Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Natural Grocers Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session, and instructions will be given at that time. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. I'd now like to turn the conference over to Ms. Jessica Thiessen, Vice President, Treasurer for Natural Grocers. Ms. Thiessen, you may begin.

Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us for the Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage third quarter fiscal year 2026 earnings conference call. On the call with me today are Kemper Isely, co-president, and Richard Hallé, chief financial officer. As a reminder, certain information provided during this conference call, including the company's outlook for fiscal 2026, contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including the risks and uncertainties detailed in the company's most recently filed forms 10-Q and 10-K. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements. Our remarks today include references to adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP measure. Please see our earnings release for reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income. Today's earnings release will be available on the company's website, and recording of this call will be available on the website at investors.naturalgrocers.com. Now, I'll turn the call over to Kemper.

Thank you, Jessica, and good afternoon, everyone. During today's call, I will provide an overview of our financial results and highlight key initiatives supporting long-term growth. Rich will then review our third quarter results in greater detail and discuss our fiscal year guidance. We delivered positive daily average comparable store sales growth in the third quarter despite a challenging consumer environment. with comp growth accelerating to 1.2% from 0.5% in the second quarter. We believe third quarter sales trends reflected continued economic uncertainty and sustained focus on value among consumers, consistent with trends observed across the grocery retail sector. In the third quarter, we continued to see strong membership gains in our NPower Rewards program. Net sales penetration increased two percentage points from the prior year period to 84%. Highlighting our customers' appreciation for the program's value and benefits. Sales engagement with NPower members also outperformed in key metrics, generating growth in sales, traffic, and basket size during the quarter. Empower remains an effective tool for optimizing promotions, strengthening customer engagement, and building loyalty. As the value leader in natural and organic grocery retail, we continue to emphasize our always affordable pricing through initiatives such as our even more affordable campaign, which features rotating everyday staples including our natural grocers brand products. We believe growing consumer prioritization of health and wellness remains a durable trend and creates a meaningful long-term growth opportunity. By pairing rigorous product standards with our always affordable pricing strategy, we deliver exceptional value, strengthen customer loyalty, and reinforce our competitive differentiation. Our unit growth strategy by Zephyr. In July, we opened two new stores and expect to open one additional new store later in the fourth quarter. All six new store openings this year, and the two from last year for that matter, rank among our strongest opening day sales performances, a testament to the effectiveness of our marketing efforts. Thank you for joining us today. Extending delivery of access across our entire store base with in-store pricing on delivery orders made through DoorDash. Later this month, we will integrate our NPower Rewards program into DoorDash and further enhance online shopping through the Natural Grocers website, creating additional opportunities to serve customers, however they choose to shop. In the coming months, we will phase in curbside pickup across all stores. We continue to partner with Instacart to offer delivery service and pickup at select stores. We believe these enhancements to our e-commerce offering will expand customer access to natural grocers, driving incremental transactions from existing customers and attracting new shoppers While we're still in the initial phase of this new partnership, we view these initiatives as an important step in supporting long-term sales growth and enhancing operating leverage while remaining committed to delivering the differentiated in-store experience that defines our brand. Finally, I want to thank our Good For You crew for their continued dedication to serving our customers. Their commitment to delivering exceptional service is a cornerstone of our differentiated model and one of the key reasons customers choose natural grocers. Now, I will turn our call over to Rich to discuss our financial results in greater detail and fiscal 2026 guidance.