AstroNova Reports Second-Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Results

• Revenue of $36.1 million reflects challenges in Product Identification shipments
• Shipped redesigned Product Identification MTEX professional label presses in the quarter; started shipping MTEX direct-to-packaging printers in August 2025
• Aerospace began shipping ToughWriter® to a major OEM, advancing transition from legacy printers to ToughWriters at 50% of flight deck printers; on track for over 80% of flight deck printer shipments to be ToughWriters by end of fiscal 2026
• Revised fiscal 2026 revenue guidance downward to range of $149 to $154 million while adjusting EBITDA margin range to 7.5% to 8.5%

AstroNova, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALOT), a leading innovator in specialized print technology solutions, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2026 second quarter ended July 31, 2025.

"Our second quarter financial results were disappointing and, accordingly, we have adjusted our outlook to reflect where the Company is in its efforts to reignite sales in Product ID while we continue to support our strong market position in Aerospace," stated Jorik Ittmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of AstroNova. "We have been taking a hard look at our processes, strategy and capital allocation priorities to accelerate execution and drive growth. Our priorities are to turn around the Product ID segment, rebuild customer relationships, secure new customers, and improve operational efficiency. Having recently been appointed as CEO, I am dedicating these upcoming months to driving change throughout the organization and creating a greater sense of urgency and accountability."

Business Updates

The Company shipped the first several redesigned printers incorporating MTEX's autonomous ink printheads, advancing these products from the development stage into commercial release. The shipments in the quarter included the QL-425 and QL-435 professional label presses, and in August the Company shipped its AJ-800 direct-to-packaging print solution.

Also in the quarter, the Company's Aerospace business began shipping the ToughWriter 640 flight deck printer to a major aircraft manufacturer for new production aircraft.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Overview¹ (comparisons are to the prior-year period unless noted otherwise)

Revenue declined $4.4 million reflecting delays in new product launches within the Product Identification segment and a difficult year-over-year comparison as the prior-year period benefited from approximately $1.3 million in revenue arising from irregular orders in the Aerospace segment. Foreign currency translation was a $0.4 million benefit in the quarter.

The $2.7 million decline of gross profit to $11.6 million was related to lower sales volume. Gross margin of 32.2% of sales also reflected lower sales volume and unfavorable product mix.

Operating loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 was $0.7 million and non-GAAP operating income was $0.4 million. The decline in GAAP and non-GAAP operating income was primarily the result of lower sales volume, partially offset by lower operating expenses of approximately $0.9 million.

Interest expense of $0.9 million was flat compared with the prior year period.

Lower sales and gross profit, somewhat offset by lower operating expenses, resulted in a net loss of $1.2 million, or $0.16 per share. Non-GAAP net loss was $0.4 million, or $0.04 per share. Adjusted EBITDA was $2.1 million, a decrease of $1.8 million compared with the prior-year period.

Product Identification (Product ID) Segment Review

Product ID revenue was $24.8 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, a decrease of 8.9%, or $2.4 million. Lower revenue was the result of delays in new technology deployment and longer sales cycles associated with capital investment decision processes for higher-value, larger printing equipment, as well as lower sales for legacy QuickLabel® and TrojanLabel® products.

Operating income for Product ID of $1.9 million, down $0.4 million compared with the prior-year period, reflected lower sales volume and $0.1 million of restructuring charges. As a result, operating margin was 7.7% compared with 8.6% in the prior year period. Non-GAAP segment operating income decreased $0.5 million, or 18.2%, to $2.0 million. Non-GAAP operating income margin for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 was 8.2%.

Aerospace Segment Review

Aerospace segment revenue was $11.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, a decrease of 15.1%, or $2.0 million. The decrease was driven by higher prior-year comparable sales of $1.3 million from atypical orders in the fiscal 2025 second quarter, including large spare printer orders from an airline customer and a military customer, as well as non-recurring engineering revenue.

Aerospace segment operating profit was $2.4 million, down $1.4 million, or 37.1%, from the prior year period due to lower comparable volume.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Cash at the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2026 was $3.9 million, down $1.2 million from the end of fiscal 2025. Cash provided by operations in the first half of fiscal 2026 was $4.6 million, down from the prior year period as a result of lower operating income.

In the first half of fiscal 2026, capital expenditures were $0.1 million, down $0.7 million from the prior year. During the first half of the year, the Company paid down $5.1 million in debt which was negatively impacted by $1.9 million in foreign currency exchange. As a result, total debt was reduced by $3.2 million in the first half of fiscal 2026. Net debt as of July 31, 2025, was $39.6 million compared with $41.6 million as of January 31, 2025.

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the Company entered into an amended credit agreement which waived the Company's failure to comply with a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio covenant for the second quarter of fiscal 2026. The Company is in discussions with the bank regarding restructuring its current financing into a real estate backed loan which it expects to be completed in approximately 60 days.

Orders and Backlog

Orders in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 were $35.9 million, relatively unchanged from $35.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2025. The Company's order backlog was $25.3 million as of July 31, 2025, compared with $25.5 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2026.

