Earnings call transcript: Farmer Bros. Co reports Q1 2026 earnings miss

Farmer Bros. Co reported a disappointing first quarter for fiscal year 2026, with earnings per share (EPS) coming in at -$0.19, significantly below the forecasted -$0.05. Revenue also fell short of expectations at $81.6 million, compared to the anticipated $89.86 million. Following the earnings release, the company's stock dropped 2.27% in after-hours trading, closing at $1.76.

Key Takeaways

• Farmer Bros. Co missed both EPS and revenue forecasts for Q1 2026.
• The company's stock fell by 2.27% in after-hours trading.
• Gross margins decreased by 400 basis points year-over-year.
• Farmer Bros. Co launched a new coffee brand and expanded partnerships.

Company Performance

Farmer Bros. Co experienced a challenging first quarter, with a net sales decline of 4% year-over-year. Despite a flat adjusted EBITDA of $1.4 million, the company managed to reduce its net loss to $4 million from $5 million in the previous year. Operationally, the company has made strides in cost management, notably reducing SG&A expenses by $4 million and operating expenses by $4.5 million.

Financial Highlights

• Revenue: $81.6 million, down 4% year-over-year
• Earnings per share: -$0.19, missing the forecast of -$0.05
• Gross margins: 39.7%, a decline of 400 basis points
• Cash and equivalents: $3.8 million

Earnings vs. Forecast

Farmer Bros. Co's actual EPS of -$0.19 was significantly lower than the forecasted -$0.05, resulting in a negative surprise of 280%. Revenue also fell short by 9.19%, with actual figures at $81.6 million compared to the $89.86 million forecast. This marks a notable miss for the company, which has faced similar challenges in previous quarters.

Market Reaction

Following the earnings announcement, Farmer Bros. Co's stock price decreased by 2.27% in after-hours trading, reflecting investor disappointment. The stock, which has been trading between $1.335 and $3.288 over the past 52 weeks, closed at $1.76. This decline aligns with broader market trends, as the company navigates a challenging economic environment.

Outlook & Guidance

Looking ahead, Farmer Bros. Co anticipates continued pressure on gross margins, expecting them to remain in the high 30s. The company is focusing on revenue growth and cost management, with plans to expand product penetration in existing accounts and address coffee pound degradation.

Executive Commentary

CEO John Moore highlighted the ongoing economic challenges, stating, "We continue to face pressure from a very challenging economic environment." He also noted the impact of tariffs and supply chain concerns on coffee prices, which have reached all-time highs. Financial Executive Vance expressed confidence in the company's adjustments to weather these conditions.

Risks and Challenges

• Supply chain issues and tariffs are driving up coffee prices.
• Declining restaurant foot traffic could impact sales.
• The company's reliance on Brazilian coffee imports is subject to a 50% tariff.
• Coffee pound degradation remains a concern for the company's growth strategy.
• Economic pressures could continue to affect consumer spending.

Farmer Bros. Co's Q1 2026 earnings report underscores the company's ongoing struggles in a difficult market environment. While operational improvements are evident, the significant miss on earnings and revenue forecasts has raised concerns among investors.

Full transcript - Farmer Bros. Co (FARM) Q1 2026:

Conference Operator/Moderator: Good afternoon, and welcome to the Farmer Brothers Fiscal First Quarter twenty twenty six Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in listen only mode. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. Today, the company filed its Form 10 Q and issued its first quarter results press release, which are available on the Investor Relations section of PharmaBros' website at pharmabros.com. The release is also included as an exhibit on the company's Form 10 Q and is available on its website and the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at sec.gov.

A replay of this audio only webcast will also be available on the company's website approximately two hours after the conclusion of this call. Before we begin the call, please note all financial information presented is unaudited and various remarks made by management during this call about the company's future expectations, plans and prospects may constitute forward looking statements for purposes of the Safe Harbor provision under the federal securities laws and regulations. These forward looking statements represent the company's view as of today and should not be relied upon as representing the company's view as of any subsequent date. Results could differ materially from those forward looking statements. Additional information on factors which could cause actual results and other events to differ materially from those forward looking statements is available in the company's release and public filings.

On today's call, management will also reference certain non GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin and assessing the company's operating performance. A reconciliation of these non GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures is also included in the company's release and SEC filings. I will now turn the call over to Farmer Brothers President and Chief Executive Officer, John Moore. Mr. Moore, please go ahead.

John Moore, President and Chief Executive Officer, Farmer Brothers: Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. This quarter, we continued to realize significant benefits from our operational efficiency and cost management initiatives as we saw a $4,000,000 improvement in our SG and A expenses compared to the first quarter of fiscal twenty twenty five. Farmer Brothers, however, continues to face pressure from a very challenging economic environment, which contributed to a year over year decline in revenue and overall coffee pounds. While revenues decreased 4% to $81,600,000 our adjusted EBITDA for the year was flat on a year over year basis at $1,400,000 and we were able to maintain gross margins of approximately 40%. As we said in our last call, Farmer Brothers is committed to driving top line revenue and addressing customer and coffee pound degradation in 2026.

