Gold.com, Inc. Q1 FY2026 Earnings Call

Good afternoon, and welcome to A-Mark Precious Metals Conference Call for the fiscal first quarter ended September 30, 2025. My name is Kelly, and I will be your operator for this afternoon. Before this call, A-Mark issued its results for the fiscal first quarter 2026 in a press release, which is available in the Investor Relations section of the company's website at www.amark.com. You can find the link to the Investor Relations section at the top of the homepage. Joining us for today's call are A-Mark's CEO, Greg Roberts; and CFO, Cary Dickson. Following their remarks, we will open the call to your questions. Then before we conclude the call, I'll provide the necessary cautions regarding the forward-looking statements made by management during this call. I would like to remind everyone that this call is being recorded and will be made available for replay via a link available in the Investor Relations section of A-Mark's website. Now I would like to turn the call over to A-Mark's CEO, Mr. Greg Roberts. Sir, please proceed.

Thank you, Kelly, and good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining the call today. Today is an exciting day for A-Mark. As you may have seen in our press releases, we announced today the acquisition of Monex Deposit Company and our upcoming rebrand and relisting to gold.com. I'll touch on both before getting into the quarter. Monex is one of the nation's largest direct-to-consumer or DTC precious metals dealers. Since its founding in 1987, Monex has facilitated billions of dollars in transactions and built a full-service platform offering bullion and coin products. The business also includes a sizable secure storage offering, which now exceeds $630 million in assets under custody. I've known and worked with the Carabini family throughout my career, and we're excited to welcome Michael and his team under the A-Mark gold.com umbrella. This acquisition strengthens our DTC presence by leveraging Monex's well-established brand, reputation and loyal customer base. We also expect operational synergies that will enhance and streamline both organizations. Turning to our decision to rebrand and transfer our listing. We began laying the groundwork several years ago when JM Bullion acquired the gold.com domain. Once the GOLD ticker became available on the New York Stock Exchange, the timing was right to make the change. Gold.com embodies who we are as we strengthen our category leadership and help shape the future of precious metals, numismatics and other collectibles. This name change marks the first step in positioning us for continued long-term success, enhancing operational excellence and delivering value to customers, partners and shareholders. Investor interest in gold and silver has grown in recent years. And as we expand into adjacent categories such as wine, sports cards and other collectibles, now is the right time to modernize our corporate identity and how these assets are bought, sold and managed. While gold.com will serve as the corporate brand, our Wholesale Sales & Ancillary Services segment will continue to operate under the A-Mark name and brand. Our direct-to-consumer segments will continue to go to market through the portfolio of trusted brands and channels, including JM Bullion and Stack's Bowers, Collateral Finance, Goldline and will also retain their names. We're excited about this next chapter and look forward to the official exchange transfer on December 2. Now on to our quarter. Our results demonstrate the resiliency of our fully integrated platform and the early benefits of our recent acquisitions. While July and particularly August were marked by subdued demand and historically tight premium spreads, conditions improved meaningfully after Labor Day. For the quarter, we delivered $72.9 million in gross profit. This performance reflects the late quarter shift in consumer demand, combined with strong auction results from our recently acquired Stacks Bowers galleries. In September and October, we experienced a welcome increase in demand and expanded premium spreads. We have benefited from our strong balance sheet and our ability to manage our inventory levels to satisfy this increased demand. The ability to quickly ramp up production at both of our mints has proved to be timely as we have been moving through the second quarter. Although spot prices have come off all-time highs in the last two weeks, we are well positioned to take advantage of a continuation of elevated demand environment. Operationally, our investment in AMGL over the past several quarters has paid off as we integrate our recent acquisitions. This quarter, we successfully consolidated Pinehurst's operations, inventory and shipping with AMGL and have automated those initiatives. We're also continuing to rightsize AMS, and we expect additional savings as we centralize operations and capture further economies of scale. Internationally, our move to Asia with LPM has delivered sizable contributions this quarter. We believe the traction in the business is a strong indicator of what's ahead. Our fully integrated platform positions us to succeed across market environments. With that, I will turn the call over to our CFO, Cary Dickson, for a detailed financial review and to walk through our key operating metrics. Afterwards, I will return with additional comments on our business growth strategy for the coming fiscal year as well as take your questions.

