Destination XL Group Q2 2027 Earnings Report

Destination XL Group EPS Results

• Actual EPS: $0.05
• Consensus EPS: -$0.04
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$0.09
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Destination XL Group Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $111.56 million
• Expected Revenue: $109.00 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$2.56 million
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Destination XL Group Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q2 2027
• Date: 9/9/2026
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2026
• Conference Call Time: 9:00AM ET

Destination XL Group (NASDAQ:DXLG) is a specialty retailer focused on clothing, footwear and accessories for big and tall men. The company offers apparel in extended sizes, including casualwear, business clothing, outerwear, activewear, swimwear and accessories, through a combination of private-label merchandise and products from national brands.

The company operates under the Destination XL and DXL brands, serving customers through retail stores, its e-commerce websites and other direct-to-consumer channels. Its merchandise is designed for men who typically require larger sizes, with an emphasis on fit, selection and specialty sizing that may be less available at traditional apparel retailers.

Destination XL Group traces its history to Casual Male Retail Group and adopted its current name in 2010 as it developed the Destination XL retail concept. The company is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts, and primarily serves customers in the United States through its stores and digital operations.

Destination XL Group Q2 2027 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 profitability improved: net sales declined 3.4% to $111.6 million, but adjusted EBITDA rose to $7.7 million from $4.7 million and adjusted EPS increased to $0.05 from $0.01. Comparable sales improved sequentially each month, reaching a three-year best of down 3.5% for the quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: DXL received a $4.6 million IEEPA tariff refund, which lifted merchandise margin and EBITDA; excluding the refund, merchandise margin was approximately 70 basis points below last year because of markdowns and higher shipping costs.
• Positive Sentiment: The company is emphasizing its “Fit for Growth” strategy, including FITMAP®, private-label products, broader brand awareness, and customer acquisition. FITMAP® customers have shown higher spending, conversion, average order values, visits, and lower return rates, while THERMACHILL demand increased 56% year over year.
• Negative Sentiment: Store traffic and customer acquisition remain the primary challenges, with store comparable sales down 4.3% and new-customer acquisition and reactivation behind plan. Management cited weight-loss journeys, shifting spending priorities, and delayed purchases as factors affecting demand.
• Positive Sentiment: DXL ended the quarter with $20.1 million in cash and investments, no debt, and $61.7 million of excess availability. The board also withdrew its support for the FullBeauty merger, citing FullBeauty’s deteriorating performance, increased indebtedness, and potential dilution to DXL shareholders.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good day, everyone, and welcome to Destination XL Group Inc.'s conference call to discuss our second quarter fiscal 2026 financial results. Today's call is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Ms. Shelly Mokas, Vice President of Financial Reporting and SEC Compliance at DXL. Please go ahead, Shelly.

[Shelly Mokas, VP of Financial Reporting and SEC Compliance at Destination XL Group]

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. We appreciate you joining us on Destination XL Group's second quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call. Joining me today are Lionel Conacher, our interim Chief Executive Officer, Peter Stratton, our Chief Financial Officer, and Jimmy Olsson, our new Chief Growth Officer. During today's call, we will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures that we believe provide useful supplemental information regarding our performance. Please refer to our earnings release, which was filed this morning, and is available on our investor relations website for additional information and reconciliation of those measures. Today's discussion will also include forward-looking statements regarding the company's strategic initiatives, marketing strategies, store rationalization work, expectations for comparable sales, the impact of tariffs, update regarding the merger, and other expectations for fiscal 2026. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations.

[Shelly Mokas, VP of Financial Reporting and SEC Compliance at Destination XL Group]

Additional information regarding those risks and uncertainties is included in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With that, I will turn the call over to our interim CEO, Lionel Conacher. Lionel?

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

Thank you, Shelly, and good morning, everyone. I am honored to join today's call as DXL's interim Chief Executive Officer at an important time for the company. I want to begin by recognizing Harvey Kanter for his leadership and contributions to DXL over more than seven years as CEO. Harvey helped strengthen DXL's position as the leading specialty retailer in men's big and tall, and on behalf of the board of directors and the entire management team, I want to thank Harvey for his service and wish him well in retirement. Just a few words about myself. I have been involved with DXL as a director since 2018 and have served as chairman since 2020. During my time with DXL, I have developed a deep appreciation for the company, its people, and most importantly, the big and tall customer.