We are working to reenergize our DSD network with a number of sales and field operation initiatives to support these efforts. We are cultivating a unified sales team through comprehensive organization wide training and growth oriented key performance indicators. We continue to develop a culture of accountability focused on driving product penetration within existing accounts as well as adding new ones. With our good, better, best brand pyramid firmly in place and our additional Allied Goods and equipment service offerings, we believe Farmer Brothers is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of customers across a wide variety of channels no matter their size. We also have a renewed focus on growing our white label customer portfolio in fiscal twenty twenty six as we look to fully utilize our Portland, Oregon roasting and manufacturing facility, along with the expertise of our highly skilled sourcing and product development teams.

Our Portland facility, which is SQF and LEED Silver certified, gives us the ability to quickly scale production from value engineered commercial blends to the highest quality specialty coffees while also providing a wide variety of diverse packaging possibilities. We continue to achieve early wins with our Someone coffee roaster specialty brand. Our recently announced partnership with Eurest will open 50 Someone branded cafes across the country. Someone is also already appearing in a number of higher education institutions, including UCLA. With that said, the macro and microeconomic environments continue to present significant challenges for Farber Brothers and the industry as a whole.

The National Restaurant Association recently reported that restaurant foot traffic declined for the seventh straight month in August as consumers continue to shift their spending and dining habits as a result of economic uncertainty. According to recent reports, the average price of a cup of coffee has increased 20% compared to last year, more than any other item tracked by the government. The impact of tariffs, supply chain concerns and weather forecasts continue to drive the price of coffee to all time highs. The 50% tariff imposed on U. S.

Imports from Brazil, which, as you know, supplies onethree of America's unroasted coffee, has put further pressure on the market. While our planning and procurement team has reconstructed our sourcing methodologies to increase elasticity without sacrificing quality, we do expect to see significant increase in our cost of goods sold throughout fiscal twenty twenty six. Farmer Brothers continues to work with industry organizations to have coffee exempt from certain tariffs as it is an unavailable natural resource in The U. S. Less than 1% of the coffee consumed by The U.

S. Is domestically grown in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. While we are encouraged by recent news regarding its possible exemption, we do expect to see continued pressure on gross margin and revenue performance throughout this fiscal year. Despite these headwinds, we remain committed to driving growth and creating value for our shareholders in fiscal twenty twenty six and beyond. The changes we have made have created a stronger, healthier Farmer Brothers, and we are excited to see what we can achieve once market conditions become more favorable.

With that, I'll turn it over to Vance to discuss our financial results in more detail. Vance?

Vance, Financial Executive (likely CFO), Farmer Brothers: Thanks, John, and good afternoon, everyone. As anticipated, in the first quarter, we started to see expected pressure on our financial results as a result of the unprecedented green coffee market conditions and the associated impact to our cost of goods. As such, adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was essentially flat compared to the prior year at $1,400,000 The actions we've taken over the past year to improve our cost structure have helped to offset the impact of the record green coffee inflation and the softening of our top line revenue. From a top line perspective, net sales during the first quarter were down 4% to $81,600,000 compared to $85,100,000 during the prior year period. As we stated on last quarter's call, due to the unprecedented rise in green coffee costs and our decision to hold on further pricing actions, we expected to see gross margin compression beginning in the first quarter that would push gross margins below 40% throughout fiscal 'twenty six.

For the first quarter, gross margins came in at the high end of our expectations at 39.7%, a roughly 400 basis point decline compared to first quarter of last year. As we mentioned last quarter, we do not currently have plans to take additional price in the near term. As a result, we expect continued pressure on gross margins and anticipate margins to average in the high 30s throughout fiscal 'twenty six. The work we've done over the past year in driving efficiency in our cost structure continues to positively impact our results. For the first quarter, operating expenses decreased $4,500,000 to $35,600,000 or 43.6% of net sales compared to $40,100,000 or 47.2% of net sales in the prior year period.

This includes a $1,400,000 decrease in selling expenses and a $2,500,000 decrease in general and administrative expenses, both primarily driven by reduced personnel related costs. For the first quarter, Farmer Brothers recorded a net loss of $4,000,000 compared to a $5,000,000 net loss in the '5. As of 09/30/2025, we had $3,800,000 of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents and $31,200,000 available under our revolving credit facility. Looking ahead, we expect market conditions to remain challenging and put pressure on our financial results throughout fiscal 'twenty six. However, we believe we have made the appropriate adjustments to weather these conditions and be well positioned to generate significant shareholder value once more normal market conditions return.

With that, I'll turn it back over to John. John?

John Moore, President and Chief Executive Officer, Farmer Brothers: Thanks, Vince. While there is no doubt this year will be a challenging one for the coffee industry, Farmer Brothers remains committed to driving revenue, managing costs and addressing customer and coffee pound degradation. To achieve these goals, we must unlock the full power and potential of our DSD network as we look to drive product penetration with existing customers while also adding new accounts, both at the route and key account levels. Furthermore, we will look to leverage our core coffee capability as we grow our white label customer portfolio and better utilize our world class Portland facility. While these efforts cannot wholly offset the impact of the economic environment, we, as always, will continue to focus on delivering the right products to the right places at the right time and at the right value proposition while providing unparalleled customer service.

As always, I want to thank our teams for their hard work and dedication, and thank you all for joining us on the call today. Operator, we will now open it up for questions.

Conference Operator/Moderator: We will now begin the question and answer session. Since there are no questions, this concludes our question and answer session and today's conference call. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.