Helen of Troy Limited

Greetings and welcome to the Helen of Troy fourth quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are 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. Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference call over to Anne Rakunis, Director of External Communications. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Helen of Troy's fourth quarter fiscal 26 earnings conference call. The agenda for the call this morning is as follows. I will begin with a brief discussion of forward-looking statements. Shada Zell, our CEO, will then share his thoughts and areas of focus. And Brian Grass, our CFO, will provide an overview of our financial performance in the fourth quarter and fiscal year and outline our expectations for the full year fiscal 27. Following our prepared remarks, we will open up the call for Q&A. This conference call may contain certain forward-looking statements that are based on management's current expectations with respect to future events or financial performance. Generally, the words anticipates, believes, expects, and other similar words are words identifying forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause anticipated results different materially from the actual results. This conference call may also include information that may be considered non-GAAP financial information. These non-GAAP measures are not an alternative to GAAP financial information and may be calculated differently than the non-GAAP financial information disclosed by other parties. The company cautions listeners not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or non-GAAP information. Before I turn the call over to Scott, I would like to inform all interested parties that a copy of today's earnings release can be found on the investor relations sections of our website by scrolling to the bottom of the homepage. The earnings release contains tables that reconcile non-GAAP financial measures to their corresponding GAAP-based measures. We've also posted an investor presentation to our website, which contains additional information and perspective on our results and outlook. And with that, I will now turn the conference call over to Scott.

Thank you, Anne. Good morning, everyone. It's great to be with you as we close FY26 and I can begin to outline a look to our future. We finished quarter four with a sharp focus on execution. We're determined to be a better company on the road to being a bigger company. We're going to do this through ruthless focus and discipline execution. Focus, discipline, and execution best characterize our exit out of FY26 and quarter four. Net sales exceeded expectations and adjusted EPS was in line. Margins reflect Our strategic investment as we make deliberate choices to invest in our brands and our people position our organization for the future. This progress caps a dynamic year, one in which we took action to address both internal and external challenges by implementing organizational changes necessary to move closer to the consumer, prioritize brand health, and win in the marketplace. Internal ownership is driving our reset. We're committed to operating Helen LaTroy more effectively by removing complexity, editing our priorities, and amplifying our actions for impact. Operating rigor in supply chain and demand planning resulted in year-over-year inventory levels that were essentially flat, even as we absorbed significant higher tariffs in our inventory. Tariff mitigation was paramount, utilizing supplier diversification, SKU streamlining, and pricing actions to protect our margins. debt reduction continues to be a priority, driven by strong free cash flow and a successful post-quarter divestment of our South Haven, Mississippi distribution facility. We drove operational clarity by moving decisions closer to the consumer, empowering brand-level ownership, and enabling our teams to move with the speed of the consumer. As I have stated, our current situation was not created overnight, and our recovery will not be instantaneous. However, we're taking measured approach to building our future. Before we or I discuss our fiscal 27 plans, I want to be direct about the market we are navigating. We've made progress, but we're in tune with the macro environment. Overall sales trends reflect the volatile market. While our home and outdoor business held steady, our beauty and wellness business felt the pressure. The flu season didn't really happen. Respiratory and fever rates stayed well below average. which meant that fewer shoppers need to restock our wellness products. Retail inventory is finally stabilizing. Most retailers are back to healthy stock levels and are working through any residual pockets of excess. We can't control the macro challenges, but we will be intentional in our actions in service of brand and consumer. We are winning where it counts. Consumers are being selective on where they spend, but brands that deliver innovative products that make consumers' lives better through style, utility, and personalization will continue to win in the marketplace. Our innovation is landing. We see sales trends improving as we launch new products and offer real solutions. And we're taking market share. Even in this environment, brands like Vicks, Braun, OXO, Osprey, Olive & June are standing out as leaders. The challenges we navigated in fiscal 26 were a catalyst for change. providing the necessary clarity of where we must invest and where we must simplify. To achieve this, we're executing a multi-year roadmap, a three-phase evolution from stabilization to a portfolio of powerhouse brands. Fiscal 27 begins with phase one. This is about restoring brand momentum, driving our growing brands faster, and rebuilding top-line momentum for our declining scale brands. We will take the abstract concept of focusing on the consumer to action, making the consumer-centered offense real in FY27. And we'll do that through the following critical actions. Powering our portfolio. This is about editing and amplifying our brand building efforts by using a framework to identify the highest return brand investment opportunities. Two, futurist capabilities. We have to skate to where the puck will be by investing in capabilities to leverage our consumer insights to inform a trend-forward innovation roadmap. Three, strategic investment remains a priority as we put capital behind innovation and brands and people. Four, operationalizing consumer-centered decision-making by placing talent and decisions closer to the consumer and marketplace for speed and execution. Five, modernizing operations is a parallel priority, strengthening our digital foundation, building a baseline in AI, Elevating our e-commerce presence and upgrading our advanced planning systems to drive greater supply chain visibility and responsiveness. And then six, platform level improvements to our operating engine will continue as we stabilize the enterprise for long-term growth. Three pillars will fortify our plan. Our first pillar, consumer-first innovation. This is centered on accelerating product development and modernizing our global reach through high-impact social and digital storytelling. that resonates across our global footprint. In home and outdoor, we're expanding brand reach by entering product lines where our brands are resonating with consumers and have a clear right to win. At Hydroflask, in response to strong consumer demand for a wider variety of use cases, we extended our successful MicroHydro franchise with two additional sizes. We also recently launched a new carry-out soft coolers and totes, redesigned for improved comfort, performance, and longevity. Hydroflask legacy continues to be recognized by the industry with the wide mouth awarded Gear Junkies overall pick for best insulated water bottle of 2026. OXO is expanding in adjacent categories in food storage and feeding in second half of the year, bringing OXO's award-winning performance and ease of use in high growth areas where we see significant opportunity. OXO's successful rapid brewer continues to achieve accolades. winning Best New Product Release in 2025 during the 17th Annual Sprungy Awards, which is considered the Oscars of coffee, among other recognition we've received. And Osprey continues to augment its technical pack offerings, providing outdoor enthusiasts with new pack solutions that excel in hiking, backpacking, and travel environments. In beauty and wellness, innovation remains a primary driver for brand building and consumer relevance. Our new Revlon Versa Styler launched exclusively in Walmart in the first quarter with really early consumer demand exceeding expectation. Priced below $100, this is an all-in-one tool that delivers meaningful, time-saving innovation by taking hair from wet to damp to dry and refreshed without the need for multiple attachments. CurlSmith expanded its portfolio with the new CurlFit Reviving Mist, a unique alternative to a traditional dry shampoo. while Olive & June introduced new press-ons with hand-painted charms and fresh spring colors. I am so proud to share that beauty brands continue to receive top industry recognition, including multiple Glamour 2026 Best of Beauty Awards for Olive & June, Revlon, and Dry Bar. Fix & Pure have several new introductions planned in the coming months as we continue to leverage these trusted brands to deepen our consumer relevance. And international, strategic global expansion is a critical priority. We're accelerating our global reach as a key investment in our operating model to lay the groundwork for durable and long-term growth. For online engagement, we're sharpening our execution. Social commerce is an increasingly important connection point for our consumer. We will advance our work across platforms like TikTok Shop and Metashop to meet our consumers where they are. And digital experience. is receiving significantly more rigor to ensure our online presence matches our premium nature of our brands. Our second pillar, commercial and operational excellence, prioritizing critical capabilities to grow for strategic retail partners. We're strengthening digital marketplace capabilities, including catalog and product page management and third-party seller mitigation. Our U.S. club business development efforts are focused on building long-term multi-brand partnerships, We're modernizing our technology and systems by prioritizing core platform upgrades, data and analytics, automation, and AI-enabled solutions. We're investing in advanced planning capabilities to improve forecast accuracy and optimize inventory performance. And we're continuing to make targeted investments in Southeast Asia to strengthen our dual sourcing capabilities. Our final pillar, people and culture, is re-energizing our organization and ensuring we have the right capabilities to win. Like culture relaunch is establishing a brand-led model, reengaging our current teams as we transition toward a new era of ownership, mindset, and impactful execution. Talent infusion is a parallel priority where thoughtfully investing in high potential talent internally and attracting new talent externally to provide fresh ideas and modern brand building skills to drive our future. AI workflow evolution is augmenting our team's ingenuity. We're investing in hands-on training to automate routine tasks, allowing our people to focus on creative storytelling and innovation that wins with the consumer. Fiscal 27 will be a pivotal year of restoration if we align our organizational architecture and pivot back towards growth. Our outlook reflects our focus on restoring top-line performance while operating with excellence across our enterprise. Our net sales outlook reflects growth in outdoor as we work to stabilize beauty and wellness. Adjusted EPS and profitability targets are grounded in disciplined investment framework, allocating capital to high ROI initiatives that strengthen long-term brand health. Free cash flow generation remains a priority, supported by ongoing work to drive working capital efficiencies and continued debt reduction. Phase two. Phase two is about concentrating and catalyzing during year two and year three. We're prioritizing high velocity scale potential brands to ensure capital and resources behind the categories and regions where we have the biggest right to win. Active portfolio management is designed to ensure capital is deployed where it generates the highest return. But to that end, portfolio optimization is an ongoing process as we prioritize capital and resources toward high growth categories where we have the greatest right to be successful. A fortified shared service platform empowers our brand teams to spend 100% of their time on what's visible against product, storytelling, and consumer experience. Phase three is about building and scaling during year four and five. We plan to shift our full weight behind a concentrated portfolio of leadership brands that demonstrate a clear positioning and shared capabilities, expanding on sourcing, governance, international reach to create a durable growth and sustainable value creation model. We plan to pursue strategic portfolio expansion through high impact acquisitions of both brands and specialized capabilities that leverage our enterprise scale. We plan to prioritize expansion into high growth adjacencies as we utilize our platform to become a global leader in consumer first innovation. We plan to support billion dollar plan category leadership goals by deeper organizational alignment, internal engagement sessions, scheduled for later this spring. More detailed long-term initiatives and our specific multi-year roadmap will be shared later this calendar year. To bring it all together, we believe fiscal 27 marks a turning point for Helen & Troy. As we enter our first year goal of restoring our competitive edge, we want to be a better company on the road to being a bigger company. We're methodically deploying digital and data-driven capabilities that bring us closer to the consumer and accelerate our speed to market. Grounded in our do fewer things better mantra, I am confident our teams are aligned to deliver. High velocity execution required to restore long-term growth, and we will win. Now I want to pass it over to Brian to walk you through our results and outlook in more detail.