Orders in the quarter for the Product ID segment were relatively unchanged from the prior-year period at $23.4 million. The book to bill ratio for the segment was 95%. Consequently, backlog decreased by $1.3 million from first quarter of fiscal 2026.

Orders in the quarter for the Aerospace segment were relatively unchanged from the prior-year period at $12.5 million. The book to bill ratio for the segment was 110%. Backlog at the end of second quarter of fiscal 2026 increased by $1.1 million compared with first quarter of fiscal 2026 due to the variability in the timing of orders.

Fiscal 2026 Outlook

"We expect modest revenue growth in the second half of the year compared with the first half, driven by shipments of our recently launched Product ID solutions. Improved EBITDA margin in the second half of the year will reflect a better product mix and the full impact of our cost restructuring efforts," said Thomas DeByle, Chief Financial Officer of AstroNova.

For fiscal 2026, AstroNova has revised its previous revenue guidance from a range of $160 million to $165 million to a revenue range of $149 million to $154 million, which, at the mid-point of the range, is similar to fiscal 2025. Adjusted EBITDA margin is now expected to be in the range of 7.5% to 8.5%, also similar to the prior year at the mid-point and revised downward from the range of 8.5% to 9.5%. The Company's expected effective tax rate for fiscal 2026 of approximately 32.8% reflects discrete tax items and the mix of expected income and applicable rates in various tax jurisdictions.

Earnings Conference Call Information

AstroNova will host a conference call and webcast today at 10:00 a.m. ET to review financial and operating results for the second quarter fiscal 2026. A question and answer session will follow.

To access the conference call, please dial (201) 689-8560 or find the webcast and accompanying slide presentation at https://investors.astronovainc.com.

A telephonic replay will be available from 12:00 p.m. ET on the day of the call through Tuesday, September 23, 2025. To listen to the archived call, dial (412) 317-6671 and enter a replay PIN 13755475. The webcast replay will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website where a transcript will be posted once available.

About AstroNova, Inc.

AstroNova (NASDAQ:ALOT) is a leading innovator in specialized print technology solutions. The Company designs, manufactures, distributes and services a broad range of products that acquire, store, analyze, and present data in multiple formats on a variety of media. Its strategy is to drive profitable growth through innovative new technologies, building its installed base to expand recurring revenue while strategically sourcing its aftermarket products.

The Product Identification segment provides a wide array of digital, end-to-end product marking and identification solutions, including hardware, software, and supplies for OEMs, commercial printers, and brand owners for printing on paper, labels, paperboard packaging, corrugated boxes, and paper bags. The Aerospace segment is a global leader in providing products designed for airborne printing solutions, avionics, and data acquisition including flight deck printing solutions, networking hardware, and specialized aerospace-grade supplies. More information about the Company can be found at www.astronovainc.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this news release contains the Non-GAAP financial measures: Non-GAAP gross profit, Non-GAAP gross profit margin, Non-GAAP operating expenses, Non-GAAP operating income, Non-GAAP operating income margin, Non-GAAP net income (loss), Non-GAAP net income per Common Share - diluted , Non-GAAP segment gross profit, Non-GAAP segment gross profit margin, Non-GAAP segment operating income, Non-GAAP segment operating margin, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin. AstroNova believes that the inclusion of these Non-GAAP financial measures helps investors gain a meaningful understanding of changes in the Company's core operating results and can help investors who wish to make comparisons between AstroNova and other companies on both a GAAP and a Non-GAAP basis. AstroNova's management uses these Non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to GAAP financial measures, as the basis for measuring its core operating performance and comparing such performance to that of prior periods and to the performance of its competitors. These measures are also used by the Company's management to assist with their financial and operating decision-making. Please refer to the financial reconciliation table included in this news release for a reconciliation of the Non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures for the six months ended July 31, 2025, January 31, 2025 and August 3, 2024.

AstroNova has not reconciled the forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA margin included in its fiscal 2026 financial targets and outlook to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measure because this cannot be done without unreasonable effort due to the lack of predictability regarding cost of sales, operating expenses, depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation. The impact of any of these items, individually or in the aggregate, may be significant.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information included in this news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact but rather reflect our current expectations concerning future events and results. These statements may include the use of the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "likely," "continues," "may," "will," and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements, including those concerning the Company's anticipated performance, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, (i) the risk that our efforts to improve sales in our Product Identification segment may not result in the benefits we expect, (ii) the risk that our customers may not adopt our redesigned print solutions incorporating MTEX's autonomous ink printheads in the volumes that we expect or at all, (iii) the risk that our cost-reduction and product line rationalization initiative may not provide the expected benefits; (iv) the risk that our Aerospace customers may not increase their build rates as much as we expect or convert to our ToughWriter® 640 printer in the volumes or on the schedule that we expect; (v) the risk that we may not realize the anticipated benefits of our next-generation print engine technology; (vi) the risk that the Company may not be successful in restructuring its current financing arrangements into a real estate-backed loan on terms acceptable to the Company or at all and (vii) those factors set forth in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2025 and subsequent filings AstroNova makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The reader is cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements when evaluating the information presented in this news release.