Thank you, Greg, and good afternoon to everybody. Our revenues for Q1 fiscal '26 increased 36% to $3.68 billion from $2.72 billion in Q1 of last year. Excluding an increase of $561 million of forward sales, our revenues increased $404 million or 27.6%, which was due to an increase in gold ounces sold and higher average selling prices of gold and silver, partially offset by a decrease in silver ounces sold. Revenues also increased due to the acquisitions of SGI, Pinehurst and AMS in the last two quarters of fiscal '25. Gross profit for Q1 fiscal '26 increased 68% to $72.9 million or 1.98% of revenue from $43.4 million or 1.6% of revenue in Q1 of last year. The increase was primarily due to higher gross profits earned by both the wholesale sale and ancillary services and direct-to-consumer segments, including the acquisitions of SGI, Pinehurst and AMS, which were not included in the same year ago quarter, partially offset by lower trading profits. SG&A expenses for Q1 fiscal '26 increased 125% to $59.8 million from $26.6 million in Q1 of last year. The overall increase is primarily due to increases in compensation expense of $19.5 million, advertising costs of $5.2 million, consulting and professional fees of $4.1 million, facilities expenses of $1.3 million and bank and service credit fees of $1.2 million. SG&A expenses for the three months ended September 30, '25, included expenses incurred by SGI, Pinehurst and AMS, which were not included in the same year ago period as they were not consolidated subsidiaries, and we have not acquired them yet. Depreciation and amortization for Q1 of '26 increased 61% to $7.6 million from $4.7 million in Q1. The increase was primarily due to an increase in amortization expense resulting from the increase in step-up of our intangible assets through the acquisitions that we've been talking about. Interest income for Q1 fiscal '26 decreased 21% to $5.6 million from $7.1 million in Q1 of last year. The decrease is primarily due to a decrease in other finance product income of $1 million and a decrease in interest income earned by our Secured Lending segment of $0.5 million. Interest expense for Q1 fiscal '26 increased 26% to $12.6 million from $10 million in Q1 of last year. The increase in interest expense is primarily due to an increase of $1.3 million related to precious metal leases, an increase of $0.6 million associated with our trading credit facility, an increase of $0.5 million related to product financing arrangements. Earnings from equity method investments of Q1 fiscal '26 decreased 257% to a loss of $0.9 million from earnings of $0.6 million profit in Q1 of last year. The decrease is due to decreased earnings from our equity method investees. Net loss attributable to the company for the first quarter of fiscal '26 totaled $0.9 million or $0.04 per diluted share. This compares to net income attributable to the company of $9 million or $0.37 per diluted share in Q1 of last year. Adjusted net income before provision for income taxes, a non-GAAP financial performance measure, which excludes depreciation, amortization, acquisition costs and contingent consideration fair value adjustments for Q1 '26 totaled $4.9 million, a decrease of 67% compared to $14.8 million in the same year ago quarter. EBITDA, a non-GAAP liquidity measure for Q1 fiscal '26 totaled $14.3 million, a 20% decrease compared to $17.8 million in the same quarter last year. Turning to our balance sheet. As of September 30, we had $89.2 million in cash compared to $77.7 million at the end of fiscal '25. Our nonrestricted inventories totaled $846.1 million as of September 30 compared to $794 million at the end of fiscal '25. That completes my financial summary. Now looking at our key operating metrics for the first fiscal quarter of '26. We sold 439,000 ounces of gold in Q1 fiscal '26, which was up 10% from Q1 of last year and up 27% from the prior quarter. We sold 10.4 million ounces of silver in Q1 fiscal '26, which was down 49% from Q1 of last year and down 34% from the prior quarter. The number of new customers in our DTC segment, which is defined as those who registered, set up a new account or made a purchase for the first time during the period was 69,400 in Q1 fiscal '26, which was up 25% from Q1 of last year and decreased 36% from last quarter. The number of total customers in our direct-to-consumer segment at the end of the first quarter was approximately 4.3 million, a 37% increase from the prior year. This year-over-year increase in total customers is predominantly due to the acquisitions of SGI, Pinehurst and AMS as well as organic growth of our JMB customer base. Finally, the number of secured loans at the end of September totaled 424, a decrease of 5% from June 30, '25, and a decrease of 25% from September 30, '24. Our secured loans receivable balance at the end of September was $103.6 million, a 10% increase from June 30, '25, and a 2% increase from September 30, '24. That concludes my prepared remarks. I'll now turn it back over to Greg for closing remarks.

