H&R Block, Inc. (HRB)

Tax preparation, 4,600 regular, 73,400 at peak. Read October 20, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending June 30, 2026, filed August 14, 2026. Ranked 6 of the 199 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now.

The filing states 4,600 regular full-time associates and a seasonal peak of 73,400 in one tax preparation business, so one tax services pattern carries the workforce with the seasonal count noted.

The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.

What follows from the reading

Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 34% now, 60% at the end of 2027, 73% at the end of 2028, 78% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 78% desk work, 17% people work and 6% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 21% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 63% becomes checking a model's work and 9% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.

Headcount

4,600 employees as of June 30, 2026 (stated). The filing counts no associates by country; it operates in the U.S. and other countries, and the data service's 2016 geography table is not usable.

The filing: “We had approximately 4,600 regular full-time associates as of June 30, 2026.”

The workforce as industry patterns

What the filing says about the workforce: About 4,600 regular full-time associates at the June 30 fiscal year end; the highest number employed during the fiscal year, including seasonal tax professionals, was about 73,400; the year-end count is the headcount with the seasonal peak noted.

Companies read with the same leading pattern

Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.

• Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP, 67,000 employees)30% now, 68% by 2028
• Paychex, Inc. (PAYX, 17,600 employees)31% now, 65% by 2028
• CBIZ, Inc. (CBZ, 9,500 employees)34% now, 71% by 2028

What the filing says about AI

17 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing describes AI Tax Assist, generative AI help for do-it-yourself clients, and names AI and automation among the technologies that may reduce demand for paid tax preparation.

• “Our generative AI powered technology, AI Tax Assist, and human help is offered to clients who prepare a paid DIY online return at no additional charge.”
• “In addition, advances in technology, including artificial intelligence and automation, may reduce the need for third-party tax preparation services or increase the ability of taxpayers to complete their returns without paid assistance.”
• “New technologies, such as those related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and algorithms, involve risks and may have unexpected consequences, which may be due to their limitations, potential manipulation or unintended uses, or our failure to use or implement them effectively.”
• “Many industries have experienced an increased variety and amount of attempted fraudulent activities by third parties, and those fraudulent activities have become, and are becoming increasingly sophisticated through the use of artificial intelligence, social engineering, and other technological developments and strategies.”
• “Our business depends on our ability to attract, develop, motivate, and retain key personnel in a timely manner, including members of our executive team and those in seasonal tax preparation positions (which may necessitate specialized skill sets and be required on short notice during any extended tax season or to serve extended filers) or with other required specialized expertise, such as techn...”

Its annual reports, year by year

Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector

• Fiscal 20220median 0
• Fiscal 20235median 1
• Fiscal 20247median 4
• Fiscal 202510median 10
• Fiscal 202617

Headcount by filing year

As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.

Limits of this reading

• The regular full-time count at the June fiscal year end stands for a business whose seasonal workforce reaches about 73,400 at the peak of tax season, so the headcount understates the people who do the work.

Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000012659-26-000026, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.