ALTO

Alto Ingredients, Inc. ALTO delivered a significantly improved second-quarter 2026 performance, marking its fourth consecutive quarter of positive gross profit, operating income, net income and adjusted EBITDA. The renewable fuels producer benefited from stronger ethanol crush margins, improved essential ingredient values, lower corn costs and higher sales volumes. However, despite the sharp improvement in profitability, ALTO’s shares have come under significant pressure following the earnings release.Since reporting results on Aug. 5, 2026, Alto Ingredients’ shares have declined 17%. Over the past month, the stock has fallen 19.1%, considerably underperforming the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry, which gained 6.2%, as well as the broader Consumer Discretionary sector, which advanced 0.5%. The S&P 500 also increased 2.1% during the same period. Alto Ingredients has also substantially underperformed several key peers, including Green Plains Inc. GPRE, Gevo, Inc. GEVO and MGP Ingredients, Inc. MGPI. MGP Ingredients and Gevo gained 2.4% and 3.1%, respectively, while Green Plains declined 7.4% during the same period. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Nevertheless, ALTO’s quarterly results showed continued progress in its underlying business. Alto Ingredients’ second-quarter results reflected a substantial year-over-year improvement. Net sales of $245.7 million surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $243 million and increased 12.5% from $218.4 million in the prior-year quarter. This growth reflected higher alcohol selling prices, increased specialty alcohol volumes and stronger essential ingredient values. The company sold 88.5 million gallons of ethanol and specialty alcohols, up from 86.7 million gallons a year ago, while the average sales price increased 10% to $2.15 per gallon.Gross profit surged to $16.6 million from a gross loss of $1.9 million in the year-ago quarter. Earnings per share came in at 15 cents, compared with a loss of 15 cents in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA also improved sharply to $23.7 million from negative $0.2 million. The improvement was driven primarily by stronger industry crush margins, which increased to 33 cents per gallon from 11 cents a year ago and contributed approximately $17 million of incremental gross profit. Favorable market conditions also supported ALTO’s performance in the quarter, including robust export demand, strong domestic blending activity and tighter ethanol inventories following industrywide spring maintenance outages. Favorable crop conditions and larger projected grain supplies helped lower corn costs. The company’s essential ingredient business also performed well, with sales increasing $6.1 million year over year. Stronger pricing and a 5% decline in corn costs lifted the consolidated essential ingredient return to 51.6% from 45.2% a year earlier.ALTO is also investing in projects aimed at increasing production and improving profitability. In the second quarter, the company completed a debottlenecking project at its Pekin Campus that is expected to increase annual production capacity by approximately 8%, or 5 million gallons. Management expects the facility to reach the new production levels and realize the full benefit of the additional capacity in the fourth quarter. Apart from this, the company is expanding its CO2-related opportunities, with a third CO2 storage tank at the Columbia facility expected to become operational in the fourth quarter. Alto Ingredients is further benefiting from the 45Z clean fuel production tax credit. Despite the improvement in its financial performance, ALTO continues to face headwinds in the export business. Geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East have increased freight costs and reduced vessel availability, while competition from Brazilian ethanol has weakened the economics of shipping U.S. renewable fuels to Europe. Management noted that these factors contributed to lower renewable fuel export volumes. Continued changes in global trade flows and freight economics could therefore weigh on export opportunities and create volatility in future results.ALTO also incurred higher operating expenses during the quarter, partially offsetting the improvement in gross profit. Repairs and maintenance expenses increased approximately $2 million year over year, primarily due to work related to the Pekin dry mill and ICP spring outages, as well as continued work at the Carbonic facility. Selling, general and administrative expenses also increased $1.8 million. Higher operating costs could weigh on profitability as the company continues its optimization and maintenance activities. Reflecting cautious sentiment around Alto Ingredients, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPS has seen downward revisions. Over the past seven days, the EPS estimate for 2026 and 2027 has declined 27.8% and 66.3% to 39 cents and 28 cents, respectively. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Alto Ingredients is showing meaningful improvement in profitability, supported by stronger ethanol fundamentals, lower corn costs and strategic growth initiatives. However, the sharp post-earnings decline, weaker export conditions, higher operating expenses and downward revisions to earnings estimates point to limited near-term visibility. For now, current investors may consider reducing exposure or exiting positions, while potential investors may prefer to remain on the sidelines. Alto Ingredients currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alto Ingredients, Inc. (ALTO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Gevo, Inc. (GEVO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Green Plains, Inc. (GPRE) : Free Stock Analysis Report MGP Ingredients, Inc. (MGPI) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET President and Chief Executive Officer - Bryon McGregor Chief Financial Officer - Robert R. Olander Operator: Good afternoon and welcome to the Alto Ingredients Second Quarter 26 Financial Results Conference Call. All participants will be in a listen-only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To withdraw your question, please press *2. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Jody Burfening. Please go ahead. Thank you, Danielle, and thank you all for joining us today for Alto Ingredients Second Quarter 26 Results Conference Call. With me on the call are our President and CEO, Bryon McGregor and CFO, Robert R. Olander. Alto Ingredients issued a press release after the market closed today providing details of the company's financial results for the second quarter of 26. A webcast and webcast replay will be available on the Alto Ingredients website at altoingredients.com. Please note that the information on this call speaks only as of today, 08/05/2026. You are advised that time sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of any replay. Company also prepared a presentation for today's call that is available on its website. Please refer to the company's safe harbor statement in the presentation which states that some of the comments constitute forward looking statements in consideration that involve risks and uncertainties. The actual results of all 2 ingredients could differ materially from those statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, events, risks, and other factors previously and from time to time disclosed in Alto Ingredients filings with the SEC. Except as required by applicable law, the company assumes no obligation to update any forward looking statements. In management's prepared remarks, non-GAAP measures will be referenced. Management uses these non GAAP measures to monitor the company's financial performance of its operations and believes these measures will assist investors in assessing the company's performance for the periods reported. The company defines adjusted EBITDA as unaudited consolidated net income or loss before interest expense interest income, provision or benefit for income taxes, asset impairments, unrealized derivative gains and losses, acquisition related expenses, excess insurance proceeds, depreciation and amortization expense. To support the company's review of non GAAP information, a reconciling table has been included in the second quarter earnings release and presentation. With that, it is now my pleasure to introduce Bryon McGregor. Bryon, please go ahead. Bryon T. McGregor: Thanks, Jody. And thanks everyone for joining us today. I will begin with a high level review of our second quarter results. And operational activities. Then I will turn the call over to Robert for a detailed review of our financial results for the quarter. After that, I will wrap up and open the call for Q&A. We delivered our fourth consecutive quarter of positive gross profit, income from operations, net income, and adjusted EBITDA. We have been consistently profitable during this period even without the contribution of 45Z tax credits. These results demonstrate the strength of our diversified operating model. Which gives us the flexibility to shift production toward the most attractive end markets and capture premium value opportunities. We remain focused on disciplined execution of our strategic plan, and unlocking additional value across our portfolio. Our latest 12-month results are also a testament to our efforts to drive profitability and maximize our asset base. And to make smart capital allocation decisions, including purchasing Alto Carbonic, investing in our dry mill optimization and carbon intensity reduction projects, We have executed well on these initiatives and more. For the second quarter, our results reflect strong domestic demand and improved essential ingredient values compared to the same period last year. The quarter's market crush margins improved significantly to $0.33 per gallon from $0.11 per gallon in the same period last year. This increase was driven by robust export demand strong domestic blending activity, and tighter ethanol inventories following industry wide spring maintenance outages. As a result, ethanol prices improved during the quarter supported by strong Renewable Volume Obligation or RVO blending requirements Meanwhile, favorable crop conditions and larger projected grain supplies contributed to lower corn costs and higher margins. Q2 crush margins were not only significantly higher than the same period last year, but were also strong by historical standards. Q3 margins which in the past have marked the seasonal peak of the year, continue to be healthy and profitable. While European demand remained robust, ongoing geopolitical disruption in the Middle East negatively impacted export economics from The United States during the quarter. Higher freight costs and reduced certainty of vessel availability to move exports from the Gulf Coast compressed the US to Europe arbitrage, increasing the competitiveness of Brazil exports into Europe. As a result, our renewable fuel export volumes declined compared to the second quarter of last year. Given the strength of domestic ethanol markets, we successfully optimized our product mix towards fuel grade ethanol sales in the US markets. This underscores the benefits of our diversified commercial platform enabling us to adapt and capture the value of strong crush margin environments. Also, we believe that the geopolitical disruption in the Middle East created favorable conditions that drive domestic support for implementing E15 blending. More on that in a minute. During the quarter, we continued to improve utilization, reliability, and throughput, With the goal of increasing total 26 volumes over 2025. At our Pekin campus, we completed the dry mill planned outage along with our debottlenecking project to increase annual production capacity by about 8%. or 5 million gallons. This project demonstrates our dedication to highly attractive ROI investments. By increasing production at our most efficient facility, we are positioning Alto for incremental gross margin and to qualify for additional 45Z tax credits. After a successful dry mill restart, we are now ramping up to our new production levels. And still expect to realize the full benefit of the additional capacity in the fourth quarter. We also performed our routine spring outage at