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

We have a strong brand, a loyal customer base, a clear understanding of our customers' priorities. The differentiated leadership position that we have established in this underserved market gives us a strong foundation on which to build, grounded in our commitment to serving the big and tall customer. Our priorities from here are straightforward. We are focused on increasing traffic and revenue, strengthening customer engagement, improving profitability, and advancing strategic initiatives that can support long-term growth. The second quarter earnings results we reported today are a testament to progress we are already making in these efforts. Our business continues to improve, and we see clear signs that a resumption in sales growth is imminent. Q2 sales performance was consistent with the progress we reported in the first quarter, which is a significant improvement over our prior year's results.

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

I am incredibly excited about the opportunities ahead for DXL, and proud to be speaking with you all about our momentum today. Before we dive into the quarter, I would like to introduce Jimmy Olsson, who has worked with DXL in a consulting role for the past 12 months and recently joined us full-time as Chief Growth Officer. Jimmy comes to DXL with a deep background in retail strategy, brand elevation, and scaling omni-channel platforms through marketing, merchandising, and product development. This newly created role of Chief Growth Officer brings together the customer-facing levers of the business, and Jimmy's perspective will be instrumental as we execute against the traffic, assortment, promotional, and store experience opportunities in front of us. Jimmy has held leadership positions at a number of blue-chip retailers, including Walmart, American Eagle, Tommy John, Todd Snyder, and The Gap.

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

On behalf of the DXL Board of Directors, I am thrilled to welcome Jimmy to DXL. You will hear directly from Jimmy for a deeper dive into our growth priorities and initiatives. To frame up the balance of today's marks, in just a moment, I am going to turn the call over to Peter to give you an update on our second quarter performance, sales trends, margin, and liquidity. After that, Jimmy is going to talk about our go-forward strategy and priorities before I come back to close things out. With that, I am going to ask Peter to give you an update on our financial results. Peter?

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

Thank you, Lionel, and good morning, everyone. Our second quarter sales were generally in line with our expectations and remain consistent with the year-over-year improvement in trends that we saw in Q1. Net sales were $111.6 million, down 3.4% from last year, and our adjusted EBITDA was $7.7 million, or 6.9% of sales, compared with $4.7 million last year, while adjusted earnings per share was $0.05, compared with last year's $0.01 result. Comparable sales were down 3.5% for the quarter, with stores down 4.3%, and our direct business down 1.6%. Monthly comps improved sequentially from -5.7% in May to -2.8% in June and then -1.9% in July. Store traffic remains our most significant challenge, although we continue to be encouraged by strong conversion and dollars per transaction, which helped offset some of that traffic pressure.

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

In direct, we saw improvement in conversion driven by enhancements to the app and overall site experience, and we also benefited from solid performance in clearance product primarily through the direct channel. More broadly, the direct business generated demand through paid search, paid social, and programmatic marketing, while ongoing improvements in app performance, site experience, and speed supported better conversion. We continue to evaluate our marketing allocation carefully to strike the right balance between attracting new customers, where we have seen acquisition rate increases since the fourth quarter, in reengaging repeat and lapsed customers, where spending remains more cautious. Encouragingly, when new customers discover DXL, they continue to respond well to our assortment, fit, and value proposition. Based on customer surveys and related insights, the overall slowdown in customer traffic appears to reflect the combination of weight loss journeys, shifting spending priorities, and delayed purchasing decisions.

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

Importantly, we believe the underlying affinity for the DXL experience remains strong. Although we still have meaningful work ahead, we are encouraged by the improvement in the quarter and confident that our turnaround efforts are beginning to gain traction. Our merchandising efforts remain focused on sharpening value, strengthening private brands, and improving inventory flow to better align with current demand. We are leaning further into private brands, particularly Harbor Bay, as an opening price point and value driver, while continuing to improve storytelling around quality, fit, and value across channels. Our creative and messaging have become more focused on essentials, cost per wear, and trusted fit, reinforcing our position with a more value-conscious customer. We are also rebalancing the promotional calendar toward higher margin and higher inventory risk categories so that promotions can help drive demand while protecting profitability and reducing future inventory exposure.

