American Outdoor Brands, Inc. (AOUT) Earnings Call Transcript

Good day, everyone, and welcome to American Outdoor Brands, Inc. First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Financial Results Conference Call. This call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Liz Sharp, Vice President of Investor Relations, for some information about today's call.

Thank you, and good afternoon. Our comments today may contain predictions, estimates and other forward-looking statements. Our use of words like anticipate, project, estimate, expect, intend, should, could, indicate, suggest, believe and other similar expressions is intended to identify those forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements also include statements regarding our product development, focus, objectives, strategies and vision, our strategic evolution, our market share and market demand for our products, market and inventory conditions related to our products and in our industry in general; and growth opportunities and trends. Our forward-looking statements represent our current judgment about the future, and they are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Risk factors and other considerations that could cause our actual results to be materially different are described in our securities filings. You can find those documents as well as a replay of this call on our website at aob.com. Today's call contains time-sensitive information that is accurate only as of this time, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from our statements today. A few important items to note about our comments on today's call. First, we reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Our non-GAAP results exclude amortization of acquired intangible assets, stock compensation, contract exit costs, other costs and income tax adjustments. The reconciliation of GAAP financial measures to non-GAAP financial measures, where they are discussed on today's call, can be found in our filings as well as today's earnings press release, which are posted on our website. Joining us on today's call is Brian Murphy, President and CEO; and Andy Fulmer, CFO. And with that, I will turn the call over to Brian.