Thank you, Cary. We've witnessed the momentum that started late in the first quarter continue into our second quarter, and we are cautiously optimistic about the upcoming year. With the inclusion of Monex and our recent acquisitions, we are now better equipped to perform in all market conditions and to take advantage of times of increased volatility. As we get ready for our transition to gold.com next month, this milestone highlights our goal to create the most trusted and globally recognized precious metals platform. Supported by the strength of our core business, the advantages of our integrated model, and the momentum from our recent acquisitions, we have a strong foundation for sustained and profitable growth. We remain confident in our long-term path and our capacity to deliver lasting value for our shareholders. That concludes my remarks. Operator, we can now open the line for questions.

Your first question is coming from Thomas Forte with Maxim Group.

Yes. So Greg, congrats on all the advancements and the rebrand to gold.com. One question, one follow-up, and then I might get back in the queue. I wanted to ask you, Greg, for your current thoughts on strategic M&A. You've had a lot of transactions over the last 12 to 18 months. What's your current appetite for additional deals? And how should we think about areas of focus, domestic versus international, DTC and I guess, precious metals versus other collectibles. The recent examples have been wine and numismatics.

Yes, I typically respond to this question in the same way. We are continually exploring opportunities that align with our overall goals for the future. We have analyzed the acquisitions made earlier this year, and our team has effectively positioned them so we can now start reaping the benefits. In the rare coin segment, which tends to relate to precious metals prices based on buyer behavior, we successfully conducted one of the largest auctions in Stack's Bowers' history in August and September, showing significant strength in that area. We are always open to exploring new opportunities for expansion. Over the past two years, we've made considerable progress in Asia, and we are already seeing the positive impact of those acquisitions. Our partnership with Atkinsons in the U.K. has been strong, and we are eager to assist them in further growth. Currently, there are no must-have geographical areas, but if an appealing opportunity arises, we will consider it. The Monex transaction is something I've been developing for several quarters. Monex has been a customer and a counterparty to A-Mark for over 25 years, and they have a solid business model, a loyal customer base, and invaluable leadership from the Carabini family and others, which we are excited to integrate into A-Mark. We aim to finalize that deal and identify synergies. As our company grows, as indicated by our financials, our SG&A expenses have increased due to new hires from acquisitions, and finance costs have risen, largely because of challenges in the precious metals financing sector and the need to finance the same quantity of ounces at significantly higher spot prices. Our interest in pursuing deals remains strong, and we will continue seeking opportunities that we believe will enhance the business.

And then for my follow-up, and then I might get back in the queue. I really appreciate your thoughts on stablecoins and gold demand. So I think there's been a long-time debate or had been a long-time debate on kind of gold versus Bitcoin, and I see this as an example of gold and crypto. So I would appreciate your thoughts on stablecoins and gold demand.

