ZipRecruiter (NYSE:ZIP) reported second-quarter revenue growth and higher profitability as product improvements increased activity between employers and job seekers, while the company also reduced its debt through a discounted repurchase of senior notes.
Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was $118.1 million, up 5% from a year earlier and 10% sequentially. The result was about $6 million above the midpoint of the company’s guidance range, according to Co-founder and CEO Ian Siegel. Adjusted EBITDA was $14.6 million, representing a 12% margin, compared with an 8% margin in the second quarter of 2025 and a 9% margin in the first quarter of 2026.
Debt Reduction and Employer Growth
In June, ZipRecruiter repurchased $294.6 million of senior unsecured notes for $229.4 million, a discount of approximately $65 million to par value. The transaction retired more than half of the outstanding notes, according to management.
The company ended the quarter with $173.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. Siegel said the balance sheet provides sufficient capital to fund future growth initiatives.
ZipRecruiter ended the quarter with more than 70,000 quarterly paid employers, an increase of 7% year over year and 12% from the prior quarter. Revenue per paid employer was $1,669, down 1% from a year earlier and 2% sequentially. Travers attributed the decline primarily to the addition of employers that joined during the quarter and therefore contributed revenue for only part of the period.
Total operating expenses fell to $101.3 million from $106.9 million in the prior-year quarter, primarily reflecting lower stock-based compensation and personnel-related costs.
Product Initiatives Focus on Employer-Job Seeker Conversations
Management highlighted a series of product releases intended to increase meaningful conversations between employers and job seekers. The ongoing rollout of ZipRecruiter’s next-generation search and matching engine increased qualified application volume by 34% quarter over quarter in the second quarter, the company said. Combined with other platform improvements, the higher volume of qualified applications helped double employer response rates per application from a year earlier.
ZipRecruiter also expanded its Be Seen First feature by allowing applicants to record an audio message accompanying their resume. Early data showed job seekers who used recorded messages experienced an 8% lift in employer response or connection rates, management said.
The company introduced Smart Outreach, an artificial intelligence-driven feature that turns job descriptions into personalized, editable, multi-step messaging campaigns for candidates in ZipRecruiter’s resume database. Travers said hiring teams can use the tool to reach job seekers from a pool of more than 50 million candidates.
“Our product strategy’s relatively simple,” Siegel said during the question-and-answer session. “We are trying to drive up the rate at which employers and job seekers have real, meaningful conversations.” He said higher engagement has historically been associated with longer customer retention and greater employer spending.
Enterprise, AI Distribution and Outlook
ZipRecruiter said adoption of its automated campaign performance solutions among enterprise customers rose more than 50% year over year. Improvements to bidding algorithms also produced a twofold year-over-year improvement in the rate at which customer campaign targets were met, management said. Performance marketing revenue rose 15% from a year earlier in the second quarter.
The company continued to expand distribution through conversational AI platforms. Following the first-quarter release of a ZipRecruiter app for ChatGPT, the company enabled job seekers to search ZipRecruiter roles directly through the ChatGPT chat field. It also launched a connector for Anthropic’s Claude assistant.
Siegel described traffic from the AI platforms as a small portion of overall traffic but said it has been “high-intent,” reflecting users actively searching for jobs. Travers said the integrations reflect ZipRecruiter’s effort to meet job seekers across evolving channels.
For the third quarter, ZipRecruiter expects revenue of $121 million at the midpoint, representing 5% year-over-year growth and 2% sequential growth. The company forecast adjusted EBITDA of $16 million at the midpoint, or a 13% margin.
Management said the labor market remains stable but subdued, with hires and quits near their lowest levels since 2015. Still, ZipRecruiter raised its view for the second half, saying low-single-digit year-over-year revenue growth is now a likely scenario, compared with its prior expectation for flat revenue. The company expects full-year adjusted EBITDA margins of 12% to 14%, versus 9% in 2025.
ZipRecruiter also announced that Carmen Chan will become chief financial officer effective Aug. 17. Chan previously held roles at Barclays, Noom and Goldman Sachs. Travers will remain president after the transition.
About ZipRecruiter (NYSE:ZIP)
ZipRecruiter, Inc operates an online employment marketplace that connects job seekers and employers. Its platform provides various solutions, such as job posting, online interviews, job alerts, match scores, and application updates. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Santa Monica, California.
