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SNDL to Report Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results on July 28, 2026

SNDL Inc. (SNDL)

Earnings Call FY2026 Q2 Call date: 2026-07-28 Concluded

Transcript

· tap a word to jump the audio 14:02 Audio
Operator

to SNDL's second quarter 2026 financial results conference call. This morning, SNDL issued a press release announcing their financial results for the second quarter of 2026 ended on June 30th, 2026. This press release is available on the company's website at sndl.com and filed on Edgar and CDAR as well. The webcast replay of the conference call will also be available on sndl.com website. SNDL has also posted a supplemental investor presentation in addition to the conference call presentation we'll be reviewing today on its sndl.com website. Presenting on this morning's call, we have Zach George, Chief Executive Officer, and Alberto Paradiro, Chief Financial Officer. Before we start, I would like to remind investors that certain matters discussed in today's conference call or answers that may be given to questions could constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated. Risk factors that could cause actual results are detailed on the company's financial reports and other public filings that are made available on CEDAR and EDGAR. Additionally, all financial figures mentioned are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. We will now make prepared remarks and then we will move on to analyst questions. I will now turn the call over to Zach George. Please go ahead.

Welcome to SNDL's second quarter 2026 financial and operational results conference call. During the second quarter of 2026, SNDL continued to operate through a challenging market environment across both liquor and cannabis. Net revenue declined 3.7% year over year to $235.8 million, reflecting persistent demand softness and broader market headwinds. While these conditions pressured results, we stayed focused on discipline execution, cost optimization, and initiatives that strengthen our long-term earnings power. Profitability was impacted by lower net revenue, new product production ramp-up costs in cannabis operations, and a relatively small sunstream valuation adjustment. At the same time, we continued to exercise financial discipline and maintain a relentless focus on spend management, which partially offset these pressures. Importantly, we continued to generate positive operating cash flow and improve free cash flow compared to the same period last year. Free cash flow was negative $6.7 million in the quarter, an improvement of $1.2 million year-over-year, despite seasonal payments and a $2.7 million increase in cash and transit. We also continued to act on our strategic priorities. During the quarter, we accelerated our share repurchase activity, deployed profit enhancement initiatives expected to drive more than $20 million of incremental operating income, mostly over the remainder of the year and completed a significant milestone in the parallel restructuring. The parallel restructuring is particularly important because it opens the door for S&DL to obtain direct exposure to and control over U.S. medical cannabis operations in Florida, Texas, and Massachusetts, subject to satisfying the remaining legal, regulatory, accounting, and NASDAQ requirements. Periods of market pressure require sharper focus and disciplined execution. Our teams are responding with targeted commercial and operational initiatives, including improved promotional discipline, operational efficiency, and targeted investments in high-performing platforms while preserving balance sheet flexibility. Consistent with our board-approved share repurchase program, we repurchased 11.7 million common shares during the second quarter. Since the fourth quarter of 2024, total repurchases have exceeded 29 million shares, representing approximately a 7% reduction in shares outstanding. We remain encouraged by the strategic optionality created by our balance sheet. With $183.2 million of unrestricted cash, no outstanding debt as of June 30, 2026, and a portfolio of cannabis-related investments with a carrying value of $415.2 million, SNDL is well-positioned to pursue disciplined growth, strategic investments, acquisitions, and continued return of capital to shareholders. Over now to Alberto for more detail on our second quarter financial performance.

