Krispy Kreme, Inc.

Hello everyone, and thank you for standing by. My name is Paige, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Krispy Kreme second quarter 2026 earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the company's prepared remarks, they will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, press star one to raise your hand. I would now like to turn the call over to Steve West, Krispy Kreme Vice President of Investor Relations. Steve, please go ahead.

Good morning everyone and welcome to Krispy Kreme's second quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me are President and Chief Executive Officer Josh Charlesworth and Chief Financial Officer Raphael Duvivier. The second quarter earnings release and accompanying presentation are available on our investor relations website at investors.krispykreme.com. This call will also be available on our website and contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, including those of expectations, future events, or financial performance, are based on current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from those forward-looking statements due to factors described in the cautionary statements in our earnings release, annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and in other SEC filings we make from time to time. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement except as may be required by law. Additionally, we will reference certain non-GAAP financial measures. Information about these non-GAAP measures and reconciliations to the closest comparable GAAP measures is available in our earnings release. Any reference to percentage growth when discussing second quarter results is a comparison to the second quarter of 2025 unless otherwise indicated. I will now turn the call over to Josh.

Thank you, Steve, and good morning, everyone. Second quarter highlighted continued significant progress on our turnaround to strengthen the balance sheet, reduce leverage, and drive sustainable, profitable growth. Our year-to-date results demonstrate the success of the actions we are taking to grow the business and improve profitability. We remain confident in our ability to deliver our 2026 financial targets and are maintaining our previously issued guidance. Krispy Kreme remains a compelling global growth story, supported by increasing consumer demand for our iconic fresh donuts, even in a dynamic macro environment. Unlocking that demand remains our priority, and we are doing so through our two largest opportunities, profitable US expansion and capital-like international franchise growth. In the second quarter, demand for our fresh, iconic donuts across the US and international markets drove system-wide sales growth of 2.6%, excluding the impact of the now-ended McDonald's USA partnership from last year. Overall, our goal remains to deliver system-wide sales of more than $2 billion in 2026. Adjusted EBITDA margin significantly increased by 340 basis points as our focus on optimizing operations and logistics along with driving more profitable sales per door in fresh delivery is translating into stronger financial performance. Now let's move to the four pillars of our turnaround plan and the progress we are making on each. One, re-franchising. Two, improving returns on capital. Three, expanding margins. And four, driving sustainable, profitable US growth. Our first pillar, re-franchising, enables us to drive more profitable system-wide sales growth while accelerating new shop development through a capital-like model. So far this year, we have completed two transactions that advanced this strategy in Japan and the Western US, both of which contributed to a reduction in net debt. Last year, approximately 25% of system-wide sales were generated by franchisees. Today, and other franchisees account for 42% of system-wide sales. Through additional re-franchising efforts, our goal remains to reach approximately 50% of system-wide sales generated by franchisees beginning next year. As we evaluate additional re-franchising opportunities, we remain focused on identifying the right partners both in international markets and the US to maximize value and position our brand for long-term growth. The second pillar of our turnaround is improving returns on capital. Across the business, we are significantly reducing capital intensity and improving our utilization of existing assets, while our franchisees invest to support brand growth. As a result, we reduced our capex in the first half of the year by 70% compared to last year. which will contribute to achieving positive free cash flow in 2026. We are pleased to have entered into agreements for three new international franchise markets this year, including the Netherlands, Estonia and Mauritius, achieving our goal of three to four new markets in 2026. The continued strength of the Krispy Kreme brand is reflected in the interests we see from prospective franchise partners around the world. and we remain focused on pursuing additional opportunities to expand our global footprint through our Capital Light franchise model. Year to date, we have opened 59 new shops driven by growth in Japan, Brazil, South Korea and the Middle East. All but two of these shops were opened by franchisees and we remain on track to achieve our goal of opening at least 100 shops in 2026. While our international development pipeline remains an important driver of capital-like growth, we are also focused on U.S. growth by leveraging existing manufacturing capacity to expand fresh delivery. Our current network utilization