Thank you, Liz. We are off to a strong start in fiscal 2027. We believe our first quarter results reflect the strength of our brands, healthy retailer and consumer demand for our products and the continued impact of our innovation strategy. We also believe the quarter reflects the impact of the strategic priorities and operating discipline we've built into our business over time. Our focus on innovation, disciplined execution and agility helped us deliver these strong results, and we believe those same capabilities will be important as we continue to execute against our growth objectives for the year. First quarter net sales were $37.3 million, an increase of 25% over the prior year quarter. As a reminder, we believe last year's first quarter was impacted by approximately $6 million of orders that retailers accelerated into the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, creating a favorable comparison for the quarter we are reporting today. Even after adjusting for that acceleration, first quarter net sales increased approximately 4%, a great result that reflects the continued strength of our brands. Our growth in the quarter was driven by several factors and reflected higher sales with our largest retailers, including our largest e-commerce retailer and our largest mass retailer. We also benefited from higher direct-to-consumer sales through our own websites as well as strong sales to our international customers. Importantly, our first quarter performance was broad-based with double-digit growth in both our Outdoor Lifestyle and Shooting Sports categories. We also saw continued strength in POS during the quarter, telling us that consumer demand for our brands and products remained healthy. In fact, this is now our sixth consecutive quarter of positive year-over-year POS growth. POS increased 6% in Outdoor Lifestyle and 3% in our Shooting Sports category. Our key growth brands, BOG, BUBBA, Caldwell, Grilla and MEAT! Your Maker once again delivered positive year-over-year net sales growth on a combined basis. Our healthy POS results were supported by strong consumer pull-through of the new products we've introduced over the last 24 months. That pull-through drove strong retailer replenishment, resulting in new products contributing 36% of first quarter net sales, well above our historical average of 20% to 25%. Importantly, innovation drives not only revenue, but profitability by generating natural consumer demand without the need for promotions. But we all know that new products alone don't stand a chance without a compelling value proposition for the consumer. And this is where innovation differentiates AOB. We focus on product categories where innovation can disrupt the status quo and where our superior product can cause consumers to move away from incumbents. We're not just looking to take share. We strive to redefine what consumers expect from a category by reshaping the activity itself. Interestingly, there are a handful of innovation ingredients that many category-defining brands like Keurig, Ring, YETI and SharkNinja have in common with AOB's growth brand. The 4 ingredients that stand out to me are disruptive innovation, IP protection, product ecosystems and an element of product alchemy. And this last piece is critical. It means the difference between a consumer saying, "I bought this," or saying, "You have to try this." And our innovation strategy combines these ingredients to deepen consumer loyalty over time. Let's take Caldwell, for example. First, disruptive innovation. So a few years ago, we saw an opportunity to extend Caldwell into shotgun shooting, a category with meaningful consumer pain points and relatively low brand affinity. That led to 2 new platforms: Claymore, which address the mobility and power limitations of traditional clay throwers and ClayCopter, which reimagined target shooting with a highly portable launcher and biodegradable targets that better mimic bird flight. Second, IP protection. We now have more than 30 patents or pending patent applications supporting the Claymore and ClayCopter families of products. Third, product ecosystem. Using our Caldwell Clays mobile app, shooters can now connect Claymore and ClayCopter launchers to wirelessly launch both traditional clays and revolutionary ClayCopter targets in the same shooting session, an entirely new experience that no other brand can offer. And fourth, the element of product alchemy, which creates product evangelists. Our new Claymore and ClayCopter products are generating an incredible organic response from shooters all across the world on social media, forums and online reviews. A flurry of videos uploaded by consumers have each attracted millions of views and thousands of shares, but the numbers alone don't capture what is happening. What stands out is the spontaneous reaction from people, usually a wide grin and a genuine, "Wow, you have to try this." These are real consumers sharing the surprise, raw excitement and sheer fun these products have brought to recreational target shooting. Every one of those posts is an invitation for someone else to experience it. And that kind of consumer energy is powerful, and our retailers pay close attention to it. They see the excitement building and recognize the opportunity to bring that experience and that consumer into their stores. For us, that retailer engagement is especially valuable. It expands our brand's reach, creates new merchandising opportunities, makes it easier for more consumers to discover our platform and has the potential to compress adoption cycle. That dynamic has helped make Caldwell one of the top-performing brands in our portfolio today, and it reinforces our confidence in Caldwell's 5-year product pipeline, which is filled with exciting products that will continue to expand the platform and strengthen the brand. Caldwell is a good example of how we use these ingredients to create category-defining brands. But these ingredients can also combine in other areas as well to produce emerging new revenue streams for the company. BUBBA is a great example of that with subscription services that are now generating real revenue. When we launched the first BUBBA Smart Fish Scale and app 2 years ago, we included a complimentary 2-year subscription, a move intended to lower the barrier to entry and encourage consumers to adopt the new technology. That was especially important in fishing, where consumers often look to elite competitors to guide their product choices. One reason our relationship with Major League Fishing has been so valuable. Those complimentary subscriptions are now beginning to roll off. And while we remain in the early innings of tracking conversions, the trends are very encouraging. Paid subscriptions are now in the 6-figure dollar range on a TTM basis and accelerated in the first quarter, a solid indication that consumers see ongoing value in the connected experience. And with the consumer launch of SCORETRACKER LIVE at ICAST in July, we're now bringing that connected experience to a much broader audience, further expanding the long-term opportunity for the BUBBA ecosystem. As we look to the remainder of fiscal 2027, we like what we're seeing. Consumer demand for our products has remained healthy. Our key growth brands continue to perform well collectively, and our innovation pipeline is robust. That said, we also know from experience how quickly conditions can change. Consumer spending remains measured, tariffs continue to evolve and broader economic and global conditions remain dynamic. That makes it important that we continue to do what has served us well, stay close to our consumers and retail partners, remain focused on innovation, stay disciplined in our execution and maintain the agility to respond quickly and effectively as conditions evolve. We're pleased with our start to the year, confident in our strategy and focused on executing against the opportunities ahead. With that, I'll turn the call over to Andy to walk through our first quarter financial results and our outlook for fiscal 2027.

