across key markets to raise brand awareness
2026 Financial Outlook:
| Metric | Previous 2026 Outlook | Updated 2026 Outlook |
| Total Revenue | ||
| Adjusted EBITDA | ||
| Adjusted Diluted EPS | ||
| Free Cash Flow | ||
2026 Financial Outlook Additional Support:
- Revenue outlook represents approximately 2% to 5% growth
- Increased Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Diluted EPS outlook ranges to reflect a stock-based compensation adjustment and share repurchases through end of April
- Effective tax rate of approximately 28.5%
- Weighted average fully diluted share count of approximately 60.5 million shares, down from approximately 62 million shares in previous outlook
- Free Cash Flow represents approximately 60% conversion of Adjusted EBITDA
Conference Call
CBIZ will host a conference call today at
About CBIZ
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, our “2026 Financial Outlook,” our financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives for future performance, are forward-looking statements. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by the use of such terms and phrases as “will,” “could,” “can,” “may,” “strive,” “hope,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” “plan,” “expect,” “project,” “anticipate,” “outlook,” “foreseeable future,” “seek” and words or phrases of similar import in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, future performance or results of current and anticipated services, sales efforts, expenses, and financial results.
From time to time, we may also provide oral or written forward-looking statements in other materials we release to the public. Any or all of our forward-looking statements in this release and in any other public statements that we make are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: payments on accounts receivable may be slower than expected, or amounts due on receivables or notes may not be fully collectible; our business could be adversely affected if the non-attest business assets we acquired, or the attest assets CBIZ CPAs acquired, from
Such forward-looking statements can be affected by inaccurate assumptions we might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks materialize, or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated, projected or implied. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Our actual future results may vary materially. All forward looking statements made in this release are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in the current, quarterly, periodic and annual reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Also note that we provide a cautionary discussion of the risks, uncertainties and possibly inaccurate assumptions relevant to our businesses in “Item 1. Business” and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), we also present Adjusted Net Income (Loss), Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share (“EPS”), Adjusted EBITDA, and Free Cash Flow, which are non-GAAP measures. These non-GAAP measures are adjusted to exclude the impact of the Transaction, integration costs, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and other significant non-operating related gains and losses management does not consider ongoing in nature. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is designed to supplement the Company’s financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. We use these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision-making, and to evaluate results relative to employee compensation targets. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information to stockholders, debt holders, and other interested parties in assessing our performance. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management’s internal comparisons to our historical performance by excluding significant acquisition expenses, certain one-time non-recurring items, and gains and losses that management does not consider ongoing in nature. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors both because (1) they allow for greater transparency with respect to key measures used by management in its financial and operational decision-making and (2) they are used by our stockholders and analyst community to determine the health of our business. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similar non-GAAP measures presented by other companies. The presentation of such non-GAAP measures, which may include exclusions of non-recurring items, should not be construed as an inference that the Company's future results will be unaffected by other non-recurring items. Management provides specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from or included in these non-GAAP financial measures. Additionally, management provides reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP. Please see the schedules captioned “GAAP Reconciliation” at the end of this release for additional information and the applicable reconciliations. The Company does not reconcile its forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable financial measure presented in accordance with GAAP, due to variability and difficulty in making accurate forecasts and projections and/or certain information not being ascertainable or accessible without unreasonable efforts. For example, the Company may be unable, without unreasonable efforts, to predict with reasonable certainty the timing or amount of integration costs, amortization of acquired intangible assets and certain other significant non-operating related gains and losses on a forward-looking basis. The significance of this unavailable information could have a material impact on the Company’s GAAP results. The Company provides forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures that it believes will be achieved; however, it cannot accurately predict all of the components of the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, and the GAAP measures may be materially different than the non-GAAP measures.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (UNAUDITED) THREE MONTHS ENDED (In thousands, except percentages and per share data) |