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

Another topic that I'd like to touch on quickly is IEEPA tariff refunds. Towards the end of the first quarter, we submitted a claim through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection online portal, and I'm pleased to report that we received a refund of $4.6 million during the second quarter, which benefited merchandise margin and improved adjusted EBITDA versus plan. Gross margin, inclusive of occupancy costs, was 47.9%, up 270 basis points to last year, primarily driven by this refund. Excluding the tariff refund, merchandise margin would've been approximately 70 basis points worse than last year, primarily due to a higher markdown rate to move through slower moving seasonal product and increased shipping costs due to fuel surcharges. Occupancy costs were flat in dollars, but deleveraged versus last year due to lower sales.

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

Selling general and administrative expenses were 41% of sales, with advertising expense coming in at 6.1% of sales, generally in line with last year. We continue to look very carefully at SG&A across the organization, reducing corporate expenses where appropriate, and rationalizing our store base over the next several years as leases expire or kick-out rates become available. The punchline here is we need to improve our return on assets. Targeting stores that have a high probability of transferring volume to another store allows us to make the total store portfolio more productive. In certain markets, we believe there are opportunities to rationalize high occupancy stores and redirect customers to other stores in the market. The store rationalization work will have limited impact in 2026, but it is expected to reduce occupancy and store operating costs beginning in 2027 and beyond.

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

This is a multi-year project that should improve sales per square foot and four-wall profit over time. I'll close with an update on the continued strength of our balance sheet. We ended Q2 with $20.1 million of cash and investments on hand, no debt, and excess availability of $61.7 million. Most importantly, our balance sheet gives us flexibility. Our inventory levels are clean and stable, inventory turnover is strong, and clearance levels are in line with our 10% targets. Preserving working capital remains a priority, and we have paused all non-essential uses of cash while funding only the most important and required initiatives for the business. These targeted growth initiatives are already bearing fruit, as evidenced by this quarter's comparable sales result of -3.5%, the strongest we have delivered in the past three years.

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

I'd now like to turn it over to Jimmy to talk more about those initiatives and elaborate on our marketing and merchandising strategies. Jimmy?

[Jimmy Olsson, Chief Growth Officer at Destination XL Group]

Thank you, Peter, and good morning, everyone. I'm excited to join DXL and be leading our growth agenda across merchandising, marketing, direct and stores. The second quarter reinforced both the strengths of the DXL proposition and the work still ahead to drive more traffic, sharpen product storytelling, and create stronger reasons for customers to shop with us. I want to organize my comments on today's call around the internal growth strategy we are calling Fit for Growth. In the simplest terms, this strategy consists of four strategic pillars: supercharging our fit authority, fueling growth in our private brands, building our brand awareness and go-to-market strategy, and lastly, driving new customer acquisition. Our first priority is supercharging our fit authority. This is the foundation of what makes DXL different, and it starts with the initiative that has positioned DXL at the leading edge of fit centricity, FITMAP®.

[Jimmy Olsson, Chief Growth Officer at Destination XL Group]

We've now scanned more than 150,000 customers, and our most recent 12-month cohort shows scanned customers spending more than they did before scanning, with stronger conversions, higher AOV, increased visits, and a meaningfully lower return rate than non-scanned customers. Scan penetration, simply getting more of our customer file measured, remains our single largest lever inside this program. Fit authority is also the right lens for how we're addressing a genuine structural shift in our customer with GLP1 medication adoption. Based on our customer surveys, a meaningful portion of our customer base is currently using GLP1 medications, and it's indicated while they are on their weight loss journey, they stop buying apparel altogether for a period. But a majority tell us that they intend to come back to DXL once they reach a stable size.

[Jimmy Olsson, Chief Growth Officer at Destination XL Group]

We believe being the authority on fit means staying with this customer through that transition, not just at a single point in time. We are building a specific communication journey tied to FITMAP® scan segments to do exactly that. Our second priority is fueling growth in our private brands. Private brand penetration continues to grow year-over-year. Our THERMACHILL™ franchise, which is a new product development technology built into our tech pants, shorts, and button-down shirt, is one of our cleanest growth bets inside this priority. THERMACHILL™ features dual temperature regulation to keep you cool when it is hot outside and warmer when it cools down. Our year-to-date demand for THERMACHILL™ product grew 56% over last year. Proof that when we invest choice count in marketing behind a private brand franchise that is genuinely working, it scales. We also continue to see that targeted product-specific promotions outperform broad discounting.

