Traeger Q3 Earnings Call Highlights

Key Points

• Third-quarter revenue fell 40% to $75 million, with declines across grills, consumables and accessories; adjusted EBITDA swung to a $3 million loss. Lower sales reflected channel optimization, MEATER competition and shipments shifted into the fourth quarter.
• Traeger narrowed its 2026 outlook to revenue of $440 million–$460 million and adjusted EBITDA of $59 million–$65 million, while maintaining its gross-margin and free-cash-flow forecasts. It expects revenue and adjusted EBITDA to return to year-over-year growth in Q4.
• The company is expanding distribution through Lowe’s and targeting demand for lower-priced grills, while continuing cost reductions under Project Gravity. Management expects a return to profitable growth in 2027, though it has not issued formal guidance.

Traeger NYSE: COOK reported a 40% decline in third-quarter revenue as lower grill sales, channel changes and pressure on its MEATER business weighed on results. The company narrowed its full-year revenue and adjusted EBITDA outlooks while maintaining the midpoint of each range.

Management said it expects revenue and adjusted EBITDA to return to year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter, helped by shipments that shifted out of the third quarter and initial orders associated with its expansion at Lowe’s. The company also said it expects to return to profitable growth in 2027, though it did not provide formal guidance for that year.

“2026 is a transition year for Traeger,” Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Andrus said. He said the company’s work to broaden distribution, offer products at more price points and reduce costs is intended to position it for growth.

Revenue Falls Across Product Categories

Third-quarter revenue fell to $75 million. Grill revenue declined 48% to $40 million, consumables revenue dropped 23% to $19 million and accessories revenue decreased 34% to $16 million.

Chief Financial Officer Joey Hord attributed the decline partly to channel optimization under the company’s Project Gravity initiative, competitive pressure on MEATER smart thermometers and actions to improve marketplace health. The comparison was also affected by approximately $20 million in elevated retailer inventory purchases in the prior-year quarter, when retailers were responding to an uncertain tariff environment, he said.

Some shipments and promotional activity moved from the third quarter into the fourth, including shipments delayed by container constraints amplified by a typhoon in Asia. Hord said the shifted revenue was realized in October and is included in the company’s full-year outlook. He did not disclose the amount.

Gross margin contracted 520 basis points to 33.5%, reflecting the timing of trade spending, fixed warehousing expenses spread over lower revenue and continued pressure in MEATER. An IEEPA tariff refund benefit partly offset those pressures.

Traeger reported a net loss of $29 million, or $10.33 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $90 million, or $33.46 per diluted share, a year earlier. The prior-year result included a $75 million noncash goodwill impairment. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $3 million, compared with income of $14 million a year earlier.

Lower Price Points and Lowe’s Expansion

Andrus said consumers have increasingly favored more accessible grill prices. Year-to-date sell-through of Traeger grills priced below $600 grew by double digits across strategic accounts, he said, and consumers bought more Traeger grill units at those retail partners in the third quarter than a year earlier.

That shift has pressured average selling prices, though Andrus said Traeger’s average price remains more than twice the overall category average. He said promotional pricing reached as low as $389 and that lower entry prices and new retail channels could help the company attract customers.

Traeger began its national expansion with Lowe’s in the third quarter. Andrus said products launched on Lowes.com on Nov. 2, pellets are expected to reach stores ahead of Black Friday, and the main store launch is planned for spring 2027. Fixtures are expected to roll out in a subset of stores between February and March.

The CEO acknowledged some near-term impact at existing accounts where exclusivity had been important, but said the company is investing in those relationships. The Home Depot and Ace remain strategic partners, he said.

Outlook and Cash Flow

Traeger narrowed its 2026 revenue forecast to $440 million to $460 million from $435 million to $465 million. It also narrowed its adjusted EBITDA forecast to $59 million to $65 million from $57 million to $67 million and reiterated its expectation for a gross margin of 40% to 41%.

The company generated $8 million in free cash flow during the quarter, bringing its year-to-date total to $49 million. That figure included $16 million related to the IEEPA refund and $12 million from an Employee Retention Credit. Traeger reiterated its full-year free cash flow forecast of at least $30 million.

At quarter-end, Traeger had $68 million in cash and $403 million in total debt. Inventory stood at $79 million, down from $99 million at the end of the previous fiscal year. Hord said the company remains on track to capture an incremental $30 million in value from Project Gravity in 2026, bringing the initiative’s total value capture to $50 million.

Looking to 2027, Hord said the tariff refund will make the year-over-year comparison more difficult. Nevertheless, he said Traeger expects to grow revenue and adjusted EBITDA even after accounting for that headwind.

About Traeger (NYSE:COOK)

Traeger, Inc designs, manufactures and sells outdoor cooking products under the Traeger brand. The company is best known for its wood-pellet grills, which use automated temperature controls and hardwood pellets to provide wood-fired cooking. Its product portfolio also includes gas and charcoal grills, portable grills, pizza ovens, smokers and related outdoor cooking equipment.

In addition to grills, Traeger offers wood pellets, rubs, sauces, marinades, cookware, replacement parts and other accessories.

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