Clearfield, Inc.

Good day and welcome to the Clearfield Fiscal First Quarter 2025 conference call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Greg McNiff. Investor Relations for Clearfield. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Joining me on today's call are Sherry Baranek, Clearfield's President and CEO, and Dan Herzog, Clearfield's CFO. As a reminder, Clearfield published a quarterly shareholder letter which provides an overview of the company's financial results, operational highlights, and future outlook. You can find both the shareholder letter and the earnings release on Clearfield's Investor Relations website. After brief prepared remarks, we will open the floor for a question and answer session. Please note that during this call, management will be making remarks regarding future events and the future financial performance of the company. These remarks constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. It is important to also note that the company undertakes no obligation to update such statements except as required by law. The company cautions you to consider risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained in today's press release, shareholder letter, and on this conference call. The risk factor section in Clearfield's most recent Form 10-K filing with the Security Exchange Commission and its subsequent filings on Form 10-Q provide a description of these risks. With that, I would like to turn the call over to Clearfield's President and CEO, Sherry Baranek. Sherry?

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Clearfield's results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025. I will start by highlighting some key themes and then turn it over to Dan for a summary of our performance and outlook. For more detailed information, please refer to our shareholder letter posted on the IR section of our website. We are pleased to share that we reported first quarter fiscal 2025 net sales of $35.5 million in line with our guidance range, while the net loss per share of 13 cents was smaller than our guidance range. Net sales for our Clearfield segment increased 6% year-over-year. Our quarterly revenue performance aligns closely with our expectations, reflecting our steady progress towards normalized growth. I would like to briefly discuss some high-level industry trends, which we address in more detail in our shareholder letter. As the rural broadband deployment model evolves, Clearfield continues to adapt to industry dynamics with new products. Our goal is to establish Clearfield as the one-stop shop for active cabinet deployments similar to our success with passive cabinet lines. To that end, our FiberFlex cabinet line addresses the shift of electronics from the central office closer to the end user. Additionally, our recently announced StreetSmart ReadyConnect terminal addresses key operator needs such as space constraints, ease of installation, and long-term reliability. We've also observed that many operators are initiating new multi-year projects. We view this dynamic as a strong, positive signal as it demonstrates a level of demand and commitment independent of government funding and reflects the success of our ongoing efforts to strengthen customer relationships and consistently deliver exceptional customer service. To ensure we are able to address this trend, we continue to work with our customers to establish programs that provide better mutual visibility going forward and ensure we're well positioned to meet our customers' needs. Turning to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment or BEAD program, we continue to expect that it will contribute more meaningfully to revenue starting in fiscal 2026. While we acknowledge near-term uncertainties due to the change in U.S. administration and associated delays, we are pleased with the program's initial progress and remain optimistic about its long-term potential. Specifically, the NTIA has approved the final proposals for Louisiana, Nevada, and Delaware. Moreover, the majority of these awards went to local fiber providers. In the near term, we expect the improved outlook driven by the ongoing reduction in inventory coupled with the shift to the second phase of the Enhanced Alternative Connect American Cost Model, or EACAM, program to serve as the growth catalyst for fiscal 2025. I'd also like to address the subject of the possible introduction of tariffs on Mexican goods. Our Mexican and U.S. manufacturing sites were strategically designed to provide redundancy, cost optimization, and dual sourcing capabilities. In addition, our product lines are BABA compliant, which provides the option for a build America, buy American alternative. While we cannot eliminate the potential cost increases of this tariff, our long-term experience managing past tariff impacts enables us to respond quickly and to mitigate any potential cost increases wherever possible. Additionally, our Asian sourcing program has been in place for over a decade, supported by a strong network of proven suppliers, who have consistently partnered with us to optimize our quality and who have been expanding their manufacturing footprints in non-Chinese locations. The tariffs imposed on Chinese goods that went into effect on February 4, 2025, adds to the existing tariffs that have been placed upon Chinese products entering the U.S. over the recent years. Given the fluid and uncertain nature of the situation, our priority remains maintaining the strong partnerships and relationships built with our suppliers and customers and optimizing this supply chain to reduce the impact whenever possible. I'd now like to pass the call over to our CFO, Dan Herzog, who will provide an overview of our financial results for the fiscal quarter 2025, as well as to share our outlook.