is only about 25%, demonstrating the opportunity to expand to more locations without incremental capacity investment. Walmart and Target, along with other strategic partners, are still significantly underpenetrated, and we can support additional growth through the same facilities that currently deliver to more than 7,600 doors nationwide. The third pillar of our turnaround is expanding margins. We are simplifying the business and reducing costs across the P&L, resulting in significant margin improvement versus last year, driven by the US segment. In the US, We are making donuts more efficiently to enhance production planning, labor optimization, and streamline hub operations, all leading to a meaningful reduction in labor spend. We continue to increase delivery efficiency through improved route management, demand planning, and the optimization of production and delivery schedules. Now that we have successfully outsourced our US logistics, we have greater cost predictability and reduced operational risk, enabling our teams to focus on what they do best, making fresh donuts. After completing a successful test of a new AI-enabled platform for fresh delivery demand planning, we are now rolling it out across our company network. Based on the preliminary results, we expect this advanced technology solution will reduce out of stocks on the shelf while also minimizing returns. The fourth pillar of our turnaround is sustainable, profitable growth in the U.S. across our donut shops, digital channels, and fresh delivery partners. Our donut shops are the largest driver of sustainable, profitable growth in the U.S. The strength of our donut shops has been driven by our recently expanded core menu, led by our iconic Original Glazed Donut, supported by five seasonal donut collections each year. and a steady cadence of innovative limited time offerings. Each plays a key role, but it's the combination that makes them so successful. Our core menu provides consistency and value. Our seasonal collections deliver new flavors and variety, and our LTOs create excitement and cultural relevance. Together, they keep the brand fresh and engaging for consumers, stimulate curiosity and drive sustained demand. We further support demand through targeted marketing and promotional programs that reinforce value and encourage larger purchases. Promotions such as our discounted second dozen offer provide value for consumers while driving donut sales and growth in average ticket size. Sales through our growing digital channel have grown 8% year over year and now represent approximately 22% of total US retail sales. This is driven by improvements in our proprietary digital platforms, including easier payment options and the growth of our loyalty program. This now includes nearly 18 million members in the US who visit typically 30% more frequently than non-loyalty members. In fresh delivery, we know that when our donuts are available in the right places and in the right quantities with strategic partners, we can generate higher average weekly sales and Profitability. During the second quarter, we added more than 200 doors with strategic partners such as Walmart, Target, Kroger and Sounds Club. A key component of our continued success in increasing average weekly sales per door is strengthening our relationships with these key strategic partners. Target is a great example of how deeper collaboration can unlock additional growth opportunities and create value for both organizations. We are expanding our relationship with Target through enhanced merchandising and checkout placement. And beginning in September, Krispy Kreme products will be available for purchase on Target.com. We believe this expanded relationship reflects the confidence leading retailers have in the strength of our brand and creates additional opportunities to increase sales and expand our fresh delivery network. Much of our progress in fresh delivery has been led by Souk Nicholas, who we recently announced as our Chief Commercial Officer. Her primary focus is to accelerate growth, expand key partnerships, strengthen customer relationships, and build world-class commercial capabilities across markets. Additionally, we continue to stay closely attuned to evolving consumer trends, including the use of GLP-1 and other weight loss medications. Last quarter, I discussed the conclusion from our research, which found Krispy Kreme consumers who use these medications are just as likely as non-users to purchase sweet treats for holidays and special occasions. With our differentiated fresh donuts, typically purchased two to three times per year, primarily for sharing occasions, we believe Krispy Kreme is well positioned in this context. While we continue to monitor this trend, Among other macro factors, we remain focused on expanding the ways consumers experience and share Krispy Kreme, including through our high-performing minis category. Featuring donut minis, donut dots, and mini crullers, this category offers consumers compelling value and greater variety. Overall, we are pleased with the continued progress on our turnaround, extending the momentum that began late last year. We believe the actions we have taken are positioning Krispy Kreme for sustainable, profitable growth for the long term and delivering the results our turnaround plan was designed to achieve. Improved financial flexibility, reduced capital intensity, expanded margins through greater operational efficiency, and improved sustainable, profitable U.S. growth. With that, Raphael will now review our second quarter financials.

