BBW

ST. LOUIS, September 09, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 per share of issued and outstanding common stock. The dividend will be paid on October 8, 2026, to all stockholders of record as of September 24, 2026. About Build-A-BearFounded in 1997, Build‑A‑Bear is a leading global retailtainment brand on a mission to add a little more heart to life. At Build-A-Bear, guests are invited to create personalized furry friends through a unique stuffing, dressing, accessorizing and naming process, accentuated by a memorable "heart ceremony" that creates moments of connection for people of all ages. Over the years, Build‑A‑Bear has grown into a multi‑generational phenomenon, positioned at the intersection of pop‑culture trends. Beyond its signature retail experience, the brand also offers pre‑stuffed plush, gifting, partnerships with best‑in‑class licensed and collectible characters, and original storytelling through Build‑A‑Bear Entertainment, LLC. Build‑A‑Bear’s current brand platform and message, "The Stuff You Love," crosses ages and cultures while celebrating nearly 30 years of helping people mark life’s meaningful moments. Today, Build‑A‑Bear operates more than 650 company-owned, partner-operated, and franchise experience locations across more than 30 countries, complemented by buildabear.com. Build‑A‑Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) reported $529.8 million in total revenues for fiscal 2025, representing the Company's 5th consecutive year of record results. Learn more at the Investor Relations section of buildabear.com. Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains certain statements that are, or may be considered to be, "forward-looking statements" for the purpose of federal securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. We generally identify these statements by words or phrases such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "predict," "future," "potential" or "continue," the negative or any derivative of these terms and other comparable terminology. All the information concerning our future liquidity, future revenues, margins and other future financial performance and results, achievement of operating or financial plans or forecasts for future periods, sources and availability of credit and liquidity, future cash flows and cash needs, success and results of strategic initiatives and other future financial performance or financial position, as well as our assumptions underlying such information, constitute forward-looking information. These statements are based only on our current expectations and projections about future events. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed under the captions entitled "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 16, 2026, and other periodic reports filed with the SEC which are incorporated herein. All our forward-looking statements are as of the date of this Press Release only. In each case, actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking information. We can give no assurance that such expectations or forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. An occurrence of or any material adverse change in one or more of the risk factors or other risks and uncertainties referred to in this Press Release or included in our other public disclosures or our other periodic reports or other documents or filings filed with or furnished to the SEC could materially and adversely affect our continuing operations and our future financial results, cash flows, available credit, prospects, and liquidity. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260909739876/en/ Contacts Investor Relations Contact Gary Schnierow, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate [email protected] Media Relations Contact [email protected]

Image source: The Motley Fool. Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET Vice President, Investor Relations - Gary Schnierow Chief Executive Officer - J. Christopher Hurt Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer - Voin Todorovic Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the Build-A-Bear Workshop Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce Gary Schnierow, Vice President, Investor Relations. Gary Schnierow: Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Build-A-Bear's second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. With us today are Chris Hurt, Build-A-Bear's Chief Executive Officer, and Voin Todorovic, our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer. During this call, we'll refer to forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially. Please refer to our Forms 10-K and 10-Q, including the Risk Factors section. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. During this call, we will present both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of non-GAAP to GAAP measures is included in today's earnings press release, which is distributed and available to the public through our Investor Relations website. And now I'll turn the call over to Chris. J. Christopher Hurt: Thank you, Gary, and good morning, everyone. I appreciate you joining us today for Build-A-Bear's second quarter fiscal 2026 earnings call. As we communicated earlier this year, we expected fiscal 2026 to be a tale of 2 halves, with more difficult comparisons impacting the first half, followed by less challenging comparisons and anticipated improved performance in the back half of the year. Although we continue to expect a stronger second half than the first, second quarter results fell short of our projections, driven mainly by continued traffic challenges due to the performance of our summer trend collection and in addition to macroeconomic conditions. As a result, we have moderated our direct-to-consumer expectations for the balance of the year, and together with our updated outlook for our commercial segment, we reduced our full-year guidance. Voin will discuss the updated guidance in more detail in his remarks. Second quarter was up against a particularly strong performance last year, when DTC revenue increased 11% and web demand increased 15%. These results were driven by a number of strong summer