Fox Factory Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
May 7, 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations with $368.7 million in revenue (high end of guidance) and $35.7 million adjusted EBITDA, and management reaffirmed its full‑year 2026 outlook.
  • Positive Sentiment: Management is executing a profit optimization plan targeting approximately $50 million of 2026 cost savings (≈$10M carryover + ~$40M phase 2), with early benefits realized and margin expansion expected in the second half.
  • Positive Sentiment: The company closed the Phoenix divestiture (UTV/Update/Geiser/Shock Therapy) as planned, directing proceeds to debt reduction and amending credit facilities to expand covenant headroom and financial flexibility.
  • Negative Sentiment: Near‑term operational headwinds — AAG margins are pressured by an industry‑wide aluminum supply disruption that reduced F‑150 upfit volumes (some Q1/Q2 volume not recoverable), while SSG (bike) was down ~8.7% and Marucci faces soft demand, weighing on Q2 performance.
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Earnings Conference Call
Fox Factory Q1 2026
00:00 / 00:00

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Operator

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Fox Factory Holding Corp's Q1 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. Please note this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Toby Merchant, Chief Legal Officer at Fox Factory Holding Corp. Please go ahead, sir.

Toby Merchant
Toby Merchant
Chief Legal Officer at Fox Factory

Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome to Fox Factory's Q1 2026 earnings conference call. I'm joined today by Mike Dennison, Chief Executive Officer, and Dennis Schemm, Chief Financial Officer. First, Mike will provide business updates, and then Dennis will review the quarterly results and outlook. Mike will then provide some closing remarks before we open up the call for your questions. By now, everyone should have access to the earnings release, which went out earlier this afternoon. If you have not had a chance to review the release, it's available on the investor relations portion of our website at investor.ridefox.com. Please note that throughout this call, we will refer to Fox Factory as Fox or the company.

Toby Merchant
Toby Merchant
Chief Legal Officer at Fox Factory

Before we begin, I would like to remind everyone that the prepared remarks contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, and management may make additional forward-looking statements in response to your questions. Such statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside of the company's control and can cause future results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Important factors and risks that could cause or contribute to such differences are detailed in the company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and in the company's latest annual report on Form 10-K, each filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Toby Merchant
Toby Merchant
Chief Legal Officer at Fox Factory

Investors should not place undue reliance on the company's forward-looking statements, and except as required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to Upfit any forward-looking or other statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. In addition, where appropriate in today's prepared remarks and within our earnings release, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our business, including adjusted gross profit, adjusted gross margin, adjusted operating expenses, adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per diluted share, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin. As we believe these are useful metrics that allow investors to better understand and evaluate the company's core operating performance and trends. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in today's earnings release, which has also been posted on our website.

Toby Merchant
Toby Merchant
Chief Legal Officer at Fox Factory

With that, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to our CEO, Mike Dennison.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Thanks, Toby, and thanks to everyone for joining today's call. We delivered Q1 revenue of $368.7 million, which is the high end of our guidance range, and adjusted EBITDA of $35.7 million, exceeding the high end of our guidance range. More importantly, the early proof points for the plan we outlined in February are landing as expected. Phase one carryover is flowing through, phase two is on schedule, and we closed the divestiture of our Phoenix, Arizona operations in the quarter as planned. The operating environment remains broadly consistent with the demand backdrop we built our 2026 outlook around. As I said on our last call, we are not counting on end market recovery or tariff relief in 2026.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