Thank you, Josh. I'm pleased with another quarter of improvements in our financial performance driven by the execution of our turnaround plan. We remain focused on sustainable, profitable growth through quality sales and effective cost management across the P&L. We continue to leverage the balance sheet to increase adjusted EBITDA and increase our profitability by expanding our adjusted EBITDA margin. Net revenue was $331 million in the second quarter, down 13% reflecting our planned re-franchising of the Western U.S. and Japan. Excluding re-franchising, we were essentially flat on our organic revenue basis. In fact, system-wide sales were $497 million, up 2.6% in constant currency when excluding the impact from McDonald's USA in their prior year period. This reflects the strength of Krispy Kreme brands around the world. Adjusted EBITDA of $28.8 million increased 43%, driven by productivity initiatives across our network and cost controls at the corporate level. This represents the fourth consecutive quarter of adjusted EBITDA growth and an acceleration versus our first quarter of adjusted EBITDA growth of 38%. During the quarter, our consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin improved 340 basis points to 8.7% through our intense focus on driving sustainable, profitable growth. In our U.S. segment, organic revenue increased 0.1% driven by the strategic closure of underperforming fresh delivery doors. Excluding the McDonald's impact from last year, U.S. organic revenue was up 4.4%, driven In fresh delivery, we have taken disciplined actions to improve the productivity of our doors. Our average weekly sales per door in the U.S., now inclusive of both company and franchise operated doors, were approximately $697, an increase of 33% year-over-year. I Just Debuted Off for the U.S. segment increased 38% to $13.8 million, reflecting continued traction from our turnaround plan, more than offsetting the impact of our re-franchising efforts. We benefited from cost control initiatives and increased efficiencies, including outsourcing our U.S. logistic network, savings in SG&A, and eliminating costs related to the now-ended McDonald's USA partnership. Those initiatives drove an adjusted EBITDA margin increase of about 370 basis points to 8%. In our international segment, organic revenue decreased 5.1%, due mostly to declines in UK and Australia, partially offset by growth in Canada. Adjusted EBITDA of $14.2 million declined 22% year-over-year, driven by the re-franchising of Japan. Additionally, our adjusted EBITDA margin for international business was 12.1%, which was 160 basis point lower year over year due mostly to a changing mix from the Japan re-franchising. In our market development segment, organic revenue increased 14.4%, driven by growth in royalty revenues from Middle East, Japan, and Brazil. Adjusted EBITDA increased 117% to $19.4 million due to re-franchising of the Western U.S. and Japan and increased royalty revenue. adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 47.3% driven by higher domestic versus international revenue mix associated with re-franchising. Our adjusted earnings per share improved 12 cents year over year, about 2 cents of which was due to our re-franchising deals. Moving to our balance sheet, we continued to deleverage and ended the quarter with a net leverage ratio of 5.4 times our trading four quarters of adjusted EBITDA. Our leverage ratio has improved by 1.3 turns versus our reported ratio of 6.7 times at the end of 2025 and more than two turns since last year's second quarter. We are pleased with the progress but continue to focus on reducing our leverage ratio to additional net debt reduction and adjusted EBITDA growth. Additionally, our free cash flow improved by more than $100 million in the first half of 2026 as compared to the first half of last year, driven by focus on reducing our capital intensity. CapEx year-to-date of $16.1 million decreased 70% versus the first half of 2025. We continue to focus our invested capital on repairs and maintenance of existing infrastructure, which is in line with our asset-light business model, and we believe we contribute meaningfully to free cash flow generation during that year. Before providing our guidance update, I wanted to discuss our long-term re-franchising philosophy. We believe our attractive franchise margins advance our capital-light growth strategy. As Josh mentioned, we added three international franchise markets this year, and we are working to add more. We also continue discussions to re-franchise additional markets to trusted partners to grow our brand around the world. We believe this will lead to higher margins, reduce capex, and generate more free cash flow than owning the markets ourselves. While some re-franchise deals can be diluted to the income statement, we believe it important to view them from a discounted cash flow perspective. are re-franchising deals intended to be accreted to free cash flow over time by increasing high margin royalty stream and reducing capex, which we believe will increase long-term sharehold value. Moving to our financial targets, I'm pleased to say we're maintaining our previously stated four-year guidance metrics as laid out in our earnings release. Some key metrics include net revenue of $1.25 to $1.35 billion, System-wide sales growth of 2% to 4% in constant currency. Adjusted debita of $140 to $150 million. Capital expenditures of $50 to $60 million. Given the dynamic changes over the last four quarters, I want to provide some additional color on the rest of the year. The fourth quarter is typically stronger due to seasonality, and thus we expect to see higher growth and margins in the fourth quarter than in the third quarter. Additionally, as a reminder, in the third quarter of 2025, we reported a $9.3 million cyber-related insurance gain. Adjusted behind the third quarter of 2025 would have been $31.3 million excluding this gain. With that, I will now turn it over to Josh for his closing remarks.