ICP during the quarter. We remain on track to finish the repairs on our existing dock and the installation of the second alcohol load out by the end of the year improving our logistics and loading capacity. At our Columbia facility, we began working to add a third CO2 storage tank And expect it to be operational in Q4. The expanded storage capacity will allow us to further capitalize on growing demand for premium CO2. in the Pacific Northwest. We continue advancing multiple pathways to further monetize our CO2 stream, including both utilization and sequestration opportunities. Our strategy emphasizes low capital, high return projects while preserving flexibility as regulatory and commercial markets continue to evolve. Our intent is to move quickly by pursuing partnership with stakeholders that already have compression capabilities allowing us to accelerate commercialization. In the meantime, we are focused on increasing our 45Z credits by producing more volume. We also continue to explore opportunities to lower our carbon scores without significant capital investment by working with our farmer partners to encourage them to lower the carbon intensity of their corn. We remain on track to qualify 90 million gallons or more of combined production this year supporting our expectation for generating a minimum of $15 million in income from tax credits after monetization costs We are encouraged by the growing momentum for year round E15 adoption. As an example, recently the Renewal Fuels Association reported that about 72% of US voters favor year-round E15 blending the highest level recorded since polling began in 2016. Nationally, support continues to build around the promise of E15 to reduce fuel cost. Strengthen energy security, and to increase demand for domestically produced renewable fuels. Meanwhile, several Midwestern states have moved forward with permanent year round E15 access. Providing an important blueprint for broader adoption. California is also making progress following the passage of Assembly Bill 30. While final implementation steps remain, we believe the state's transition toward E15 represents a meaningful long term demand opportunity given its position as 1 of the largest gasoline markets in the country. Taken together, expanding E15 adoption at both the federal and state levels has the potential to drive significant incremental ethanol demand. Improved industry capacity utilization, and support a more favorable margin environment over time. With that, I will turn the call over to Robert for a more detailed review of our second quarter financial results. Robert R. Olander: Thank you, Bryon. I will start with a review of the second quarter 26 income statement compared to the second quarter of 2025. Consolidated net sales of $246 million, up $27 million. We sold 88.5 million gallons of ethanol and specialty alcohols, an increase of 1.8 million gallons at an average sales price of $2.15 per gallon which was $0.20 per gallon or 10% higher than last year. With the 2026 RVO regulations finalized during the second quarter, ethanol and RIN prices supported higher domestic ethanol sales and improved crush margins. With the diverse production capabilities at the Pekin campus, we are well positioned to serve this changing market demand by shifting our production and sales mix. Revenue from renewable fuel exports increased by $800 thousand reflecting a 2.2 million reduction in gallons sold at a significantly higher premium to domestic renewable fuel than last year. This decrease in volume reflects the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on the cost and availability of freight. High quality alcohol volumes increased by 3.6 million gallons, Although average premiums over ethanol narrowed, reducing revenue by approximately $2.9 million realized gains from our derivative positions largely offset the impact as intended. Limiting the net premium decline to $0.02 per gallon. As a result, the higher volumes generated a modest increase in profitability despite the lower premium environment. Essential ingredient sales increased $6.1 million on overall improved average sales prices. Dry distiller grain sales were supported by a strong export market and tighter domestic supply as a result of the seasonal spring maintenance downtime in the industry. In addition, the 2026 RVO set strong demand for corn oil and germ as a feedstock. for biodiesel and renewable diesel drove prices up. Coupled with a 5% decrease in our cost of corn, our essential ingredients return improved to 51.6% compared to 45.2% for the second quarter last year. Gross profit increased by $19 million year over year to $17 million. In addition to the sales mix changes, the improvement was primarily driven by stronger industry crush margins, which increased to $0.33 per gallon from $0.11 per gallon in the second quarter of last year. Contributing approximately $17 million of incremental gross profit. We also benefited from lower utility costs, with natural gas and electricity expenses declining by nearly $600 thousand year over year. Offsetting these positives, we incurred approximately $2 million more in repairs and maintenance expense due to our Pekin dry mill and ICP spring outages. And continued work at our Carbonic facility to ensure we are prepared to reliably support the increased demand for our premium CO2 during the seasonally strong summer months. Even with these higher expenses, our Western facilities remain profitable on a gross profit basis for Q2 26. As a reminder, we employ hedging strategies to protect the premiums over ethanol on our high quality alcohol contractual commitments and to adjust our fixed price corn back to market. For the second quarter, realized derivative gains increased $1.2 million while unrealized derivative losses related to future shipments increased $1.5 million As of the end of the second quarter, our open derivative positions resulted in a net asset of $3.9 million. SG&A expenses increased by $1.8 million. Because of our strong second quarter and year to date results, we accrued performance compensation for the first and second quarters in the amount of $800 thousand whereas last year, we did not accrue performance compensation until the second half of the year. Last year's SG&A expense also included a 1-time $800 thousand gain related to the final payment for the Eagle Alcohol acquisition. Excluding these notable items, SG&A was comparable, reflecting the actions taken last year to rightsize our staff levels, and cut costs. We continue to maintain strict discipline over our spending. Moving down the income statement, we generated $5.1 million in 45Z tax credit earnings reflecting $4 million of credits earned in the second quarter and $1.1 million in final adjustments on our 2025 sales proceeds as we completed the sale of our 25 credits in June. In Q2 25, we did not recognize any 45Z tax credit earnings as we were not yet accounting for them on a quarterly basis. Year to date, we have accrued $7.9 million in net 26 45Z tax credits which we expect to monetize in the future. Interest expense decreased $900 thousand on lower debt balances. Reflecting our continued focus on minimizing idle cash, and reducing our interest expense burden by paying down debt. Adjusted EBITDA improved by $23.9 million to $23.7 million compared to negative adjusted EBITDA in the prior year period. The improvement was driven by a combination of the $19 million swing to positive gross profit and a $5.1 million increase in 45Z tax credit earnings. Partially offset by higher SG&A expenses. Net income attributable to common stockholders $11.4 million or $0.15 per share compared to a net loss of $11.3 million or a negative $0.15 per share for Q2 25. A significant improvement of $22.7 million Our tax provision amount is zero, we expect to use a portion of our NOLs to offset income this year. Turning to the balance sheet, As of 6/30/2026, our cash balance was $24 million During the second quarter, we generated $28.5 million in cash flow from operating activities. Capital expenditures for the quarter amounted to $10.6 million and $11.5 million year to date. We are on track with our annual targeted CapEx spend of $25 million With strong earnings, and positive cash flow from operations, we paid down an additional $8.5 million in principal on our term debt facility and ended the quarter with $29.9 million in term debt outstanding. Bringing our total principal payments this year to $25.1 million. At quarter end, our total borrowing availability was $106 million, consisting of $41 million under our operating line of credit, and $65 million under our term loan facility. Todd, we established a 50 million at the market equity program. Alongside our available borrowing capacity, and operating cash flow, the ATM gives us additional financial flexibility and a prudent and low cost tool to effectively access equity capital. We see a number of attractive high return organic opportunities across our platform. Having the ATM in place allows us to remain prepared to pursue these opportunities when expected returns market conditions, and shareholder interests align. Any use of the program would be disciplined, measured, and evaluated against other available sources of capital. With that, I will turn the call back to Bryon. Bryon T. McGregor: Thanks, Robert. Our results for the past 4 quarters demonstrate the success to date of this strategic realignment we began 3 years ago. With a diversified product portfolio, a leaner cost structure, we have positioned Alto to capture higher value revenue opportunities to enhance profitability and drive shareholder value. Our operating model is now capable of generating annual positive adjusted EBITDA through the commodity cycles. While providing meaningful upside when market conditions are favorable. In addition, this year we are executing high return capital projects focused on capacity expansion, CO2 optimization, and process efficiency improvements. These projects represent over $10 million of capital investment offering attractive returns and are expected to generate paybacks of just over 1 year on average Importantly, these investments are within our control and are designed to enhance earnings and cash flow regardless of commodity market conditions. These are only a few of many compelling organic opportunities that we intend to pursue, while maintaining our disciplined approach to capital allocation. In summary, we remain on track to increase production volumes in 2026 compared to 2025. We will continue optimizing our product mix capturing more value from our unique asset base and executing high return opportunities and improve profitability and cash flow Our diversified strategy is working. Our operating model is stronger, and our financial results reinforce our confidence in Alto's ability to generate sustainable earnings and create long term shareholder value. Danielle, we are ready to begin the Q&A session. Operator: Thank you. We will now begin the question and answer session. You are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press *2. The first question comes from Eric Stine from Craig Hallum. Please go ahead. Eric Stine: Hi, Bryon. Hi, Robert. So, I mean, obviously, you have you have kinda laid out these capital projects and the progress, pretty steady progress you are making. But also alluding to a host of others. You know, should we think about that as you know, just kinda going deeper? In the paths that you are already on, or are there others? And if so, could you know, give some details on what those other areas might be? Bryon T. McGregor: Sure. So while in general, they are deeper moves along some of the same things that we have been talking about. Right? We are it is clearly around monetizing CO2. Capturing taking advantage of the 45Z opportunities that are you know, available at least through 2029. To help monetize that value and be able to reinvest those dollars into other longer term projects. it is about leaning into our efficient projects and expanding capacity where it makes sense to do so, particularly in our most efficient locations and making them those that may be less efficient, more efficient. Probably not appropriate to share the exact details yet because have not committed full capital to those yet, but we will certainly be