[Jimmy Olsson, Chief Growth Officer at Destination XL Group]

That discipline is protecting merchandise margin even as we work through a softer traffic environment, and it is a direct extension of what fueling private brand growth actually means in practice, winning through product and value, not through the depth of the discount. Our third priority is building our brand awareness and evolving our go-to-market strategy. As we continue to evolve our marketing investment from lower funnel spend toward mid and upper funnel tactics, we are running tests in select markets to get in front of him where he consumes media. Our brand awareness remains below the category average, and the current marketing mix has been heavily weighted toward bottom of funnel conversion. We are reallocating, not adding to, the advertising budget over time to support a more balanced funnel, including incremental testing in YouTube and programmatic channels. We are already seeing early proof points.

[Jimmy Olsson, Chief Growth Officer at Destination XL Group]

Awareness in our core demographic of 35-64 year-olds with household incomes above $100,000 has moved from 40%-49% in seven months. This priority is also where our AI discoverability work sits. Through a focused effort on generative and answer engine optimizations, we have moved our Trustpilot sentiment score from 1.5-4.4, a concrete, inexpensive proof point that the go-to-market investment behind agentic and AI-initiated search is paying off before the larger infrastructure is even fully built. Our fourth priority is driving new customer acquisition. I want to be direct and transparent with you that this is the priority most exposed by this quarter's traffic miss. We are behind the pace we would like on both new customer acquisitions and reactivation right now. This is why priorities one through three matter so much. Fit authority and FITMAP® give customers a differentiated reason to choose us and stay.

[Jimmy Olsson, Chief Growth Officer at Destination XL Group]

Expanding private label lets us deliver more value, helping attract new customers and grow our base. Brand awareness is what actually gets a new or lapsed customer to notice us in the first place. Acquisition does not happen in isolation. It is the output of the other three priorities working together, and it is the priority we are most focused on moving over the balance of the year. Before I turn the call back over to Lionel, I want to leave you with this one thread. Traffic and customer acquisition are the challenge underlying essentially everything I just described, and this Fit for Growth strategy is our coordinated response. Not four separate initiatives, but one solution viewed through four distinct lenses. I would like to thank Lionel and the board of directors for this opportunity.

[Jimmy Olsson, Chief Growth Officer at Destination XL Group]

I'm so excited to be working on solutions that are going to move the needle for DXL and the big and tall customer we are proud to serve. Lionel?

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

Thanks, Jimmy. Before we open the line for questions, I want to provide a brief update on the status of our proposed merger with FullBeauty. On September 2, DXL filed an updated preliminary proxy statement with respect to the merger. As detailed in this filing, conditions have changed since we first entered into the merger agreement in December, causing FullBeauty's operating performance, financial results, and balance sheet positioning to deteriorate. Our board takes its fiduciary duties to our stockholders seriously, and to that end, has continued to evaluate the merger in light of these developments. Based on this evaluation, the board determined that the merger is no longer in the best interest of DXL and its stockholders. Accordingly, the board has withdrawn its prior recommendation in favor of the merger and now unanimously recommends that stockholders vote against the issuance proposal.

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

There were several factors that contributed to this decision. The increasingly challenging consumer environment since 2025 of December. FBB's continuing decline in operating performance and financial results, including lower than expected net sales, earnings, EBITDA, and cash flow. The corresponding heightened risk that FBB will not achieve its projections for the current fiscal year. Their increased level of indebtedness, concerns regarding the potential negative equity value, and the substantial economic dilution that our stockholders would experience if the merger were consummated on its current terms. In terms of next steps in this process, we are currently awaiting SEC review of the amended preliminary proxy statement. Once we receive SEC clearance, we will file and mail definitive proxy materials to all stockholders eligible to vote at the special meeting, which will be held in 20-25 day window following the definitive proxy filing.

