COLUMBIA, Mo., Sept. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- American Outdoor Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select: AOUT), an innovation company that provides product solutions for outdoor enthusiasts, today announced financial results for the first quarter fiscal 2027 ended July 31, 2026.
First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Financial Highlights
- Quarterly net sales were $37.3 million, an increase of $7.6 million, or 25.4%, compared with quarterly net sales of $29.7 million for the comparable quarter last year. Adjusted for approximately $6.0 million of orders that were accelerated by retailers from the first quarter of fiscal 2026 into the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, net sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 increased by 4.3%.
- Quarterly gross margin was 53.0%, compared with quarterly gross margin of 46.7% for the comparable quarter last year.
- Quarterly GAAP net loss was $1.5 million, or $(0.12) per diluted share, compared with a GAAP net loss of $6.8 million, or $(0.54) per diluted share for the comparable quarter last year.
- Quarterly non-GAAP net income was $415,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared with non-GAAP net loss of $3.3 million, or $(0.26) per diluted share, for the comparable quarter last year. GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments for net income (loss) exclude acquired intangible amortization, stock compensation, and other costs. For a detailed reconciliation, see the schedules that follow in this release.
- Quarterly non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA was $1.2 million, or 3.1% of net sales, compared with $(3.1) million, or (10.5)% of net sales for the comparable quarter last year. For a detailed reconciliation, see the schedules that follow in this release.
Brian Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are very pleased with our strong start to fiscal 2027. First quarter net sales increased approximately 25%. As a reminder, the prior-year quarter was impacted by approximately $6 million of orders that retailers accelerated into fiscal 2025. Even after adjusting for that acceleration, first quarter net sales increased approximately 4% – a great result that exceeded our expectations and reflects the continued strength of our brands.
"Importantly, that performance was broad-based, reflecting growth in both our Outdoor Lifestyle and Shooting Sports categories, and supported by increased sales with our largest retail partners. Point-of-sale (POS) results also remained positive in both categories during the quarter, which we believe demonstrates healthy consumer demand across multiple brands in our portfolio. POS increased 6% in Outdoor Lifestyle and 3% in Shooting Sports.
"Innovation remained a key driver of our first quarter performance, with new products representing more than 36% of our net sales. Our Caldwell ClayCopter platform continued to outperform during the quarter, generating strong retailer and consumer adoption, positive POS results, and significant engagement across social media. That success was further validated by the ClayCopter Surface-to-Air™ being named the 2026 Frank Desomma Innovation of the Year by the Industry Choice Awards in August. This recognition means a great deal to our team because the award is an unbiased evaluation of all products in the shooting sports industry – and Caldwell® came out on top.
"We continued to expand our BUBBA® brand with new product introductions, including the launch of our Pro Series Gen 2 Electric Fillet Knife, which was recognized as Best of Show for the category of Cutlery, Hand Pliers, or Tools at ICAST 2026. A major milestone in the quarter was the consumer launch of SCORETRACKER® LIVE, our digital platform developed with Major League Fishing, that brings real-time scoring technology and the excitement of professional-grade competition to anglers, tournament organizers and fans everywhere. The launch expands BUBBA's opportunity within the large angling market while adding another important component to its growing ecosystem of connected hardware, software and subscription-based services.
"More broadly, BUBBA® and Caldwell® demonstrate our strategy to build connected ecosystems around key growth brands that deepen consumer engagement and loyalty, extend the value of our innovation beyond individual products, and create multiple avenues for long-term growth. We believe this approach has the potential to extend to other brands in our portfolio over time."
Andrew Fulmer, Chief Financial Officer, said, "Sales growth in the quarter translated to solid financial performance. Strength in new products helped accelerate margin expansion with gross margins increasing 630 basis points to 53.0% and Adjusted EBITDA improving more than $4.0 million. We also generated meaningful cash flow and ended the quarter with $33.3 million in cash and no debt, further strengthening our financial position."
Fiscal 2027 Outlook
"Our first quarter performance reinforces our confidence in our expectations for the year. We are maintaining our full-year guidance for net sales of $200 million to $210 million, and we are increasing our Adjusted EBITDA guidance to $14.5 million to $17.5 million. As we enter our seasonally stronger second and third quarters, we remain focused on delivering profitable growth while maintaining the financial flexibility to invest in our business and pursue opportunities that create long-term shareholder value."
The Company does not provide a quantitative reconciliation of non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA guidance in reliance on the "unreasonable efforts" exception for forward-looking non-GAAP measures set forth in SEC rules because certain financial information, the probable significance of which cannot be determined, is not available and cannot be reasonably estimated without unreasonable effort and expense.
Conference Call and Webcast
The Company will host a conference call and webcast today, Thursday, September 3, 2026, to discuss its first quarter fiscal 2027 financial and operational results. Speakers on the conference call will include Brian Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Andrew Fulmer, Chief Financial Officer. The conference call may include forward-looking statements and a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures. The conference call and webcast will begin at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time). Those interested in listening to the conference call via telephone may call directly at (833) 630-1956 and ask to join the American Outdoor Brands call. No RSVP is necessary. The conference call audio webcast can also be accessed live on the Company's website at www.aob.com, under the Investor Relations section.
Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In this press release, certain non-GAAP financial measures, including "non-GAAP net income (loss)," "Adjusted EBITDA," and net sales adjusted for $6.0 million of orders that were accelerated by retailers from fiscal 2026 into the final weeks of fiscal 2025 are presented. A reconciliation of "non-GAAP net income (loss)," "Adjusted EBITDA," and other non-GAAP financial measures is contained at the end of this press release. From time to time, the Company considers and uses these non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures of operating performance in order to provide the reader with an improved understanding of underlying performance trends. The Company believes it is useful for itself and the reader to review, as applicable, both (1) GAAP measures that include (i) amortization of acquired intangible assets, (ii) stock compensation, (iii) contract exit costs, (iv) income tax adjustments, (v) interest income, (vi) income tax expense, and (vii) depreciation and amortization; and (2) the non-GAAP measures that exclude such information. The Company presents these non-GAAP measures because it considers them an important supplemental measure of its performance and believes the disclosure of such measures provides useful information to investors regarding the Company's financial condition and results of operations. The Company's definition of these adjusted financial measures may differ from similarly named measures used by others. The Company believes these measures facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period by eliminating potential differences caused by the existence and timing of certain expense items that would not otherwise be apparent on a GAAP basis. These non-GAAP measures have limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the Company's GAAP measures. The principal limitations of these measures are that they do not reflect the Company's actual expenses and may thus have the effect of inflating its financial measures on a GAAP basis.
About American Outdoor Brands, Inc.
American Outdoor Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ Global Select: AOUT) is an innovation company that provides product solutions for outdoor enthusiasts, including hunting, fishing, camping, shooting, meat processing, outdoor cooking, and personal security and personal defense products. The Company produces innovative, high-quality products under brands including BOG®; BUBBA®; Caldwell®; Crimson Trace®; Frankford Arsenal®; Grilla®; Hooyman®; Imperial®; LaserLyte®; Lockdown®; MEAT! Your Maker®; Old Timer®; Schrade®; Tipton®; Uncle Henry®; and Wheeler®. For more information about all the brands and products from American Outdoor Brands, Inc., visit www.aob.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements under federal securities laws, and we intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbor created thereby.