Thanks, Brian. We're very pleased with our first quarter performance. We delivered strong net sales and profitability and ended the quarter with another strong balance sheet. Net sales for Q1 were $37.3 million compared to $29.7 million in Q1 last year, an increase of 25.4%. Brian outlined the acceleration of orders by our retailers that impacted Q1 of last year, so I won't go into that detail. Adjusting for that acceleration, net sales for Q1 increased by 4.3% compared to Q1 last year. On a category basis, net sales in Outdoor Lifestyle, which consists of products related to hunting, fishing, meat processing, outdoor cooking and rugged outdoor activities, increased 34.4%. Net sales in Shooting Sports, which includes solutions for target shooting, aiming, safe storage, cleaning and maintenance and personal protection increased 15.3% compared to Q1 last year. Turning to our distribution channels. Our traditional channel net sales increased 28.4% in the first quarter, and our e-commerce net sales increased 20.1% compared to last year. Domestic net sales during the quarter increased 24.9%, while our international net sales increased 32.7% or roughly $600,000 compared to Q1 last year, largely due to increased net sales in Canada and Europe. Turning to gross margin. Q1 gross margin was 53%, up 630 basis points compared with Q1 last year. This result reflected several factors, including higher margins from new products, channel mix, the timing of tariff capitalization and amortization and pricing actions taken in fiscal 2026. I'd like to provide a quick update on the evolving tariff landscape. Following the Supreme Court's February 2026 ruling that IEEPA-based tariffs were unlawfully imposed, the administration implemented tariffs under Section 122 at a 10% rate, subject to a statutory 150-day limit. On July 24, those tariffs were replaced by a new set of tariffs under Section 301 at rates of 10% or 12.5%, depending on the country of origin. As a reminder, these tariffs are in addition to the original 301 tariffs of either 7.5% or 25% that went into effect on certain products in 2018 as well as Section 232 tariffs of 25% or 50% that went into effect in 2025. Since February, we've been capitalizing these tariffs into inventory. Because the related costs are recognized in the P&L based on inventory turns, the impact to gross margin is delayed. As a result, we expect to begin seeing the impacts of these tariffs later in Q3 with the full quarterly impact reflected in Q4. Turning to operating expenses. GAAP operating expenses for the quarter were $21.9 million compared to $20.7 million last year. The increase was driven by higher variable costs due to the increase in net sales as well as higher fuel costs, partially offset by lower bad debt expense and lower intangible amortization. On a non-GAAP basis, operating expenses in Q1 were $19.8 million compared to $18.2 million in Q1 last year. Non-GAAP operating expenses exclude intangible amortization, stock compensation and certain nonrecurring expenses as they occur. GAAP EPS for Q1 was a loss of $0.12 compared to a loss of $0.54 last year. On a non-GAAP basis, EPS was $0.03 for the first quarter compared to a loss of $0.26 in Q1 last year. Our Q1 figures are based on our basic share count of approximately 12.6 million shares, whereas on a fully diluted basis, we expect our share count will be about 13.3 million shares for fiscal 2027 outside of any share buybacks that may occur. Adjusted EBITDA increased $4.3 million from a loss of $3.1 million in Q1 last year to positive $1.2 million in Q1 this year, driven mainly by the increase in net sales and gross margin. On a trailing 12-month basis, adjusted EBITDA was $14.5 million, up from $10.2 million at the end of fiscal 2026. Turning now to the balance sheet and cash flow. We continue to maintain a strong balance sheet, ending the quarter with $33.3 million in cash and no debt. We generated $13 million of operating cash in Q1 compared to an operating cash usage of $1.7 million in Q1 last year. The increase in cash was driven by IEEPA refund claims received in Q1 as well as improved operating performance. Inventory increased $8.4 million in Q1 to $100.3 million, in line with our expectations. The increase supports our seasonal inventory build as we prepare for hunting and holiday seasons. Our balance sheet remains strong and debt-free. We ended the quarter with no balance on our $75 million line of credit. So as of Q1, we have total available capital of over $120 million. Turning to capital expenditures. We spent roughly $500,000 on CapEx in Q1, mainly for product tooling and patent costs. For full year fiscal 2027, we expect to spend $3.5 million to $4 million, consistent with our asset-light operating model. Now turning to our outlook. Based on our Q1 performance and positive POS trends that Brian mentioned, we are maintaining our previous net sales guidance and raising our adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2027. We expect net sales for fiscal 2027 in the range of $200 million to $210 million, which at the midpoint would represent growth of 7.5% over fiscal 2026 reported net sales. For the second quarter, we expect net sales to increase approximately 3% compared with the prior year quarter. Over the course of the year, we continue to expect our typical seasonal net sales pattern to play out with Q2 and Q3 representing our highest quarters and Q4 exceeding Q1. Turning back to the full year. We expect gross margins for fiscal 2027 to be in the mid- to high 40s, slightly above our target range. Turning to OpEx. We continue to expect fiscal 2027 operating expenses to increase slightly due primarily to variable costs associated with higher net sales, partially offset by lower intangible asset amortization. On a percentage of net sales basis, we expect operating expenses to decline as we leverage our fixed cost base. We will continue to align our cost structure with our business activity while preserving the flexibility to respond to changing market conditions. Lastly, based on all the factors I've discussed, we are raising our adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2027. Our previous guidance called for adjusted EBITDA of roughly $13 million to $16 million. We now expect adjusted EBITDA in the range of $14.5 million to $17.5 million. The midpoint of $16 million would represent an increase of 57% from our prior year results. This new profitability guidance continues to be consistent with our long-term operating model, which targets an EBITDA contribution of 25% to 30% on net sales above $200 million. One reminder on income taxes. We ended fiscal 2026 with a net operating loss carryforward of approximately $21 million. Therefore, because of this benefit, we expect a minimal amount of GAAP income tax in fiscal 2027. With that, operator, please open the call for questions from our analysts.