I mean the gold demand has been incredible over the last 9 to 12 months, and it's reflected in the performance of the spot prices. And you have throughout the beginning of the year and most of last year, you had strong central bank buying. And I've talked about this before. China has been buying large quantities of gold for at least the last three or four years. And that demand has trickled down to other governments. I think you could look towards India, you could look towards Russia, you could look towards other countries that are kind of on the anti-dollar trade right now. And whether it be redeploying assets from maturing treasuries or just reallocation, you've seen central banks really leading. And to move the spot price of gold as much as it has moved, it's a very large amount of dollars that move that price. I think that throughout July and August, the spot prices continued to rise. And in the U.S., the domestic consumer, as I have talked about before, the domestic consumer was not really motivated by the higher spot prices. In fact, as we talked about last quarter, A-Mark was a terminal point of liquidity for a lot of people selling and taking profits at the spot prices. As I mentioned before and in the press release, we have seen a welcome change in September and October, where it does appear that there has been a lot of publicity. I think Goldman came out with something. Others have said the same that U.S. citizens should have a higher percentage of their investable assets in gold and silver, and we have definitely seen an uptick in September and October, and we have got back to a situation where there's been some tight supply on certain products and our premiums have finally started to grow a little bit. I think at JM Bullion in September and October premiums have probably gone up about 20% since August. And so that has been a shift in kind of what's going on in the gold market. And then finally, I think starting in October, we did see an increased demand for silver as silver got over $50. So I think our customers have taken a little breather the last week as spot prices have come off a little bit. But I think the major shift in what we saw in September and October was as gold and silver made new highs, we saw a shift in demand from our customers. So that was welcome and we hope it continues.

Your next question is coming from Mike Baker with D.A. Davidson.

You touched on it, but I wanted to ask what's changed because in the past, even last year when prices were very high, demand was low. You mentioned providing liquidity. I was going to ask what has changed this time, but you've addressed that. So I'll reframe my question. How sustainable is this change? You said your customers have taken a bit of a break in the last week, and I understand looking at things on a week-to-week basis isn't the focus. How sustainable are the improved trends you've observed in September and October? Did everyone sell off their gold, leaving less to sell and more to buy? Is that sustainable? Additionally, could you provide insights on the last two months and the profitability run rate of this business compared to your recent results?

Yes. Regarding the sustainability of the recent trends, we've experienced significant volatility in customer behavior that changes frequently. July and August were notably slow, which was evident in our performance. However, we saw a strong rebound in September, compensating for the sluggish period as well as the volatility and increased financing costs in July and August. The market remains quite erratic concerning gold leases and repo rates, which are crucial for our financing. These rates have fluctuated significantly, and the market has shifted into backwardation, which isn't favorable for us due to our large short position. In July and August, we encountered several challenges. As for the change in our DTC segment customer behavior after Labor Day, there isn't just one explanation. We conduct extensive research and analysis on consumer behavior and macroeconomic factors. The ongoing trade tensions with China certainly played a role, and the government shutdown likely heightened awareness among customers about potential consequences. The shutdown has become a regular occurrence, creating uncertainty. Meanwhile, the situation with China has appeared to stabilize slightly. Additionally, there has been increased media focus on precious metals throughout October, likely elevating awareness to levels not seen since the Silicon Valley Bank crisis. Unlike the situation with Silicon Valley Bank, we didn’t sense that our customers were fleeing for safety or seeking places to stash cash. Instead, it felt like there was some fear of missing out as spot prices reached record highs. With spot prices now down 8% from a few weeks ago, we'll have to observe whether this prompts customers to slow their buying behavior or take advantage of the dip. As far as the run rate for this quarter, I've indicated that October has shown strong performance following September, and we will keep you updated on our market outlook and how we plan to capitalize on it.

Fair enough. Thanks for the detail. If I could ask one more. Just about the expenses, we get that expenses are higher because of all the acquisitions that you've made. But at some point, the acquisitions make sense in that they drive higher sales, higher gross profit and you leverage the expenses just that EBITDA goes up. Presumably, that's the outcome at some point. So any idea of when you start to sort of synergize some of these expenses or when that starts to show up a little bit more in the P&L such that EBITDA is increasing in line with the gross profit dollar increase?