We are pleased to have delivered another consecutive quarter of significant progress on our turnaround to strengthen the balance sheet, reduce leverage, and drive sustainable, profitable growth. We're confident in the foundation we are building for Krispy Kreme's next era of growth and believe our results continue to demonstrate that we are well on our way. Operator, you may now open the lineup for Q&A.

We will now begin the question and answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Brian Harbor with Morgan Stanley. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thanks. Good morning, guys. Just, you know, when I when I think about sort of EBITDA margins, I mean, you don't have a longer term target out there right now, but like you've obviously completed. Quite a bit here. On the cost side, you've sort of completed the outsourcing of delivery. I mean, where do you see this going over time or as we think about kind of upside into next year and beyond? What will be the key margin drivers and where do you see that going?

Hey, Brian, how are you? This is Raphael. Look, we're happy with the turnaround plan. I think, as you said, look, this is the fourth quarter. We're seeing the results. It's more important than the first quarter where we're seeing the two deals that we already did, Japan and the Western U.S. fold to the P&L, right? So you're seeing that impact, and you see the margin coming up, right? So as we complete more deals and we continue to move forward, I'll just add, as you mentioned, the outsourcing of logistics in the US. Yes, we've completed that transition, but

Most of the benefits of our logistics optimization have not really yet come through to the P&L. We're seeing greater cost certainty, improved service labels, and efficiencies. These are, at the moment, more than offsetting any inflation on gas prices, for example. So we expect to see, over time, the benefits to margin of that logistics outsourcing as well.

Okay. Which of the... Which of the retailers are performing best for you right now? Do you continue to still have some net closures? Are there places that you're still rationalizing? It seems like Walmart and Target are more of the focus for growth. Could you talk more about what's working best there? Should that continue to drive that increase in average weekly sales?

We're working closely with our strategic partners. You mentioned Walmart, Target, there are others, Kroger, Publix. Just to mention a couple more, Costco, Sam's Club as well in the Club channel. Very promising. We work closely with those both to expand distribution where the conditions are right, where we can make sure we have sustainable, profitable sales. That's how we made the interventions that we made last year. but also where we already are that we're improving in store merchandising, placement of the product. And that's why we've not only increased the number of doors where we distribute so far this year in the US by about 450 doors, but we've also increased the average weekly sales in our whole network by over 30% compared to a year ago. So to your overall question, yes, we're very pleased with the fresh delivery It was important to make interventions on it last year and we continue to work with those partners to improve the whole network. Most recently even adding .com availability with the likes of Kroger.com, Walmart.com and soon Target.com.

David Palmer, Evercore ISI

Are there any ramp costs or any call-outs this quarter that you would point out? You talked about some of the expansion you're doing with certain retailers, so maybe there's something there that we should be thinking about and modeling into the second half. Do you have a quick follow-up?

Sure. I'll start with the growth, and I'll hand over to Raphael to talk about the margins. Two are both important. They go hand-in-hand. You're right, we saw strong underlying growth in the second quarter in the U.S. If you exclude the McDonald's business that we exited from last year, the organic growth was up 4.4% in the second quarter. We're seeing popularity both with our popular and affordable original glazed donuts, especially these second dozen promotions that are driving additional volume and tickets. but also Adonat Innovations. As I described earlier, this cadence of limited time offerings backed up by a seasonal program is generating a lot of engagement with the brand. So yeah, it's good to see the underlying growth coming through, but also the profit, Raphael.