[Operator Instructions] The first question will come from Matt Koranda with ROTH Capital.

I just want to make sure there was no IEEPA benefit that flowed through the P&L in the first quarter. Did you see any margin benefit that flowed through the P&L or all of the improvement was essentially the fundamental items that you highlighted, Andy?

Yes. Matt, there was a little bit of IEEPA refund, a little bit left over from kind of some of the easier claims. So that was kind of baked into the reduced amount of tariffs for the quarter. But yes, we're really pleased with the 53%. Overall, what I talked about in the comments, roughly 200 basis points were related to that tariff timing. And the remainder is really from kind of growth in e-com and new products that we would expect higher margins on and then a little bit of pricing as well.

Okay. Got it. So call it, 400 basis points from kind of product innovation mix shift that may be sustainable going forward?

Correct. Product mix, channel mix, yes, and then a little bit of pricing.

Okay. All right. Got you. Helpful. And then I guess maybe just level set us on the way to think about revenue growth for the remainder of the year. Obviously, embedded in the guide, it's sort of like a 4% kind of rate if we level set it across the rest of the quarters. I think you said second quarter, probably closer to 3%. But then you got POS and Outdoor Lifestyle growing what looks like mid-single digits and potentially, you still had this gap between sell-in and sell-through for the last several quarters. So that does bode well, I guess, for an acceleration for the rest of the year. How should we be thinking about that dynamic and sort of the health of channel inventory given that retailers have been destocking for several quarters now?

Yes. Matt, this is Brian. So overall, we're actually pretty pleased with what we're seeing with channel inventory and the POS. So I would say it's more normalized replenishment at this point. So pretty tight link between the two. And you saw that, too, with our e-commerce customer commentary where we had expected they were getting a little low on inventory. We saw strong POS and would have expected that to reverse at some point, and we saw that trend beginning a few quarters ago, so in Q1 of this year. Certainly pleased with the direction it's headed, which is in line with our expectations. So to your point about the rest of the year, I mean, I think at this point, Q1, we're still early in the year. The majority of our sales occur in Q2 and Q3. The holiday season is a big barometer to understand what the health of the consumer looks like. Overall, though, I mean, new products for us is just hitting on all cylinders right now, especially with the growth brands. So I think we're being a little conservative as we look out over the rest of the year on that piece. But certainly, if things consider at this rate on the new products and the strong replenishment that we're seeing, there could be some upside to that.

Okay. Understood. On the new product front, it was great to see that stat of 36% coming from new product. How sustainable do you think that high level is for the -- over the near to medium term, I guess, with the rollout of ClayCopter and some of the new innovation around Caldwell, I assume it may be sustainable for the next several quarters, but maybe just speak to sort of how you can hold sales at that kind of high rate of innovative product and new product.

Yes. It certainly -- it's an extraordinary number. Our averages that we've cited historically are between 20% and 25%. I still think that's a good number long term. We seem to kind of hover around in that range. So 36% certainly stands out from that average. What's driving that 36%, we were just looking at before the meeting here, what were some of the top-performing products and you hit the nail on the head, the ClayCopter family is leading the charge there. And it's why we decided to really focus on that in the prepared remarks, just the reality of that product is unlike anything we've seen in some of our product launch history. So if you haven't seen any of that stuff, I encourage you to look it up. But -- so I think is it sustainable at that level? I don't think so. But I also think the ClayCopter in particular, continues to gain momentum. So it is possible that we see sort of higher-than-average sales from new products this year. But I don't know that we'll be able to sustain something closer to 36% for the remainder of the year.