|||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended |
|||||||||||||
| 2026 | % | 2025 | % | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 848,579 | 100.0 | % | $ | 838,014 | 100.0 | % | |||||
| Operating expenses(1) | 622,562 | 73.4 | 609,912 | 72.8 | |||||||||
| Gross margin | 226,017 | 26.6 | 228,102 | 27.2 | |||||||||
| Corporate general and administrative expenses(1) | 29,568 | 3.5 | 28,070 | 3.3 | |||||||||
| Operating income | 196,449 | 23.1 | 200,032 | 23.9 | |||||||||
| Other (expense) income: | |||||||||||||
| Interest expense | (23,916 | ) | (2.8 | ) | (25,156 | ) | (3.0 | ) | |||||
| Gain from acquisition related adjustment, net | 57,955 | 6.8 | — | — | |||||||||
| Other expense, net(1) (2) | (4,016 | ) | (0.5 | ) | (1,966 | ) | (0.2 | ) | |||||
| Total other income (expense), net | 30,023 | 3.5 | (27,122 | ) | (3.2 | ) | |||||||
| Income before income tax expense | 226,472 | 26.7 | 172,910 | 20.6 | |||||||||
| Income tax expense | 64,860 | 50,137 | |||||||||||
| Net income | $ | 161,612 | 19.0 | % | $ | 122,773 | 14.7 | % | |||||
| Diluted earnings per share | $ | 2.63 | $ | 1.91 | |||||||||
| Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding | 61,537 | 64,142 | |||||||||||
| Other data: | |||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA(3) | $ | 244,343 | 28.8 | % | $ | 240,725 | 28.7 | % | |||||
| Adjusted Diluted EPS(3) | $ | 2.50 | $ | 2.33 | |||||||||
(1) We sponsor a Non-qualified Deferred Compensation Plan (the "deferred compensation plan"), under which a CBIZ employee’s compensation deferral is held in a rabbi trust and invested accordingly as directed by the employee. The activities related to the deferred compensation plan are recorded in "Corporate and Other" for segment reporting purposes. Gains and losses resulting from the adjustments to the fair value of the invested assets in the deferred compensation plan are recorded as an increase or decrease to the "Other income (expense), net", directly offset by the same adjustments as an increase or decrease to compensation expense (recorded as "Operating expense" or "Corporate general and administrative expense") in the accompanying Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. The deferred compensation plan has no impact on “Income before income tax expense” or diluted earnings per share.
Income and expenses related to the deferred compensation plan for the three months ended
| Three Months Ended |
||||||||||||||
| Income statement line items: | 2026 | % of Revenue | 2025 | % of Revenue | ||||||||||
| Operating expense | $ | (3,069 | ) | (0.4 | )% | $ | (2,432 | ) | (0.3 | )% | ||||
| Corporate general and administrative income | (319 | ) | — | % | (119 | ) | — | % | ||||||
| Other expense, net | 3,388 | 0.4 | % | 2,551 | 0.3 | % | ||||||||
Excluding the impact of the above-mentioned income and expenses related to the deferred compensation plan, the operating results for the three months ended
| Three Months Ended |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| As Reported |
Deferred Compensation Plan | Adjusted | % of Revenue |
As Reported |
Deferred Compensation Plan | Adjusted | % of Revenue |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross margin | $ | 226,017 | $ | (3,069 | ) | $ | 222,948 | 26.3 | % | $ | 228,102 | $ | (2,432 | ) | $ | 225,670 | 26.9 | % | ||||||||||
| Operating income | 196,449 | (3,388 | ) | 193,061 | 22.8 | % | 200,032 | (2,551 | ) | 197,481 | 23.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||
| Other expense, net | (4,016 | ) | 3,388 | (628 | ) | (0.1 | )% | (1,966 | ) | 2,551 | 585 | 0.1 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Income before income tax expense | 226,472 | — | 226,472 | 26.7 | % | 172,910 | — | 172,910 | 20.6 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
(2) Included in "Other expense, net" for the three months ended
(3) Refer to the schedules reconciling Adjusted Diluted EPS and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures at the end of this release and for additional information as to the usefulness of the non-GAAP financial measures to stockholders and investors.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (UNAUDITED) SELECT SEGMENT DATA (In thousands) |
|||||||
| Three Months Ended |
|||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | ||||||
| Revenue | |||||||
| Financial Services(1) | $ | 740,330 | $ | 725,038 | |||
| Benefits and Insurance Services | 108,249 | 112,976 | |||||
| Total Revenue | $ | 848,579 | $ | 838,014 | |||
| Gross Margin | |||||||
| Financial Services(1) | $ | 209,560 | $ | 204,280 | |||
| Benefits and Insurance Services | 23,015 | 27,618 | |||||
| Operating expenses - unallocated(2): | |||||||
| Other expense | (9,627 | ) | (6,228 | ) | |||
| Deferred compensation | 3,069 | 2,432 | |||||
| Total Gross Margin | $ | 226,017 | $ | 228,102 | |||
| As a % of Revenue | 26.6 | % | 27.2 | % | |||
(1) During the three months of
(2) Represents operating expenses not directly allocated to individual businesses, including stock-based compensation, consolidation and integration charges, and certain advertising expenses. "Operating expenses - unallocated" also includes gains or losses attributable to the assets held in a rabbi trust associated with the Company's deferred compensation plan. These gains or losses do not impact "Income before income tax expense" as they are directly offset by the same adjustment to "Other income (expense), net" in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income. Net gains or losses recognized from adjustments to the fair value of the assets held in the rabbi trust are recorded as compensation expense (income) in "Operating expenses" and “Corporate, general and administrative expenses,” and offset in "Other income (expense), net."