I was pleased with a gross profit of $73 million for the quarter and nearly $14 million in EBITDA, especially considering the sales volume and other related factors. The company is currently processing its acquisitions. My approach typically involves acquiring strong businesses with effective management and allowing them to handle operations. Meanwhile, we are identifying redundancies and exploring ways to improve efficiency from a corporate perspective. Our aim is to reduce spending without compromising on our performance metrics. We want expenses to decline while profits increase. Last quarter and this quarter, we have concentrated on integrating our operations, minimizing redundancy, and relocating some employees and operations from remote locations to our facility in Vegas. As part of our rebranding efforts, we will be closing our offices in El Segundo and relocating employees to our new corporate offices in Orange County or to Santa Monica, where Goldline is based. We are undergoing a structured process, focusing on cost efficiency on a like-for-like basis and ensuring our costs head in the right direction despite our acquisitions. Overall, I'm satisfied with how July and August started, and I believe we made the most of the quarter. We've seen a positive shift in our DTC business, leading to impressive profits in that area in September and October. Additionally, we've efficiently managed our inventory at the corporate level, and we expect to see a reduction in excess supply at the wholesale level, solidifying A-Mark's position as the preferred source for wholesale purchases. Recent trends over the last 60 days have been promising, and we aim to maintain this momentum.

Your next question is coming from Andrew Scutt with ROTH Capital.

Congratulations on the announcements. First one for me, you guys kind of historically have done acquisitions, I guess, I would call them in piecemeal. And you did talk about the long-standing relationship with Monex, but was there any other factors that went into the decision to do this in one full swoop?

Yes, I've been collaborating with Michael on this transaction for a couple of years, and everything finally came together. We were excited about committing fully to this deal. Michael was keen on acquiring some of A-Mark's stock and becoming a part of the A-Mark family. We also structured an earn-out that provided opportunities for both sides, depending on the growth and performance of the Monex businesses, even if it takes a bit more time. The way the deal was structured and the openness from both sides made it a perfect fit for this transaction. Neither side wanted to start with just a partial stake in the company. I have a deep understanding of this business and have been assessing it for a long time, and it is crucial for our future objectives. This business operates under a different model; most customers store their metal and engage in frequent trading of gold and silver, instead of simply taking possession. While it’s a different approach, I believe it offers enough diversification that, especially over the last nine months, this move feels right for us since our customer base is somewhat different and motivated, particularly during the slower periods we've faced in our retail business. The Monex business has actually exceeded my expectations, and its customer base seems to prefer a high-frequency trading approach, allowing them to switch between cash and stored metal. Storage has become a significant focus for our growth, and Monex currently offers us $600 million to $700 million in storage capacity, which could enhance our management in storage by 50% to 75%. The income from storage fees is a reliable revenue stream for us. Additionally, their customers appear to be more responsive to the higher spot prices, and there isn't another model like this that we know of. I'm grateful for the 40 to 50 years they've been in business, which has fostered a highly loyal customer base and an excellent management team.

Great. Well, I appreciate the color. And second one for me, a little bit more high level. So now that you've kind of made all these acquisitions, you have all these DTC brands under your umbrella, does it make sense to kind of combine a few of them and have a one-stop shop and say, here we are at gold.com? Or is there greater value in having multiple storefronts under multiple different brands?

That's a great question, and I think about it frequently. When we're looking at acquisitions, one of the main factors we assess is the overlap between brands concerning the customer base. A high level of crossover may indicate that the brands are less significant, while very low crossover suggests there is value in the brand itself and what customers are familiar and comfortable with. The Monex brand has a long history and is well recognized in the retail precious metals market, so I hold it in high regard. Given my long-standing familiarity with the brand, I don't foresee any changes there. However, I do believe our rebranding and transition to gold.com as an overarching brand is crucial and marks an important milestone. There are opportunities to utilize an umbrella brand to highlight how individual brands can be more interconnected or to develop offerings that appeal to all brands. This is a significant step, and I am excited about the new logo we will unveil on December 1. We are launching gold.com precious metal products under this brand, and the items we've developed so far are outstanding. The gold.com website will go live in early December, serving as a central hub for all brands. If someone wants to buy gold, they will be able to see all the options gold.com provides and choose how they wish to engage within our ecosystem. I'm very enthusiastic about this initiative. Part of our strategic plan is to leverage this impressive domain name, our new website, and a great corporate identity to promote a unified brand that encompasses everything while also introducing clients to our unique direct-to-consumer platforms. This presents a fantastic opportunity for the company.