We are focused on what we control, taking cost out, tightening the portfolio, and building the foundation for operating leverage when growth returns. On cost, we are confident in delivering approximately $50 million of savings in 2026, $10 million of phase one carryover, and approximately $40 million of phase two actions identified and in execution. The board's transformation committee is engaged with us, and the work is on track. On the portfolio, the Phoenix divestiture, including the Update, UTV, Geiser, and Shock Therapy businesses, closed during the 1st quarter. Consistent with the expectations we set on our last call. Proceeds are dedicated to debt reduction. As I have said before, we will continue to evaluate every business we own against thre criteria: alignment with our brands, synergy with our core competencies, and an ability to deliver accretive margins and durable cash flows.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Where a business does not meet these thresholds, we will act. With that, let me walk through our segments. PVG delivered net sales of $143.4 million in the Q1, an increase of 17.4% year-over-year. This was a strong start to the year for this segment. Some of this growth reflects timing dynamics I'll cover next, though the underlying performance is consistent with the framework we laid out for the year. On the automotive side, our premium truck OEM business performance was balanced by the timing of shipments against continued supply chain and production issues within our automotive OEMs. Keep in mind that while demand continues to be more resilient at the high end of the market, the broader consumer is exercising restraint given ongoing macro pressures, including the unforeseen rise in gas prices.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Our Powersports business produced a solid quarter as OEM partners have largely overcome channel inventory imbalances. Our broad portfolio of customers and products should help insulate us from the OEM and tariff issues still impacting this market. We remain cautious in our near-term outlook for this business given the continuing pressure on consumer discretionary spending. That said, Powersports is structurally healthier than it was a year ago, and we believe we are well positioned as growth accelerates. AAG delivered net sales of $114.8 million, an increase of 2.6% year-over-year. Growth came from our upfitting product lines and solid aftermarket demand, partially offset by the Phoenix operations that exited the segment during the quarter. In PVD, our portfolio continues to evolve across OEM relationships and dealership expansion.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

As you recall, in the H2 of last year, we announced a new program with an OEM partner to execute their performance upgrades. In Q1, we announced a similar strategic relationship with another major automotive OEM. This partnership model, where our innovation tied to OEM-driven marketing and sales, is a differentiated and defendable go-to-market strategy which should drive long-term growth in upfitted trucks. We started shipping meaningful volume toward the end of Q1 as our supply chain normalized, and we are making good progress on that program in Q2. These are the kinds of programs that give us more predictable, sustainable revenue over time. We have significant operational supply chain product, process, and capacity work to be done in PVD.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

We have made strides in people and structure in Q1, which should enable many of the other work streams to drive top and bottom-line improvements towards the end of this year. One final note. In the actions we have taken so far, we have reorganized sales forces internally and externally and refocused our efforts on dealership expansion, which is a critical long-term growth driver. In the last 60 days, we have added over 135 new dealers, and we are averaging over 60 new dealers a month as we go forward. Our aftermarket components business held up well in the quarter. Categories like Custom Wheel House, Ridetech, and Sport Truck continued to show consistent demand and delivered on or above expectations in the quarter, which is a proof point for resilient aftermarket demand, where higher interest rates and elevated gas prices are weighing on consumers more broadly.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

When consumers can't afford to buy new trucks, they tend to invest in the trucks they already have, and this value-seeking behavior plays to our portfolio. Our product is hitting the right consumer at the right price point, and our channel strategy is helping us stay visible to this consumer as they are making purchase decisions. AAG margins were down year-over-year due to a combination of factors. The biggest drivers are volume, mix, and operational challenges in upfit, as mentioned earlier. The volume and mix issue is directly related to the industry-wide aluminum supply disruption affecting Ford's production, which has constrained availability of the F-150 Lariat and XLT platforms, a predominant upfit chassis across several of our product lines. The Q1 and Q2 volume tied to that disruption is not expected to be recovered in 2026. However, we do believe back half volumes remain intact.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

The impact extends into our Q2 and is reflected in the outlook Dennis will walk through. Margins were also pressured by the delayed deliveries of finished vehicles in the OEM upfit program I just mentioned, where shipments were weighted toward the end of Q1. Finally, by the dilutive impact of two months of Phoenix operations within the segment before the divestiture close. SSG delivered net sales of $110.5 million, a decrease of 8.7% year-over-year. This performance is consistent with what we flagged in our last call. We knew Q1 would be a tough call for SSG, particularly in bike, given the strength we saw in the H1 of the prior year as the industry pulled forward orders in 2025. The bike environment feels much like last year.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Channel inventory has improved but remains volatile, and demand signals remain muted as consumers stay cautious. The good news is that we continue to make progress on new customer relationships and product expansion, particularly in categories like e-bikes, where we see long-term opportunity. The changing landscape in OEMs who are winning and losing is both a challenge and an opportunity for Fox. We are establishing and winning new relationships, and the growth we are seeing from these OEMs is a stabilizing force in our business where the rest of the industry is challenged. We would expect bike to revert to seasonal norms and improve sequentially in Q2. Though we are working through a temporary disruption tied to challenges in the Middle East affecting some of our suppliers and customers.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