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

The proxy statement can be found on the landing page of our investor webpage at investor.dxl.com. We encourage stockholders to read the proxy statement carefully and in its entirety. Beyond that, we are not commenting further on the merger at this time. We ask that you keep your questions on today's call focused on second quarter operational and financial performance. In closing, as you just heard, we are taking focused steps to advance the strategic priorities we believe can meaningfully strengthen the business over time. Three of the most important are FITMAP®, our application of AI, and our work to better understand GLP-1 related customer behavior. What connects these priorities is that each reflects a meaningful shift in how our customer shops, how he discovers product, and how we need to evolve to serve him more effectively.

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

Together, these are strategic growth levers that we believe can improve customer engagement and sharpen our competitive position and create more durable long-term value. We have a differentiated position in an underserved market, a powerful relationship with the big and tall customer, and a team that understands how to serve him. The actions we are taking to strengthen the business, drive growth, and improve profitability are beginning to translate into encouraging improvements in our performance. Our fortress balance sheet provides us with a strong underlying foundation for the growth engine we are building. I am confident in our ability to capture the meaningful value creation opportunities ahead. With that, operator, we will now take questions.

[Operator]

Thank you. To ask a question, please press star one one on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star one one again. Again, if you have a question, please press star one one. One moment for our first question. Our first question comes from Joseph Midkiff of 226B Capital Partners. Your line is open.

[Joseph Midkiff, Analyst at 226B Capital Partners]

Hey, good morning, guys, and thanks for the updates today. There was mention of reviewing store base as leases come due, particularly in markets with multiple locations. I was curious if we could clarify, how many leases would be coming up for renewal in total over the next 24 months, and how many or what percentage of those might be potential candidates for closure or consolidation?

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

Sure. I'll take that one. This is Peter. We've been spending a fair amount of time taking a look at the portfolio. As I mentioned in my remarks, we need to make our assets more productive. So in instances where we have more than one store in a market, that we believe we can eliminate a store, drive that volume to the nearby sister store, it improves our return on assets, and that's really the big focus. For this year, there's a handful of stores that are closing. I want to say, three stores this year. Next year, the stores that are coming up for lease and renewal, there's going to be a few dozen that are coming up. Now, those are not all closing. We are going to be looking at those on a case-by-case basis.

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

And we will be developing those plans really over the next six months to figure out how many more we will be closing. But ultimately, it is about improving our sales per square foot in the existing portfolio, and making sure that we can get the most return out of those assets.

[Joseph Midkiff, Analyst at 226B Capital Partners]

Fantastic. Thank you so much. Excited to hear about the return on asset focus there. If I could follow up, you mentioned as well the potential for pausing any cash investments that can be deferred. Is that something that you could quantify the impacts of or speak at all to what areas specifically have been targeted for pausing or removing?

[Peter Stratton, CFO at Destination XL Group]

The majority of our capital spend this year is in our technology upgrades and improvements, our distribution center, and there is a small amount in stores. The majority of that is going to be in distribution and in technology. We have a number of projects going on right now to make sure we are staying current with the latest releases of all of our software platforms. But in some cases, we are going to try to push those out a little further. When our vendors start taking platforms to end of life and we are required to upgrade, well, those are the situations that we are going to have to deal with. But we are trying to avoid any upgrades that will burn cash until we see more stability in our comp trends, in the near future.

[Joseph Midkiff, Analyst at 226B Capital Partners]

Well, awesome. Thanks, guys. I appreciate the tone of the call, shifting to a realization of what is happening in the business, and I will jump back in the queue. Thanks again, guys.

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

Thank you.

[Operator]

Thank you. I show no further questions at this time. I'd like to turn it back to Lionel Conacher for closing remarks.

[Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO at Destination XL Group]

Thank you, operator. Thank you everybody for listening in today, and we appreciate your interest in DXL. With that, we'll close up the meeting. Thank you.

[Operator]

This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.

Participants

Executives

• Shelly Mokas, VP of Financial Reporting and SEC Compliance
• Lionel Conacher, Interim CEO
• Peter Stratton, CFO
• Jimmy Olsson, Chief Growth Officer

Analysts

• Joseph Midkiff, Analyst at 226B Capital Partners