SELECT CASH FLOW DATA (UNAUDITED) (In thousands) |
|||||||
| Three Months Ended |
|||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | ||||||
| Net income | $ | 161,612 | $ | 122,773 | |||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||
| Depreciation and amortization expense | 23,750 | 24,791 | |||||
| Bad debt expense, net of recoveries | 1,409 | 417 | |||||
| Adjustments to contingent earnout liability, net | 195 | 502 | |||||
| Deferred income taxes | 7,530 | 5,639 | |||||
| Stock-based compensation expense | 14,660 | 4,320 | |||||
| Amortization of deferred financing fees | 1,349 | 1,298 | |||||
| Other, net | 837 | (289 | ) | ||||
| Changes in assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions and divestitures: | |||||||
| Accounts receivable, net | (214,671 | ) | (201,258 | ) | |||
| Other assets | 2,910 | (8,990 | ) | ||||
| Accounts payable | (4,191 | ) | 11,985 | ||||
| Income taxes payable | 49,791 | 45,626 | |||||
| Accrued personnel costs | (77,295 | ) | (84,642 | ) | |||
| Other liabilities | 6,599 | (10,438 | ) | ||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | (25,515 | ) | (88,266 | ) | |||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (2,919 | ) | (4,961 | ) | |||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | (12,578 | ) | 55,363 | ||||
| Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | (41,012 | ) | (37,864 | ) | |||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of year | 218,090 | 187,170 | |||||
| Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period | $ | 177,078 | $ | 149,306 | |||
| Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash to the consolidated balance sheet: | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 28,718 | $ | 8,850 | |||
| Restricted cash | 40,622 | 40,777 | |||||
| Cash equivalents included in funds held for clients | 107,738 | 99,679 | |||||
| Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | $ | 177,078 | $ | 149,306 | |||
GAAP RECONCILIATION Operating Cash Flow to Free Cash Flow(1) (Unaudited. Amounts in thousands, except per share data) |
|||||||
| Three Months Ended |
|||||||
| 2026 | 2025 | ||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | $ | (25,515 | ) | $ | (88,266 | ) | |
| Less: | |||||||
| Additions to property and equipment | (3,000 | ) | (5,177 | ) | |||
| Free Cash Flow | $ | (28,515 | ) | $ | (93,443 | ) | |
(1) This table reconciles Free Cash Flow to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure of net cash provided by operating activities. Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP measure that management believes provides a more complete understanding of the factors and trends affecting our cash flows. This information is useful to investors, as it offers a measure of cash generated from our business that can be used for our strategic business objectives.
SELECT FINANCIAL DATA AND RATIOS (UNAUDITED) (In thousands, except percentages, DSO, and per share data) |
|||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 28,718 | $ | 18,290 | |||
| Restricted cash | 40,622 | 38,234 | |||||
| Accounts receivable, net | 769,442 | 555,995 | |||||
| Other current assets | 77,639 | 79,693 | |||||
| Current assets before funds held for clients | 916,421 | 692,212 | |||||
| Funds held for clients | 152,862 | 207,037 | |||||
| 2,856,166 | 2,869,790 | ||||||
| Total assets | 4,629,960 | 4,409,528 | |||||
| Current liabilities before client fund obligations, excluding short-term debt | 427,781 | 462,484 | |||||
| Client fund obligations | 152,951 | 206,738 | |||||
| Current portion, Term Loan(1) | 78,750 | 70,000 | |||||
| Revolver Facility(1) | 239,000 | 142,400 | |||||
| Long-term portion, Term Loan(1) | 1,233,750 | 1,260,000 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 2,735,784 | 2,647,461 | |||||
| (1,110,111 | ) | (1,078,521 | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders' equity | 1,894,176 | 1,762,067 | |||||
| Debt to equity | 69.3 | % | 75.5 | % | |||
| Days sales outstanding (DSO)(2) | 99 | 71 | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 54,299 | 54,380 | |||||
| Basic weighted average common shares outstanding | 61,424 | 62,909 | |||||
| Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding | 61,537 | 63,240 | |||||
(1) Reflects the gross debt for the Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility excluding the associated unamortized deferred debt issuance costs totaling