The financial impact of that disruption is largely confined to Q2, and we expect the associated volume to flow through Q3 as conditions normalize. As I said on our last call, we are not chasing revenue here. We have the financial strength to lead with our brand and the innovation pipeline with new products and customers to protect our margin structure while the industry works through its cycle. Turning to Marucci. Bat industry volumes have continued to trend softly, which supports a deliberate decision in alignment with our retail partners to shift our planned Q2 product launches into Q3. Softball continues to be a bright spot. Our new products are resonating, and we are picking up meaningful share in that category. Softball has become an increasingly important contributor within the broader Marucci business, and it's a place where we continue to see a runway for growth.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

To provide perspective, our softball business has grown over 500% since 2024, which supports our innovation investments over the last two years. Stepping back across the segments, Q1 came in at the high end of our revenue guide and above the high end of our EBITDA guide. Our cost programs are tracking, and the Phoenix divestiture is closed. This performance, as well as the operating discipline that is central to our plans, gives us the conviction to reaffirm our 2026 outlook today, even as the macro environment remains challenging. I will turn it over to Dennis Schemm to walk through our financial details.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

Thanks, Mike. I will begin by discussing our Q1 financial results, followed by our balance sheet, cash flow, and capital allocation strategy before concluding with a review of our outlook for fiscal 2026. Total consolidated net sales in the Q1 of fiscal 2026 were $368.7 million, an increase of 3.9% versus the same quarter last year. Gross margin was 28.9% for the Q1 of fiscal 2026 compared to 30.9% in the Q1 last year, with the decrease primarily driven by the unmitigated impact of tariffs and shifts in our product line mix. While the focus over the past year has been on tariff mitigation, we are also seeing higher steel and aluminum costs across our segments, with some pressure building into the Q2.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

Our profit optimization initiative is sized and pacing to absorb this impact within the framework we laid out in February. Adjusted operating expenses, which exclude the impact of amortization of purchased intangibles, restructuring, and other discrete expenses were $85.5 million or 23.2% of net sales in the Q1 of 2026 compared to $84.4 million or 23.8% of net sales in the prior year quarter, reflecting the early benefits of our cost optimization actions. The company's tax benefit was $0.6 million in the Q1 of fiscal 2026 compared to $3.6 million in the Q1 of 2025. Adjusted net income was $7.4 million or $0.18 per diluted share compared to $9.8 million or $0.23 per diluted share in the Q1 last year.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

Adjusted EBITDA in the Q1 of fiscal 2026 was $35.7 million, exceeding the high end of our guidance range and reflecting the early benefits of our cost optimization work compared to $39.6 million in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 9.7% in the Q1 of 2026, stable sequentially to 2025. Importantly, we expect margin expansion to unfold as we move through the year with the bulk of our phase two benefits and the anniversary of last year's tariff implementation both falling into the H2. Moving to the balance sheet and cash flows. Our debt balance increased by approximately $15 million sequentially to $688.2 million at the end of the Q1. The primary driver is timing related to working capital.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

As a reminder, Q1 is seasonally our most demanding quarter from a working capital standpoint, with this year reflecting incentive compensation payouts and the cash impact of H1 2026 tariffs. Deleveraging remains a clear priority. We are taking action on multiple fronts to strengthen our financial position. Recently, we proactively amended our credit agreement to provide additional financial flexibility and expanded covenant headroom. This step was taken from a position of strength. At quarter end, we remain comfortably within the prior threshold and gives us additional runway as we execute the plan. We also maintained our disciplined approach to capital spending with the Q1 capital expenditures of $5.4 million or approximately 1.5% of revenues tracking below our full year target of approximately 2%.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

