Executive Summary

Revenue of $32.3M declined 10% YoY and 7% QoQ; non-GAAP EPS was $0.04, while GAAP EPS was a loss of $0.21 due to a $7.4M Dice goodwill impairment and $2.3M restructuring charge .
ClearanceJobs remained the profit engine (43% Adjusted EBITDA margin), while Dice profitability compressed to 18% amid renewal pressure at smaller customers and multi-year contract resets .
Q1 beat consensus on revenue and non-GAAP EPS; revenue of $32.301M vs $32.227M estimate, and EPS $0.04 vs -$0.005 consensus. FY25 revenue consensus sits at ~$126.4M vs company guidance of $131–$135M, implying potential upward revisions if execution improves (values from S&P Global)*.
Guidance maintained: FY25 revenue $131–$135M, Q2 revenue $32–$33M, and FY25 Adjusted EBITDA margin target 24%; capital expenditures targeted at $9–$10M for 2025 .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- ClearanceJobs delivered strong profitability with Adjusted EBITDA of $5.7M and 43% margin; management reiterated CJ’s long-run 40%+ margin profile .
- Management cited improving tech demand signals: rising new tech job postings and recruiter hiring; “companies… are beginning to reinvest in technology initiatives like AI” .
- Free cash flow improved to $88K vs -$2.355M in Q1 last year, helped by a 42% reduction in capitalized development costs .
What Went Wrong
- Dice bookings down 20% YoY; renewal rate fell to 70% with churn concentrated in sub-$15K customers, compressing Dice margins to 18% .
- GAAP net loss widened to $9.4M on impairment and restructuring; net loss margin -29% vs -4% last year .
- ClearanceJobs renewal rate on revenue dipped to 92% from 98% YoY; CJ customer count fell 7% YoY amid temporary demand uncertainty tied to federal budget dynamics .

Financial Results

Metric	Q3 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Revenue ($USD Millions)	$35.283	$34.785	$32.301
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)	$0.00	$0.02	$(0.21)
Non-GAAP EPS ($)	$0.05	$0.07	$0.04
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$8.619	$9.153	$6.981
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	24%	26%	22%

Q1 2025 Actuals vs Consensus (S&P Global)*

Metric	Consensus	Actual	Surprise
Revenue ($USD)	$32.227M*	$32.301M	+$0.074M*
EPS (Normalized) ($)	$(0.005)*	$0.04	+$0.045*

Segment Performance (Q1 2025)

Segment	Revenue ($USD Millions)	Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	Adj. EBITDA Margin (%)
ClearanceJobs	$13.377	$5.705	43%
Dice	$18.924	$3.428	18%

Bookings and Mix (Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024)

Metric	Q1 2024	Q1 2025	YoY Change
Total Bookings ($USD Millions)	$48.776	$42.125	(14)%
ClearanceJobs Bookings ($USD Millions)	$16.990	$16.817	(1)%
Dice Bookings ($USD Millions)	$31.786	$25.308	(20)%

KPIs and Operating Metrics

KPI	Q1 2024	Q1 2025
CJ Revenue Renewal Rate (%)	98%	92%
Dice Revenue Renewal Rate (%)	82%	70%
CJ Retention Rate (%)	115%	106%
Dice Retention Rate (%)	100%	92%
CJ Avg Annual Revenue per Recruitment Package Customer ($)	$23,050	$25,806
Dice Avg Annual Revenue per Recruitment Package Customer ($)	$15,997	$16,384
CJ Recruitment Package Customers (count)	2,032 (Mar 31, 2024)	1,891 (Mar 31, 2025)
Dice Recruitment Package Customers (count)	5,250 (Mar 31, 2024)	4,490 (Mar 31, 2025)
Deferred Revenue ($USD Millions)	$55.716 (Mar 31, 2024)	$50.666 (Mar 31, 2025)
Backlog ($USD Millions)	$110.736 (Mar 31, 2024)	$107.760 (Mar 31, 2025)

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights (Q1 2025)

Metric	Q1 2024	Q1 2025
Cash ($USD Millions)	$3.240	$2.655
Total Debt ($USD Millions)	$41.0 (year-ago context)	$33.0 (revolver)
Cash from Operations ($USD Millions)	$2.087	$2.248
Free Cash Flow ($USD Millions)	$(2.355)	$0.088

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Total Revenue ($USD Millions)	FY 2025	$131–$135 (Q4 guide)	$131–$135	Maintained
Revenue ($USD Millions)	Q2 2025	n/a	$32–$33	New quarter-specific
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	FY 2025	24%	24%	Maintained
Capital Expenditures ($USD Millions)	FY 2025	$10–$11 (Q4 call)	$9–$10	Lowered
Leverage (Net Debt/Adj. EBITDA)	Ongoing Target	~1x	~1x	Maintained
Share Repurchase Program	Through Feb 2026	$5M authorized (Jan)	$5M authorized; $2.1M repurchased in Q1 (886k shares)	Ongoing execution