sharing. Mhmm. You know? Orders to come. But as I mentioned in our in the prepared remarks, is that we see really exciting organic opportunities with excellent paybacks. That we you know, see as almost obligations to pursue. So with that, that is that is the focus of the company, and we will share more as we as we commit capital to those projects. Eric Stine: Yep. Understood. I mean, it is worth a shot to ask. But, maybe just on the you know, talking about to improve the CI scores and going down the path you know, on the crop side and with farmers. I mean, when you think about that, given that the, I mean, 45Z has been in place, but is relatively new. To the market I mean, you feel like that is I mean, are farmers how open are they to that, or what are you finding? You know, is that something an opportunity that people have kind of already mined, or it really is ripe to make further strides in that area? Bryon T. McGregor: Yeah. it is relatively fresh for the farmers, especially because the rules have not yet been established until earlier, a month or 2 ago. But I think with the rules now, and while there is still some clarifications that need to be made, I think that the pathway is clear. For the farmers, and there is a lot of inquiry and a lot of work that is being done on our part. And as well others in the industry. And the farmers are very keen to it. If you think about it from a context of you know, on a relative basis, if we were to save an additional $0.10 or, you know, generate additional 10¢ in carbon intensity credit or the credits around the 45Z, that translates in almost $0.30 per bushel for those farmers who are participating. And that is real dollars, especially where you know, the price for corn this year and last is somewhat difficult to justify the investment that the farmers are making. But these are easy some of the steps are incredibly easy for them to do. Far as registration and doing some of the other things. And so we see this as a real opportunity And I know that, you know, more and more farmers are only asking questions, but you know, doing what they can to get on board. Eric Stine: Okay. Got it. Last 1, just I know Q2, you had the dry mill planned outage there and got through that. It had a very good quarter, but limited to an extent by that outage. I mean, when you think about third quarter, I know you are ramping that back up. Do you feel like you get a with the market conditions still quite good, that you get a, you know, a greater capture of that since you are through the outage? Bryon T. McGregor: Yeah. I mean, as we said in the prepared remarks, We expect to fully be able to realize it in Q4. Do not wanna rush our team too quickly when you are making changes not only to you know, debottlenecking, but making improvements to your you know, DCO, your IT systems and the like. So you wanna make sure you line all that out and keep things safe. That said, we are excited about the opportunity. We have seen it we have seen some real promise. In what we are what we are seeing at the plan. Excess capacity, things like that. So really excited about that. And the nice thing about that facility is not only just the additional amount of production, but as well, again, it is 1 of our lowest cost if not our lowest cost facility. In operations. So really driving profitability to the bottom line, but also those gallons are eligible for 45 c credit. So it has a multiplying effect. And, again, really excited about that opportunity. Okay. Thank you. Thanks, Eric. Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from Sameer Joshi from C. Wainwright. Wainwright. Please go ahead. Sameer Joshi: Hey, good afternoon, Bryon, Robert. Thanks for taking my questions. and congratulations on a great quarter. So just stepping back. Just stepping back when you make decisions whether to delever or to invest because you do have these projects that you just have outlined to work on to improve CI scores, monetize this CO2 to expand capacity. At the same time, you are also paying back some of the principal. What are the takes and puts in that decision making? Bryon T. McGregor: So we have a full committed process around evaluating each 1 of our projects, Stacking them against, you know, weighing them against other opportunities. And then some of the projects may not have as solid as a return, but they are core. And or foundational in being able to then expand into other areas So a good example of that would be the improvements in the debottlenecking that we did at the dry mill. at the Pekin campus. But it actually lays the foundation to be able to do an incremental or a significant higher expansion on that facility. Going forward. That said, that also requires an additional amount of capital or significantly more amount of capital than the debottlenecking. And so those are things that we have to take into account. Weigh those against the cost of capital, and against other projects that may have other more beneficial returns or less returns. Right? And so we are gonna stack with those. Mhmm. Robert, anything you wanna add to that? Robert R. Olander: Yeah. Sure. Thanks, Bryon. I guess I would just add you know, with our strong profitability and cash flows, year to date, we have been able to fund a lot of our low cost high return projects. And we have commented before, you know, as opposed to letting that cash sit idle, in the bank, you know, we would rather put that to work and reduce our interest expense burden. So we are taking the opportunity to pay down debt, which also, you know, improves our profitability as well. Sameer Joshi: Understood. Thanks for that color. My second question is, about the European disruption and how it or rather European exports impacted by the disruption in shipping Would your EBITDA would have been higher if you had been able to avail of the European opportunity versus redirecting your efforts towards domestic sales. Bryon T. McGregor: Yeah. So it is a dynamic market clearly. Right? I mean, prices continue--you know, it is a commodity space. Yeah. market. So it is it is it is a bit speculative, but you know, all things being equal, if you have the same price and the same volume that you were experiencing in Q1 and Q4 of last year, yes, we would have generated more. That said, margins were significantly higher in Q2 than they were in Q1 for domestic fuel as well. So it is a bit of a speculative analysis. Mhmm. Yeah. But we still continue, as I think we said in our in my prepared remarks was it is still a very strong market. Of course, that market is going to always in those consumers in those markets are always gonna look for the most competitive product. And right now, there is an arbitrage opportunity with Brazil and so it is an easy market to look to, but those change and share prices change and the supplies and the like. And, you know, depending on what happens with the US dollar, particularly in relation to the real, we expect it to fully come around. And these are longer-term--these are longer term relationships as well. So some of the countries or some of the parties in the countries also were just engaging in what would be, you know, 2027-types of volumes. So we are Yeah. We remain optimistic and we are excited that there is domestic market that we can turn to be able to place that product. Understood. Yeah. And I do understand that the dynamics and disruption does not only affect the European market It also, in turn, impacts dynamics in the domestic market. So I understand. Sameer Joshi: A clarification on this 45Z I think maybe, Robert, I mean, I heard that you had already, accounted for 7.9 million in credit that you are planning to sell in the second half. I was just not sure if I heard that right. Can you explain what that is? Robert R. Olander: Yeah. that is correct. You know, we have said minimum baseline target expectation of $15 million in net 45Z proceeds, and that is on 90 million gallons. Now with that said, we are we are still pursuing opportunities to qualify more volume, both with the Pekin dry mill debottlenecking project as well as, you know, efforts to improve our reliability and uptime, as well as potentially even qualifying, you know, other volume that is currently destined for other end markets, you know, outside of the United States. That, as well as, the efforts to reduce our energy consumption, and what Bryon talked about earlier with the low carbon intensity corn. So getting back to your question, year to date, we have recognized just under $8 million of net 45Z credits for the year. So we are currently on track for, you know, $15 million to $16 million range. Understood. Great. Thanks for that, guys. Clarification. I will take my other questions offline. Thanks. Operator: Thank you. The next question comes from Justin Dobrioglo from Domo Capital Management. Please go ahead. Analyst: Hey. Thanks for taking my phone call. You bet, Justin. Just have 2 questions here. First, did I hear that correctly? So after the quarter ended, you paid down an additional $6 million approximately in debt? Robert R. Olander: No. During the quarter, we paid down the $8.5 million of debt. Oh, okay. The $8.5 million was all during the quarter? Got it. And then just piggybacking on the last question then. So with the with the 45Z credits you have you have generated, so that will be a cash that is coming in the door later in the year that could be used for further debt reduction as well, I would assume. Yes. We are in preliminary discussions with buyers on the 26 credits. So we expect to monetize those in the not too distant future. Bryon T. McGregor: Excellent. But I should add, Justin, that--Justin, just 1 clarification is that it is not necessarily dedicated to the reduction of debt. We will certainly evaluate that, and there are certain covenants that we have under our agreement, you know, with regards to that are based on EBITDA. You know, and ratios. So we will do that. But if it makes economic sense to do that, rather than deploying it elsewhere, we will certainly evaluate that. Okay. Analyst: And then regarding the farming practices, I know you guys like to be conservative. But I just want to just want to ask. So, like, is that something that could possibly be realized in 2026 where if you are able to get the farmers in line or whatever that you are able to realize extra $0.10 per gallon in 2026, And if so, would that apply to all of the gallons that the dry mill and Pekin unless you are also looking to do this at Columbia, maybe clarifying that as well. But my question is, would that then apply the gallons for the entire year's worth of production? Robert R. Olander: Robert, you want to start and I will fill in? Yeah. I will I will take that 1. You know, we are we are currently you know, in discussions, with our farmer partners. We are not at the point that can support recognizing you know, that benefit. We are definitely trying to set ourselves up for the future. But we are in the process of exploring how many bushels or how much volume could qualify under the low carbon intensity corn and then that would be applied against our production and then calculate what the carbon intensity reduction would be. So we cannot say definitively 1 way or the other at this time. We are still in that process, but definitely, laying the groundwork for the future. Bryon T. McGregor: And maybe what I would add to that is if we can, clearly, we would. Right? It would be derelict not to do that. For 2026. But it is important to note that even if you do if you do not pick it up for 2026, I mean, it would be incremental or a relatively small change this year, but you should see much more significant, especially the more you know, low carbon practices that are implemented, you know, with cover crops, things like that. Those will not apply this year unless they were already doing them. But if they, you know, enter this fall after harvest and doing cover crops, you really start to see the benefit in 2027. Alright. Thank you. Fantastic quarter. Thank you. Appreciate it. Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Bryon McGregor for closing remarks. Bryon T. McGregor: Thanks, Danielle. Thanks to everyone for joining us today. As always, we appreciate your interest in and support of Alto Ingredients. Have a great day. Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Alto Ingredients, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Alto Ingredients wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $400,209!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,375,393!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 13, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Alto (ALTO) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Alto Ingredients, Inc.’s ALTO 45Z tax credits are becoming a larger earnings contributor as it works to expand eligible production and lower carbon intensity. In the second quarter of 2026, Alto Ingredients generated $5.1 million in 45Z tax credit earnings, comprising $4 million of credits earned during the quarter and $1.1 million of final adjustments related to the sale of its 2025 credits. Year to date, it has accrued $7.9 million in net 2026 45Z credits that are expected to be monetized in the future.For 2026, Alto Ingredients remains on track to qualify 90 million gallons or more of combined production for 45Z credits, supporting a minimum expectation of $15 million in income after monetization costs. Based on credits recognized through the first half, the company is currently tracking toward a $15-$16 million range.The opportunity could expand through higher eligible volumes. Alto Ingredients completed a debottlenecking project at its Pekin dry mill that increased annual production capacity by about 8%, or 5 million gallons. The additional gallons are eligible for 45Z credits, with the full benefit of the added capacity expected in the fourth quarter.Another opportunity is to lower the carbon intensity of corn sourced from farmer partners. Alto Ingredients is exploring how much corn and production volume could qualify under low-carbon-intensity corn. However, the company is not yet able to recognize this benefit for 2026. Practices such as cover crops implemented after the 2026 harvest could begin providing benefits in 2027. Green Plains Inc. GPRE generated significant value from 45Z credits in the second quarter of 2026. Green Plains reported $58.7 million in 45Z production tax credits, net of discounts and other costs, contributing to adjusted EBITDA of $93.3 million. For the first half, Green Plains recognized $113.9 million in 45Z credits on a net basis, highlighting the potential impact of the tax credit on ethanol economics.Gevo, Inc. GEVO is targeting more than $70 million in 45Z tax credit monetization in 2026, compared with $52 million last year. In its second-quarter 2026 earnings call, GEVO noted that the increase is supported by continued low-carbon ethanol and RNG production and improvements in carbon intensity. Gevo had already closed $20 million in 45Z credit sales after the second quarter, with the remaining approximately $50 million targeted for monetization by year-end. Shares of Alto Ingredients have fallen 8.4% over the three months against the industry’s growth of 18%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, ALTO trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 0.33, lower than the industry’s average of 3.41. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Alto Ingredients’ 2026 and 2027 earnings per share has declined 27.8% and 66.3% to 39 cents and 28 cents, respectively, in the past seven days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Alto Ingredients currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alto Ingredients, Inc. (ALTO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Gevo, Inc. (GEVO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Green Plains, Inc. (GPRE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Alto Ingredients, Inc. ALTO framed its second-quarter 2026 call around a fourth consecutive quarter of positive gross profit, operating income, net income and adjusted EBITDA. Management credited stronger ethanol economics and a flexible product mix while emphasizing capacity, tax credits and capital discipline. Reported earnings of 15 cents per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 9 cents. Revenues of $245.7 million exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $242.7 million. Alto Ingredients, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Alto Ingredients, Inc. Quote President and CEO Bryon McGregor said market crush margins rose to 33 cents per gallon from 11 cents a year earlier. McGregor cited robust export demand, domestic blending and tighter ethanol inventories after industry maintenance outages. CFO Robert Olander said ethanol prices strengthened while the average corn cost declined 5%. Better prices for essential ingredients lifted the consolidated return on those products to 51.6% from 45.2%. Gross profit reached $16.6 million, in contrast with a loss of $1.9 million, while adjusted EBITDA improved to $23.7 million from negative $0.2 million. Management said operations remained profitable before 45Z contributions. McGregor stated Alto completed a planned dry mill outage and debottlenecking project at Pekin. The work raises annual production capacity about 8%, or 5 million gallons. Alto is ramping toward the new level and expects the full benefit in the fourth quarter. McGregor said the project expands output at one of its lowest-cost facilities and adds gallons eligible for 45Z credits. A third CO2 storage tank at Columbia is expected to enter service in the fourth quarter. ICP dock repairs and a second alcohol loadout remain targeted for year-end completion. McGregor noted that Alto remains on track to qualify at least 90 million gallons of 2026 production. Management continues to expect a minimum of $15 million in tax-credit income after monetization costs. Olander said the company accrued $7.9 million of net 2026 45Z credits through the first half. In the Q&A, Olander said Alto was tracking toward $15 million to $16 million for the year. A Craig-Hallum analyst asked about lowering carbon intensity through farming practices. Olander said discussions had not advanced enough to recognize a 2026 benefit, while McGregor said the larger benefit would come in 2027 if practices such as cover crops are adopted. Olander informed Alto generated $28.5 million of operating cash flow, spent $10.6 million on capital projects and repaid $8.5 million of term debt. The $25 million annual capital-spending target remains intact. Alto also established a $50 million at-the-market equity program. Olander described it as another funding tool, with any use measured against borrowing capacity, operating cash flow and shareholder interests. An H.C. Wainwright analyst asked how management weighs deleveraging against investment. McGregor stated projects are ranked by returns and strategic value, while Olander said debt reduction remains useful when cash would otherwise sit idle. McGregor said Middle East disruption increased freight costs and reduced vessel availability, narrowing the U.S.-to-Europe export arbitrage. Those conditions improved Brazil’s competitiveness and reduced Alto’s renewable-fuel export volumes. The company redirected production toward the stronger domestic fuel market. McGregor said third-quarter crush margins remained healthy and profitable, while European demand stayed robust. An H.C. Wainwright analyst asked whether earnings would have been higher without the disruption. McGregor said these would be under comparable pricing and volume, but stronger domestic margins offset part of the lost export opportunity. McGregor presented Alto’s strategy as diversified production, a leaner cost structure and high-return organic projects. Management’s priorities remain higher volumes, CO2 monetization, process efficiency and lower carbon intensity. Olander reinforced spending discipline, debt management and funding flexibility. Management’s central message was that Alto intends to sustain profitability through commodity cycles while retaining upside when market conditions improve. ALTO carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), representing a neutral near-term earnings-estimate revision signal. Its Value Score of A, Growth Score of A and VGM Score of A are favorable, while the Momentum Score of F indicates weak price-trend characteristics. Style Scores complement the Zacks Rank, with stronger combinations generally pairing Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) stocks with A or B scores. ALTO’s Zacks Rank can change as analysts revise estimates following the just-reported results. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alto Ingredients, Inc. (ALTO) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Interested in Alto Ingredients, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Alto Ingredients reported its fourth consecutive quarter of profitability, with second-quarter net sales rising to $246 million, net income reaching $11.4 million, and adjusted EBITDA improving to $23.7 million. Stronger ethanol crush margins, improved ingredient pricing and $5.1 million in 45Z tax-credit earnings drove the results. The company shifted more production toward domestic fuel-grade ethanol as Middle East-related freight disruptions reduced the attractiveness of European exports. Essential ingredient returns improved, while higher alcohol volumes and lower energy and corn costs supported profitability. Alto is expanding capacity and reducing leverage, including an 8% Pekin production increase, $25.1 million in year-to-date term-debt repayments and expectations for at least $15 million of 2026 45Z tax-credit income. Management also highlighted longer-term upside from broader year-round E15 adoption. Penny Picks: The Top Penny Stocks of 2021 and Beyond Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) reported a fourth consecutive quarter of positive gross profit, operating income, net income and adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter of 2026, citing stronger ethanol market conditions, improved essential ingredient pricing and contributions from federal 45Z tax credits. President and CEO Bryon McGregor said the company remained profitable during the four-quarter period even without the contribution of 45Z credits, which are tied to qualifying low-carbon fuel production. He said Alto’s diversified operating model has enabled it to shift production toward more attractive end markets and capture higher-value opportunities. → SpaceX’s First Earnings Report Could Decide Whether Shorts or Bulls Have Control “Our results for the past four quarters demonstrate the success to date of the strategic realignment we began three years ago,” McGregor said. “With a diversified product portfolio [and] a leaner cost structure, we have positioned Alto to capture higher value revenue opportunities to enhance profitability and drive shareholder value.” Consolidated net sales rose $27 million year over year to $246 million. Alto sold 88.5 million gallons of ethanol and specialty alcohols, up 1.8 million gallons from the prior-year quarter, while its average sales price increased 10% to $2.15 per gallon. → 3 Drone Stocks That Should Soar After the Summer Slump Gross profit increased $19 million from a year earlier to $17 million. Chief Financial Officer Rob Olander said the improvement was primarily driven by stronger industry crush margins, which increased to $0.33 per gallon from $0.11 per gallon in the second quarter of 2025. The higher margins contributed approximately $17 million of incremental gross profit, according to the company. Alto also benefited from nearly $600,000 in lower natural-gas and electricity costs. Those gains were partly offset by approximately $2 million in additional repair and maintenance expense related to planned spring outages at the Pekin dry mill and ICP facilities, as well as ongoing work at its carbonic facility. → The Bitcoin Comeback May Already Be Underway—2 ETFs for Exposure Net income attributable to common stockholders was $11.4 million, or $0.15 per share, compared with a net loss of $11.3 million, or negative $0.15 per share, in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA improved by $23.9 million to $23.7 million. The company recognized $5.1 million in 45Z tax-credit earnings during the quarter, including $4 million of credits earned in the second quarter and $1.1 million in final adjustments related to 2025 credit-sale proceeds. Alto said it had accrued $7.9 million in net 2026 45Z credits through the first half of the year and expects to monetize the credits in the future. McGregor said domestic ethanol demand was supported by export demand, domestic blending activity, tighter ethanol inventories following industry-wide spring maintenance outages and stronger renewable volume obligation requirements. Favorable crop conditions and larger projected grain supplies also contributed to lower corn costs. While European demand remained robust, Alto said geopolitical disruption in the Middle East increased freight costs and reduced vessel availability from the Gulf Coast, compressing the arbitrage for U.S. ethanol exports to Europe. The company’s renewable fuel export volume declined year over year, though export revenue increased $800,000 because of higher premiums to domestic renewable fuel. In response, Alto shifted more of its production and sales mix toward domestic fuel-grade ethanol. McGregor said the company’s commercial platform provided flexibility to redirect product into domestic markets when export economics were less favorable. High-quality alcohol volumes increased by 3.6 million gallons. Although average premiums over ethanol narrowed, reducing revenue by about $2.9 million, Olander said realized derivative gains largely offset the impact. Essential ingredient sales increased to $6.1 million, aided by higher average sales prices for dried distillers grains, corn oil and germ. Alto’s essential ingredients return improved to 51.6% from 45.2% a year earlier, alongside a 5% reduction in corn costs. At Alto’s Pekin campus, the company completed a planned outage and a dry-mill debottlenecking project expected to increase annual production capacity by about 8%, or 5 million gallons. McGregor said Alto is ramping toward the new production levels and expects to realize the full benefit of the added capacity in the fourth quarter. The company is also repairing an existing dock and installing a second alcohol loadout at ICP, with completion expected by year-end. At its Columbia facility, Alto is adding a third carbon dioxide storage tank that is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter to support premium CO2 demand in the Pacific Northwest. Alto said it remains on track to qualify 90 million gallons or more of combined production for 45Z credits in 2026, supporting its expectation for at least $15 million in income from tax credits after monetization costs. Management said it is also working with farmer partners to explore lower-carbon-intensity corn practices that could improve future credit generation, though it did not quantify the expected benefit. As of June 30, Alto had $24 million in cash and generated $28.5 million in operating cash flow during the quarter. Capital expenditures totaled $10.6 million in the second quarter and $11.5 million year to date, with the company maintaining a $25 million annual capital-expenditure target. Alto repaid $8.5 million of term debt during the quarter, bringing year-to-date principal payments to $25.1 million and term debt outstanding to $29.9 million. Total borrowing availability at quarter-end was $106 million. The company also established a $50 million at-the-market equity program, which Olander said provides additional flexibility to pursue high-return organic opportunities when market conditions and expected returns support doing so. Management also pointed to growing support for year-round E15 gasoline blending as a potential long-term demand driver. McGregor cited Renewable Fuels Association polling showing that about 72% of U.S. voters support year-round E15 blending. He said progress in Midwestern states and California’s Assembly Bill 30 could provide a framework for expanded adoption. According to McGregor, broader E15 adoption could increase ethanol demand, improve industry capacity utilization and support a more favorable margin environment over time. Alto Ingredients, Inc (NASDAQ: ALTO) is a diversified producer of alcohol-based products and specialty ingredients for industrial, food, beverage and personal care applications. The company’s core offering centers on ethanol produced for fuel markets, as well as an expanding portfolio of natural and organic alcohols, glycerin and other ingredient solutions. Alto’s product lines serve a range of end markets, including renewable fuels, confectionery, flavorings, cosmetics and sanitizers. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Alto Ingredients operates a network of production facilities across the United States. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Alto Ingredients Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Alto Ingredients (ALTO) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.15 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.09 per share. This compares to a loss of $0.15 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +66.67%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this ethanol producer would post a loss of $0.08 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.05, delivering a surprise of +162.5%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. Alto Ingredients, which belongs to the Zacks Consumer Products - Discretionary industry, posted revenues of $245.7 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.26%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $218.44 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Alto Ingredients shares have added about 83.7% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13%. While Alto Ingredients has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Alto Ingredients was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.19 on $257.35 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.54 on $996.46 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Consumer Products - Discretionary is currently in the bottom 22% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Shoe Station Group (SHOE), another stock in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector, has yet to report results for the quarter ended July 2026. This footwear retailer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.32 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -54.3%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Shoe Station Group's revenues are expected to be $299.19 million, down 2.4% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Alto Ingredients, Inc. (ALTO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Shoe Station Group Inc. (SHOE) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Q2 2026 Gross Profit of $16.6 Million Increased $18.6 MillionQ2 2026 Net Income of $11.4 Million, or $0.15 per Share, Improved $22.7 Million Q2 2026 Adjusted EBITDA of $23.7 Million Improved $23.9 Million PEKIN, Ill., Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTO), a leading producer and distributor of renewable fuels, essential ingredients and specialty alcohols, reported its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. “Alto’s second quarter results mark the fourth consecutive quarter of positive gross profit, income from operations, net income and adjusted EBITDA.  We have maintained consistent profitability over this period even before the contribution of earnings from 45Z tax credits. These results demonstrate the benefits of our diversification strategy, which gives us the flexibility to shift production toward the most attractive end markets and capture premium-value opportunities,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Bryon McGregor. “Having begun a strategic realignment three years ago, we now have a diversified product portfolio, a leaner cost structure and an operating model capable of generating positive adjusted EBITDA through commodity cycles while providing meaningful upside when market conditions are favorable,” added Mr. McGregor. “In addition, we have numerous initiatives in process and ahead of us to expand capacity, optimize CO2 production, improve efficiencies and increase our earnings from 45Z tax credits.” Mr. McGregor concluded, “Our second quarter and latest 12-month financial results, combined with our ability to execute on high-return opportunities, reinforce our confidence in Alto’s ability to generate sustainable earnings and create long-term shareholder value.” Rob Olander, Chief Financial Officer, added that, “Today, we established a $50 million at-the-market equity program. Alongside our available borrowing capacity and operating cash flow, the ATM program provides additional financial flexibility and a prudent, low-cost tool to effectively access equity capital. We see a number of attractive, high-return organic opportunities across our platform. Having the ATM program in place allows us to remain prepared to pursue those opportunities when expected returns, market conditions and shareholder interests align. Any use of the program would be disciplined, measured and evaluated against other sources of available capital.” Financial Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2026 Compared to 2025 Net sales were $245.7 million, compared to $218.4 million. Cost of goods sold was $229.1 million, compared to $220.4 million. Gross profit was $16.6 million, compared to a gross loss of $1.9 million. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $8.0 million, compared to $6.2 million. Interest expense was $2.0 million, compared to $2.8 million. Net income attributable to common stockholders was $11.4 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $11.3 million, or $0.15 per share. Adjusted EBITDA was $23.7 million, compared to negative $0.2 million, an increase of $23.9 million. Cash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2026 were $24.0 million, compared to $23.4 million at December 31, 2025. The company’s borrowing availability at June 30, 2026 was $106 million, including $41 million under the company’s operating line of credit and $65 million under its term loan facility. Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference CallManagement will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, and will deliver prepared remarks via webcast followed by a question-and-answer session. To receive a number and unique PIN by email, register here. To dial directly up to 20 minutes prior to the scheduled call time, please dial (833) 630-0017 domestically and (412) 317-1806 internationally. Alternatively, the webcast for the conference call can be accessed from Alto Ingredients’ website at www.altoingredients.com and will be available for one year. Use of Non-GAAP MeasuresManagement believes that certain financial measures not in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") are useful measures of operations. The company defines Adjusted EBITDA as unaudited consolidated net income (loss) before interest expense, interest income, provision (benefit) for income taxes, asset impairments, unrealized derivative gains and losses, acquisition-related expense, excess insurance proceeds and depreciation and amortization expense. A table is provided at the end of this release that provides a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to its most directly comparable GAAP measure, net income (loss). Management provides this non-GAAP measure so that investors will have the same financial information that management uses, which may assist investors in properly assessing the company's performance on a period-over-period basis. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (loss) or any other measure of performance under GAAP, or to cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities as an indicator of cash flows or as a measure of liquidity. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider this measure in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the company's results as reported under GAAP. About Alto Ingredients, Inc.Alto Ingredients, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTO) is a leading producer and distributor of renewable fuels, essential ingredients and specialty alcohols. Leveraging the unique qualities of its facilities, the company serves customers in a wide range of consumer and commercial products in the Health, Home & Beauty; Food & Beverage; Industry & Agriculture; Essential Ingredients; and Renewable Fuels markets. For more information, please visit www.altoingredients.com. Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 Statements and information contained in this communication that refer to or include Alto Ingredients’ estimated or anticipated future results or other non-historical expressions of fact are forward-looking statements that reflect Alto Ingredients’ current perspective of existing trends and information as of the date of the communication. Forward-looking statements generally will be accompanied by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “could,” “should,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” or other similar words, phrases or expressions. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Alto Ingredients’ expectations around expanding production capacity; profitability and executing on opportunities to grow earnings, including through improved utilization and reliability, optimization and capital projects, and monetizing additional Section 45Z tax credits; the use and benefits of its ATM program, including returns that Alto Ingredients may generate from using funds, if any, from the program to make capital investments; and Alto Ingredients’ other plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. It is important to note that Alto Ingredients’ plans, objectives, expectations and intentions are not predictions of actual performance. Actual results may differ materially from Alto Ingredients’ current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting Alto Ingredients’ business and plans. These factors include, among others, adverse economic and market conditions, including for renewable fuels, specialty alcohols and essential ingredients; export conditions and international demand for the company’s products; fluctuations in the price of and demand for oil and gasoline; raw material costs, including production input costs, such as corn and natural gas; adverse impacts of inflation and supply chain constraints, including from tariffs; prevailing market prices and trading volumes of Alto Ingredients’ stock; Alto Ingredients’ ability, if desirable, to execute on its ATM program; Alto Ingredients’ ability to timely and within budget execute on its optimization and capital projects; regulatory developments and Alto Ingredients’ ability to successfully pursue and secure opportunities, and realize the expected results, under existing and new legislation, including the Section 45Z regulations, and to successfully apply for and receive anticipated credit amounts. These factors also include, among others, the inherent uncertainty associated with financial and other projections; the anticipated size of the markets and continued demand for Alto Ingredients’ products; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the risks and uncertainties normally incident to the alcohol production, marketing and distribution industries; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; successful compliance with governmental regulations applicable to Alto Ingredients’ facilities, products and/or businesses; changes in laws, regulations and governmental policies; the loss of key senior management or staff; and other events, factors and risks previously and from time to time disclosed in Alto Ingredients’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, specifically, those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section contained in Alto Ingredients’ Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8, 2026. Company IR and Media Contact:               Michael Kramer, Alto Ingredients, Inc., [email protected] IR Agency Contact: Jody Burfening, Alliance Advisors Investor Relations, 212-838-3777, [email protected] ________________ (1)  Assumes corn conversion of 2.80 gallons of alcohol per bushel of corn.(2)  Essential ingredients revenues as a percentage of total corn costs consumed.

Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO posted a fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 GAAP net loss of 32 cents per share, narrower than a loss of $21.08 reported in the year-ago quarter.TTWO reported adjusted earnings of 80 cents per share, down 26.6% year over year, but surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 42.86%.GAAP net revenues increased 6.1% year over year to $1.68 billion and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.55 billion. The largest contributors to GAAP net revenues included NBA 2K26 and NBA 2K25, Grand Theft Auto Online and Grand Theft Auto V, Toon Blast, Empires & Puzzles, Match Factory!, Color Block Jam, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online, Words With Friends, Borderlands 4 and WWE 2K26. The quarter again highlighted the breadth of Take-Two’s portfolio across console, PC and mobile.Revenues from the United States increased 4.8% year over year to $991.7 million and accounted for 59% of GAAP net revenues. The rest came from international revenues, which rose 8.1% year over year to $688.1 million. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Quote Game revenues increased 6.4% year over year to $1.57 billion and accounted for 93.4% of total revenues. The rest came from advertising revenues, which rose 2.5% year over year to $111.4 million, representing the remaining 6.6%.Net Bookings were essentially flat year over year at $1.58 billion. Bookings from the United States decreased 3.0% year over year to $932.7 million, accounting for 59% of total Net Bookings. The rest came from international bookings, which increased 4.4% year over year to $647.6 million. Recurrent consumer spending grew 7% year over year for the period and accounted for 82% of total Net Bookings.In terms of distribution channels, Digital online revenues increased 7.2% year over year to $1.64 billion and represented 97.4% of GAAP net revenues. Physical retail and other revenues decreased 22.1% year over year to $44.3 million and accounted for the remaining 2.6% of GAAP net revenues. Digital online net bookings edged up 0.8% year over year to $1.54 billion and comprised 97.5% of net bookings, while Physical retail and other net bookings fell 24.2% year over year to $40.0 million, representing 2.5% of net bookings.In terms of platform, mobile, console, and PC and other contributed 50.2%, 40.2% and 9.6% of GAAP net revenues, respectively. Mobile revenues rose 12.9% year over year to $843.9 million, while console revenues increased 14.1% to $674.6 million. PC and other revenues declined 33.8% year over year to $161.3 million.On the bookings side, mobile, console, and PC and other represented 52.5%, 38.1% and 9.4% of net bookings, respectively. Mobile net bookings climbed 13.6% year over year to $829.1 million, console net bookings were essentially flat (up 0.1%) at $602.1 million, and PC and other net bookings decreased 40.3% year over year to $149.1 million. Management emphasized that live services and add-on monetization remained a primary driver of performance. The company pointed to growth in NBA 2K’s recurrent spending, continued expansion in mobile and ongoing strength in Grand Theft Auto Online during the quarter.This mix matters for investors because it can reduce reliance on one-off releases and extend the earnings power of established franchises. With live services contributing a large share of bookings and revenues, engagement levels across NBA 2K, Grand Theft Auto and mobile titles remain a key near-term swing factor. Take-Two's GAAP gross profit rose 16.9% year over year to $938.7 million. Gross margin expanded to 55.9% from 50.8% in the year-ago quarter.Total operating expenses were $927.8 million, down sharply from $4.58 billion in the year-ago quarter. The prior-year period included a $3.55 billion goodwill impairment.Selling expenses decreased 2.5% year over year to $392.2 million. General and administrative expenses declined 2.8% year over year to $223.8 million. Research & development expenses decreased 11.9% year over year to $262.5 million. Business reorganization expenses decreased significantly to $0.9 million from $17.1 million in the year-ago quarter.Operating income was $10.9 million compared with the year-ago quarter's operating loss of $3.78 billion, representing a significant improvement. As of March 31, 2026, TTWO has cash and cash equivalents of approximately $1.55 billion compared with $2.16 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025. The company also had short-term investments of $443.8 million. It had total debt of $2.79 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025 (consisting of $30 million in short-term debt and $2.49 billion in long-term debt).For fiscal 2026, net cash provided by operating activities was $624.3 million, a significant improvement from the operating cash outflow of $45.2 million in fiscal 2025. Capital expenditures for fiscal 2026 were $163 million, while the company expects approximately $200 million in capital expenditures for fiscal 2027. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, management expects Net Bookings of $1.32-$1.37 billion and GAAP total net revenues of $1.45-$1.50 billion. The company also forecast a GAAP net loss per share between 23 cents and 15 cents, alongside expected EBITDA of $155-$179 million, reflecting continued investment as it positions its pipeline for the remainder of the year.Take-Two introduced initial fiscal 2027 Net Bookings guidance of $8.0-$8.2 billion, implying a step up from fiscal 2026. The company also guided to GAAP total net revenues of $7.9-$8.1 billion and GAAP diluted net income per share of 55 to 75 cents for the year ending March 31, 2027.The company projects operating cash flow to exceed $1 billion in fiscal 2027, with capital expenditures expected to be approximately $200 million. Currently, TTWO carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Alto Ingredients ALTO, Codere Online Luxembourg CDRO and Hasbro HAS are some other top-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector. While Alto Ingredients currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Codere Online Luxembourg and Hasbro carry a Zacks Rank #2 each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Alto Ingredients’ shares have jumped 58% year to date. ALTO’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 53.7%.Codere Online Luxembourg’s shares have gained 17.3% year to date. CDRO’s long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 10.53%.Hasbro shares have returned 9.8% year to date. HAS’ long-term earnings growth rate is projected at 8.53%. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alto Ingredients, Inc. (ALTO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Codere Online Luxembourg, S.A. (CDRO) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Image source: The Motley Fool. Wednesday, May 6, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET Chief Executive Officer — Bryon McGregor Chief Financial Officer — Robert Olander Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected] Bryon McGregor; and CFO, Rob Olander. Alto Ingredients issued a press release after the market closed today, providing details of the company's financial results for the first quarter of 2026. The company also prepared a presentation for today's call that is available on its website at altoingredients.com. A webcast and webcast replay will be available on the Alto Ingredients website. Please note that the information on this call speaks only as of today, May 6, 2026. You are advised that time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate at the time of any replay. Please refer to the company's safe harbor statement in the slide deck posted to the company's website, which states that some of the comments and presentation constitute forward-looking statements and considerations that involve risks and uncertainties. The actual results of Alto Ingredients could differ materially from those statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, events, risks and other factors previously and from time to time disclosed in Alto Ingredients' filings with the SEC. Except as required by applicable law, the company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. In management's prepared remarks, non-GAAP measures will be referenced. Management uses these non-GAAP measures to monitor the financial performance of operations and believes these measures will assist investors in assessing the company's performance for the periods reported. The company defines adjusted EBITDA as unaudited consolidated net income or loss before interest expense, interest income, provision or benefit for income taxes, asset impairments, unrealized derivative gains and losses, acquisition-related expense, excess insurance proceeds and depreciation and amortization expense. To support the company's review of non-GAAP information, a reconciling table has been included in today's release. On today's call, Bryon will review the company's first quarter performance. Rob will review the financial results, and then Bryon will wrap up and open the call for Q&A. It's now my pleasure to introduce Bryon McGregor. Bryon, please do go ahead. Bryon McGregor: Thanks, Jody. Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. I'll begin with a high-level review of our first quarter results and operational activities. After that, I'll turn the call over to Rob for a detailed review of our financial results for the quarter and then wrap up and open the call to Q&A. The first quarter is typically a seasonally weak period for both Alto and the industry resulting from the buildup of ethanol inventories and lower demand. In contrast, we are reporting strong first quarter results relative to our historical performance in this period. We delivered -- profitability on an adjusted EBITDA and net income basis through the contribution of stronger export sales, higher crush margins and incremental earnings from 45Z tax credits. Even without the contribution of tax credits, we were profitable. Our strategic realignment, our efforts to improve our operational model and our success in capturing premiums over fuel ethanol have enhanced our earning power. We remain focused on maximizing value from our diversified portfolio of assets and on pursuing multiple revenue opportunities in response to market demand. To that end, we have robust plans to improve utilization, reliability and efficiencies and to support higher-value revenue streams during 2026. Let me share with you some highlights of the operational activities we tackled during the first quarter and update you on the capital projects we have planned for 2026. First, as discussed on last quarter's call, an extended period of very cold weather in the first half of the quarter disrupted River Logistics and caused us to curtail production at our Pekin campus. We took the opportunity to accelerate a portion of our planned wet mill biennial outage work that was scheduled for the second quarter. This will allow us to recapture lost production when crush margins are typically stronger and keep us on track with our goal to increase total 2026 alcohol volumes and prioritize product mix that delivers a premium to domestic renewable fuel. Secondly, we had a planned outage at our Columbia facility during a seasonally slow quarter for CO2 sales. Combined with the outage we took last December, we addressed deferred process-related activities intended to improve production performance and plant reliability for the remainder of the year. This work will help ensure the plant is running at optimal rates to reliably support our CO2 offtake, customers' growing demand in the coming summer months. It will also allow us to qualify more gallons for 45Z credits. We're still planning a normal outage at ICP during the second quarter, consistent with 2025. In terms of capital projects at our Pekin campus, we started the repairs on the original dock and the construction of the second alcohol load out, and are on track to complete both projects by the end of 2026. As a reminder, we are building the second alcohol dock to create redundancy and improve logistical capabilities. We also kicked off a project to increase throughput and storage capacity at our Columbia liquid CO2 processing facility by adding a third storage tank. This project will position us to further capitalize on favorable market conditions, specifically the growing demand in the Pacific Northwest and limited supply of premium CO2. At our Pekin dry mill, our most efficient plant, we are moving the planned outage to June from the third quarter. During this downtime, we are going to implement a debottlenecking project to increase annual production capacity by about 8% or 5 million gallons. We expect to fully realize these improved rates starting in the fourth quarter, which will provide incremental margin and allow us to qualify for more 45Z credits. Finally, in addition to the CapEx projects we planned for 2026, we are continuing to assess large-scale CO2 utilization and sequestration opportunities at our Pekin campus. These projects would position us to lower our carbon intensity score and monetize additional incremental earnings from 45Z credits and generate more liquid CO2 revenue. Before I turn the call over to Rob, we're closely monitoring macro conditions, including unrest in the Middle East, which can indirectly affect us through energy and commodity volatility and freight and export logistics, and we're actively managing these exposures. We're also encouraged by continued progress on E15. In California, AB 30 has provided a pathway for a year-round E15 sales, and we're watching the state implementation process closely. Nationally, momentum for year-round E15 legislation continues to build in Congress. We view expanded access to E15 as an important demand side complement to the production incentives in 45Z, helping ensure the market can absorb additional low-carbon gallons over time. Without demand growth, incentives alone can contribute to unintended consequences, including overproduction and pressure on industry margins. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Rob for a more detailed review of our Q1 financial results. Rob? Robert Olander: Thank you, Bryon. I'll start with a review of the income statement for the first quarter of 2026 compared to the first quarter of 2025. Consolidated net sales were $225 million, $2 million lower than in the prior year. This reflects a 4% reduction in volumes sold or 3.7 million gallons, partially offset by a 4% increase in the average sales price per gallon from $1.93 to $2 on a consolidated basis. The primary drivers impacting revenues were the net overall reduction in volumes sold, which was mainly related to the production curtailment at our Pekin campus, an improved product mix of higher renewable fuel export sales, reflecting both an increase in volumes sold and a significantly higher premium compared to domestic renewable fuel sales than last year contributed $6.7 million. High-quality alcohol volumes sold decreased by 1.3 million gallons, reflecting continued weak alcohol consumption and increased competition. In addition, the premium versus domestic fuel grade values were lower than last year. As a result, revenues declined by $1.4 million. Co-product protein feed and fuel prices improved, supported by strong gains in corn oil used in renewable biofuels, which added an additional net $2.2 million in revenues. Coupled with a 4% lower cost of corn, our consolidated return on essential ingredients improved to 53.4% from 48.2% a year ago. Gross profit was $9.2 million compared to a gross loss of $1.8 million reported for Q1 2025 for an $11 million positive swing to profitability. In addition to the revenue variances I just covered, the change in gross profit also encompassed the following factors: A seasonally strong market crush margin of $0.17 per gallon for Q1 2026 compared to $0.02 per gallon for the same period last year accounted for approximately $5.2 million of benefit. An increase in net unrealized gain on derivatives contributed $6.4 million as a result of our high-quality alcohol hedges associated with future shipments improved in relation to the rise in the market price of ethanol as we locked in the premium on our contracted fixed price, high-quality alcohol commitments. And we incurred $500,000 less in production labor costs to the staffing reduction that we completed during the first quarter of 2025. These positive trends were partially offset by the following negative variances. Natural gas and electricity costs collectively increased $5.3 million due to higher prices related to volatile weather conditions and rising demand. Repair and maintenance expenses were $2.4 million higher this quarter compared to last year. This was driven by the acceleration of work at the wet mill originally planned for the second quarter, as Bryon mentioned, as well as increased costs from the planned outage at Columbia. The increased repair and maintenance costs at Columbia were the primary contributors to the $1.1 million gross loss in our Western Production segment for the first quarter of 2026. SG&A expenses decreased by $500,000 to $6.7 million, also reflecting our decision to right-size staffing levels last year. With respect to 45Z transferable tax credits, as mentioned on the fourth quarter call, for 2026, we expect to qualify approximately 90 million gallons of combined production at the Columbia and Pekin dry mill facilities on an annual basis at $0.20 per gallon, resulting in approximately $15 million in net proceeds after all monetization costs. We recorded $3.9 million in 45Z credit earnings for the first quarter of 2026. The sale of all of our 2025 45Z tax credits is currently underway at values consistent with our previously recorded estimates, and we expect to close on that transaction this month. We are working diligently to qualify additional gallons and further reduce our carbon intensity scores to capture more of the 45Z benefit, and we will provide updates as these efforts materialize. As a result of an improvement in gross profit, lower SG&A expenses and recognition of 45Z tax credits, we reported net income attributable to common stockholders of $4 million or $0.05 per share for Q1 2026, an increase of $16 million compared to a net loss of $12 million or $0.16 per share for the first quarter of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA increased $9.1 million to $4.7 million compared to a negative adjusted EBITDA of $4.4 million for last year's first quarter. As a reminder, the $6.4 million increase of unrealized derivative gains is excluded from the calculation of adjusted EBITDA. Turning to our balance sheet. As of March 31, 2026, our cash balance was $20 million. During the first quarter, we generated $4 million in cash flow from operating activities. As mentioned on last quarter's call, we plan to spend about $25 million in capital expenditures during 2026 on both maintenance and optimization projects with strong projected returns. With the major projects earmarked for the next three quarters, capital expenditures for the first quarter were only $1 million. We paid $16.6 million in principal on our term debt in the first quarter as planned and ended the quarter with $38.4 million outstanding on the term loan. With a lower debt balance, interest expense decreased by $531,000. This reflects our focus on minimizing idle cash and maximizing excess borrowing capacity in order to reduce our interest expense burden. We ended the quarter with total borrowing availability of $94 million, consisting of $29 million under our operating line of credit and $65 million under our term loan facility. With that, I will now turn the call back to Bryon. Bryon McGregor: Thanks, Rob. In summary, our first quarter results show that Alto's operating model is working, improving margins through higher-value revenue opportunities while maintaining a disciplined cost structure. With multiple product streams, we have the flexibility to respond quickly as markets shift, and we're continuing to strengthen our ability to perform through commodity cycles. Looking ahead, our priorities are straightforward: improve utilization and reliability, execute our 2026 optimization and capital projects on time and on budget and keep advancing our commercial strategy, which includes expanding the value we capture from 45Z credits and optimally monetizing the value of our biogenic CO2 production across our facilities to lower our carbon footprint. With our focus on these priorities, we remain committed to further enhancing shareholder value in both the short and long term. Operator, we're ready to begin Q&A. Operator: [Operator Instructions] The first question will come from Eric Stine with Craig-Hallum. Eric Stine: So one thing that caught my attention, you talked about that at Pekin, you're looking at -- I'm not sure exactly how you termed it, but you're looking at continuing to look at large-scale CO2 utilization and sequestration. I know that there was a moratorium on sequestration in Illinois that's been in place for some time. So maybe can you just, I don't know, delve into that a little bit. What has kind of changed the thinking -- or it sounds like it's a little more optimistic on that front. Any details there would be very helpful. Bryon McGregor: Sure. So the -- there's a couple of things that proved challenging under our prior plans, which was, first, the moratorium on pipelines. And then secondly, the legislation that was approved, which precluded the injection through the aquifer for sequestration, which impacted solely Alto for that matter. But out of that opportunity or out of that -- those challenges, we found opportunities to -- along with the Big Beautiful Bill changes to rethink and pursue utilization as well as sequestration. So now they are both opportunities to be able to take advantage of 45Q in the long run. And then on top of that, with 45Z, there are opportunities now if we can monetize that value of CO2 quickly, particularly for the dry mill in Pekin. There's an opportunity to actually capture significant benefit that was otherwise not available when we were first developing that project. So -- we've been in discussions with numerous parties to be able to bring this to fruition. My guess is that it may end up looking a lot like a combination of the two, some utilization and some sequestration, but time will tell. And we're working diligently on that and aggressively on that to try and come to a clear plan and solution this year. Bob, anything else you want to add? Robert Olander: No, it was good, Bryon. Eric Stine: Yes. I mean -- okay. So it does sound like though there have been some changes. I mean I get the utilization piece. I mean it's been a big success at Columbia. And if you can replicate that to any extent, I mean, that's a great thing. But in terms of the sequestration piece, I know you're talking about that things have kind of opened up a little bit. I mean, is -- that the pipeline moratorium or your ability to sequester -- have things changed in that regard? Or you're kind of thinking outside the box in ways to access that opportunity? Bryon McGregor: I guess what I'd say is that it's -- we're no longer feeling like we have to bring the whole solution to the table ourselves, where we had to commit to a singular pipeline that was dedicated solely for our use. But that there are other opportunities that are starting to avail themselves to us and discussions around where we may not have to make the kind of capital spend that we otherwise needed to spend previously under that prior project. That being said, it's still a viable option, and we have a good relationship with Vault and there are opportunities… to continue. Think of it as more opportunities rather than less. Eric Stine: Okay. Got it. No, it's good to hear. I mean that hasn't really been on your plate for a while. It's been some time. So a good development there. Maybe could we just talk about -- I mean, the overall market environment, obviously, Q1 better than is typical. And I know that -- I know there are a lot more factors than simply just the basic crush. But by my estimation, it's as strong as it has been at this time of year in almost a decade. So just curious what kind of confidence that gives you for Q2? And is there the potential that this kind of lasts a little bit given that you've had some potentially structural changes in the market based on where gasoline prices are right now? Bryon McGregor: Yes. I mean I think it's a great point, Eric, in that margins continue to remain strong. They're actually slightly better than where they were same time last year. So that all bodes well. I think we're doing what we can to continue to monetize that value and capture that value. As we mentioned, there are going to be some scheduled outages, but that we remain optimistic around the future. That said, there are -- historically, it's usually been more the norm than the exception that when you have strong spring margins, it ends up translating into a significant increase in production and then fundamental economics kick in and in an oversupplied market, margins start to give away in the second half. But I think the thing that changes that at least to date has been exports and the optimism, albeit cautious optimism around E15. And so demand has continued to remain strong and inventories remain on the whole balance. So we'll see. I think a good thing to do is keep an eye on inventories. And then it will be interesting to see what the impact of the Middle East challenges and how they impact export logistics, commitments, people having to reroute and find other alternatives to -- for their fuel needs that may actually bode well for not only adoption of E15, but as well adoption of ethanol in the export markets. But if -- there is a bit of wait-and-see efforts going on as much as possible. So it's a bit of a -- it's funny enough, it's probably as cloudy as it ever has been in looking forward, but I think that there are a lot of positives to be thinking about and that provide, I think, a counter to what would otherwise be the norm. Eric Stine: Yes. I mean so many moving parts. I mean, such as gasoline prices are good, except for the fact that they potentially dampened gasoline demand, but then you've got jet fuel at extremely high prices. So I don't know, cautiously optimistic, I guess, is the best way to put it. Bryon McGregor: Yes. I mean I think the interesting thing is we haven't seen a whole lot of change in demand right now for fuel. So it appears that we as consumers have not changed our behavior, at least with regards to fuel, but have changed our consumption behavior elsewhere to adapt. And I think that also we're seeing a good increase in demand for renewable diesel, which has, in turn, also resulted in improvements in corn oil values. So that's generally positive. So yes, I mean, time will tell, but fingers crossed, and God willing, and creek don't rise, we should have a good year generally, I think. Operator: The next question will come from Sameer Joshi with H.C. Wainwright. Sameer Joshi: Congrats on a solid quarter. So just in terms of priorities, your debt servicing was around $10.8 million last year, $2.2 million this quarter. Is the focus on reducing the debt? Or is the focus on actually increasing this -- or rather reducing CI scores by spending on these various projects that you talked about. If you've done some analysis on what makes more sense. Bryon McGregor: Yes... Sorry about this, Sameer. Let me start by saying I don't think it's a binary question or a binary answer, and I'll let Rob go ahead and riff. Robert Olander: Yes. I was going to say the same thing one's dependent upon the other. I mean we have a repayment mechanism, which has worked out well for Alto that when we do well, then there's a cash flow sweep that pays down the debt. And so we like paying it down. We commented on the interest expense savings, but we're also managing our liquidity and our availability to go after the projects that we view provide the strongest returns. And to that effect, as mentioned before, we do have a capital expenditure budget of $25 million for 2026. So there are several projects in our sites that we're excited to go after. Sameer Joshi: Understood. Actually, that was sort of a second question on the $25 million CapEx. On Slide 6, you have a nice table. Thanks for providing that. That gives a nice snapshot of what the impact of your CS coal reduction would be on potential benefits from 45Z. If you are able to do all the -- or execute on all the projects that you have planned for 2026, will we be at $0.30, $0.40? Like do you have a idea of what you're targeting there? Bryon McGregor: I think generally, we do have an idea, but we're not prepared to share that yet because some of the efforts certainly require more than just our efforts. We'll try and control everything all that we can, but there is significant dependence on third parties, including farmers and then the relationships that we have there. But I think we remain very optimistic about our ability to capture more of that 45Z and are keenly focused on it. So... Robert Olander: Yes, I'll just add to that. Our near-term focus is to capture more 45Z benefits is to optimize our production. And that kind of speaks to the maintenance activities we did at our Columbia facility in Q1 to improve the reliability moving forward. And our expectation is that we will be able to increase our production output moving forward, particularly compared to 2025. And then later this year, we are going to debottleneck the dry mill starting in the second quarter, hoping to complete that by the end of the third quarter, where we expand our production by about 5 million gallons on an annual run rate basis. And so in that mechanism in the near term, at least for 2026 is how we're hoping to capture more of the value from the 45Z credits. And then as Bryon commented, it will take a collaboration and a little more work and effort longer term working with other parties to move us down the CI score. And like Bryon said, a good opportunity is on potentially low carbon intensity corn and signing up farmers who are employing, I guess, carbon smart practices such as reduced [till or no till], low nitrogen fertilizers or the use of cover crops. But that's going to take time to develop. And fortunately, this program is currently available through the end of 2029, and we hope it gets extended further. Sameer Joshi: Yes. No, understood. And then just a industry question sort of the benefit or impact of E15. Of course, it would create excess demand, but that would also drive some of the mothballed refineries or ethanol plants to be reactivated. And would that flood the market? What do you see from where you sit right now, any adverse impact from the benefits that emanate from E15? Bryon McGregor: I guess my general thought is first is if you can capture E15, you're already seeing anything that be or most of the projects that otherwise have been mothballed or idle are -- there's some effort to resume that production, and there are certainly lots of rumors and a lot of work that we're seeing behind the scenes, including ourselves, right? We're talking about -- debottlenecking at our dry mill to expand capacity. So I think that's already in the works for the most part, Sameer. I think that E15 will only help balance out what is otherwise a demand or a production push and incentivize production to also incentivize demand. And I think that complement that with a good export program will help provide significant balance going forward. And certainly, the number of gallons that would come from year-round E15 adoption, including California is I've seen numbers on the order of 1 billion gallons. So I don't think there's that much latent capacity currently in the market. So I think that all bodes positive and gives really consumers an opportunity to have more options at the pump, which they haven't been able to have for a very long time. Sameer Joshi: Understood. For the 2Q, of course, the LCFS scores are in the right -- moving in the right direction. The RINs are moving in the right direction. Good luck with the second quarter and second half of the year. Operator: This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Mr. Bryon McGregor for any closing remarks. Bryon McGregor: Thanks, Nick. Thanks, everyone, for joining us again today. We look forward to speaking to you soon. Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Alto Ingredients, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Alto Ingredients wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $476,034!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,274,109!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 975% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 7, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Alto (ALTO) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool