Hamilton Beach Brands Company - Earnings Call - Q3 2025

Executive Summary

• Q3 2025 revenue was $132.8M (-15.2% YoY), gross margin fell to 21.1% due to a one-time $5M tariff cost (370 bps impact), and diluted EPS was $0.12; operating profit was $2.9M as tariff timing and a delayed large retailer weighed on results.
• Management emphasized sequential improvement vs Q2 as retailer purchasing patterns normalized and cited cost actions and sourcing diversification; excluding the $5M tariff, gross margin would have been 24.8% and operating profit $7.9M (5.9%).
• Guidance remains suspended given tariff uncertainty; tone points to further top-line and margin recovery in Q4 as pricing and diversification actions flow through.
• Potential stock reaction catalysts: normalization of retailer orders, tariff moderation, health division turning profitable, and premium/Commercial momentum (Lotus launch, Sunkist partnership).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

• Commercial delivered “outstanding results,” with strong demand and early wins from Sunkist-branded commercial juicers/sectionizers; inventory constraints indicate underlying demand strength.
• Hamilton Beach Health reached positive operating profit for the first time; partnerships expanded (Centerville, Lumasera), and Health Beacon Harmony launched with Novartis Ireland, improving patient acquisition and conversion.
• Retail normalization and promotional strength: “record number of promotional activities” expected in Q4; largest retailer resumed normal cadence and exceeded expectations in October promotions.

What Went Wrong

• One-time $5M tariff cost (related to temporary 125% China tariff spike) flowed through Q3 cost of goods, compressing gross margin by 370 bps; pricing lag versus cost increases further pressured margins.
• U.S. consumer volumes were soft and one large retailer delayed orders “for most of the third quarter,” driving the majority of the revenue decline.
• Cash flow pressured: net cash used for operating activities was -$14.6M for 9M’25, reflecting accounts payable timing and lower purchasing activity amid diversification initiatives.

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Thank you for standing by. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to today's Hamilton Beach Brands Third Quarter 2025 earnings conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a Q&A session. If you would like to ask a question during that time, press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If your question has been answered and you would like to remove yourself from the queue, press star followed by the number one. Thank you. Without further ado, I will turn the call over to Brendan Frey, Partner with ICR. Brendan, you have the floor.

Brendan Frey (Partner)

Thank you, Tamika. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the Third Quarter 2025 earnings conference call and webcast for Hamilton Beach Brands. Earlier today, after the stock market closed, we issued our Third Quarter 2025 earnings release, which is available on our corporate website. Our speakers today are Scott Tidey, President and CEO, and Sally Cunningham, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. Our presentation today includes forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in either our prepared remarks or during the Q&A. Additional information regarding these remarks and uncertainties is available in our 10Q, our earnings release, and our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024.

The company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, which may not be updated until our quarterly conference call, our next quarterly conference call, if at all. The company will also discuss certain non-GAAP measures. Reconciliation for Regulation G purposes can be found in our earnings release. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Scott. Scott.

Scott Tidey (President and CEO)

Brendan, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today. Our third quarter performance represents a step in the right direction towards normalization following the significant disruption our industry faced after higher tariffs were implemented in April. As the third quarter progressed, retailers started to resume more typical buying patterns after destocking inventory purchases. This was evident in the sequential improvement in our year-over-year sales trend compared with the second quarter. While profitability declined more meaningfully than revenue in Q3, this was driven primarily by a one-time incremental tariff cost of $5 million and, to a lesser extent, a timing mismatch between ongoing tariff rate increases and our pricing adjustments. This significant headwind was partially offset by a favorable mix shift led by increased penetration of our higher-margin commercial and health businesses.

Importantly, we have fully absorbed the impact on gross margins from the peak tariff rate and have moved forward with a more balanced inventory position and a clear line of sight on returning gross margins more in line with historical levels. This will be achieved over the coming quarters through the strategic actions we've taken in response to higher tariffs. To review, we meaningfully accelerated our manufacturing diversification efforts away from China to other APAC countries and remain nimble as multiple trade negotiations played out and agreements are finalized. With a more diversified geographical sourcing structure, we have the ability to quickly shift our procurement to markets that are in the best economic interests of the business. We took the size of price decisions implementing increases at the end of June and August that align with the current tariff rate increases.

Our retail partners have been understanding and accepting the necessary price adjustments, which were carefully balanced to maintain our competitive market position while protecting margins. Our strong brand equity and market leadership have enabled us to take these necessary steps while maintaining our value proposition to consumers. We enacted comprehensive cost management measures across the organization that generated $10 million in annualized savings, with the benefit of these actions starting to materialize in the third quarter. Looking at the performance highlights by business division, our core business continued to expand its reach as we shift our Kitchen Collections by Hamilton Beach line to a leading mass-market retailer nationwide. This broader rollout increases our already significant retail presence and reinforces our market-leading position across the small appliance space.

Looking ahead, our robust pipeline of new products and high-growth categories like blender kitchen systems, specialty coffee, and air fryers should position us for further market share gains. Our premium business continues to perform well, highlighted by the successful launch of our high-end Lotus brand. Initial sell-through results have exceeded expectations by strong double digits, which is remarkable for a new premium line, especially as the majority of our initial advertising support for Lotus is planned for November and December. Based on this performance, we are actively negotiating to increase shelf space, positioning Lotus for even broader market reach. Beyond Lotus, we also have new innovative launches planned across our Qi and Clorox brand partnerships in the coming quarters that should help fuel further growth. Our commercial business delivered outstanding results in the third quarter.

In fact, we believe inventory constraints limited our performance, which speaks to the strong and growing underlying demand for our innovative commercial solutions. Our recent Sun Kiss brand launch continues to be a resounding success, with branded commercial juicers and sectionizers continuing to deliver outsized results. Looking ahead, we are focused on accelerating our commercial business expansion through new channel penetration and expansion of our relationships with large food and hospitality chains. Furthermore, we are diversifying our manufacturing base for our commercial line to make sure we are positioned to fully capture the growing market opportunity ahead. Our newest division, Hamilton Beach Health, achieved a major milestone by reaching positive operating profit for the first time this quarter. We're seeing new partnership deals develop, including a new specialty pharmacy partnership with Centerville and Lumasera, both of which are top 15 specialty pharmacies in the US.

Additionally, we saw the successful launch of a new Health Beacon Harmony software product with Novartis Ireland, with strong interest for expansion into other markets. Beyond these product advancements, the team has also recently implemented several digital improvements, resulting in a smoother patient experience, lower patient acquisition cost, and higher conversion rates. These new developments, along with expanding our patient subscription base by 50% this year and the conditions treated using our SmartSharp system, leave us very excited about Health Beacon's future. Finally, our digital initiatives continue to gain traction this quarter. We exceeded our point-of-sale expectations during one of the largest digital retail events of the year. Looking ahead, we're placing a large emphasis on digital growth in Q4 to capitalize on the important holiday shopping season.

In closing, we have greater clarity into our cost and pricing architecture now that tariff rates on certain Chinese imports have moderated significantly from the peaks reached in the second quarter, and trade relations have improved. While uncertainty in the marketplace remains, we expect the strength of our brand portfolio, recent sourcing diversification efforts, and pricing actions will lead to further top-line and margin recovery in the fourth quarter. With that, I'll turn it over to Sally.

Sally Cunningham (SVP, CFO, and Treasurer)

Great. Thank you, Scott. Good afternoon, everyone. As Scott detailed, our third-quarter sales trend improved compared with the second quarter, and while gross margins were down year-over-year, the pressure was largely temporary, and the impact from the peak tariff rate on China is now fully behind us. Turning to our results, starting with revenue, total revenue in the third quarter was $132.8 million. Down 15.2% from last year's third quarter, but up 300 basis points compared with the second quarter's year-over-year performance. The revenue decline was primarily driven by lower volumes in our U.S. consumer business, reflecting overall softness in consumer demand, as well as timing of retailer purchases, specifically one large retailer that delayed orders for most of the third quarter.

As a reminder, some retailers paused buying in the second quarter to assess inventory levels and price increases flowing from the new tariffs implemented by the United States in April 2025. While most retailers resumed buying in the second quarter, the pause negatively affected volumes during the early part of the third quarter. Turning to gross profit and margin, gross profit was $28 million, or 21.1% of total revenue in the third quarter, compared to $43.9 million, or 28%, in the year-ago period. The decline in gross profit margin was primarily due to the flow of one-time incremental tariff costs of $5 million, the majority of which are related to the temporary 125% China tariff costs that were in effect for a period of time earlier this year. Additionally, gross margin was impacted by a delay between tariff-related rising costs and the effective date of pricing adjustments.

This created a temporary compression of gross profit margin that we expect to normalize in future periods. It is important to note that excluding the $5 million of 125% one-time tariff costs, gross margin would have been $33 million, or 24.8% of total revenue. Selling, general, and administrative expenses decreased $8.2 million to $25.1 million, or 18.9% of total revenue, compared to $33.3 million, or 21.2% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2024. The decrease was primarily driven by $6.8 million of lower personnel costs, including reduced stock-based compensation expense due to changes in our stock price year-over-year, as well as benefits associated with the restructuring actions we took in the second quarter. Operating profit was $2.9 million, or 2.2% of total revenue, compared to $10.6 million, or 6.8% of total revenue in the third quarter of 2024.

As the temporary impact on gross margins from the peak tariff rate more than offset the expense leverage we delivered in the third quarter. Excluding the $5 million, 125% one-time tariff costs, operating profit would have been $7.9 million, or 5.9%. Income before taxes was $2 million, compared to $2.7 million. The prior year period included a one-time non-cash charge of $7.6 million related to the termination of the company's overfunded pension plan. Income tax expense was $0.4 million in the third quarter, compared to income tax expense of $0.7 million a year ago. Net income was $1.7 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $1.9 million, or 14 cents per diluted share a year ago. Now turning to our balance sheet and cash flows, for the nine months ended September 30, 2025.

Net cash used for operating activities was $14.6 million, compared to net cash provided of $35.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024. The decrease was primarily due to a $27.5 million change in accounts payable due to lower purchasing activity from decreased sales volume and inventory turnover, as well as shorter payment terms with new suppliers under the company's China diversification initiatives. During the three months ended September 30, 2025, the company repurchased approximately 39,000 shares, totaling $0.6 million. The company paid $1.6 million in dividends. On September 30, 2025, our net debt position, or total debt minus cash and cash equivalents and highly liquid short-term investments, was $32.8 million, compared to a net debt position of $22.5 million at the end of the prior year period. In closing, we are encouraged with how we have navigated the dynamic trade environment this year.

With greater clarity around the go-forward tariff rates for most all of the U.S.'s trade partners, the situation continues to stabilize. We anticipate that our fourth-quarter results will show further progress towards improving our sales trend and gross margins. While our continued recovery will not be linear in 2026, we expect our annual performance to benefit nicely from the actions we have taken this year, diversifying our sourcing structure and lowering our fixed-cost base. This concludes our prepared remarks. We will now turn the line back to the operator for Q&A.

Operator (participant)

At this time, if you would like to ask a question, press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. In the interest of time, we ask that you only limit yourself to one question and a follow-up. Again, if you would like to ask a question, press star one on your telephone keypad. We'll pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question is from the line of Adam Bradley with AJB Capital.

Adam Bradley (Founder and CIO)

Thank you for the color around the gross margins. Can you please clarify the 370 basis point or $5 million tariff cost? Was that a charge, or how should we think about that? In the past, I believe you used FIFO accounting, and it has taken time for costs to flow through the P&L. This seems different. What we hear you saying is that the $5 million charge was recognized in the quarter that those purchases were made. Just some clarity around that to help us understand that better.

Sally Cunningham (SVP, CFO, and Treasurer)

Okay. Sure. Hi, Adam. The costs relate to the 125% tariff that was temporarily put in place in the April timeframe earlier this year. You are right. These are costs that were incurred in April of this year that did flow through our P&L in the third quarter. What it really represents is some containers that we had on the water when this spike in tariff occurred that we are not able to, or we made the decision to, not pass on to the consumer. For us to absorb as a one-time cost, that flowed through in its entirety in the third quarter. I think that's a little bit different from kind of the more go-forward increased tariffs that we're seeing from China and other Asian countries, which we do consider part of our go-forward.

Kind of cost structure and that we have taken actions to cover those additional expenses.

Adam Bradley (Founder and CIO)

Okay. Thank you. So the $5 million that you paid, it's not a charge on a P&L separately. It just flowed through in your cost of goods?

Sally Cunningham (SVP, CFO, and Treasurer)

Correct.

Adam Bradley (Founder and CIO)

Okay. Thanks. I'll hold off here and jump back in and give someone else the chance to ask a question.

Operator (participant)

As a reminder, to ask a question, press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. You do have a follow-up from Adam Bradley.

Adam Bradley (Founder and CIO)

Can you expand a little bit on a more normalized rate from your largest retailer? Can you give us a little bit more color around that? The second quarter earnings report, you shared that they had pretty—I may be paraphrasing here—but paused orders. It sounds like from what you are stating in this Q3 report that they continued to pause orders. Did you lose shelf space? Are you back to normal ordering patterns? Are you almost back? What kind of color can you give us on that to help us understand sales trends?

Scott Tidey (President and CEO)

Yeah, this is Scott. Yeah, on that customer and specifically. You're right. They did pause placing orders. Their inventories got lower throughout that time period. If you look now, we've been shipping them now for several months, and we feel like the business is back on track. As we indicated, we had a very robust promotional event in October, and that customer was included, and we exceeded our expectations with that customer. We really, looking into the fourth quarter, feel like we're going to be having a record number of promotional activities this fourth quarter. That customer, along with many of our other retailers, will be part of that.

Adam Bradley (Founder and CIO)

Thanks. Are you experiencing any catch-up of inventory to replace what was lost, or is it more of a normal flow?

Scott Tidey (President and CEO)

I think we're kind of in a normal flow right now. I mean, we had a little bit of a catch-up. The market has been a little bit different depending on the category. Lower in units but up in dollars because of price increases. I think we're kind of back into a normalized pattern with this customer.

Adam Bradley (Founder and CIO)

Okay. Great. Thank you for that. Are you seeing the different behavior from other large customers, or is it consistent with some of the larger ones?

Scott Tidey (President and CEO)

No, I think for the most part, we feel like we're in a normal cadence with a lot of our—I mean, actually, probably with all of our retail partners. There was definitely that time period where they stalled in the second quarter, took a hard look. Some people were sitting on higher cost inventory due to these surprising 125% tariffs. Everybody's trying to figure that out. I think really for the last—most of the third quarter, with the exception of this one retailer, we were shipping as normal and promoting.

Operator (participant)

At this time, there are no further audio questions. I will now hand the call back over to our speakers for any closing remarks.

Scott Tidey (President and CEO)

Thank you, Tamika. I think that's it from Hamilton Beach Brands. Appreciate everybody's time.

Operator (participant)

This concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.