Note: Company provides Adjusted EBITDA margin guidance but cannot reasonably reconcile to GAAP measures due to unpredictability of non-cash and unusual items .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q3 2024)	Previous Mentions (Q4 2024)	Current Period (Q1 2025)	Trend
AI/Technology demand signals	New tech job postings turning positive YoY; AI driving demand	Momentum in postings; low tech unemployment; PLG plans for Dice	“Companies… beginning to reinvest in technology initiatives like AI”; consultant-led AI projects	Improving
Staffing vs commercial demand	Focus on recession-resistant sectors	Staffing normalizing ahead of commercial	Staffing new business exceeded internal expectations; commercial still cautious	Divergent strength
Federal defense budget/DoD	CR uncertainty impacted CJ bookings; one-party government seen as stabilizing	Stability expected; CJ opportunities with agencies	Temporary “Dodge”-related uncertainty hit CJ new business; broader outlook constructive with proposed $150B boost	Short-term noise, long-term positive
Product initiatives	Dice “all jobs” driving applications	CJ Verify and paid candidate subs; Dice web store PLG	Dice expands to contract talent; CJ expands Staffing Solutions	Broadening offerings
Cost actions/capex	Restructuring and efficiency gains	Reduced OpEx and capitalized dev costs; new $5M buyback	Three restructurings since May 2023; capex targeted lower at $9–$10M	Margin-supportive
Renewal/Retention	CJ renewal 91%, retention 109%; Dice renewal 74%	CJ renewal 93%/retention 111%; Dice renewal 77%	CJ renewal 92%/retention 106%; Dice renewal 70%/retention 92%	Mixed; Dice weaker

Management Commentary

“Encouragingly, we are seeing a slow but steady rise in new tech job postings, signaling that companies across industries are beginning to reinvest in technology initiatives like AI.” — Art Zeile, CEO .
“We continue to expect ClearanceJobs bookings to grow in 2025… we are reiterating our total revenue guidance of $131 to $135 million… and target an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 24% for the full year.” — Greg Schippers, CFO .
“We have removed over $20 million of operating costs through 3 restructurings since May of 2023… position us well for… a normal tech hiring environment.” — Art Zeile .
“Dice’s decline… driven by customers that had booked multiyear contracts… and adjusted their consumption to a lower demand environment during their renewal.” — Art Zeile .
“At the end of the quarter, we had $2.7M in cash, and our total debt was $33M… leverage at ~0.98x.” — Greg Schippers .

Q&A Highlights

Segment profitability divergence: CJ margin >40% driven by higher revenue per employee; Dice requires more tech spend and legacy code modernization .
Corporate costs run rate: ~$7M annually, not $6.05M per quarter as queried .
Dice bookings pressure: Multi-year renewals from 2022–2023 scaled down in lower demand; still renewing at smaller spend levels .
Federal funding flows: Near-term EU/DoD funding uptick not yet visible; sentiment improved amid proposed budget increases .
CJ marketing and margins: Targeting 40%+ EBITDA margins; marketing spend focused and accretive, with geographic expansion opportunity .
Demand mix: Staffing new business solidifying; commercial cautious given macro/tariff uncertainty .
Expense cadence: Operating expense ratios expected relatively flat vs Q1 baseline; capitalized development costs trending down for FY25 .

Estimates Context

Q1 2025 exceeded consensus on revenue and EPS: Revenue $32.301M vs $32.227M estimate; EPS $0.04 vs $(0.005) consensus (values from S&P Global)*.
FY25 consensus revenue (~$126.4M) trails company guidance ($131–$135M), suggesting potential estimate upward drift if CJ growth and Dice stabilization materialize (values from S&P Global)*.
Note on EBITDA: Company reports Adjusted EBITDA of $6.98M; consensus “EBITDA” definitions may differ from company’s adjusted presentation. Anchor profit comparisons on revenue and EPS when assessing beats/misses .

Key Takeaways for Investors

ClearanceJobs is the near-term driver: stable bookings, premium pricing (AAR +12% YoY), and 43% margins support consolidated profitability as Dice normalizes .
Dice pressure should abate as multi-year renewals cycle and staffing demand improves; watch renewal rate and churn in sub-$15K customers for early signs of stabilization .
Guidance credibility reinforced by cost actions and capex cuts ($9–$10M FY25), supporting the 24% Adjusted EBITDA margin target through cycle .
Macro catalysts: improving tech job postings and consultant-led AI projects should translate to demand tailwinds; CJ levered to defense budget visibility .
Capital allocation: active buyback ($2.1M repurchased in Q1) and ~1x leverage provide optionality; debt reduced vs year-ago .
Watch list: CJ renewal/retention levels, Dice renewal rate trajectory, backlog/deferred revenue trends, and execution of new offerings (Dice contract talent, CJ Staffing Solutions) .
Trading implications: near-term prints likely sensitive to Dice bookings/renewal headlines and CJ resilience; a sustained beat on revenue/normalized EPS vs consensus could drive estimate revisions and rerating (values from S&P Global)*.

Additional Data and Sources:

Q1 2025 8-K Item 2.02 and Exhibit 99.1 (press release): revenue, EPS, segment, bookings, margins, cash/debt, KPIs, guidance .
Q1 2025 earnings press release: qualitative commentary and highlights .
Q1 2025 earnings call transcript: segment strategy, macro signals, guidance details, Q&A insights .
Prior quarters for trend analysis: Q4 2024 press release and call (KPIs, guidance), Q3 2024 press release .
Other relevant Q1 2025 press releases: Dice expands to contract talent ; ClearanceJobs expands Staffing Solutions ; Security Clearance Compensation Report .

Disclaimer: *Values retrieved from S&P Global.

DHI GROUP, INC. (DHX)·Q1 2025 Earnings Summary