Thank you, Zach. Before moving on, I'd like to remind everyone that the amounts discussed today are denominated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. Certain figures referred to during this call are non-GAAP and non-IFRS measures. For definitions of these measures and reconciliations where applicable, please refer to SMDL's management discussion and analysis and the earnings press release issued today. Net revenue was $235.8 million in the second quarter of 2026, representing a 3.7% decreased compared with the same period of the prior year. The decline was driven by market headwinds across both liquor and cannabis segments. Gross profit was $56.3 million, a decline of $11.3 million, or 16.6% year-over-year. Gross margin was 23.9%, down 3.7% points, mainly driven by cannabis operations and liquor retail, partially upset by margin expansion in cannabis retail. Operating loss was $7.8 million in the quarter, and adjusted operating loss was $7 million. The year-over-year reduction was driven primarily by the impact of new product production ramp-up costs in cannabis operations, revenue and margin decline in liquor retail, and the absence of prior year impairment reversals in cannabis retail, and a $2.3 million reduction in the Sunstream valuation, partly upset by lower corporate overhead costs. Free cash flow was negative $6.7 million, improving by $1.2 million compared with the same period last year. The result was primarily driven by the $6.9 million annual payment of the 2025 Management Incentive and a $2.7 million increase in cash and transit. Our second quarter performance reflects continued market pressure across the portfolio. Net revenue and gross profit declined year over year, and adjusted operating income was impacted by the lower gross profit, production ramp up cost, and the downstream valuation impact. Looking ahead, our focus remains on driving sustained profitability and free cash flow growth, while continuing to invest selectively in our strategic growth agenda and shareholder value creation. Looking more closely at segment-level contributions across our key financial KPIs, consolidated net revenue declined by $9 million year-over-year. The largest contributor was liquor retail, which declined by $7.2 million, followed by cannabis operations, which declined by $3.6 million, and cannabis retail, which declined by $1.2 million. Cannabis eliminations partly upset the decline by $3 million. Gross profit declined by $11.3 million year-over-year. Liquid retail contributed a $2.7 million decline, while cannabis operations contributed an $8.7 million decline. Cannabis retail gross profit was essentially flat, increasing by $0.1 million year-over-year. Adjusted operating income declined by $12.8 million year-over-year to a loss of $7 million, primarily reflecting declines in liquid retail, cannabis retail, cannabis operations, and investments, partially upset by a $1.4 million improvement in corporate costs. Pre-Casper improved 15.2% year-over-year, from negative $7.9 million to negative $6.7 million. The improvement was supported by more favorable working capital and differences in timing of rent expenses compared to prior year, even as earnings represented a year-over-year headwind. The chart on the right-hand side of the slide illustrates the seasonal nature of free cash flow, with Q2 historically impacted by seasonal payments and the second half typically representing a stronger cash flow generation period. Turning to the commercial segments, I will begin with liquor retail. As a reminder, starting in 2026, we began allocating applicable direct and indirect overhead costs from corporate to each operating segment within in general and administrative expenses. The comparative periods have been restated to reflect this allocation. Liquid retail net revenue was $134.7 million, a decline of $7.2 million, or 5.1% year-over-year. The decline was driven by persistent softness in market demand, which impacted same-store sales by 6.2%. Despite the contribution of two new Why Not Be Yonest stores, opening Q4 2025, and private label sales outperforming national brands by 13 percentage points in the quarter. Gross profit was $33.8 million, down 7.4 percent year-over-year, and gross margin was 25.1 percent, down 60 basis points. The margin decline was driven by increased promotional activity aimed at the stimulating sales volume. Adjusted operating income was $3.2 million, down $3.5 million year-over-year. The decrease was driven by lower revenue, increased promotional support, and higher SDNA expenses associated with the recent wine and beyond store openings. Cannabis retail net revenue was $83.2 million, down $1.2 million, or 1.4 percent year-over-year. The decline was driven by negative same-store sales of 4.6 percent, reflecting market contraction in Alberta and Ontario, partially upset by new store openings and value-backed store conversions. Gross profit was $22 million, increasing slightly by $0.1 million year-over-year, while gross margin expanded 50 basis points to 26.4%. This improvement was supported by promotional efficiencies, pricing actions, and product mix management. Adjusted operating income was $3 million, down $1.2 million year-over-year. The decline was primarily due to prior year asset impairment reversals, which upset the current year benefits from market expansion and overhead efficiency. Cannabis operations net revenue was $32.2 million, a decline of $3.6 million, or 10.1% year-over-year. The decline was driven by market headwinds and the absence of business-to-business flower deliveries, as some of our partners are also experiencing demands of shortfalls. These impacts were partially upset by a $1.2 million increase in international sales, which reached $5 million in the second quarter of 2026. Gross profit was $0.6 million, down $8.7 million year-over-year, while gross margin was 1.8%, a decline of 24 percentage points from the prior period. In addition to the revenue decline, we experienced significant inefficiencies associated with a jitter production ramp up during the second quarter. While we're working closely with our partners to implement process improvements and increased labor efficiency, some of these cost headwinds are expected to persist over the coming months. Adjusted operating loss was $9 million, compared with an adjusted operating loss of $2.8 million in the prior year. The decline was primarily due to the production ramp-up beneficencies impacting gross profit. Over to you, Zach, for additional comments on our capital allocation priorities and strategic milestones.

Turning now to capital allocation and strategic milestones, I would like to highlight the progress we made in the quarter on two areas, discipline share repurchases and the completion of the parallel restructuring milestone. Starting with share repurchases, we accelerated execution in Q2 while maintaining balance sheet flexibility. During the quarter, we repurchased 11.7 million common shares for cancellation for 23.3 million of cash outflows, excluding commissions, at a weighted average price of $1.43 US per share. Since the fourth quarter of 2024, SNDL has repurchased more than 29 million shares with an aggregate repurchased value of approximately 64.5 million and an average price of a dollar 58 us per share we believe this represents discipline capital allocation at attractive prices and reflects our confidence in SNDL's intrinsic value in long-term prospects the completion of the parallel restructuring is a transformational milestone for SNDL parallel provides exposure to medical cannabis operations in Florida Texas and Massachusetts with 56 retail locations.

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