Yeah. Hey, David. Look, on the U.S. margin, we are pleased with the results in the quarter, right? If I look at the margin, we almost double the U.S. margin compared to last quarter. You have to remember as well that Q3 and Q4, the second half, is stronger for us. So you should see higher margins as we get to the balance of the year.

That's great. And, you know, I guess international sales, anything to point out, you know, look like organic sales were maybe a little lighter. Any trends you want to call out there or actions that you're taking in your key international markets? And I'll pass it on.

Yeah, so Locote International, we continue to see strong growth in Canada, even in places like Japan. We're also just going back because we recently refranchised, but they're growing, right? So it's not hitting that segment anymore, but they opened five shops. already this quarter. We did see some decline in our company-owned U.K. market. It's mostly from dormers and rationalization that we did last year, plus the extreme hot weather, which backed the gold sales and profits. But we feel confident on the team's turnaround plan as we head to the second half of the year.

Thanks, guys.

Your next question comes from the line of Sarah Senator with Bank of America. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Ashling on for Sarah. Good morning, guys. I was just wondering if you could give a little more color on what is happening in the UK and Australia. It sounds like those markets are still kind of weighing on international. So I'm curious whether the pressure is mostly, you know, demand or brand relevance. When you have markets that are underperforming, does that make re-franchising more attractive because a local partner may be better positioned to fix them or more challenging because it weighs on valuations?

Hey, Aslan, this is Raphael. Thanks for the question. As I was just saying, we did see some decline in the UK on the revenue side. There's also a portfolio mix, just as you look at the margin, that you have to think about it. But yeah, in the UK, we have door personalization plus extreme hot weather. I'm confident about the second half. I think your question on the EU is a good one. and look, we're committed to finding the right partners, right? We believe there's a lot of opportunity for us in both Australia and UK. We also said we want to re-franchise all the markets outside of the US. We're also working, as we said last quarter, on Canada and make sure that we're finding the right partners that can bring capital for us to grow and continue to develop all the markets.

Great. Thank you for the color. I'll pass it back.

Your next question comes from the line of Rahul Krathapalli with JP Morgan. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi, good morning. This is Christopher for Rahul. I just wanted to ask on the retail partners after the 450 you've added this year, but where do you see current DFD penetration across the retailers today versus where you wanted to land over the long term? And if you could share like the current churn indoors. and how this will change going forward as you focus on improving profitability.

Yeah, one of the great things about the strategic partners that we are growing with is that we are, you're right, relatively under-penetrated. Typically around about 30% of their network is where we're currently present. And because we're working so closely with them and People are looking for our donuts in places where they want them more conveniently. Our customers want us to expand more. What we've learned is growth is great, but it needs to be sustainable, profitable growth as well. And so we've been very focused on making sure that the deliveries are locally made. That way we ensure great quality. We also make sure that the delivery routes are efficient and and Profitable. So we're growing thoughtfully with those customers where those conditions are right, where the traffic is high in the store, where we can secure really good in-store displays or indeed be on their online platforms. And that's an ongoing journey. We added 450 already this year on top of about 7,500 that we had at the beginning of the year. We're pleased with the momentum that we're seeing with that expansion. A momentum which always also ensures profitable growth is key, and that's how we see it going forward.

And then just to follow up on competition, where do you see Krispy Kreme positioning themselves amongst the broader space of desserts and sweets, and how has competition changed?

That's a great question. You know, we make high-quality fresh doughnuts made from scratch with our Krispy Kremers preparing the dough, making and decorating the doughnuts in front of the eyes of the customer. And those same doughnuts we sell in our doughnut shops, we sell online, and we sell through the fresh delivery channel. So I'd say that we're pretty unique in the competitive set. The other thing to remember is it's a relatively infrequent purchase for people. Most people are buying our donuts just two to three times a year for special occasions and sharing. So we think about all the ways we can bring those donuts to people in ways that are a lot more convenient for them, like the fresh delivery expansion we just discussed, or indeed digital, where we see us growing 8% right now with our loyalty membership. already having reached 18 million for a 400 donut shop chain. It's a pretty unique player in the industry. So we worry mostly about making sure our great donuts are high quality and available and convenient to people rather than the competition.

Your next question comes from the line of John Tower with Citibank. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi, this is Gautam Nanda on for John Tower. Thanks for the question. Can you provide some insight to commodity inflation during the quarter and have you begun contracting with suppliers for 2027?

Hey, how are you? This is Raphael again. Look, we said before, and we haven't changed, that we expect low single-digit commodity. Josh also mentioned that we outsource fully logistic, and we expect the benefit of it more than offset any potential fuel prices increase over the year. So we feel good about where we are from a commodity point of view.

Thank you. And just for a follow up, could you provide any color on maybe how your retail doors are performing across maybe higher versus lower in concept codes?

Yeah, sure. You know, our overall focus here at Krispy Kreme is making sure we offer great value to our customers. And we're really fortunate with the popular original glazed donuts. They are also our most affordable donuts, whether bought in singles, but actually usually bought in dozens, and increasingly in double dozens, where we've been providing additional discounts almost every day to our customers to enable them to buy those at an even better value. And we're seeing that drive volumes, drive ticket, and drive sales. Drive Results. And so that's our main focus is making sure that our donuts are available to as many people as possible.

Your next question comes from the line of Daniel Guglielmo with Capital One Securities. Your line is open. Please go ahead.

Hi, everyone. Thank you for taking my questions. Guidance stayed the same this quarter, but the midpoint of adjusted EBITDA represents 3% growth this year on a much stronger capital structure. Can you just highlight why it was so important to bring leverage down before moving on to this next phase of growth for Krispy Kreme?

Hey, Dan. Hi, this is Raphael. Look, good question. You remember as well that we quoted the impact of Japan's WKS on a four-year basis. So when you adjust for that, you're going to end up with a lower base last year. So I think that's already one point. On the question of the leverage, look, we knew the leverage that we had at seven and a half times, call it a year ago. was something we had to work. And we've been working on that because the objective is to continue to do the right deals that not only will help us with leverage, but will fuel our capital growth going forward. As we move to a lower capex, higher EBITDA margin, and leverage global partners across the globe to grow the brand. And that's what we are already doing, by the way, in a lot of places. Like we mentioned last quarter and still the same, this one, we've already seen growth in Brazil, in Spain, Middle East, and as we were saying before as well, on Japan, where we're just re-franchising with our new partner, Unison, and then they're putting the business with growth.

Great, great. I appreciate that caller. And then Longer term with the focus on system-wide sales in the U.S. and internationally, does the existing factory and production footprint across the world support significant growth there over the next few years? Will there be any need for additional capital from franchisees or you all at some point to build that out?

In the U.S., we currently operate at around about 25%. production utilization. So there's plenty of room for growth, and that's why we have focused on partnering with those fresh delivery partners we've already discussed today, or indeed, why we're able to capture the digital e-commerce opportunity. Internationally, utilization isn't as low, but there's also a lot of opportunity for our franchisees to expand. And we've seen already this year in India, Brazil, Middle East, Japan, our franchisees supporting expansion of new shops, 59 already this year. We're on track to get over 100 for the full year. And we also have already announced three new international markets on top of the 42 we already operate in. And we are, when we're bringing those partners on, we're sitting down with them and talking about how we're going to build the brand, support them to build the brand in their markets with development. And so they're pretty excited about the capital returns that they can see themselves from bringing the brand or expanding the brand around the world. So it's definitely a lot of opportunity when you remember that the number one reason why people say they may not yet purchase Krispy Kreme, they just don't have easy access to it. And that applies to the US and around the world.

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Josh for any closing remarks.

Thank you everyone for joining the call. It's important to understand that we're making significant progress on our turnaround. You can hear that as we strengthen the balance sheet. and position ourselves for sustainable, profitable growth. I want to thank all our Krispy Kremers around the world for your passion, dedication and commitment. And we look forward to continuing the momentum throughout 2026 and beyond. Thank you.

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.