WildBrain Ltd.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to Wildbrain's fiscal 2026 first quarter earnings conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in a listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star, then one on your telephone. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may reach an operator by pressing star, then zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Kathleen Prasad, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, everyone, for joining us today for Wildbrain's first quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today are Josh Sherba, our President and CEO, and Nick Gaughan, our CFO. Before we begin, please note the matters discussed on this call include forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. which reflects WildBrain's current expectations of future events. Such statements are based on a number of factors and assumptions that management believes are reasonable at the time they were made and information currently available. However, many of these factors and assumptions are subject to risks and uncertainties beyond WildBrain's control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to changes in general economic, business, and political conditions. Walgreens undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as explicitly required by applicable law. Please note all currency numbers are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated. After our remarks, we will open the call for questions. I will now turn the call over to our President and CEO, Josh Herba.

Thanks for joining us. Fiscal 2026 is off to a strong start, reflecting the continued execution of our strategy to focus on our core brands in higher growth areas across global licensing, content creation, and audience engagement. As you can see in the results announced after market yesterday, We're demonstrating the value of our strategy to focus on franchise building across content, engagement, and licensing, supported by a simplified operating model. We are encouraged by the underlying strength of our business today and continue to see significant opportunities ahead to grow our profit across these core segments. Global licensing once again led the way, delivering strong double-digit growth in Q1 of 29% year over year, driven by sustained momentum across our key franchises, peanuts, strawberry shortcake, and Teletubbies. Demand remains broad-based across many categories and markets around the world, underscoring the strength of our 360-degree franchise strategy, the depth of our local expertise, and the worldwide appeal of these evergreen properties. At Brand Licensing Europe in October, the leading consumer products and licensing trade show in Europe, There was tremendous enthusiasm from partners and retailers for both Strawberry Shortcake and Teletubbies, which continued to benefit from refreshed creative direction and robust consumer engagement. There was huge buzz for Peanuts as well, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. With a healthy pipeline of new licensing deals across all key markets and the holiday selling season on the horizon, we remain increasingly confident in the sustained momentum and visibility of the Peanuts business. Our franchise management team hosted its second annual summit with retail partners this week in Los Angeles. Building on last year's inaugural event, attendance more than doubled, and in a clear sign of the growing momentum behind our Wild Brain brands, we saw nearly as many attendees for Wild Brain brands as we did for Peanuts. Fan engagement for Strawberry Shortcake continues to remain strong, which is translating into licensing revenue. Watch time on YouTube was up 20%, and average view duration was up nearly 300% for strawberry shortcake in the quarter, and we continue to see social media engagement rising. Consumer demand for strawberry merchandise continued to grow, with consumer products revenue for strawberry up 115% year-over-year, with healthy diversification across licensees. Looking at Teletubbies, revenue was up more than 20%, with strong performance, particularly with our PopMart collaboration, which taps into the collectible nature of the Teletubbies and merchandise has been flying off the shelves. The licensing pipeline for Teletubbies continues to build as we're ramping up to the brand's 30th anniversary in 2027 with a global activation program designed to celebrate and amplify the strong fan affinity for these beloved characters. Similarly, watch time and average view duration on YouTube plus social media engagement were all up year over year. In Peanuts, we had a strong quarter across nearly all geographies, with particular strength in North America, APAC, and EMEA. The 75th anniversary is continuing to drive increased awareness and engagement. And as we've said before, the success we're seeing in anniversary promotions unlocks further licensing opportunities and collaborations. The touring Blue Dragon Art Exhibition, which celebrates Peanuts' 75th anniversary through immersive art, fashion, and experiential installations has proven highly popular with fans in APAC, and we continue to see meaningful growth potential for peanuts in the region. WildBrain CPLG is also off to a great start to the year, with growth across all regions and revenues from peanuts, WildBrain brands, and third-party brands all up year over year. CPLG is a unique and highly differentiated business within the licensing industry. and we saw that in spades at Brand Licensing Europe. The buzz around our portfolio was palpable, and the strong execution by our team continues to attract new partners. Over the past few months, Wildbrand CPLG has expanded the licensing program for Playmobil, rolled out a robust international program of brand activations and cross-category partnerships for strawberries and Teletubbies, and was appointed agency rights for the highly popular Miraculous franchise and the Van Gogh Museum. This performance highlights the strength of CPLG's global infrastructure and its ability to translate brand momentum into meaningful commercial outcomes across regions and categories. Turning to content creation and audience engagement. Subsequent to the quarter, we were thrilled to announce the renewal of our multi-year partnership with Apple TV for Peanuts content extending through 2030. This renewal includes a continuation of the Peanuts Library deal, which will be recognized in our Q2 numbers, and a new commitment from Apple TV for more original series and specials. The renewal reaffirms the enduring demand and substantial value of the legacy content, while the commitment for new content further reinforces the long-term value of this iconic brand. In audience engagement, our AVOD and FAST channels continue to grow steadily. These platforms build awareness and affinity for our brands, create incremental monetization opportunities, and extend the lifecycle of our content. Owned franchises like Degrassi and Strawberry Shortcake, as well as partner brands such as Pokemon, remain consistently in front of fans worldwide, keeping them top of mind and fueling demand that carries through to consumer products licensing. Our channels are distributed across major platforms, including Samsung, Roku, and Amazon Video, ensuring our content reaches audiences wherever they're watching. Wildbrain is already the global leader in fast for kids, with approximately 180 channels launched, and as the fast ecosystem matures, we are well-positioned to monetize this growing opportunity across both our owned and partner IP. We are the scaled and trusted partner for platforms seeking high-quality kids and family content. In Media Solutions, our in-house advertising and brand partnership arm, we held our first ever upfront in London this October. An upfront event is a key commercial touchpoint where platforms highlight their capabilities and the successful event has already generated some meaningful deals with new partners. We're increasingly confident in the growth potential for this business. Media Solutions offers a differentiated capability within Wildbrain. Very few kids media companies combine global brand management and channel reach with in-house media sales and activation at this scale. The rising engagement across our digital platforms, growing pipeline and media solutions, and the significant growth in licensing all underscore how we are building a meaningful platform at the center of the ecosystem where today's kids and families are watching content and engaging with brands. Our scale across YouTube, Fast, and AVOD not only keeps our brands front and center with global audiences, but also demonstrates the strength of our model in driving awareness, engagement, and monetization. Before I hand over to Nick, I'd like to provide a quick update on the asset review we've referenced in recent quarters. We've been approaching this work with a clear set of objectives. To sharpen our strategic focus, enhance balance sheet flexibility, and create long-term value for shareholders. With the progress we've made simplifying the business and focusing on high-margin brand-driven growth, we continue to actively evaluate further opportunities to simplify and unlock value for WildBrain and our stakeholders. As we updated you in our full-year report in September, the process is continuing to advance in line with our expectations, and discussions with the targeted group of interested parties are ongoing. While these conversations remain confidential, we're encouraged by the level of progress and expect to have more to report soon. We remain focused on outcomes that strengthen the company and position us for sustained growth. We've had a strong start to the fiscal year. We have great brands, which were on full display of brand licensing Europe in October, where Strawberry and Shortcake and Teletubbies drew tremendous excitement from partners and retailers. We also have a strong offering in fast and media solutions that positions us to capture emerging opportunities as viewing and engagement models evolve. And we continue to see positive returns from our focus on premium content capabilities, reinforcing the strength and long-term value of our content creation business. With that, I'll turn it over to Nick to review our financial results.