Central Garden & Pet Company

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to Central Garden and Pets Fiscal 2026 First Quarter Earnings Call. My name is Vaughn, and I will be your conference operator for today. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the prepared remarks, we will hold a question and answer session, and instructions will be given at that time. If you require assistance at any point during the call, please press star followed by zero on your touch-tone phone. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Frederique Edelman, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining Central's first quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call. Joining me today are Niko Lahana, Chief Executive Officer, Brad Smith, Chief Financial Officer, John Hansen, President of Pet Consumer Products, and JD Walker, President of Garden Consumer Products. Nico will start by sharing today's key takeaways, followed by Brad, who will provide a more in-depth discussion of our results. After their prepared remarks, JD and John will join us for the Q&A session. Before they begin, I would like to remind everyone that all forward-looking statements made during this call are subject to risks and uncertainties, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from what those forward-looking statements express or imply today. A detailed description of Central's risk factors can be found in our annual report filed with the SEC. Please note that Central undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events, or other developments. Our press release and related materials, including gap reconciliation for the non-gap measures discussed on this call, are available at ir.central.com. Last but not least, unless otherwise specified, all comparisons discussed during this call are made against the same period in the prior year. If you have any questions after the call or at any time during the quarter, please don't hesitate to contact me directly. And with that, let's get started. Nico?

Thank you, Frederic, and good afternoon, everyone. We entered the year with strong momentum, and I'll begin with a few highlights from the first quarter before stepping back to talk about how our priorities are evolving and how we see the year ahead. We closed the quarter with improved gross margins and solid earnings per share, especially when compared to a strong prior year first quarter that benefited from favorable shipment timing, promotional activity, and weather. These results reflect the strength of our operating model and the commitment and disciplined execution of our teams. Over the past several years, we've focused on simplifying the business, improving efficiency, and maintaining profitability across both segments. And that work continues to show up in our results. At the same time, we're increasingly focused on positioning Central for sustainable long-term growth. Supported by a strong balance sheet and deep customer relationships, we're sharpening our strategic priorities and advancing them with speed and agility. Over the past three years, our cost and simplicity agenda has strengthened the foundation of the company, creating leaner processes, a more streamlined footprint, and a more resilient operating model. While this work continues, much of the foundational transformation is now behind us. and the pace of incremental benefits is naturally becoming more measured over time. A key part of these efforts has been our multi-year supply chain network design program, which has improved customer alignment, service levels, and cost efficiency. During the quarter, we completed several important actions that further modernized our network and reinforced these benefits, including integrating two garden distribution facilities in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Ontario, California into our modern fulfillment centers in Covington, Georgia and Salt Lake City, Utah. We also consolidated a fertilizer manufacturing facility into our Greenfield, Missouri location. What's most important is that the discipline around managing costs and operational simplicity is now firmly embedded in our culture. With that foundation in place, we're applying the same clarity, focus, and consistency to fostering a growth mindset and embedding innovation more deeply across the organization. We view innovation, much like cost and simplicity, as a multi-year journey, rather than a near-term event. Our focus is on building repeatable ways to identify opportunities, develop products, and bring them to market. That said, we're already seeing encouraging signs. Recent examples include a new product innovation at Nile Bones expanded digital engagement through KT's new Birder Hub, and strong early consumer response to several new garden and household solutions. We're also seeing good momentum in private label programs developed closely with our garden retail partners. Alongside organic growth and innovation, we continue to be thoughtful and selective in how we use M&A to refine our portfolio. After quarter end, we completed the acquisition of Champion USA, a small tuck-in business serving the livestock industry with EPA-approved feed-through fly control solutions. This adds a complementary capability to our professional portfolio, supports cattle health, and fits well with our focus on consumables and environmentally responsible solutions. Looking ahead, with the first quarter behind us, we're operating with strong momentum, clear priorities, and a steady focus on delivering results. As we build on the foundation already put in place, innovation will play a progressively larger role in driving growth across the business. Our diversified portfolio, operational flexibility, and a disciplined approach to cost management give us confidence in our ability to deliver profitable growth even as we navigate an evolving global macroeconomic and policy environment. As we look to the rest of the year, will continue to balance prudent cost and cash management with targeted investments that support organic growth, especially innovation, digital capabilities, and e-commerce. As these investments scale, we expect results to build over time. M&A remains an important component of our growth strategy. We continue to focus on margin-accretive, consumable businesses that complement our portfolio and expand our presence in attractive categories and we expect our activity to increase as market conditions continue to normalize. We also expect consumers to stay focused on value and product performance in a promotionally active but generally stable retail environment, alongside continued channel shifts toward e-commerce. These factors reinforce the importance of sustained investment in innovation, consumer insights, and digital capabilities. Based on these factors and our current operating plans, We are reaffirming our expectations for fiscal 2026 non-GAAP diluted EPS of $2.70 or better. As always, our outlook excludes potential impacts from future acquisitions, divestitures, or restructuring actions, including those related to our cost and simplicity agenda. Before I hand it over to Brad, I want to thank our teams across Central for their continued commitment and strong performance following a year of meaningful progress. The work we've done has positioned the company well. And as we move into the next phase, we're doing so from a position of strength, with a clear shift toward greater emphasis on growth and innovation while maintaining operational rigor. And with that, I'll hand it over to Brad. Brad?