Q4 2025 Quanex Building Products Corp Earnings Call

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Speaker #1: I would now like to hand it over to your first speaker today, Scott Zuehlke, Senior Vice President, CFO, and Treasurer. Please go ahead.

Scott Zuehlke: Thanks for joining the call this morning. On the call with me today is George Wilson, our Chairman, President, and CEO. This conference call will contain forward-looking statements and some discussion of non-GAAP measures. Forward-looking statements and guidance discussed on this call and in our earnings release are based on current expectations.

Speaker #2: Thanks for joining the call this morning. On the call with me today is George Wilson, our Chairman, President, and CEO. This conference call will contain forward-looking statements and some discussion of non-GAAP measures.

Scott Zuehlke: This conference call will contain forward-looking statements and some discussion of non-GAAP measures. Forward-looking statements and guidance discussed on this call and in our earnings release are based on current expectations. Actual results or events may differ materially from such statements and guidance, and Quanex undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect new information or events. For a more detailed description or a forward-looking statement disclaimer, and a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, please see our earnings release issued yesterday and posted to our website. I'll now turn the call over to George for his prepared remarks. Thanks, Scott, and good morning to everyone joining the call. I'm encouraged by what we were able to achieve in 2025, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Speaker #2: Forward-looking statements and guidance discussed on this call and in our earnings release are based on current expectations. Actual results or events may differ materially from such statements and guidance, and Quanex undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect new information or events.

Actual results or events may differ materially from such statements and guidance, and Quanex undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect new information or events. For a more detailed description or a forward-looking statement disclaimer, and a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, please see our earnings release issued yesterday and posted to our website. I'll now turn the call over to George for his prepared remarks.

Speaker #2: For a more detailed description of our forward-looking statement disclaimer and a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, please see our earnings release issued yesterday and posted to our website.

Speaker #2: I'll now turn the call over to George for his prepared remarks.

George Wilson: Thanks, Scott, and good morning to everyone joining the call. I'm encouraged by what we were able to achieve in 2025, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. Throughout the year, we executed on a disciplined strategy centered on operational rigor, cost efficiency, and long-term value creation. We successfully resegmented our business to better align with market opportunities. We established new commercial and operational excellence teams to drive improved performance, and we delivered synergy realization above our original $30 million commitment. In addition, we intensified our focus on working capital efficiency and free cash flow generation while further strengthening our balance sheet.

Speaker #3: Thanks, Scott, and good morning to everyone joining the call. I'm encouraged by what we were able to achieve in 2025, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.

Speaker #3: Throughout the year, we executed on a disciplined strategy centered on operational rigor, cost efficiency, and long-term value creation. We successfully resegmented our business to better align with market opportunities, established new commercial and operational excellence teams to drive improved performance, and delivered synergy realization above our original $30 million commitment.

Scott Zuehlke: Throughout the year, we executed on a disciplined strategy centered on operational rigor, cost efficiency, and long-term value creation. We successfully resegmented our business to better align with market opportunities. We established new commercial and operational excellence teams to drive improved performance, and we delivered synergy realization above our original $30 million commitment. In addition, we intensified our focus on working capital efficiency and free cash flow generation while further strengthening our balance sheet. Most importantly, we also continue to improve our safety performance, positioning the company at a world-class standard, which is a critical foundation for sustainable operational reliability and future growth. These achievements collectively reinforce our confidence in the company's future. I'll now provide a brief commentary on the broader macro environment, followed by a summary of our quarterly performance before turning the call back over to Scott for a more detailed financial review.

Speaker #3: In addition, we intensified our focus on working capital efficiency and free cash flow generation, while further strengthening our balance sheet. Most importantly, we also continued to improve our safety performance, positioning the company at a world-class standard, which is a critical foundation for sustainable operational reliability and future growth.

Most importantly, we also continue to improve our safety performance, positioning the company at a world-class standard, which is a critical foundation for sustainable operational reliability and future growth. These achievements collectively reinforce our confidence in the company's future. I'll now provide a brief commentary on the broader macro environment, followed by a summary of our quarterly performance before turning the call back over to Scott for a more detailed financial review.

Speaker #3: These achievements, collectively, reinforce our confidence in the company's future. I'll now provide a brief commentary on the broader macro environment, followed by a summary of our quarterly performance before turning the call back over to Scott for a more detailed financial review.

Speaker #3: From a macro perspective, the market continues to face demand headwinds. Globally, affordability remains a significant challenge as inflationary cost pressures and ongoing housing inventory shortages continue to drive pricing higher.

Scott Zuehlke: From a macro perspective, the market continues to face demand headwinds. Globally, affordability remains a significant challenge as inflationary cost pressures and ongoing housing inventory shortages continue to drive pricing higher. In the US, these factors, combined with a wait-and-see approach ahead of anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts, have kept many consumers on the sidelines. We expect this dynamic to persist into 2026, which we believe could result in a generally flattish demand environment overall. Looking ahead, further interest rate movements, broader economic conditions, and regional supply-demand imbalances will ultimately determine whether demand strengthens or remains subdued. That said, we continue to believe the long-term underlying fundamentals of the residential housing market are positive. Demographic trends, household formation, and the persistent structural housing shortage all point to substantial latent demand, even if near-term conditions are causing consumers to delay purchasing decisions.

From a macro perspective, the market continues to face demand headwinds. Globally, affordability remains a significant challenge as inflationary cost pressures and ongoing housing inventory shortages continue to drive pricing higher. In the US, these factors, combined with a wait-and-see approach ahead of anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts, have kept many consumers on the sidelines. We expect this dynamic to persist into 2026, which we believe could result in a generally flattish demand environment overall.

Speaker #3: In the U.S., these factors, combined with a wait-and-see approach ahead of anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts, have kept many consumers on the sidelines. We expect this dynamic to persist into 2026, which we believe could result in a generally flattish demand environment overall.

Looking ahead, further interest rate movements, broader economic conditions, and regional supply-demand imbalances will ultimately determine whether demand strengthens or remains subdued. That said, we continue to believe the long-term underlying fundamentals of the residential housing market are positive. Demographic trends, household formation, and the persistent structural housing shortage all point to substantial latent demand, even if near-term conditions are causing consumers to delay purchasing decisions.

Speaker #3: Looking ahead, further interest rate movements, broader economic conditions, and regional supply-demand imbalances will ultimately determine whether demand strengthens or remains subdued. That said, we continue to believe the long-term underlying fundamentals of the residential housing market—trends, household formation, and the persistent structural housing shortage—all point to substantial latent demand.

Speaker #3: Even if near-term conditions are causing consumers to delay purchasing decisions, these same long-term indicators form the basis of the profitable growth strategy that we presented at our Investor Day last February.

Scott Zuehlke: These same long-term indicators form the basis of the profitable growth strategy that we presented at our Investor Day last February. Our thesis remains intact, and the strategic initiatives we outlined are still progressing as planned. While near-term macro pressures have impacted recent results, we remain confident in our long-term outlook and our ability to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. Now for a brief summary of Q4. Market conditions and order demand tracked in line with our expectations during the fourth quarter of 2025. Volumes in our hardware solutions segment were up approximately 1%, and volumes in our custom solutions segment were essentially flat compared to the prior year. However, volumes were pressured in our extruded solutions segment, mainly driven by weaker demand across our European and international markets, where macroeconomic conditions remain more challenging.

These same long-term indicators form the basis of the profitable growth strategy that we presented at our Investor Day last February. Our thesis remains intact, and the strategic initiatives we outlined are still progressing as planned. While near-term macro pressures have impacted recent results, we remain confident in our long-term outlook and our ability to capitalize on the opportunities ahead. Now for a brief summary of Q4. Market conditions and order demand tracked in line with our expectations during the fourth quarter of 2025.

Speaker #3: Our thesis remains intact, and the strategic initiatives we outlined are still progressing as planned. While near-term macro pressures have impacted recent results, we remain confident in our long-term outlook and our ability to capitalize on the opportunities ahead.

Speaker #3: Now for a brief summary of Q4. Market conditions in order demand tracked in line with our expectations during the fourth quarter of 2025. Volumes in our Hardware Solution segment were up approximately 1%, and volumes in our Custom Solution segment were essentially flat compared to the prior year.

Volumes in our hardware solutions segment were up approximately 1%, and volumes in our custom solutions segment were essentially flat compared to the prior year. However, volumes were pressured in our extruded solutions segment, mainly driven by weaker demand across our European and international markets, where macroeconomic conditions remain more challenging.

Speaker #3: However, volumes were pressured in our Extruded Solutions segment, mainly driven by weaker demand across our European and international markets, where macroeconomic conditions remain more challenging.

Speaker #3: Operationally, adjusted EBITDA was impacted by lower volumes in the Extruded Solutions segment, as well as costs associated with addressing the operational issue at our window and door hardware facility in Monterey, Mexico.

Scott Zuehlke: Operationally, adjusted EBITDA was impacted by lower volumes in the extruded solutions segment, as well as costs associated with addressing the operational issue at our window and door hardware facility in Monterrey, Mexico. As discussed on our prior call, the manufacturing issue was identified in Q3, and we quickly determined the root cause and then proceeded to implement a comprehensive remediation plan to correct the issue and stabilize the plant. We noted then that the plan would take time to fully implement, and we continue to work closely with all affected customers to minimize disruption. I'm pleased to report that we are slightly ahead of our initial timeline and now expect to return to normal operating conditions early in calendar year 2026. Turning to the balance sheet and cash flows, we are extremely pleased with the progress we are making.

Operationally, adjusted EBITDA was impacted by lower volumes in the extruded solutions segment, as well as costs associated with addressing the operational issue at our window and door hardware facility in Monterrey, Mexico. As discussed on our prior call, the manufacturing issue was identified in Q3, and we quickly determined the root cause and then proceeded to implement a comprehensive remediation plan to correct the issue and stabilize the plant. We noted then that the plan would take time to fully implement, and we continue to work closely with all affected customers to minimize disruption.

Speaker #3: As discussed on our prior call, the manufacturing issue was identified in Q3, and we quickly determined the root cause and then proceeded to implement a comprehensive remediation plan to correct the issue and stabilize the plant.

Speaker #3: We noted then that the plan would take time to fully implement, and we continue to work closely with all affected customers to minimize disruption.

I'm pleased to report that we are slightly ahead of our initial timeline and now expect to return to normal operating conditions early in calendar year 2026. Turning to the balance sheet and cash flows, we are extremely pleased with the progress we are making. As we continue to advance our initiatives around working capital optimization and return on net assets, we are seeing consistent free cash flow generation. This strong cash performance has enabled us to further reduce debt while also being opportunistic in repurchasing shares in the open market.

Speaker #3: I'm pleased to report that we are slightly ahead of our initial timeline and now expect to return to normal operating conditions early in calendar year 2026.

Speaker #3: Turning to the balance sheet and cash flows, we are extremely pleased with the progress we are making. As we continue to advance our initiatives around working capital optimization and return on net assets, we are seeing consistent free cash flow generation.

Scott Zuehlke: As we continue to advance our initiatives around working capital optimization and return on net assets, we are seeing consistent free cash flow generation. This strong cash performance has enabled us to further reduce debt while also being opportunistic in repurchasing shares in the open market. Our current capital allocation priorities remain unchanged. We will continue to focus on debt repayment while opportunistically repurchasing shares when open trading windows allow. Despite the current market headwinds, we believe the resegmentation of our business, combined with synergy realization and operational improvements underway across our facilities, position us to deliver value to our customers and support our long-term profitable growth strategy. I'll now turn the call over to Scott, who will discuss our financial results in more detail. Thanks, George.

Speaker #3: This strong cash performance has enabled us to further reduce debt, while also being opportunistic in repurchasing shares in the open market. Our current capital allocation priorities remain unchanged.

Our current capital allocation priorities remain unchanged. We will continue to focus on debt repayment while opportunistically repurchasing shares when open trading windows allow. Despite the current market headwinds, we believe the resegmentation of our business, combined with synergy realization and operational improvements underway across our facilities, position us to deliver value to our customers and support our long-term profitable growth strategy. I'll now turn the call over to Scott, who will discuss our financial results in more detail.

Speaker #3: We will continue to focus on debt repayment while opportunistically repurchasing shares when open trading windows allow. Despite the current market headwinds, we believe the resegmentation of our business, combined with synergy realization and operational improvements underway across our facilities, position us to deliver value to our customers and support our long-term profitable growth strategy.

Speaker #3: I'll now turn the call over to Scott, who will discuss our financial results in more detail.

Speaker #3: detail.

Speaker #2: Thanks,

Scott Zuehlke: Thanks, George. On a consolidated basis, we reported net sales of $489.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2025, which represents a decrease of approximately 0.5% compared to $492.2 million for the same period of 2024. We reported net sales of $1.84 billion for the full year, which represents an increase of approximately 43.8% compared to $1.28 billion for 2024. The increase for the full year was primarily driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition that closed on 1 August 2024. We reported net income of $19.6 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, during the three months ended 31 October 2025, compared to a net loss of $13.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, during the three months ended 31 October 2024.

Speaker #2: George. On a consolidated basis, we reported net sales of $489.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2025, which represents a decrease of approximately 0.5% compared to $492.2 million for the same period of 2024.

Scott Zuehlke: On a consolidated basis, we reported net sales of $489.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2025, which represents a decrease of approximately 0.5% compared to $492.2 million for the same period of 2024. We reported net sales of $1.84 billion for the full year, which represents an increase of approximately 43.8% compared to $1.28 billion for 2024. The increase for the full year was primarily driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition that closed on 1 August 2024. We reported net income of $19.6 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, during the three months ended 31 October 2025, compared to a net loss of $13.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, during the three months ended 31 October 2024.

Speaker #2: We reported net sales of $1.84 billion for the full year, which represents an increase of approximately 43.8% compared to $1.28 billion for 2024. The increase for the full year was primarily driven by the contribution from the Timing acquisition that closed on August 1, 2024.

Speaker #2: We reported net income of $19.6 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, during the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to a net loss of $13.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, during the three months ended October 31, 2024.

Speaker #2: For the full year 2025, we reported a net loss of $250.8 million, or $5.43 per diluted share, mainly due to the non-cash goodwill impairment reported in the third quarter, compared to net income of $33.1 million, or $0.90 per diluted share for the full year 2024.

Scott Zuehlke: For the full year 2025, we reported a net loss of $250.8 million, or $5.43 per diluted share, mainly due to the non-cash goodwill impairment reported in the third quarter, compared to net income of $33.1 million, or $0.90 per diluted share for the full year 2024. On an adjusted basis, net income was $38 million, or $0.83 per diluted share during the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to $38.5 million, or $0.82 per diluted share during the fourth quarter of 2024. Adjusted net income was $106.4 million, or $2.30 per diluted share for fiscal 2025, compared to $97.5 million, or $2.66 per diluted share for fiscal 2024.

For the full year 2025, we reported a net loss of $250.8 million, or $5.43 per diluted share, mainly due to the non-cash goodwill impairment reported in the third quarter, compared to net income of $33.1 million, or $0.90 per diluted share for the full year 2024. On an adjusted basis, net income was $38 million, or $0.83 per diluted share during the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to $38.5 million, or $0.82 per diluted share during the fourth quarter of 2024. Adjusted net income was $106.4 million, or $2.30 per diluted share for fiscal 2025, compared to $97.5 million, or $2.66 per diluted share for fiscal 2024.

Speaker #2: On an adjusted basis, net income was $38 million, or $0.83 per diluted share during the fourth quarter of 2025, compared to $38.5 million, or $0.82 per diluted share during the fourth quarter of 2024.

Speaker #2: Adjusted net income was $106.4 million, or $2.30 per diluted share for fiscal 2025, compared to $97.5 million, or $2.66 per diluted share for fiscal 2024.

Speaker #2: The adjustments being made to EPS are primarily for transaction and advisory fees, amortization of the step-up for purchase price adjustments on inventory and AR related to the Timing acquisition, restructuring charges, goodwill impairment, amortization expense related to intangible assets, a one-time depreciation adjustment, a pension settlement refund, and foreign currency translation impact.

Scott Zuehlke: The adjustments being made to EPS are primarily for transaction and advisory fees, amortization of the step-up for purchase price adjustments on inventory and AR related to the Tyman acquisition, restructuring charges, goodwill impairment, amortization expense related to intangible assets, a one-time depreciation adjustment, a pension settlement refund, and foreign currency translation impact. Note that our full-year effective tax rate decreased from 24.3% at Q3 to 22.6% at year-end. Q4 delivered lower pre-tax income, excluding discrete, and the level of unfavorable permanent tax adjustments decreased relative to our Q3 estimates. With a smaller income base and lower unfavorable permanent items, the overall blended tax rate was reduced for the full year. On an adjusted basis, EBITDA for the quarter decreased by 12.6% to $70.9 million, compared to $81.1 million during the same period of last year.

The adjustments being made to EPS are primarily for transaction and advisory fees, amortization of the step-up for purchase price adjustments on inventory and AR related to the Tyman acquisition, restructuring charges, goodwill impairment, amortization expense related to intangible assets, a one-time depreciation adjustment, a pension settlement refund, and foreign currency translation impact.

Note that our full-year effective tax rate decreased from 24.3% at Q3 to 22.6% at year-end. Q4 delivered lower pre-tax income, excluding discrete, and the level of unfavorable permanent tax adjustments decreased relative to our Q3 estimates. With a smaller income base and lower unfavorable permanent items, the overall blended tax rate was reduced for the full year. On an adjusted basis, EBITDA for the quarter decreased by 12.6% to $70.9 million, compared to $81.1 million during the same period of last year.

Speaker #2: Note that our full-year effective tax rate decreased from 24.3% at Q3 to 22.6% at year-end. Q4 delivered lower pre-tax income, excluding discrete, and the level of unfavorable permanent tax adjustments decreased relative to our Q3 estimates.

Speaker #2: With a smaller income base and lower unfavorable permanent items, the overall blended tax rate was reduced for the full year. On an adjusted basis, EBITDA for the quarter decreased by 12.6% to $70.9 million, compared to $81.1 million during the same period last year.

Speaker #2: For the full year 2025, adjusted EBITDA increased by 33.2% to $242.9 million, which reflects the contribution from the Tyman acquisition and is a new record for Quanex, compared to $182.4 million in 2024.

Scott Zuehlke: For the full year 2025, adjusted EBITDA increased by 33.2% to $242.9 million, which reflects the contribution from the Tyman acquisition and is a new record for Quanex compared to $182.4 million in 2024. On a consolidated basis, the decrease in adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter of 2025 was mainly due to lower volumes related to ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, coupled with low consumer confidence in the operational challenges at our plant in Monterrey, Mexico, that were previously mentioned. The increase in adjusted earnings for the full year 2025 was primarily attributable to the contribution from the Tyman acquisition combined with the realization of cost synergies. Now, results by operating segment. We generated net sales of $226.9 million in our hardware solutions segment for the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 1.4% compared to $223.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

For the full year 2025, adjusted EBITDA increased by 33.2% to $242.9 million, which reflects the contribution from the Tyman acquisition and is a new record for Quanex compared to $182.4 million in 2024. On a consolidated basis, the decrease in adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter of 2025 was mainly due to lower volumes related to ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, coupled with low consumer confidence in the operational challenges at our plant in Monterrey, Mexico, that were previously mentioned.

Speaker #2: On a consolidated basis, the decrease in adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter of 2025 was mainly due to lower volumes related to ongoing macro and economic uncertainty, coupled with low consumer confidence and the operational challenges at our plant in Monterrey, Mexico, that were previously mentioned.

The increase in adjusted earnings for the full year 2025 was primarily attributable to the contribution from the Tyman acquisition combined with the realization of cost synergies. Now, results by operating segment. We generated net sales of $226.9 million in our hardware solutions segment for the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 1.4% compared to $223.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Speaker #2: The increase in adjusted earnings for the full year 2025 was primarily attributable to the contribution from the Tyman acquisition, combined with the realization of cost synergies.

Speaker #2: Now, results by operating segment. We generated net sales of $226.9 million in our Hardware Solutions segment for the fourth quarter of 2025, an increase of 1.4% compared to $223.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Speaker #2: We estimate that volumes were up about 1%, reflecting low growth in the International, Hardware, and North American Screens product lines. Pricing was flat in this segment.

Scott Zuehlke: We estimate that volumes were up about 1%, reflecting low growth in the international hardware and North American screens product lines. Pricing was flat in this segment. The tariff impact was about 1%. Foreign exchange was about a 1% benefit, offset by a negative impact of approximately 2% for Monterrey versus Q4 of 2024. For the full year, we reported net sales of $841.7 million in our hardware solutions segment, an increase of 96.7% compared to $427.8 million in 2024. The increase was mainly due to the contribution from the Tyman acquisition. Adjusted EBITDA was $29 million in this segment for the fourth quarter, or 9.3% lower than prior year, mainly due to an approximately $8 million negative impact related to the operational challenges at our hardware plant in Monterrey, Mexico, partially offset by a favorable cost roll.

We estimate that volumes were up about 1%, reflecting low growth in the international hardware and North American screens product lines. Pricing was flat in this segment. The tariff impact was about 1%. Foreign exchange was about a 1% benefit, offset by a negative impact of approximately 2% for Monterrey versus Q4 of 2024. For the full year, we reported net sales of $841.7 million in our hardware solutions segment, an increase of 96.7% compared to $427.8 million in 2024.

Speaker #2: The tariff impact was about 1%. Foreign exchange was about a 1% benefit, offset by a negative impact of approximately 2% for the Monterey, versus Q4 of 2024.

Speaker #2: For the full year, we reported net sales of $841.7 million in our hardware solutions segment, an increase of 96.7% compared to $427.8 million in 2024.

The increase was mainly due to the contribution from the Tyman acquisition. Adjusted EBITDA was $29 million in this segment for the fourth quarter, or 9.3% lower than prior year, mainly due to an approximately $8 million negative impact related to the operational challenges at our hardware plant in Monterrey, Mexico, partially offset by a favorable cost roll.

Speaker #2: The increase was mainly due to the contribution from the timing acquisition. Adjusted EBITDA was $29 million in this segment for the fourth quarter, or 9.3% lower than prior year, mainly due to an approximately $8 million negative impact related to the operational challenges at our hardware plant in Monterrey, Mexico, partially offset by a favorable cost roll.

Speaker #2: We made the decision to move to a 24/7 operation in Monterey in September, which increased labor and expedited freight costs for the quarter—above our initial estimate—but had the positive impact of enabling us to reduce the backlog in a more efficient manner.

Scott Zuehlke: We made the decision to move to a 24/7 operation in Monterrey in September, which increased labor and expedited freight costs for the quarter, above our initial estimate, but had the positive impact of enabling us to reduce the backlog in a more efficient manner. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 72.7% to $88.8 million in this segment for the full year, driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition. Our extruded solutions segment generated revenue of $168.6 million in the fourth quarter, which represents a decrease of 6.4% compared to $180.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. We estimate that volumes were down approximately 8% year-over-year in this segment for the quarter, with pricing flat and a positive foreign exchange translation impact of about 1.5%.

We made the decision to move to a 24/7 operation in Monterrey in September, which increased labor and expedited freight costs for the quarter, above our initial estimate, but had the positive impact of enabling us to reduce the backlog in a more efficient manner. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 72.7% to $88.8 million in this segment for the full year, driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition.

Speaker #2: Adjusted EBITDA increased by 72.7% to $88.8 million in this segment for the full year, driven by the contribution from the Timing acquisition. Our Extruded Solutions segment generated revenue of $168.6 million in the fourth quarter, which represents a decrease of 6.4% compared to $180.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Our extruded solutions segment generated revenue of $168.6 million in the fourth quarter, which represents a decrease of 6.4% compared to $180.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024. We estimate that volumes were down approximately 8% year-over-year in this segment for the quarter, with pricing flat and a positive foreign exchange translation impact of about 1.5%.

Speaker #2: We estimate that volumes were down approximately 8% year over year in this segment for the quarter, with pricing flat and a positive foreign exchange translation impact of about 1.5%.

Speaker #2: For the full year, we reported net sales of $646.6 million in our Extruded Solutions segment, an increase of 15.5% compared to $560 million in 2024.

Scott Zuehlke: For the full year, we reported net sales of $646.6 million in our Extruded Solutions segment, an increase of 15.5% compared to $560 million in 2024. Again, the increase was driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $31.7 million in this segment for the quarter versus $37.9 million during the same period of last year, mainly due to decreased operating leverage related to lower volumes in addition to an unfavorable sales mix. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA came in at $123.4 million in this segment, which represented an increase of 10%. We reported net sales of $103.4 million in our Custom Solutions segment during the quarter, which represented growth of 2.1% compared to prior year. We estimate that volumes were flat and price increased by approximately 2% in this segment for the quarter.

For the full year, we reported net sales of $646.6 million in our Extruded Solutions segment, an increase of 15.5% compared to $560 million in 2024. Again, the increase was driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $31.7 million in this segment for the quarter versus $37.9 million during the same period of last year, mainly due to decreased operating leverage related to lower volumes in addition to an unfavorable sales mix.

Speaker #2: Again, the increase was driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $31.7 million in this segment for the quarter, versus $37.9 million during the same period last year.

Speaker #2: Mainly due to decreased operating leverage related to lower volumes, in addition to an unfavorable sales mix. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA came in at $123.4 million in this segment, which represented an increase of 10%.

For the full year, adjusted EBITDA came in at $123.4 million in this segment, which represented an increase of 10%. We reported net sales of $103.4 million in our Custom Solutions segment during the quarter, which represented growth of 2.1% compared to prior year. We estimate that volumes were flat and price increased by approximately 2% in this segment for the quarter.

Speaker #2: We reported net sales of $103.4 million in our Custom Solutions segment during the quarter, which represented growth of 2.1% compared to the prior year. We estimate that volumes were flat and price increased by approximately 2% in this segment for the quarter.

Speaker #2: For the full year, we reported net sales of $388.2 million, which represents an increase of 25.5% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $10.7 million from $15.6 million in this segment for the quarter, mostly due to higher raw material costs and index pricing.

Scott Zuehlke: For the full year, we reported net sales of $388.2 million, which represents an increase of 25.5% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $10.7 million from $15.6 million in this segment for the quarter, mostly due to higher raw material costs and index pricing. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 43.2% to $42.9 million from $30 million in this segment for the year, which was driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition. Moving on to cash flow in the balance sheet, cash provided by operating activities increased significantly to $88.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, which compares to $5.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. Cash provided by operating activities for the full year 2025 increased by about 86% to $164.9 million compared to $88.8 million for the full year 2024.

For the full year, we reported net sales of $388.2 million, which represents an increase of 25.5% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA declined to $10.7 million from $15.6 million in this segment for the quarter, mostly due to higher raw material costs and index pricing. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 43.2% to $42.9 million from $30 million in this segment for the year, which was driven by the contribution from the Tyman acquisition. Moving on to cash flow in the balance sheet, cash provided by operating activities increased significantly to $88.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, which compares to $5.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. Cash provided by operating activities for the full year 2025 increased by about 86% to $164.9 million compared to $88.8 million for the full year 2024.

Speaker #2: Adjusted EBITDA increased by 43.2% to $42.9 million from $30 million in this segment for the year, which was driven by the contribution from the timing acquisition.

Speaker #2: Moving on to cash flow in the balance sheet. Cash provided by operating activities increased significantly to $88.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2025, which compares to $5.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Speaker #2: Cash provided by operating activities for the full year 2025 increased by about 86% to $164.9 million, compared to $88.8 million for the full year 2024.

Scott Zuehlke: We maintained focus on managing working capital throughout the year and made progress moving some of the legacy Tyman businesses towards more of a make-to-order model, which decreased inventory and improved cash conversion cycle days. We generated free cash flow of $102.3 million for the full year 2025, an increase of about 98% compared to 2024. As a result, we were able to repay $75 million of the debt in 2025. In addition, our liquidity increased by 10% to $372.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the third quarter of 2025, consisting of $76 million in cash on hand plus availability under our senior secured revolving credit facility due 2029, less letters of credit outstanding. As of 31 October 2025, our leverage ratio of net debt to last 12 months adjusted EBITDA was unchanged at 2.6x as compared to the prior quarter.

We maintained focus on managing working capital throughout the year and made progress moving some of the legacy Tyman businesses towards more of a make-to-order model, which decreased inventory and improved cash conversion cycle days. We generated free cash flow of $102.3 million for the full year 2025, an increase of about 98% compared to 2024. As a result, we were able to repay $75 million of the debt in 2025. In addition, our liquidity increased by 10% to $372.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the third quarter of 2025, consisting of $76 million in cash on hand plus availability under our senior secured revolving credit facility due 2029, less letters of credit outstanding. As of 31 October 2025, our leverage ratio of net debt to last 12 months adjusted EBITDA was unchanged at 2.6x as compared to the prior quarter.

Speaker #2: We focused on managing working capital throughout the year and made progress moving some of the legacy timing businesses towards more of a make-to-order model, which decreased inventory and improved cash conversion cycle days.

Speaker #2: Free cash flow of $102.3 million for the full year 2025, an increase of about 98% compared to 2024. As a result, we were able to repay $75 million of debt. We generated this in 2025.

Speaker #2: In addition, our liquidity increased by 10% to $372.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the third quarter of 2025, consisting of $76 million in cash on hand plus availability under our senior secured revolving credit facility due 2029, less letters of credit outstanding.

Speaker #2: As of October 31, 2025, our leverage ratio of net debt to last 12 months adjusted EBITDA was unchanged at 2.6 times, as compared to the prior quarter.

Speaker #2: The debt covenant leverage ratio calculation used for quarterly compliance with our lenders is defined in Amendment Number One to our Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement.