Combined with the EBITDA contribution expected from our cost out programs and our continued focus on working capital, we expect meaningful progress on debt reduction as we move through the balance of the year. Moving on to our outlook. Based on our Q1 performance and the continued execution of our cost out programs, we are reaffirming our full year guide for 2026. For the full year 2026, we continue to expect net sales in the range of $1.328-$1.416 billion and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $174-$203 million. At the midpoint, this represents approximately 200-basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin improvement relative to full year 2025.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately 2% of revenues, and our tax rate is expected to be in the range of 15%-18%. On tariffs, when we laid out our 2026 framework in February, we anticipated approximately $15 million of incremental net tariff impact for the full year. With this headwind concentrated in the H1 before we anniversary the prior year implementation in the Q2. Since that time, the tariff dynamics have shifted, with IEEPA being replaced by Section 232 framework. Importantly, the Section 232 methodology applies to the value of the aluminum input rather than the full FOB value of the finished product, which results in a meaningfully smaller exposure base for our businesses than we faced under IEEPA.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

Combined with the pricing pass-through and operational mitigation work we've completed across our segments over the past year, we believe the aggregate impact of Section 232 framework is approximately neutral to our businesses in 2026, excluding Marucci. At Marucci, the applicable tariff rate on imported bats has decreased from 22% under the prior framework to 10% under Section 232, a structural improvement going forward. In 2026, however, that benefit is being absorbed by the soft category demand in inventory dynamics that Mike spoke to. With respect to potential recoveries of tariff costs previously incurred under the IEEPA framework, any such recoveries are subject to uncertainty regarding timing, amount, and the appropriate allocation across our customer, distributor, and supply chain relationships. We have not included any potential recovery in our guidance and will recognize amounts only upon receipt.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

For the Q2, we expect net sales in the range of $343-$365 million and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $32-$40 million. Our Q2 outlook reflects two dynamics. The first and largest is the impact of discrete items shifting from Q2 into Q3, most notably the delayed product launch at Marucci and the bike supplier disruption that Mike mentioned. The second item is lower F-150-unit volume in our upfit business due to the industry-wide aluminum supply disruption. Unlike the timing items, the Q2 volume tied to this disruption is not expected to be recovered, though, as Mike noted, back half F-150 volumes are expected to remain intact. This impact is reflected in our Q2 outlook.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

Setting these discrete dynamics aside, the underlying demand environment across our businesses remains consistent with the full-year plan we laid out in February. To summarize, Q1 came in at the high end of our revenue guide and above the high end of our EBITDA guide. Our cost programs are executing on plan. Our financial flexibility is stronger after the credit amendment, and we remain confident in our full-year 2026 outlook today, with margin expansion weighted to the H2, consistent with the framework we laid out in February. With that, Mike, back to you for closing remarks.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Thanks, Dennis. In closing, I want to leave you with three key messages. The plan we laid out in February is landing. Phase one cost benefits are carrying over, and phase two is delivering. We pushed the UTV divestiture across the finish line. We're not waiting for the macro to give us anything. We're reaffirming our 2026 guidance, remain committed to delivering the approximately $50 million in cost savings this year, and the path to approximately 200-basis points of margin improvement at the midpoint is on track. The work we are doing is disciplined, and it's a deliberate focus on fundamentals to ensure we continue to win. Q1 demonstrates the plan is working. We have meaningful work ahead of us in 2026, continuing to execute on profit optimization, advancing our portfolio work, and strengthening the balance sheet.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

We are doing it against an environment we plan for as much as any company can plan. The team is executing, and we are confident in the path we are on. I want to thank our team for their hard work and dedication during this period. The level of external distractions seems to grow constantly. Through it all, we remain focused and committed to developing the best products across a broad portfolio to enable our enthusiasts to do what they love, continuing our legacy as the best-in-class, enthusiast-driven product company across all of the markets we play. With that, operator, please open the call for questions.

Operator

Certainly, Mr. Dennison. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, if you do have any questions, please press star one. You can always remove yourself from the queue by pressing star two. Once again, that's star one for questions. We'll go first this afternoon to Anna Glaskin with B. Riley.

Anna Glaskin
Anna Glaskin
Analyst at B. Riley

Hi, good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. I'd like to start with some of the commentary you gave around fuel prices and how you're positioned to capture the consumer. Auto OEMs appeared at a recent conference and GM talked about how their rule of thumb is that they usually don't see people considering trading down within fuel or trade up in fuel economy until fuel prices have stayed up higher for, you know, four to six months. It sounds like you're maybe seeing some shift in consumer behavior, just wanted to clarify maybe some of that fuel commentary and what you're seeing boots on the ground. Thanks.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Yeah, Anna, this is Mike. Our commentary on fuel prices is really just around the general macro. When we talk about our automotive OEM business, again, it's fairly well aligned to high-end premium vehicles, which tend to attract a more affluent buyer who isn't as focused on what the gas price is on any given day. We haven't seen that relative to our volume or demands in the automotive sector. Where, you know, it could start to apply is really a benefit to us in the aftermarket sector, where people may not be trading in a lower-end vehicle for a higher-end vehicle because of that higher interest rate and gas price.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

In those cases, if they're being more conservative, they tend to lend themselves to our businesses with CWH and Sport Truck and Midtech and others, where they're going to upgrade, even PVG, where they're going to upgrade in the aftermarket with our products on their current vehicle. That was really where I was going with those prepared remarks, not that we were experiencing any kind of headwind relative to consumer demand on the premium side.

Anna Glaskin
Anna Glaskin
Analyst at B. Riley

Got it. Thanks, Mike. That's super helpful. I wanted to follow up on Powersports. It sounds like feeling a bit more positive there, though of course staying cautious within the overall outlook. One of the OEMs went out and noted that there could be a material increase in their tariff exposure. Maybe talk about the extent to which, you know, that could potentially impact order flow and

Anna Glaskin
Anna Glaskin
Analyst at B. Riley

They'd be facing a pretty significant shift in their P&L, I think.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Yeah, we're well aware of that. It's, you know, it's a challenge that company is working through, and we're working through it with them. That said, we are pretty confident in what we saw in Q1 and what we're seeing in the rest of the year relative to Powersports. The destocking or inventory rebalancing has really taken shape. The benefit we have is being diversified across all of the major OEMs in that category with several different product sets allows us to kind of pivot from one OEM to another. We're seeing that shift happen to some degree in Q2 with a shift between where our mix would've been higher on one OEM and maybe is a little bit higher on another.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

We're seeing that balance out pretty well for us and gives us some confidence that that will continue to be strong for the balance of the year.

Operator

Great. Thanks. Thank you. We'll go next now to Larry Solow with CJS Securities.

Larry Solow
Larry Solow
Analyst at CJS Securities

Great. Thanks. Good afternoon, guys. I guess the first question, just on the implied margin improvement, pretty significant, I guess, right? I think if we kind of take the midpoint of your guidance, it'll imply like an exit EBITDA margin, like in the high teens. Is that right? 18. You can do about 10% in H1, right? To get to the midpoint, which is about 14%, right, Dennis? I think you'll have to have like pretty, at least exit rate, if not average margin in the back half about 18%. Is that, you know, am I doing that math right? I guess, you know, seems a little aggressive, but maybe, you know. Is that, you know, just any thoughts on that?

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

Great question. You know, first of all, really strong start to the year, right? Our Q1 exceeded our expectations. We're up about $4 million versus the midpoint, you know, that's something that we expect to stick. You know, you're asking a great question along the way, how do we have to ramp up? That's going to really depend on a couple of things. One, we're going to see more improvement in AAG. You know, Mike talked about the improvements that we need to be delivering on in PVG. We need to see more improvement too, within Marucci as well. We fully expect that with the product launches that we have, we have lined up. In addition to that, the cost improvement plan is underway.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

We're seeing the benefits of that already, and we would expect that to be performing in the mid-teens in, you know, the Q3s and Q4s so that the backup will be pretty strong there. Final point, though, you know, we're looking for a 200-basis point improvement year-on-year. I think we did 11% for the full year, 2025, so it'd be a 13% is where we're looking to.

Larry Solow
Larry Solow
Analyst at CJS Securities

Okay

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

to come into. Okay?

Larry Solow
Larry Solow
Analyst at CJS Securities

Gotcha. Yep, no, that's fair. Just second question, just on the Specialty Sports, and yeah, you can parse that out a little better, I guess. Was Marucci down in the quarter? What's your outlook for the year on that one? I guess, is that still part of kind of the potential strategic alternatives you're, you know, you're exploring?

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Great question. Marucci was down in the Q1, we talked about that. Again, there's inventory in the channel, we were having, you know, having to deal with that overflow in the channel right now, so it slowed things up a bit. Relative to strategic alternatives, I want to be very, very clear, we are running that business hard.

Larry Solow
Larry Solow
Analyst at CJS Securities

Right

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

with the leadership team there. That leadership team and our teams are fully engaged in making sure that we have the best product launches to the market. We could not be more excited about what we're seeing, you know, for instance, in softball and these Q2, sorry, the Q3 launches that the team has set up. Does that help?

Larry Solow
Larry Solow
Analyst at CJS Securities

Yep, very much so. I appreciate the color.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Okay. All right. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. We'll go next now to Peter McGoldrick with Stifel.

Peter McGoldrick
Peter McGoldrick
Analyst at Stifel

Hey, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. I was hoping you could talk more about the bike business. Can you give us some guidelines for your expectations around OE orders, market share for model year '27 changeover spec, and then any sizing of the contribution of these newer customers you pointed out?

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Yeah, good question. Bike is a very interesting industry. As you know, right now there's a lot of volatility. A lot of the players in the space are down significantly. We're forecasting stable to slightly up, which is a reflection of really two things, which will lead to the additional answers in your questions. One is product diversification, so continuing to expand our portfolio to make sure we're getting on as many products that meet our premium category at the different levels between e-bike and normal mountain bikes, as well as expansion into new customers. You know, for the first time, we looked at the charts the other day and saw that, you know, in the top 20, we have a fairly significant rotation of new players versus our traditional players.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

It's showing you that there's disruption happening in that industry, and we're benefiting from our relationship with those new players and the new products that they're creating. That's giving us a lot of that stability. That gives us a lot of the confidence in the long-term spec. You know, to your second question, how much share do we get? You know, share's going to be a function of not only, the current or traditional players in the space, but how well do you do with the new players? In our case, we're doing quite well. We're pretty excited about it. We're investing in that business and innovation. We're adding engineers in that space as we speak to make sure that we've got the right product and that we're delivering to those new customers.

Peter McGoldrick
Peter McGoldrick
Analyst at Stifel

Thank you for that. I was hoping you could tell us more about the PVG upfitting partnership model. Is that net new business or a new channel for distribution? If so, what are the economics of that? Unrelated, on tariffs, I just want to make sure that I have this clear. Relative to the $15 million net impact embedded in the prior outlook, the core business is a wash and Marucci got better. Is that correct? If so, by how much more, or what is the current embedded impact from tariffs?

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Yeah. I'll take the first one, and I'm going to give Dennis the second one.

Peter McGoldrick
Peter McGoldrick
Analyst at Stifel

Sure

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

on PVG, those relationships with the large OEMs, that's an entirely new channel, new partnership structure. You know, we've been with those OEMs in the past for our bailment programs. That's always been there. This is an entirely new way to go to market, where we're leveraging their marketing, their sales channels, their booking systems to order those vehicles, those vehicles are drop shipped to us for upfit and then sent to the dealer. It does a couple of things. One, it relieves us a little bit on the SG&A side relative to marketing and sales, pretty significantly actually. It allows us to actually enter new dealers and create a new relationship that we then can include the rest of our portfolio as we sell into those dealers with our products as well.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

The products that we're supporting the OEMs with are really constructive to us on the bottom-line level because they don't have that SG&A implication that the rest of our business does. They're also more menus driven. The kits that we're providing on those solutions, fairly well defined. They flow through production very quickly. From a factory optimization perspective, they work really well. The forecasting process by which we get them, manage them, push them through is much more elegant than maybe a normal structure. We really like that business, and it also aligns us very tightly to the innovation cycle of these large OEMs who are trying to create these premium custom trucks.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

The doors it opens for us in those conversations, all the way up to the executive level in those companies, is a huge step forward for us, and the team's very excited about it. New customer relationship, albeit we already had that relationship just a different way, and therefore, also new channels, new ways to go to market, and new dealers. Well, Dennis, I'll turn over the tariff question to you.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Relative to the tariff, yes, we do have that $15 million net impact still in the H1. We felt it clearly in Q1, and we're seeing that in Q2 as well. Relative to the tariff changes, you know, they are largely net neutral to the PVG business and to the AAG business. It's Marucci that definitely gets the benefit of that. That rate fell by, like, 54%.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

As we look out to the year, you know, that full P&L benefit will phase in as the previous, you know, tariffed inventory works through the P&L and should become more visible. We should expect to see some sort of tariff relief maybe in the back half of the year, very late in the year. It would be low single digits at best.

Peter McGoldrick
Peter McGoldrick
Analyst at Stifel

Very helpful. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. We'll connect now to Scott Stember with ROTH Capital.

Scott Stember
Scott Stember
Analyst at ROTH Capital

Good afternoon, and thanks for taking my questions as well. Wanted to dig into the PVG a little bit more on the 17% increase. Mike, when you started talking about it, I think you first said that there were some timing benefits that took place. I believe it was a benefit. Could you maybe talk about that a little bit?

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

It was, and that was expected on our part relative to Q4 to Q1 timing, Q4 of last year to Q1 of this year, that did help us. Across the board, just to kind of give you a better picture on PVG in general, overall, aftermarket was a very good story for us in Q1. Powersports was a good story for us in Q1. Automotive really held up to its expectations in Q1. You know, most of the upside was contemplated and thought about relative to where we thought that business could go in Q1. Again, getting some benefit from timing Q4 to Q1.

Scott Stember
Scott Stember
Analyst at ROTH Capital

Got it. As far as the $40 million of incremental savings or phase two of the plan, how much of that did we see in the Q1? Did you mention that already?

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Yeah. We, I didn't mention it, so fair question. Again, just to be clear on that, we have a $50 million contribution coming through the year, $10 million of carryover, and then $40 million net new. We probably saw mid-single digits come through in the 1st quarter, so we're feeling good about the start of the year. That'll progressively layer up as we move through the year.

Scott Stember
Scott Stember
Analyst at ROTH Capital

Okay. On the balance sheet, looks like you guys have a good plan for delivering, but what was the leverage ratio at the end of the quarter?

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

I think we're right around 377, if I'm not mistaken, so, plenty of headroom against the covenant. We recently amended our banking agreement to just provide us with more headroom, more flexibility as we move through the year.

Scott Stember
Scott Stember
Analyst at ROTH Capital

Gotcha. That's all I have. Thank you.

Dennis Schemm
Dennis Schemm
CFO at Fox Factory

All right. Thank you.

Operator

Gentlemen, it appears we have no further questions this afternoon. Mr. Dennison, back to you, sir, for any closing comments.

Mike Dennison
Mike Dennison
CEO at Fox Factory

Thanks for everybody's time today and have a good evening.

Operator

Thank you very much, Mr. Dennison. Thank you, Mr. Schemm. Again, ladies and gentlemen, this will conclude the Fox Factory Holding Corp.'s Q1 2026 earnings call. You may disconnect your line at this time and have a great day. Goodbye.

Executives
    • Dennis Schemm
      Dennis Schemm
      CFO
    • Mike Dennison
      Mike Dennison
      CEO
    • Toby Merchant
      Toby Merchant
      Chief Legal Officer
Analysts
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