You have a follow-up question coming from Thomas Forte with Maxim Group.

Greg, last one, I promise. So you've done a great job upgrading the technology and adding physical space to your logistics effort in Vegas. How should investors think about your logistics capacity given all the recent M&A activity?

We built this incredible system, and the automation that Thor and Brian have achieved in Vegas is the best I've ever seen. We have successfully onboarded several new corporate clients. The facility's operational capabilities and capacity are unparalleled in the industry. I believe we shipped over 60,000 packages in October, which was a strong month for us, and I am confident we could have handled 100,000 packages if necessary. Our capacity is impressive. At least three new customers outside of the A-Mark umbrella are utilizing our services, and we have relocated the logistics and inventory from Pinehurst, North Carolina, to Las Vegas. All Pinehurst packages going out to both retail and wholesale customers are now shipped from Vegas. We need to continue expanding this strategy with our other brands and fully utilize the facility. If the market remains strong or improves, we will still manage to deliver our customers' packages within one or two days, at a rate of 100,000 to 110,000 packages a month. Our competitive advantage at now gold.com is significant, making it challenging for our competitors to compete. Our ability to handle storage and logistics sets us apart from others in the industry.

At this time, this does conclude our question-and-answer session. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Mr. Roberts for his closing remarks.

Okay. Thank you very much. Once again, thank you to all of our shareholders. There have been a lot of change, a lot going on here. We've continued to try to make what we think are great long-term moves as well as short-term adjustments that we need to make. Your continued interest and support is most appreciated. And I'd also like to thank all of our employees for their dedication and commitment to A-Mark's success. We look forward to keeping you apprised of A-Mark and gold.com's further developments, and we look forward to talking to you again in a few months, if not sooner. So thank you very much.

Thank you. Before we conclude today's call, I would like to provide A-Mark's safe harbor statement that includes important cautions regarding forward-looking statements made during this call. During today's call, there were forward-looking statements made regarding future events. Statements that relate to A-Mark's future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These include statements regarding expectations with respect to growth, long-term success, operational enhancement, delivery of value, access to and credibility in the public markets, continuing execution on other steps in our strategic planning and anticipated cost savings. Future events, risks and uncertainties individually or in aggregate could cause actual results or circumstances to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include the following: a neutral or negative reaction of our customers, partners and public markets to the change of our name, our brand, other corporate identifiers and to our listing venue, our inability to seamlessly execute our rebranding strategy, potential confusion in the markets that we serve concerning our rebranding, difficulties with formulating and effectively executing on additional steps in our strategic plan and our inability to successfully expand into other categories of collectibles or to enhance how these new asset categories are managed or transacted. There are other factors affecting our business generally, which could cause our actual results to differ from those that we anticipate as a result of our rebranding program, including government regulations that might impede growth, particularly in Asia, including with respect to tariff policy, the inability to successfully integrate recently acquired businesses; changes in the current international political climate, which historically has favorably contributed to demand and volatility in the precious metal markets, but has also posed certain risks and uncertainties for the company, particularly in recent periods, increased competition for the company's higher-margin services, which could depress pricing; the failure of the company's business model to respond to changes in the market environment as anticipated; changes in consumer demand and preferences for precious metal products generally; potential negative effects that inflationary pressure may have on our business; the failure of our investee companies to maintain or address the preferences of their customer bases; general risks of doing business in the commodity markets; and the strategic business, economic, financial, political and governmental risks and other risk factors described in the company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, I would like to remind everyone that a recording of today's call will be available for replay via a link in the Investors section of the company's website. Thank you for joining us today for A-Mark's earnings call. You may now disconnect.