Scott Zuehlke: The debt covenant leverage ratio calculation used for quarterly compliance with our lenders is defined in Amendment Number 1 to our Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. This ratio was 2.5x as of 31 October 2025, and excludes real estate leases that are considered finance leases under US GAAP, and is calculated on a pro forma basis to include last 12 months adjusted EBITDA from the Tyman acquisition, $30 million of EBITDA for the synergy target related to the acquisition, and cash only from domestic subsidiaries. Since we now have four full quarters of owning Tyman and have realized the full $30 million of synergies that our lenders gave us credit for, we don't intend to reference the debt covenant leverage ratio going forward.

The debt covenant leverage ratio calculation used for quarterly compliance with our lenders is defined in Amendment Number 1 to our Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. This ratio was 2.5x as of 31 October 2025, and excludes real estate leases that are considered finance leases under US GAAP, and is calculated on a pro forma basis to include last 12 months adjusted EBITDA from the Tyman acquisition, $30 million of EBITDA for the synergy target related to the acquisition, and cash only from domestic subsidiaries. Since we now have four full quarters of owning Tyman and have realized the full $30 million of synergies that our lenders gave us credit for, we don't intend to reference the debt covenant leverage ratio going forward.

Speaker #2: This ratio was 2.5 times as of October 31. Real estate leases that are considered finance, 2025, and exclude leases under US GAAP, and is calculated on a pro forma basis to include last 12 months adjusted EBITDA from the Tyman acquisition, $30 million of EBITDA for the synergy target related to the acquisition, and cash only from domestic subsidiaries.

Speaker #2: Since we now have four full quarters of owning Tyman, and have realized the full $30 million of synergies that our lenders gave us credit for, we don't intend to reference the debt covenant leverage ratio going forward.

Speaker #2: As George mentioned in our earnings release, our long-term view continues to be favorable, as the underlying fundamentals for the residential housing market remain positive.

Scott Zuehlke: As George mentioned in our earnings release, our long-term view continues to be favorable as the underlying fundamentals for the residential housing market remain positive. However, while we enter fiscal 2026 with a cautious outlook due to the ongoing macroeconomic challenges, we are optimistic that demand for our products will improve as consumer confidence is restored over time. Our current view is that fiscal 2026 could be flat compared to fiscal 2025 from a revenue and Adjusted EBITDA perspective, with puts and takes, but the first half of 2026 may be more challenged than the first half of 2025, which would imply a somewhat improved second half year-over-year. Having said that, and consistent with the last few years, based on current macro indicators, recent conversations with our customers, limited transparency, and varying opinions on the macroeconomic outlook for 2026, we are again taking a measured approach to guidance.

As George mentioned in our earnings release, our long-term view continues to be favorable as the underlying fundamentals for the residential housing market remain positive. However, while we enter fiscal 2026 with a cautious outlook due to the ongoing macroeconomic challenges, we are optimistic that demand for our products will improve as consumer confidence is restored over time. Our current view is that fiscal 2026 could be flat compared to fiscal 2025 from a revenue and Adjusted EBITDA perspective, with puts and takes, but the first half of 2026 may be more challenged than the first half of 2025, which would imply a somewhat improved second half year-over-year. Having said that, and consistent with the last few years, based on current macro indicators, recent conversations with our customers, limited transparency, and varying opinions on the macroeconomic outlook for 2026, we are again taking a measured approach to guidance.

Speaker #2: However, while we enter fiscal 2026 with a cautious outlook due to the ongoing macroeconomic challenges, we are optimistic that demand for our products will improve as consumer confidence is restored over time.

Speaker #2: Our current view is that fiscal 2026 could be flat compared to fiscal 2025 from a revenue and adjusted EBITDA perspective, with puts and takes, but the first half of 2026 may be more challenged than the first half of 2025, which would imply a somewhat improved second half year over year.

Speaker #2: Having said that, and consistent with the last few years, based on current macro indicators, recent conversations with our customers, limited transparency, and varying opinions on the macroeconomic outlook for 2026, we are again taking a measured approach to guidance.

Speaker #2: We intend to revisit guidance for 2026 when we report earnings for the first quarter. We will stay focused on the things that we can control, with an emphasis on generating cash to continue paying down debt and opportunistically repurchasing our stock.

Scott Zuehlke: We intend to revisit guidance for 2026 when we report earnings for Q1. We will stay focused on the things that we can control with an emphasis on generating cash to continue paying down debt and opportunistically repurchasing our stock. In the meantime, please use the following cadence for Q1 2026 versus Q4 2025. As a reminder, due to the typical seasonality of our business, our Q1 is usually the weakest quarter of the year. With that said, on a consolidated basis, we expect revenue to be down 16% to 18% in Q1 2026 compared to Q4 2025. Adjusted EBITDA margin, again on a consolidated basis, is expected to be down 800 to 825 basis points in Q1 2026 compared to Q4 2025 as lower volumes impact operating leverage.

We intend to revisit guidance for 2026 when we report earnings for Q1. We will stay focused on the things that we can control with an emphasis on generating cash to continue paying down debt and opportunistically repurchasing our stock. In the meantime, please use the following cadence for Q1 2026 versus Q4 2025. As a reminder, due to the typical seasonality of our business, our Q1 is usually the weakest quarter of the year. With that said, on a consolidated basis, we expect revenue to be down 16% to 18% in Q1 2026 compared to Q4 2025. Adjusted EBITDA margin, again on a consolidated basis, is expected to be down 800 to 825 basis points in Q1 2026 compared to Q4 2025 as lower volumes impact operating leverage.

Speaker #2: In the meantime, please use the following cadence for the first quarter of 2026 versus the fourth quarter of 2025. As a reminder, due to the typical seasonality of our business, our first quarter is usually the weakest quarter of the year.

Speaker #2: With that said, on a consolidated basis, we expect revenue to be down 16 to 18% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the fourth quarter of 2025.

Speaker #2: Adjusted EBITDA margin, again on a consolidated basis, is expected to be down 800 to 825 basis points in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, as lower volumes impact operating leverage.

Speaker #2: Notwithstanding the significant progress we have made towards stabilizing the operation in Monterey, we also expect a negative impact of about $3 million during the first quarter of 2026 related to that plan.

Scott Zuehlke: Notwithstanding the significant progress we have made towards stabilizing the operation in Monterrey, we also expect a negative impact of about $3 million during the first quarter of 2026 related to that plan. In addition, the following modeling assumptions should be reasonable for the first quarter of 2026: SG&A of about $73 million, D&A of about $26 million, adjusted D&A excluding intangible amortization of about $16 million, which should be used to calculate adjusted EPS, interest expense of approximately $12.75 million, and a tax rate of 23.5%. Operator, we are now ready to take questions. Thank you. At this time, we would like to conduct a question-and-answer session. As a reminder to ask a question, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again.

Notwithstanding the significant progress we have made towards stabilizing the operation in Monterrey, we also expect a negative impact of about $3 million during the first quarter of 2026 related to that plan. In addition, the following modeling assumptions should be reasonable for the first quarter of 2026: SG&A of about $73 million, D&A of about $26 million, adjusted D&A excluding intangible amortization of about $16 million, which should be used to calculate adjusted EPS, interest expense of approximately $12.75 million, and a tax rate of 23.5%. Operator, we are now ready to take questions.

Speaker #2: In addition, the following modeling assumptions should be reasonable for the first quarter of 2026: SG&A of about $73 million, D&A of about $26 million, adjusted D&A excluding intangible amortization of about $16 million—which should be used to calculate adjusted EPS—interest expense of approximately $12.75 million, and a tax rate of 23.5%.

Speaker #2: Operator, we are now ready to take questions. Thank you. At this time, I would like to conduct the question and answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question you will need to press star 1 1 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced.

Operator: Thank you. At this time, we would like to conduct a question-and-answer session. As a reminder to ask a question, you will need to press star 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press star 11 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. One moment for our first question. Our first question will come from a line of Julio Romero from Sidoti. Your line is open.

Speaker #2: To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. One moment for our first question. Our first question will come from the line of Julio Romero from Sudoty.

Scott Zuehlke: Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. One moment for our first question. Our first question will come from a line of Julio Romero from Sidoti. Your line is open. Thanks. Hey, good morning, George and Scott. Morning. Morning. Scott, did I hear you correctly that the negative EBITDA impact in the fourth quarter from the Monterrey challenges was $8 million? And if so, your EBITDA margins for the hardware solutions segment would have been in the 16% range in the quarter? Yeah. So if you recall, on the last quarterly call, we talked about Monterrey being about a $5 million negative impact in Q3. We estimated at the time that Q4 impact would be about the same at $5 million. But the reality was, since we went to a 24/7 operation and higher labor costs, higher expedited freight costs, that ended up being around $8 million.

Speaker #2: Your line is

Julio Romero: Thanks. Hey, good morning, George and Scott.

Speaker #3: Thanks. Hey, good morning, George and Scott.

Scott Zuehlke: Morning.

George Wilson: Morning.

Julio Romero: Scott, did I hear you correctly that the negative EBITDA impact in the fourth quarter from the Monterrey challenges was $8 million? And if so, your EBITDA margins for the hardware solutions segment would have been in the 16% range in the quarter?

Speaker #4: Morning.

Speaker #3: Scott, morning. Did I hear you correctly that the negative EBITDA impact in the fourth quarter from the Monterey challenges was $8 million? And if so, your EBITDA margins for the Hardware Solutions segment would have been in the 16% range in the quarter?

Scott Zuehlke: Yeah. So if you recall, on the last quarterly call, we talked about Monterrey being about a $5 million negative impact in Q3. We estimated at the time that Q4 impact would be about the same at $5 million. But the reality was, since we went to a 24/7 operation and higher labor costs, higher expedited freight costs, that ended up being around $8 million. And then we alluded to about a $3 million hit we expect in Q1. But to your point, yes, it would have been better, but we also had a favorable cost roll impact in Q4 that impacted the, or helped, the Hardware Solutions segment.

Speaker #4: Yeah. So if you recall, in the last quarterly call, we talked about Monterey being about a $5 million negative impact in Q3. We estimated at the time that Q4 impact would be about the same, at $5 million.

Speaker #4: But the reality was, since we went to a 24/7 operation and had higher labor costs, higher expedited freight costs, that ended up being around $8 million.

Speaker #4: And then we alluded to about a $3 million hit we expect in the first quarter. But to your point, yes, it would have been better, but we also had a favorable cost roll impact in the fourth quarter.

Scott Zuehlke: And then we alluded to about a $3 million hit we expect in Q1. But to your point, yes, it would have been better, but we also had a favorable cost roll impact in Q4 that impacted the, or helped, the Hardware Solutions segment. Understood. And the $3 million drag expected in Q1, does your current kind of informal outlook assume that goes to zero beyond Q1? Yeah, that's our expectation. Yeah. Our decision to add the 24/7 and do some different things in the plant to speed up that recovery plan, that was really the intent to drive the backorder levels down faster than we anticipated. And we're having some very good success at making progress towards that goal. Well, it sounds prudent that you're able to get your arms around it, for sure.

Speaker #4: That impacted or helped the hardware solution.

Speaker #4: segment. Understood.

Julio Romero: Understood. And the $3 million drag expected in Q1, does your current kind of informal outlook assume that goes to zero beyond Q1?

Speaker #3: And the $3 million drag expected in the first quarter, does your current kind of informal outlook assume that goes to zero beyond the first quarter?

Scott Zuehlke: Yeah, that's our expectation.

Speaker #4: Yeah, that's our expectation.

George Wilson: Yeah. Our decision to add the 24/7 and do some different things in the plant to speed up that recovery plan, that was really the intent to drive the backorder levels down faster than we anticipated. And we're having some very good success at making progress towards that goal.

Speaker #5: Yeah, our decision to add the 24/7 and do some different things in the plant to speed up that recovery plan—that was really the intent, to drive the back order levels down faster than we anticipated.

Speaker #5: And we're having some very good success at making progress towards that.

Speaker #5: And we're having some very good success at making progress towards that goal. Well, sounds—

Julio Romero: Well, it sounds prudent that you're able to get your arms around it, for sure. Maybe thinking about the informal outlook, does your current informal outlook assume what does that assume from a market volume perspective in terms of the volume you'll get in the first half and the amount of procurement synergies you'll be able to realize as a result?

Speaker #3: Prudent that you're able to get your arms around it, for sure. Maybe thinking about the informal outlook, does your current informal outlook assume—what does that assume from a market volume perspective in terms of the volume you'll get in the first half, and the amount of procurement synergies you'll be able to realize as a result?

Scott Zuehlke: Maybe thinking about the informal outlook, does your current informal outlook assume what does that assume from a market volume perspective in terms of the volume you'll get in the first half and the amount of procurement synergies you'll be able to realize as a result? Yeah. The way I would, I mean, obviously somewhat premature until we come out with official guidance, but the way we're looking at it right now for next year from a revenue standpoint, if we stay flattish, maybe flattened down volumes with flat up pricing is how I would look at that. But then on the EBITDA side, the positives would be obviously less Mexico cost next year plus some additional synergies offset by higher SG&A due to inflation, higher benefits, and then bonus accrued at target. That's how I would look at it. Understood.

Scott Zuehlke: Yeah. The way I would, I mean, obviously somewhat premature until we come out with official guidance, but the way we're looking at it right now for next year from a revenue standpoint, if we stay flattish, maybe flattened down volumes with flat up pricing is how I would look at that. But then on the EBITDA side, the positives would be obviously less Mexico cost next year plus some additional synergies offset by higher SG&A due to inflation, higher benefits, and then bonus accrued at target. That's how I would look at it.

Speaker #4: Yeah. The way I would—I mean, obviously, it's somewhat premature until we come out with official guidance. But the way we're looking at it right now for next year, from a revenue standpoint, if we stay flattish—maybe flat to down volumes with flat to up pricing—is how I would look at that.

Speaker #4: But then, on the EBITDA side, the positives would be obviously less Mexico cost next year, plus some additional synergies. Offset by higher SG&A due to inflation, higher benefits, and then bonus accrued at target.

Speaker #4: That's how I would look at it.

Julio Romero: Understood. Last one for me is you were able to pay down debt pretty aggressively here in the fiscal year. You also repurchased roughly $3 million of stock here in the fourth quarter. But the shares have been pretty depressed here. Can you just talk about if you were limited by the open repurchase window timing at all during the fourth quarter? And then also if you could comment on whether you've been active on the buyback kind of post-quarter end.

Speaker #3: Understood. Last one for me is, you were able to pay down debt pretty aggressively here in the fiscal year. You also repurchased roughly $3 million in stock here in the fourth quarter.

Scott Zuehlke: Last one for me is you were able to pay down debt pretty aggressively here in the fiscal year. You also repurchased roughly $3 million of stock here in the fourth quarter. But the shares have been pretty depressed here. Can you just talk about if you were limited by the open repurchase window timing at all during the fourth quarter? And then also if you could comment on whether you've been active on the buyback kind of post-quarter end. Yeah. So we were active somewhat in 4Q. I think we made a conscious decision in the second half of last year to really focus more on paying down debt because pretty much every investor call we had since last two quarters, there was a real focus on net leverage.

Speaker #3: But the shares have been pretty depressed here. Can you just talk about if you were limited by the open repurchase window timing at all during the fourth quarter? And then also, if you could comment on whether you've been active on the buyback post-quarter.

Speaker #3: end? Yeah.

Scott Zuehlke: Yeah. So we were active somewhat in 4Q. I think we made a conscious decision in the second half of last year to really focus more on paying down debt because pretty much every investor call we had since last two quarters, there was a real focus on net leverage.

Speaker #4: So, we were active somewhat in Q4. I think we made a conscious decision in the second half of last year to really focus more on paying down debt, because the number out of pretty much every investor call we had since the last two quarters—there was a real focus on net leverage.

Speaker #4: Even though our balance sheet's in good shape, we think it's very healthy, there's this sentiment out there amongst investors that anything above two times net leverage is a concern.

Scott Zuehlke: Even though our balance sheet's in good shape, we think it's very healthy, there's this sentiment out there among investors that anything above 2x net leverage is a concern. So with that in mind, we chose to pay down debt, even though our shares, we still feel, are very cheap. Looking ahead, going forward, clearly we will be opportunistic. We don't have big windows in between quarters in which we can be in the market, so keep that in mind as well. The other thing to think about is that Q1 and really Q2 are low watermarks for the year. So we're trying to balance cash flow generation, stock repurchases, with also with debt paydown. We've typically been in net borrow in Q1 in the past. So we just try to balance all of that. Hope that helps. Thanks for the call, guys.

Even though our balance sheet's in good shape, we think it's very healthy, there's this sentiment out there among investors that anything above 2x net leverage is a concern. So with that in mind, we chose to pay down debt, even though our shares, we still feel, are very cheap. Looking ahead, going forward, clearly we will be opportunistic. We don't have big windows in between quarters in which we can be in the market, so keep that in mind as well. The other thing to think about is that Q1 and really Q2 are low watermarks for the year. So we're trying to balance cash flow generation, stock repurchases, with also with debt paydown. We've typically been in net borrow in Q1 in the past. So we just try to balance all of that. Hope that helps.

Speaker #4: So, with that in mind, we chose to pay down debt. Even though our shares, we still feel, are very cheap, looking ahead, going forward, clearly we will be opportunistic.

Speaker #4: We don't have big windows in between quarters in which we can be in the market, so keep that in mind as well. The other thing to think about is the first quarter, and really the second quarter, are our low watermarks for the year.

Speaker #4: So we're trying to balance cash flow generation and stock repurchases, while also focusing on debt paydown. We've typically been a net borrower in the first quarter in the past.

Speaker #4: So we just try to balance all of that. Hope that

Speaker #4: helps. Thanks

Julio Romero: Thanks for the call, guys. I appreciate it.

Speaker #3: I appreciate it.

Scott Zuehlke: I appreciate it. Yep. Thank you. Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question will come from a line of Steven Ramsey from Thompson Research Group. Your line is open. Hi. Good morning. Morning. I wanted to think about for 2026, with the persistently challenging demand backdrop more recently and looking forward, are you seeing any irrational competitive response in certain geographies or certain product categories? Steven, we really haven't seen a lot of what I would call irrational pricing where people are going to the market to try to fill up volume. We just haven't seen that. And I think there's still a mentality in the marketplace that supply chain risk for all people is of great priority and importance.

Scott Zuehlke: Yep.

George Wilson: Thank you.

Speaker #4: Yep. for the color, guys.

Speaker #5: Thank you. Thank

Operator: Thank you. One moment for our next question. Our next question will come from a line of Steven Ramsey from Thompson Research Group. Your line is open.

Speaker #2: You. One moment for our next question. Our next question will come from the line of Steven Ramsey from Thomson Research Group. The line is:

Speaker #2: open. Hi, good

Steven Ramsey: Hi. Good morning. Morning. I wanted to think about for 2026, with the persistently challenging demand backdrop more recently and looking forward, are you seeing any irrational competitive response in certain geographies or certain product categories?

Speaker #6: Morning. I wanted to think about '24 for 2026 with the persistently challenging demand backdrop, more recently and looking forward. Are you seeing any irrational competitive response in certain geographies or certain product categories?

George Wilson: Steven, we really haven't seen a lot of what I would call irrational pricing where people are going to the market to try to fill up volume. We just haven't seen that. And I think there's still a mentality in the marketplace that supply chain risk for all people is of great priority and importance.

Speaker #4: Steven, we really haven't seen a lot of what I would call irrational pricing, where people are going to the market to try to fill up volume.

Speaker #4: We just haven't seen that. And I think there's still a mentality in the marketplace that supply chain risk, for all people, is of great priority and importance.

Speaker #4: So, I think our customers evaluate those types of pricing decisions and have to balance whether it's the right move to just move to another supplier based on price.

Scott Zuehlke: So I think our customers evaluate those type of pricing decisions and have to balance, is it the right move to just move to another supplier based on price? There's much more involved in those types of decisions right now. I would say that that's the truth globally. So things like being able to supply facilities from multiple ship-to points, in a lot of cases, offset price. Now, with that being said, I think as commodity prices stabilize or come down, I think we will see pricing pressure, but we're really not seeing anything that I would call irrational at this point. Okay. That's great to hear. Then also looking at 2026 and the various product components within each segment, are there any certain products that you expect to be better than the flattish level for the year?

So I think our customers evaluate those type of pricing decisions and have to balance, is it the right move to just move to another supplier based on price? There's much more involved in those types of decisions right now. I would say that that's the truth globally. So things like being able to supply facilities from multiple ship-to points, in a lot of cases, offset price. Now, with that being said, I think as commodity prices stabilize or come down, I think we will see pricing pressure, but we're really not seeing anything that I would call irrational at this point.

Speaker #4: There's much more involved in those types of decisions right now, and I would say that that's the truth globally. So things like being able to supply facilities from multiple ship-to points, in a lot of cases, offset price.

Speaker #4: Now, with that being said, I think as commodity prices stabilize or come down, we will see pricing pressure, but we're really not seeing anything that I would call irrational at this point.

Steven Ramsey: Okay. That's great to hear. Then also looking at 2026 and the various product components within each segment, are there any certain products that you expect to be better than the flattish level for the year?

Speaker #6: Okay, that's great to hear. And then also, looking at 2026 and the various product components within each segment, are there any certain products that you expect to be better than the flattish level for the—

Speaker #6: year? I think the

Scott Zuehlke: I think the one area that is being potentially impacted by tariffs and everything that's going on in the macro backdrop would be the wood components part of our business that falls under the Custom Solutions. Yeah, the Custom Solutions group. As those tariffs continue to hang out there and be uncertain, I think that there's an unknown. But if the tariffs stick at a higher level, there could be some opportunity to insource that demand back into the US to mitigate tariff risk around the globe. So that could be an area of upside. Everything else, I think right now, it's a wait and see. But that's the one area where there could be some potential opportunity. Okay. And then on the benefits of the resegmentation, this was a talking point from the investor day. You mentioned it.

George Wilson: I think the one area that is being potentially impacted by tariffs and everything that's going on in the macro backdrop would be the wood components part of our business that falls under the Custom Solutions. Yeah, the Custom Solutions group. As those tariffs continue to hang out there and be uncertain, I think that there's an unknown. But if the tariffs stick at a higher level, there could be some opportunity to insource that demand back into the US to mitigate tariff risk around the globe. So that could be an area of upside. Everything else, I think right now, it's a wait and see. But that's the one area where there could be some potential opportunity.

Speaker #4: One area that is being potentially impacted by tariffs and everything that's going on in the macro drop would be the wood components part of our business.

Speaker #4: That falls under the, yeah, the Custom Solutions group. As those tariffs continue to hang out there and be uncertain, I think that there's an unknown, but if the tariffs stick at a higher level, there could be some opportunity to insource that demand back into the U.S. to mitigate tariff risk around the globe.

Speaker #4: So that could be an area of upside. Everything else, I think right now, it's a wait and see, but that's the one area where there could be some potential opportunity.

Steven Ramsey: Okay. And then on the benefits of the resegmentation, this was a talking point from the investor day. You mentioned it. Again, are there any early positive takeaways and results with the resegmentation? So far, is there any benefits embedded in the 2026 EBITDA outlook? And then maybe any of the nuances by segment on the sales or margin side with this resegmentation?

Speaker #6: Okay. And then on the benefits of the resegmentation—this was a talking point from the investor day. You mentioned it again. Are there any early positive takeaways and results with the resegmentation so far?

Scott Zuehlke: Again, are there any early positive takeaways and results with the resegmentation? So far, is there any benefits embedded in the 2026 EBITDA outlook? And then maybe any of the nuances by segment on the sales or margin side with this resegmentation? Yeah. It's still a little early. We're only now two quarters into this. But what I would tell you, I think we're already seeing operational improvements by the sharing of best practices, for example, in the extruded solutions group where you had silicone extrusion, butyl extrusion, and then you layer in the Schlegel piece of the business that we acquired from Tyman that has a completely different type of material that they extrude, but it's an extrusion process. And so the sharing of best practices in that division is already paying some operational dividends.

Speaker #6: Are there any benefits embedded in the 2026 EBITDA outlook? And then maybe, are there any nuances by segment on the sales or margin side with this resegmentation?

George Wilson: Yeah. It's still a little early. We're only now two quarters into this. But what I would tell you, I think we're already seeing operational improvements by the sharing of best practices, for example, in the extruded solutions group where you had silicone extrusion, butyl extrusion, and then you layer in the Schlegel piece of the business that we acquired from Tyman that has a completely different type of material that they extrude, but it's an extrusion process. And so the sharing of best practices in that division is already paying some operational dividends.

Speaker #4: Yeah, it's still a little early. We're only now two quarters into this, but what I would tell you, I think we're already seeing operational improvements by the sharing of best practices, for example, in the Extruded Solutions group.

Speaker #4: Where you had silicone extrusion, butyl extrusion, and then you layer in the Schlegel piece of the business that we acquired from Tyman, and that has a completely different type of material that they extrude, but it's an extrusion process.

Speaker #4: And so the sharing of best practices in that division is already paying some operational dividends. I think we're starting to see, and put together, a plan on what our global footprint will look like.

Scott Zuehlke: I think we're starting to see and put together a plan on what our global footprint will look like. That's long-term in nature, but I think we've got a really good feel and good opportunities for what I would say are mid and longer-term opportunities to continue to grow to better serve our customers, provide new products and new services. And so my biggest excitement right now relies around the process improvements as well as some of the innovation that's being driven through that. So we've probably exceeded my expectations from those points already. It's good to hear. Thank you. Our next question. Our next question will come from a line of Reuben Garner from Benchmark. Your line is open. Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Good morning. So the Mexico issue seems to be on track, kind of cleared up faster than you expected, which is great to hear.

I think we're starting to see and put together a plan on what our global footprint will look like. That's long-term in nature, but I think we've got a really good feel and good opportunities for what I would say are mid and longer-term opportunities to continue to grow to better serve our customers, provide new products and new services. And so my biggest excitement right now relies around the process improvements as well as some of the innovation that's being driven through that. So we've probably exceeded my expectations from those points already.

Speaker #4: That's long-term in nature, but I think we've got a really good feel and good opportunities for what I would say are mid- and longer-term opportunities to continue to grow, to better serve our customers, and provide new products and new services.

Speaker #4: And so my biggest excitement right now relies around the process improvements, as well as some of the innovation that's being driven through that. So, we probably exceeded my expectations from those points already.

Steven Ramsey: It's good to hear. Thank you.

Speaker #6: That's good to hear. Thank

Speaker #6: you.

Operator: Our next question. Our next question will come from a line of Reuben Garner from Benchmark. Your line is open.

Speaker #2: Our next

Speaker #2: Our next question will come from the line of Reuben Garner from Benchmark. Your line is open.

Reuben Garner: Thank you. Good morning, everybody.

Speaker #7: Thank you. Good morning,

Speaker #7: Everybody. So the Mexico issue seems to be on track, kind of cleared up faster than you expected, which is great to hear. George, just curious, it's been a few months since that came about.

George Wilson: Good morning.

Speaker #5: Good morning.

Reuben Garner: So the Mexico issue seems to be on track, kind of cleared up faster than you expected, which is great to hear. George, just curious, it's been a few months since that came about. Can you go into a little detail about the efforts you guys have made internally to make sure that there weren't risks of similar or other issues at different facilities from Tyman?

Scott Zuehlke: George, just curious, it's been a few months since that came about. Can you go into a little detail about the efforts you guys have made internally to make sure that there weren't risks of similar or other issues at different facilities from Tyman? Yeah. So obviously, being a manufacturing company, things happen in plants. We identified the issue fairly quick. When we did, we put a plan in to remediate. As you mentioned, I'm very happy and pleased with the efforts to get to there. I think we did a great job of mitigating the issue in a relatively quick period of time.

Speaker #7: Can you go into a little detail about the efforts you guys have made internally to make sure that there weren't risks of similar or other issues at different facilities from time and?

George Wilson: Yeah. So obviously, being a manufacturing company, things happen in plants. We identified the issue fairly quick. When we did, we put a plan in to remediate. As you mentioned, I'm very happy and pleased with the efforts to get to there. I think we did a great job of mitigating the issue in a relatively quick period of time.

Speaker #4: Yeah, so obviously, being a manufacturing company, things happen in plants. And we identified the issue fairly quickly, and when we did, we put a plan in to remediate.

Speaker #4: And as you mentioned, I'm very happy and pleased with the job of mitigating the issue in a relatively quick period of time. Obviously, as a part of that—and I wouldn't just frame it around the timing and acquisition—but we looked at every one of our facilities and said, "Do these types of scenarios exist anywhere?" So we did a deep dive on that.

Scott Zuehlke: Obviously, as a part of that, and I wouldn't just frame it around the Tyman acquisition, but we looked at every one of our facilities and said, "Do these types of scenarios exist anywhere?" So we did a deep dive on that. That's part of what we deem our 8D problem-solving philosophy, where we go in and we try to identify any like situations. We have not found that anywhere. We spent an enormous amount of time and effort making sure that the issues that we identified were not going to be replicated or have the risk of being replicated at any other facility. So I feel pretty good about the controls we have in place that we won't see it anywhere else.

Obviously, as a part of that, and I wouldn't just frame it around the Tyman acquisition, but we looked at every one of our facilities and said, "Do these types of scenarios exist anywhere?" So we did a deep dive on that. That's part of what we deem our 8D problem-solving philosophy, where we go in and we try to identify any like situations.

Speaker #4: That's part of what we deem our 8D problem-solving philosophy, where we go in and we try to identify any like situations, and we have not found that anywhere.

We have not found that anywhere. We spent an enormous amount of time and effort making sure that the issues that we identified were not going to be replicated or have the risk of being replicated at any other facility. So I feel pretty good about the controls we have in place that we won't see it anywhere else. I feel really good about the issues to fix the situation in a relatively short period of time to eliminate this on a go-forward basis in Monterrey.

Speaker #4: And we spent an enormous amount of time and effort making sure that the issues that we identified were not going to be replicated or have the risk of being replicated at any other facility.

Speaker #4: So, I feel pretty good about the controls we have in place, that we won't see it anywhere else. And I feel really good about the issues to fix the situation in a relatively short period of time to eliminate this on a go-forward basis in Monterey.

Scott Zuehlke: I feel really good about the issues to fix the situation in a relatively short period of time to eliminate this on a go-forward basis in Monterrey. Great. Then a clarification on the comments for Q1. Scott, did you say SG&A of $73 million? And if so, maybe I've got it wrong in my model, but that's a big change from where it was a year ago, I think almost $20 million higher on a similar revenue number and also higher than what you just did in the third and fourth quarters. So can you just talk about what's going on there? Is there anything one-time? Is that a good run rate for the full year on a quarterly basis? Yeah. I think that's a pretty decent run rate on a full year.

Reuben Garner: Great. Then a clarification on the comments for Q1. Scott, did you say SG&A of $73 million? And if so, maybe I've got it wrong in my model, but that's a big change from where it was a year ago, I think almost $20 million higher on a similar revenue number and also higher than what you just did in the third and fourth quarters. So can you just talk about what's going on there? Is there anything one-time? Is that a good run rate for the full year on a quarterly basis?

Speaker #7: Great. And then a clarification on the comments for Q1—Scott, did you say SG&A of $73 million? And if so, maybe I've got it wrong in my model, but that's a big change from where it was a year ago.

Speaker #7: I think $20 million is almost higher on a similar revenue number, and also higher than what you just did in the third and fourth quarter.

Speaker #7: So, can you just talk about what's going on there? Is there anything one-time? Is that a good run rate for the full year on a quarterly basis?

Speaker #3: Yeah, I think that's a pretty decent run rate on a full year. I mean, when you compare it to the later part of last year, one of the main things that sticks out is accruing at target now this year versus last year, when we knew halfway through the year we weren't going to hit those targets.

Scott Zuehlke: Yeah. I think that's a pretty decent run rate on a full year. I mean, when you compare it to the later part of last year, one of the main things that sticks out is accruing at target now this year versus last year when we knew halfway through the year we weren't going to hit those targets. So SG&A came down. There was a couple of one-time benefits last year, first quarter, just related to some issues from the legacy Tyman business. And then clearly, when you go into a new year, you budget for higher benefit cost, higher inflationary measures, merit increases, things of that nature that just increase SG&A. Now, clearly, with that in mind, our job, though, as managers, is to the extent we can operationally become more efficient to offset increased costs as we move through the year.

Scott Zuehlke: I mean, when you compare it to the later part of last year, one of the main things that sticks out is accruing at target now this year versus last year when we knew halfway through the year we weren't going to hit those targets. So SG&A came down. There was a couple of one-time benefits last year, first quarter, just related to some issues from the legacy Tyman business. And then clearly, when you go into a new year, you budget for higher benefit cost, higher inflationary measures, merit increases, things of that nature that just increase SG&A. Now, clearly, with that in mind, our job, though, as managers, is to the extent we can operationally become more efficient to offset increased costs as we move through the year. Great. And then I'm going to sneak one more in. You talked about potentially a little bit of price.

Speaker #3: So SG&A came down. There were a couple of one-time benefits last year, first quarter, just related to some issues from the legacy Time and business.

Speaker #3: And then, clearly, when you go into a new year, you budget for higher benefit costs, higher inflationary measures, merit increases—things of that nature that just increase SG&A.

Speaker #3: Now, clearly, with that in mind, our job, though, as managers is, to the extent we can, operationally become more efficient to offset increased costs as we move through the year.

Speaker #2: Okay.

Reuben Garner: Great. And then I'm going to sneak one more in. You talked about potentially a little bit of price. I assume some of that is carryover from actions throughout this year, maybe related to tariffs and that sort of thing. What are you seeing on the cost side in terms of cost of goods? Is that pretty stable? I guess, ultimately, what does price cost look like in your outlook for 2026?

Speaker #2: Great. And then I'm going to sneak one more in. You talked about potentially a little bit of price—I assume some of that is carryover from actions throughout this year, maybe related to tariffs and that sort of thing.

Scott Zuehlke: I assume some of that is carryover from actions throughout this year, maybe related to tariffs and that sort of thing. What are you seeing on the cost side in terms of cost of goods? Is that pretty stable? I guess, ultimately, what does price cost look like in your outlook for 2026? Yeah. I'll take this one, Reuben. Really, from a cost basis, things have, I would say, generally stabilized. There's a couple of areas across the different product lines, especially around oil-type-based products, anything that's going through a cracked chemical type of process. I think we anticipate we'll see continued inflationary pressure there. But overall, I think materials have stabilized, and the supply of those materials have stabilized. So to be determined. Tariffs do have a big impact right now, but that seems to have softened a little bit, or at least not changing on a daily basis.

Speaker #2: What are you seeing on the cost side in terms of cost of goods? Is that pretty stable? I guess, ultimately, what does price/cost look like in your outlook for—

Speaker #2: '26? Yeah.

George Wilson: Yeah. I'll take this one, Reuben. Really, from a cost basis, things have, I would say, generally stabilized. There's a couple of areas across the different product lines, especially around oil-type-based products, anything that's going through a cracked chemical type of process. I think we anticipate we'll see continued inflationary pressure there. But overall, I think materials have stabilized, and the supply of those materials have stabilized. So to be determined. Tariffs do have a big impact right now, but that seems to have softened a little bit, or at least not changing on a daily basis.

Speaker #4: I'll pick this one, Reuben. Really, from a cost basis, things have, I would say, generally stabilized. There's a couple of areas across the different product lines, especially around oil-type base products—anything that's going through a cracked chemical type of process.

Speaker #4: I think we anticipate we'll see continued inflationary pressure there. But overall, I think materials have stabilized, and the supply of those materials has stabilized.

Speaker #4: So, to be determined. Tariffs do have a big impact right now, but that seems to have softened a little bit, or at least they're not changing on a daily basis.

Speaker #2: Great. Thank you, guys. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.

Speaker #2: Great, thank you guys. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year if I don't talk to you.

Scott Zuehlke: Great. Thank you, guys. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Don't talk to you. You as well. Appreciate it. Thank you. Once again, that's star 11 for questions. One moment for our next question. Next question will come from a line of Kevin Gainey from Thompson Davis & Co. Your line is open. Good morning, George and Scott. Congrats on the quarter. Thanks. Thanks. Maybe we could talk about the synergies to start first and how you guys are thinking how quickly you might be able to achieve the $15 million to get to the ultimate $45 million. And then maybe if you could break down how you're approaching those synergies from a cost, procurement, footprint perspective. Yeah. I think to get at the remaining, really, it's a little less than $15 million because we did realize some in fourth quarter of 2024.

Reuben Garner: Great. Thank you, guys. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. Don't talk to you.

George Wilson: You as well.

Speaker #3: Thank you as well. I appreciate it.

Scott Zuehlke: Appreciate it.

Operator: Thank you. Once again, that's star 11 for questions. One moment for our next question. Next question will come from a line of Kevin Gainey from Thompson Davis & Co. Your line is open.

Speaker #2: Thank you. Once again, that's star 11 for questions. One moment for our next question. Next question will come from the line of Kevin Gainey from Thompson Davis and Company.

Speaker #2: Your line is open.

Kevin Gainey: Good morning, George and Scott. Congrats on the quarter.

Speaker #5: Scott: Congratulations on the quarter. Thanks.

George Wilson: Thanks.

Scott Zuehlke: Thanks.

Kevin Gainey: Maybe we could talk about the synergies to start first and how you guys are thinking how quickly you might be able to achieve the $15 million to get to the ultimate $45 million. And then maybe if you could break down how you're approaching those synergies from a cost, procurement, footprint perspective.

Speaker #3: Thanks.

Speaker #5: Maybe we could talk about the synergies to start first, and how you guys are thinking about how quickly you might be able to achieve the $15 million.

Speaker #5: To get to the ultimate $45 million, and then maybe if you could break down how you're approaching those synergies from a cost, procurement, and footprint perspective.

Speaker #5: perspective. Yeah.

Scott Zuehlke: Yeah. I think to get at the remaining, really, it's a little less than $15 million because we did realize some in fourth quarter of 2024. But the way we're looking at fiscal 2026, and I mentioned it earlier about we do expect some additional synergies probably in the $5 to 10 million range. The range is really because of volumes. If volumes are better, then we could be towards the higher end of that range because of procurement synergies. If volumes are worse, it could be on the lower end. So there's a range there. And then going into 2027, there's still some more synergies that we could get at. Outside of that, there are some specific timing of when synergies may hit in 2026, really more on the SG&A side. And I'll leave it at that.

Speaker #3: I think to get at the remaining, really, it's a little less than $15 million because we did realize some in the fourth quarter of 2024. But the way we're looking at fiscal 2026—and I mentioned it earlier—we do expect some additional synergies, probably in the $5 to $10 million range.

Scott Zuehlke: But the way we're looking at fiscal 2026, and I mentioned it earlier about we do expect some additional synergies probably in the $5 to 10 million range. The range is really because of volumes. If volumes are better, then we could be towards the higher end of that range because of procurement synergies. If volumes are worse, it could be on the lower end. So there's a range there. And then going into 2027, there's still some more synergies that we could get at. Outside of that, there are some specific timing of when synergies may hit in 2026, really more on the SG&A side. And I'll leave it at that. Sounds good. And then as you guys think about the pricing gains that you got in 2025, how much of that was really inflation-linked versus kind of structurally?

Speaker #3: And the range is really because of volumes. If volumes are better, then we could be towards the higher end of that range because of procurement synergies.

Speaker #3: If volumes are worse, it could be on the lower end, so there is a range there. And then, going into 2027, there are still some more synergies that we could get at.

Speaker #3: Outside of that, there are some specific timings of when synergies may hit in 2026, really more on the SG&A side, and I'll leave it at that.

