Carter's, Inc.

Welcome to Carter's Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Earnings Conference Call. On the call are Sharon Price-John, Chief Executive Officer and President, Richard Westenberger, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Allison Peterson, Chief Retail and Digital Officer, and TC Robillard, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please note that today's call is being recorded. I'll now turn the call over to TC Robillard.

Thank you. Good morning, everyone. We issued our second quarter 2026 earnings release earlier today. The release and presentation materials for today's call are available on our investor relations website at ir.carters.com. Note that statements on today's call about items such as the company's expectations and plans are forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to vary from those contained in the forward-looking statements, Please see our most recent SEC filings as well as the earnings release and presentation materials posted on our website. In these materials, you will also find reconciliations of various non-GAAP financial measurements referenced during this call. After today's prepared remarks, we will take questions as time allows. I will now turn the call over to Sharon.

Thank you, TC. Good morning, everyone, and welcome. I'm delighted to be here with you for my first earnings call with Carter's. The team did a great job in the second quarter, delivering solid results against the backdrop of a complex macroeconomic environment. Richard and Allison will walk you through our performance in more detail, but at a high level, we exceeded our second quarter outlook. Net sales grew for the third consecutive quarter, up 5% over prior year, and adjusted operating profit increased 54%. We continued our positive momentum in U.S. retail, delivering comparable sales growth of 5%. And we continued to add new consumers, including the important Gen Z demographics, which grew mid-teens in the quarter. Having spent essentially my entire career in the children's market, I have enormous respect for Carter's. I want to thank the team and the board, not only for the opportunity to lead this historic company to new heights, before the foundational work that's been done, including research, strategic evaluations, and key transformational initiatives. While there is still more to be done as we move forward, this has allowed me to hit the ground running. In fact, over the past six weeks, I've been digging into the business and getting to know the key leaders, and it's strengthened my conviction about what initially attracted me to this role. mainly that Carter's is a well-established, diversified company with a solid foundation for expansion. And in my view, we have significant opportunities that can contribute to generating consistent, profitable growth. These opportunities include a number of powerful assets that I believe we can further leverage to continue to elevate the business as well as expand the brand promise and footprint, which in turn should create value and generate consistent long-term shareholder returns. These include iconic brands, great consumers, the leading market share position, a multi-channel business model, and a passionate, driven organization. Touching on each of these briefly, first, we have a number of the strongest brands in our space. Our namesake Carter's brand, as well as Oshkosh, has high awareness Consumer Trust, and a deep heritage that's been woven into the fabric of families' lives for generations. We also have additions to our brand family that are filling other consumer needs, such as Little Planet, which focuses on natural, sustainable fabrics. Second, we have great consumers. We hold a unique position in their lives, sitting at the intersection of caregivers and children. while being present for every single moment through their early years. Being able to serve both moms and kids is a special responsibility and we do not take that earned trust lightly. When we can deliver products and exceptional experiences that improve their lives, we create an emotional bond between our brands and our consumers. Third, we're the market share leader in our industry. including the most important segment, baby. Essentially from their very first day, we begin our all important journey with our families that often lasts a lifetime, even evolving into a multi-generational relationship when grandparents become gift givers. Fourth, our multi-channel business model has diverse revenue streams including an emerging global footprint, multiple brand and product segments, as well as extraordinary distribution breadth. Families can buy our products at over 20,000 global points of presence that span multiple consumer tiers from department stores to mass stores to our own omnichannel solution consisting of our high-touch specialty retail stores and carters.com. Being available where, when and how our consumers want to shop is an important competitive advantage. And finally, we have a lot of talented people located around the world at Carter's, from our headquarters to our distribution centers to our associates in the field. And we have a culture that's passionate about our brand and our consumers. Equally as important, there is a general recognition and willingness internally of the need to evolve as an organization. So we can meet our consumers where they are today, as well as adapt when their needs change. As you can see, this is a powerful confluence of assets. And as I mentioned earlier, this is what attracted me to Carter's, and it's what gives me so much confidence in our future. At its simplest level, our objective is to deliver consistent, profitable growth. And while early, we intend to start with the following tenets. We will become a company that is consumer-centric and data-driven, recognizing that we have multiple consumers, from the caregiver to the gift giver and the child. This will be the heart of everything we do, from designing products to providing engaging, memorable shopping experiences to creating impactful marketing, all aimed at building relationships and expanding the total lifetime value. We will be brand building, leveraging our assets in a manner designed to monetize the enormous equity, name recognition, and important trust of our portfolio, especially for our namesake brand, Carter's. Through proper brand building, we can strengthen our relationship with consumers, increase our market share, optimize our total addressable market, and improve our profitability. To do this, we will need to consistently evolve to meet the needs of the marketplace as change is happening even faster. Given we are the market leader, it is fitting that we also lead change within our industry. In closing, it's an honor to be leading Carter's through this next chapter of its storied history. I believe we have significant opportunities to unlock value, drive profitable growth, Deliver top-tier shareholder values, and I look forward to getting to know each of you over the coming months. With that, I'll turn the call over to Richard.