Will

Will, on behalf of Chris Moore, inquired about the detailed integration process, specifically asking about milestones for 2026. He also asked about the biggest potential synergies, go-to-market strategies, customer feedback, and any unexpected cross-selling opportunities.

Answer

CFO Kristin Schultes highlighted the team's momentum, focusing on communications, culture, compensation alignment, and system implementation partners, noting that roughly 60% of the $25 million savings target is headcount-related. President and COO Ben Heraud expressed satisfaction with cross-selling traction, citing new Inspection and Mitigation wins in the data center space and full lifecycle service opportunities in infrastructure.

Will asked what it would take for Helios Technologies to return to its fiscal year 2021 adjusted EBITDA margin of 24.6% over the next three to five years. He also inquired if there were any areas where the company would find it difficult to ramp up quickly in the event of a market recovery, given the recent streamlining of the organization and cost structure.

Answer

Jeremy Evans (EVP and CFO) explained that achieving mid-20s EBITDA margins depends on growth and leveraging existing infrastructure, acknowledging that recent acquisitions have a different margin profile. He stated that the company is proactively planning for market recovery by managing resources, prioritizing overtime over immediate headcount increases, and securing supply for critical components like chips to ensure preparedness.

Will asked about the directional outlook for volumes with UFP Technologies' largest customer in 2026 and 2027, as well as the minimum volumes expected for 2028 and 2029. He also inquired about the anticipated impact of the AJR labor headwind in Q1 2026 and the remainder of the year.

Answer

Jeff Bailly (Chairman and CEO, UFP Technologies) confirmed the contract extension materially increased volumes and added a new program but could not provide specific volume guidance due to customer confidentiality. He noted past minimums were consistently exceeded. Regarding AJR, Mr. Bailly stated that consistent progress is being made in staffing and training, with Q1 2026 impact expected to be less than Q4 2025 and diminishing thereafter, as overtime is used to address backlog.

Will inquired about the potential market size and timeline for significant contributions from indie's opportunities in the robotics, drones, and quantum spaces. He also asked for more color on the expected timeline for a full resolution of the ongoing supply chain constraints.

Answer

Don McClymont, CEO, described the robotics space as having phenomenal activity and being highly compatible with indie's automotive products, with optimism for it becoming a material market by the end of the decade. For quantum, he quantified 2025 optical product shipments at $1 million, expecting a trebling in 2026. Regarding supply chain constraints, Mr. McClymont noted the tightness is driven by AI demand, not expected to resolve soon, but indie is expanding its supply base and has made good progress in the last 90 days, with some supplier capacity improvements potentially taking effect in 2027.

Will (for Charles Strauzer) asked about Deluxe's strategic positioning to leverage AI-enabled tools in the data segment and embedded payment solutions like Deluxe Fast Funds, particularly in response to broader industry trends in agentic commerce and AI. He also inquired about macroeconomic risks impacting growth segments and potential upside drivers for the 2026 outlook.

Answer

Barry McCarthy, President and CEO, highlighted Deluxe's strong position, noting that AI technology is already live and delivering improved performance across the business, particularly in the data-driven marketing segment with its large data lake and Gen AI-based tools. He emphasized that AI is applied to solve specific problems, not just for technology's sake. Chip Zint, CFO, added that the company is in a fundamentally different and stronger position entering 2026, with improved momentum across all segments. They both expressed optimism about consumer health and the data segment's continued solid growth in the first half of 2026, with normalization against tougher comps in the second half. Upside factors include pipeline visibility and continued execution.