Speaker #3: that. Sounds

Kevin Gainey: Sounds good. And then as you guys think about the pricing gains that you got in 2025, how much of that was really inflation-linked versus kind of structurally? And do you think you have any concerns around give-backs in 2026?

Speaker #5: Good. And then as you guys think about the pricing gains that you got in 2025, how much of that was really inflation-linked versus kind of structural?

Speaker #5: And do you think you have any concerns around givebacks in—

Scott Zuehlke: And do you think you have any concerns around give-backs in 2026? As I look at pricing, I think we've been very focused on how to best serve our customers. I think that's always been our sales philosophy. So our price increases that we pass on in the market really do revolve around inflationary pressures. So our job and our philosophy with our customers is any sort of margin improvement on our part shouldn't come at the detriment of our customers. Our job is to pass along costs as true costs. Then for us to improve our margins, that's all driven by operational performance. I think that that's our philosophy and how to be a good supplier. We are not predatory in any way, shape, or form in terms of how we price to our customers.

Speaker #5: '26? As I

George Wilson: As I look at pricing, I think we've been very focused on how to best serve our customers. I think that's always been our sales philosophy. So our price increases that we pass on in the market really do revolve around inflationary pressures. So our job and our philosophy with our customers is any sort of margin improvement on our part shouldn't come at the detriment of our customers. Our job is to pass along costs as true costs. Then for us to improve our margins, that's all driven by operational performance. I think that that's our philosophy and how to be a good supplier. We are not predatory in any way, shape, or form in terms of how we price to our customers.

Speaker #4: Looking at pricing, I think we've been very focused on how to best serve our customers. And I think that's always been our sales philosophy.

Speaker #4: So, our price increases that we pass on in the market really do revolve around inflationary pressures. And so, our job and our philosophy with our customers is that any sort of margin improvement on our part shouldn't come at the detriment of our customers.

Speaker #4: Our job is to pass along costs as true cost, and then for us to improve our margins. That's all driven by operational performance. I think that that's our philosophy and how to be a good supplier.

Speaker #4: And we are not predatory in any way, shape, or form in terms of how we price to our customers. So, in that respect, I think our ability to hold on to price should be pretty strong because I don't think we're out there, and we have all the data in the world to support the inflationary costs that we're passing along.

Scott Zuehlke: So in that respect, I think our ability to hold on to price should be pretty strong because I don't think we're out there and we have all the data in the world to support the inflationary costs that we're passing along. I think we're proud of the fact that that is the approach we take to pricing because I think long-term, that's what builds relationships with our customers and will continue to do that on a go-forward basis. So again, long answer to your question, but I think the ability to hold on to price should be pretty strong because it's supported by what we've eaten in terms of cost increases. Might be a long answer, but I think it was a great answer.

So in that respect, I think our ability to hold on to price should be pretty strong because I don't think we're out there and we have all the data in the world to support the inflationary costs that we're passing along. I think we're proud of the fact that that is the approach we take to pricing because I think long-term, that's what builds relationships with our customers and will continue to do that on a go-forward basis. So again, long answer to your question, but I think the ability to hold on to price should be pretty strong because it's supported by what we've eaten in terms of cost increases.

Speaker #4: I think we're proud of the fact that that is the approach we take to pricing, because I think long-term that's what builds relationships with our customers, and we'll continue to do that on a go-forward basis.

Speaker #4: So again, long answer to your question, but I think the ability to hold on to price should be pretty strong because it's supported by what we've eaten in terms of cost increases.

Speaker #4: So again, long answer to your question, but I think the ability to hold on to price should be pretty strong because it's supported by what we've eaten in terms of cost increases.

Kevin Gainey: Might be a long answer, but I think it was a great answer. Maybe if you guys could talk about demand as well from kind of parsed between new residential versus repair and remodel, and whether one feels stronger than the other, and how you're thinking about it for 2026.

Speaker #5: Might be a long answer, but I think it was a great answer. Maybe if you guys could talk about demand as well, kind of parse between new residential versus repair and remodel, and whether one feels stronger than the other, and how you're thinking about it for '26.

Scott Zuehlke: Maybe if you guys could talk about demand as well from kind of parsed between new residential versus repair and remodel, and whether one feels stronger than the other, and how you're thinking about it for 2026. Yeah. I think for us, our products are fairly agnostic to either of the markets. So we determine that really by our customer mix. I think right now we're seeing really similar type of impacts on both R&R and new construction. I do believe that the R&R piece will be the one we see that leads, at least for us, because we're weighted more to R&R. I think as we see new construction start to improve, the interesting metric that we'll keep an eye on is the size of homes and multifamily versus single family, and what does that mix look like.

George Wilson: Yeah. I think for us, our products are fairly agnostic to either of the markets. So we determine that really by our customer mix. I think right now we're seeing really similar type of impacts on both R&R and new construction. I do believe that the R&R piece will be the one we see that leads, at least for us, because we're weighted more to R&R. I think as we see new construction start to improve, the interesting metric that we'll keep an eye on is the size of homes and multifamily versus single family, and what does that mix look like.

Speaker #4: Yeah, I think for us, our products are fairly agnostic to either market. So, we determine that really by our customer mix. I think right now we're seeing really similar types of impacts on both R&R and new construction.

Speaker #4: I do believe that the R&R piece will be, we see, that leads at least for us because we're weighted more to R&R. I think, as we see new construction start to improve, the interesting metric that we'll keep our eye on is the size of homes and multifamily versus single family, and what does that mix look like.

Speaker #4: The number of window openings in a house impacts the volume impact of new construction for us. So, I think R&R will be the leader on any sort of recovery.

Scott Zuehlke: The number of window openings in a house impacts the volume impact of new construction for us. So I think R&R will be the leader on any sort of recovery, and that the new construction will be, again, more driven by interest rates and the movements of the Fed, as well as availability and affordability of the new housing market. So they're both impacted pretty equal, though, right now from what we see. Appreciate the color. And then one final one just on cash flow. You guys typically burn cash in the January quarter. Is there any reason to expect you wouldn't have slightly negative free cash flow in Q1? I mean, it's possible. I think it just depends on how December and January play out. I mean, as we sit here today, November came in pretty much as expected. So no surprises yet.

The number of window openings in a house impacts the volume impact of new construction for us. So I think R&R will be the leader on any sort of recovery, and that the new construction will be, again, more driven by interest rates and the movements of the Fed, as well as availability and affordability of the new housing market. So they're both impacted pretty equal, though, right now from what we see.

Speaker #4: And that the new construction will again be more driven by interest rates and the movements of the Fed, as well as the availability and affordability of the new housing market.

Speaker #4: So they're both impacted pretty equally though right now from what we see.

Kevin Gainey: Appreciate the color. And then one final one just on cash flow. You guys typically burn cash in the January quarter. Is there any reason to expect you wouldn't have slightly negative free cash flow in Q1?

Speaker #5: Appreciate the color, and then one final one just on cash flow. You guys typically burn cash in the January quarter. Is there any reason to expect you wouldn't have slightly negative free cash flow in Q1?

Scott Zuehlke: I mean, it's possible. I think it just depends on how December and January play out. I mean, as we sit here today, November came in pretty much as expected. So no surprises yet.

Speaker #3: Yeah, I mean, it's possible. I think it just depends on how December and January play out. I mean, as we sit here today, November came in pretty much as expected.

Speaker #3: So no

Speaker #3: No surprises yet. The one thing on cash,

Scott Zuehlke: The one thing on cash flow that, again, a lot of it will depend on volume. The timing of CapEx. Yeah, CapEx. The other thing that happened this year, I mean, it wasn't a banner 2024. So as we've stated, the incentive payouts to the executive team and the organization wasn't as high as it typically would be. So it was pretty much under target. So the cash flow outlay to any sort of incentive payment is going to be lower in Q1 than we've typically seen. So this is one of the lower incentive payouts that we've seen in the past year. So that should help cash flow in Q1. Sounds good, guys. I appreciate it. Yep. Thanks. In the queue. I would like to turn it back over to George Wilson for any closing remarks. I'd like to thank everyone for joining.

George Wilson: The one thing on cash flow that, again, a lot of it will depend on volume.

Speaker #4: Flow that again, a lot of it will depend on volume. Yeah.

Scott Zuehlke: The timing of CapEx.

Speaker #3: And the timing of CapEx.

George Wilson: Yeah, CapEx. The other thing that happened this year, I mean, it wasn't a banner 2024. So as we've stated, the incentive payouts to the executive team and the organization wasn't as high as it typically would be. So it was pretty much under target. So the cash flow outlay to any sort of incentive payment is going to be lower in Q1 than we've typically seen. So this is one of the lower incentive payouts that we've seen in the past year. So that should help cash flow in Q1.

Speaker #4: CapEx. The other thing that happened this year—I mean, it wasn't a banner 2025. So, as we've stated, incentive payouts to the executive team and the organization weren't as high as they typically would be.

Speaker #4: So it was pretty much under target. So the cash flow outlay to any sort of incentive payment is going to be lower in Q1 than we've typically seen.

Speaker #4: So, this is one of the lower incentive payouts that we've seen in the past few years, so that should help cash flow in Q1.

Kevin Gainey: Sounds good, guys. I appreciate it.

Speaker #5: Sounds good, guys. I appreciate it.

Scott Zuehlke: Yep. Thanks.

Speaker #3: Yep.

Speaker #3: Yep. Thanks. In the queue.

Operator: In the queue. I would like to turn it back over to George Wilson for any closing remarks.

Speaker #1: I would like to turn it back over to George Wilson for any closing remarks.

Speaker #1: remarks. I'd like to thank

George Wilson: I'd like to thank everyone for joining.I want to take a moment to wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday. We look forward to providing the next update to everyone in March. Thank you.

Speaker #4: Everyone, thank you for joining. I want to take a moment to wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday, and we look forward to providing the next update to everyone in March.

Scott Zuehlke: I want to take a moment to wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday. We look forward to providing the next update to everyone in March. Thank you. Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.

Speaker #4: Thank

Speaker #4: you. Thank you for your

Operator: Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect. Everyone, have a great day.