(2) DSO is provided for continuing operations and represents accounts receivable, net, at the end of the period, divided by trailing twelve-months daily revenue. The Company has included DSO data because such data is commonly used as a performance measure by analysts and investors and as a measure of the Company's ability to collect on receivables in a timely manner. DSO should not be regarded as an alternative or replacement to any measurement of performance under GAAP. DSO on
GAAP RECONCILIATION Net Income (Loss) and Diluted Earnings Per Share (“EPS”) to Adjusted Net Income (Loss), Adjusted Diluted EPS, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin(1) (Unaudited. Amounts in thousands, except per share data) |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Financial Services |
Benefits and Insurance Services |
Corporate & Other |
Consolidated | EPS | |||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 208,687 | $ | 23,390 | $ | (70,465 | ) | $ | 161,612 | $ | 2.63 | ||||||||
| Adjustments: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangible assets | 17,135 | 1,519 | — | 18,654 | 0.30 | ||||||||||||||
| Integration costs related to acquisitions(2) | 14,800 | 23 | 9,046 | 23,869 | 0.39 | ||||||||||||||
| Gain from acquisition related adjustment, net(3) | — | — | (57,955 | ) | (57,955 | ) | (0.94 | ) | |||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation(4) | 658 | — | 3,649 | 4,307 | 0.07 | ||||||||||||||
| Income tax effect related to adjustments | — | — | 3,186 | 3,186 | 0.05 | ||||||||||||||
| Adjusted net income (loss) | $ | 241,280 | $ | 24,932 | $ | (112,539 | ) | $ | 153,673 | $ | 2.50 | ||||||||
| Interest expense | — | — | 23,916 | 23,916 | |||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | 64,860 | 64,860 | |||||||||||||||
| Tax effect related to the adjustments above | — | — | (3,186 | ) | (3,186 | ) | |||||||||||||
| Depreciation(5) | 3,184 | 507 | 1,389 | 5,080 | |||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 244,464 | $ | 25,439 | $ | (25,560 | ) | $ | 244,343 | ||||||||||
| As a % of Revenue | 33.0% | 23.5% | N/A | 28.8% | |||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Financial Services |
Benefits and Insurance Services |
Corporate & Other |
Consolidated | EPS | |||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 204,465 | $ | 27,945 | $ | (109,637 | ) | $ | 122,773 | $ | 1.91 | ||||||||
| Adjustments: | |||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of acquired intangible assets | 16,890 | 1,776 | — | 18,666 | 0.29 | ||||||||||||||
| Integration costs related to acquisitions(2) | 2,513 | 156 | 13,023 | 15,692 | 0.24 | ||||||||||||||
| Litigation costs | — | — | 796 | 796 | 0.01 | ||||||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation(4) | — | — | 2,309 | 2,309 | 0.04 | ||||||||||||||
| Income tax effect related to adjustments | — | — | (10,863 | ) | (10,863 | ) | (0.16 | ) | |||||||||||
| Adjusted net income (loss) | $ | 223,868 | $ | 29,877 | $ | (104,372 | ) | $ | 149,373 | $ | 2.33 | ||||||||
| Interest expense | — | — | 25,156 | 25,156 | |||||||||||||||
| Income tax expense | — | — | 50,137 | 50,137 | |||||||||||||||
| Tax effect related to the adjustments above | — | — | 10,863 | 10,863 | |||||||||||||||
| Depreciation(5) | 3,558 | 549 | 1,089 | 5,196 | |||||||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 227,426 | $ | 30,426 | $ | (17,127 | ) | $ | 240,725 | ||||||||||
| As a % of Revenue | 31.4% | 26.9% | N/A | 28.7% | |||||||||||||||
(1) This table reconciles Adjusted net income (loss), Adjusted diluted EPS, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA margin to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Adjusted net income (loss), Adjusted diluted EPS, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA margin exclude the impact of the Transaction and other significant non-operating related gains and losses that management does not consider on-going in nature. Please refer to the 'Non-GAAP Financial Measures' section for further management discussion.
(2) These costs include, but are not limited to, certain consulting, technology, personnel, as well as other integration costs related to the Transaction.
(3) Gain related the finalization of working capital and related purchase price adjustments associated with the Transaction.
(4) Stock-based compensation expense reported for the three months ended
(5) Depreciation expense reported for the three months ended
Source: CBIZ, Inc

