Matthew Amigh
Analyst · D.A. Davidson
Thank you, Monz. I'll begin my remarks on Slide 13. In the first quarter, net revenue increased 21% year-over-year, driven primarily by both wholesale and direct-to-consumer. Wholesale revenue increased 31.5% year-over-year, reflecting distribution gains, pricing and continued contribution from Black Rifle Energy. Performance was broad-based across key customers with sales to mass merchants increasing more than 20% and grocery sales more than doubling. We also benefited from pack size innovation, which supported new placements in the dollar channel. Direct-to-consumer revenue increased 7% in the first quarter, driven primarily by increased sales through third-party marketplaces. Actions taken over the past year to stabilize the business are now translating into more consistent performance and a return to growth. As a result, direct-to-consumer is contributing more consistently to consolidated growth and is positioned to support sustained growth. Turning to Slide 14. First quarter gross margin was 33%, down 305 basis points year-over-year, reflecting the impact of nonrecurring items and elevated coffee costs. Importantly, we continue to make progress on controllable levers, including improvements in trade efficiency and supply chain, which helped mitigate these pressures. Elevated green coffee costs and carryover impact of 2025 tariffs embedded in inventory continue to weigh on gross margin. However, pricing actions implemented in 2025 largely offset these impacts with the net effect of inflation and tariffs limited to approximately 20 basis points in the quarter. Gross margin was also impacted by nonrecurring items, including roughly 100 basis points of costs associated with onboarding a new direct-to-consumer fulfillment provider and approximately 210 basis points from a onetime noncash write-down tied to coffee extract resulting from a formulation change. This extract impact was not added back to adjusted EBITDA. These items were mitigated in part by underlying operational improvements, including approximately 50 basis points of benefit from supply chain initiatives and mix. Looking ahead, we have substantially locked our green coffee requirements for 2026, providing improved cost visibility. While commodity costs remain elevated in the near term, we expect gross margins to stabilize relative to 2025 levels, supported by pricing, productivity initiatives and favorable mix. This stabilization sets a stage for margin recovery over time. We remain confident in our ability to achieve our long-term gross margin target of 40%, driven primarily by structural improvements within our control, including mix and efficiency in both trade spend and supply chain. While recent movement in the coffee forward curve is constructive, our path to the target does not rely on incremental pricing actions. Moving down the P&L to Slide 15. Operating expense improvements were driven by efficiency gains from last year's operational improvement plan, improved marketing efficiency and lower spend across consulting, software and legal. These actions reflect a more targeted allocation of resources towards key growth drivers, enabling greater operating leverage while supporting the business as it scales. Total operating expenses declined over 8% year-over-year, driven by a 10% reduction in marketing expense and a 14% decline in general and administrative expense. Despite the year-over-year decline in gross margin rate, revenue growth drove higher gross profit dollars. Combined with operating expense reductions, this resulted in more than an eightfold increase in adjusted EBITDA and a 570 basis point expansion in adjusted EBITDA margin with adjusted EBITDA increasing from under $1 million to over $7 million year-over-year. This performance highlights the operating leverage embedded in the model as revenue growth translates more efficiently into earnings against a more disciplined and structurally improved cost base. Turning to the balance sheet. We ended the quarter in a strong financial position with $39 million of debt outstanding or approximately 1x net debt to trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA and about 1x based on our 2026 guidance. At quarter end, we had more than $52 million of total liquidity, including cash on hand and available capacity under our credit facility, providing ample flexibility to support the business. Free cash flow improved by approximately $11 million year-over-year, with $6 million generated in the first quarter of 2026 compared to a use of over $5 million in the prior year period, driven by improved operating profitability and more efficient working capital management. As previously disclosed, we received notice from the New York Stock Exchange in February regarding the minimum price requirement. Our shares are currently trading above $1, and we would regain compliance if at the end of the applicable measurement period, both our closing share price and the average closing share price over the prior 30 trading days are at least $1. As we work through the standard cure period, we remain focused on executing our 2026 plan, improving the fundamentals of the business and driving long-term shareholder value. Moving to the outlook on Slide 17. For 2026, we are increasing our revenue outlook to at least 8% growth or approximately $430 million. We're also increasing our adjusted EBITDA guidance to at least 35% growth or approximately $29 million, up from our prior outlook of at least 30% growth. This updated outlook is supported by current visibility into demand, pricing actions already in market and secure distribution gains. Consistent with our approach from last quarter, our guidance reflects a level of performance we believe is supported by visibility we have today. We have strong momentum in the business and no reason based on current trends to believe that changes in the second half. At the same time, we're taking a disciplined approach and not assuming incremental distribution wins, pricing actions or other benefits that have not yet been realized. As we gain additional visibility through the year, we will update the outlook as appropriate. From a cadence standpoint, revenue is expected to build over the course of the year, broadly consistent with the progression we saw in 2025. First quarter performance exceeded our internal expectations, supported in part by normal shipment timing that likely benefited Q1 revenue by a few million dollars. We expect that timing benefit to normalize in the second quarter. As a result, second quarter revenue is expected to be at least 10% year-over-year compared to 21% in the first quarter, reflecting both underlying business momentum and this timing impact. We continue to expect gross margins in the range of 34% to 36% in 2026 compared to 34.6% in 2025. The outlook reflects pricing actions taken in 2025, supply chain productivity and favorable channel and product mix alongside external factors that remain dynamic. Second quarter gross margin is expected to be consistent with the first quarter, reflecting continued pressure from coffee inflation and the more recent impact of higher fuel costs. Gross margin should improve in the back half of the year as higher cost inventory is worked through and productivity and mix benefits continue to build. For the second quarter, we expect adjusted EBITDA of at least $5 million, more than double the prior year period, while absorbing the impact of the first quarter shipment timing benefit and the timing of certain expenses. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to step up further in the second half of the year as revenue builds, gross margin improves and operating leverage increases. While we are not providing formal cash flow guidance, we remain focused on margin expansion and improved working capital efficiency to enhance cash generation. With capital expenditures expected to remain in line with prior year levels, we expect to generate positive cash flow. Looking ahead, the business is benefiting from a more streamlined operating structure, stronger cost discipline and improved earnings conversion. The actions taken in 2025 are flowing through the P&L, supporting more consistent profitability and greater financial flexibility in 2026. We see this most clearly in coffee, where pricing, distribution gains and productivity initiatives are expanding gross profit and improving returns. Our priorities remain focused on operating discipline, cash generation and thoughtful capital allocation. With visibility into demand, pricing and distribution, we are well positioned to improve earnings quality and sustain profitable growth in 2026 and beyond. Operator, we are now ready for the Q&A session.