collections, including trend products with our innovative fruit stand assortment, exclusive licensed offerings such as the Sanrio Sweet Shop, and a selection of movie-related items, highlighted by the How to Train Your Dragon launch featuring a new Toothless, which through the years has proven to be one of our most successful movie characters. Following the success of Summer 2025, we used this year's assortment to push even further into product innovation, including novel designs such as Slushie Plushies and Beary Goods. While these less customizable concepts did not resonate as strongly as anticipated and contributed to weaker performance than last year, the quarter also reinforced an important insight. Guests continue to respond positively to products that highlight Build-A-Bear's signature customization experience. For example, our dressable Chummy Shark, one of the key characters in our Make-Your-Own Summer collection, sold out during the quarter. And Promise Pets, our own intellectual property, continues to be a meaningful growth platform, driving higher than average dollars per transaction due to strong attachment rates of clothing and accessories. These insights and learnings will help us strike a better balance between continued product innovation and the core elements of the Build-A-Bear experience that resonate most strongly with our guests. Even as DTC sales came in short of last year's record level, it's important to note they represented our second highest second quarter DTC sales performance in the history of the company. Turning to the numbers. Second quarter revenue was $115.3 million, and pre-tax income was $11.6 million. For the first half of fiscal 2026, revenue was $240.6 million, pre-tax income was $35.5 million, and adjusted pre-tax income was $28.5 million, excluding the $7 million IEEPA tariff refund related to 2025. Importantly, while our second quarter performance and revised guidance reflect near-term pressures, we remain confident in the strength of our brand, our long-term strategy, and our ability to execute against the opportunities ahead. Notably, our Halloween launch delivered the highest non-fourth quarter sales week in the company's history and the third highest U.S. e-commerce sales week behind only Black Friday weeks of 2020 and 2025. While August remains part of the difficult comparison period, our third quarter sales performance to date has improved over the first half. These early third quarter results reinforce our view that guests continue to respond strongly to trend-right product offerings and beloved characters, such as our recently redesigned Harry Potter bear, that build on the customization and engagement inherent in the Build-A-Bear experience. With that as a backdrop, we remain focused on the four strategic pillars we have discussed over the past 2 quarters: one, drive organic growth; two, location expansion; three, wholesale and outbound brand licensing; and four, gifting and personalization. Together, these priorities are designed to evolve and extend the Build-A-Bear brand, including into large addressable markets beyond our traditional vertical retail channel. Our first pillar is organic growth. We must continue to drive our core business through trend-right products and compelling experiences while remaining true to what makes Build-A-Bear unique. Guests continue to value the creativity, self-expression, and connection that comes from building and personalizing their own furry friend. We remain focused on enhancing that experience across demographics and occasions. Just as importantly, our success has not been limited to core offerings. We have consistently demonstrated an ability to identify, create, and capitalize on powerful consumer trends, particularly those related to nostalgia, pop culture, collectability, and the adult market. Products such as Spring Green Frog, Pink Axolotl, and Capybara began as trend-right offerings but have since become enduring parts of our assortment, illustrating our ability to transform emerging trends into evergreen products while maintaining the core elements of the Build-A-Bear experience. The Halloween season has become another compelling example of our ability to identify, create, and capitalize on consumer trends, while also representing an increasingly important growth opportunity for the brand. This year's assortment featured trend-right products, including a reintroduction of our fan-favorite Poseable Bat, a new Jumping Spider, and Mini Beans of those respective products, all of which helped drive the record-breaking launch week of this seasonal collection. As a reminder, these seasonal and trend-driven launches often generate significant user-created content, helping drive engagement, traffic, and ultimately sales. As we approach our 30th anniversary in 2027, we will kick off a year-long celebration commemorating 3 decades of memory-making experiences. Throughout the coming year, we plan to continue to reintroduce some of our most popular nostalgic furry friends from our vault, reconnecting guests and fans with the Build-A-Bear characters from the past. As part of that celebration, beginning in October, we will also introduce a special version of our beloved mascot, Bearemy, one of our most recognizable characters, both to longtime fans as well as to a new generation of guests. We also continue to see meaningful opportunities within licensed products and collector-driven engagement. Today, we launch our new Sanrio Halloween collection, highlighted by the popular Lloromannic duo, Berry and Cherry. This launch establishes Build-A-Bear as the first retailer in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom to offer Lloromannic in plush form, further strengthening our position as a destination for sought-after licensed characters for all ages. Looking ahead, we continue to amplify the Build-A-Bear brand by leveraging the powerful combination of nostalgia, licensing, and innovation that differentiates us in the marketplace. Our upcoming collaboration with McDonald's is a great example. Later this year, McDonald's will begin rolling out Build-A-Bear themed Happy Meals in the United Kingdom, bringing together 2 iconic brands in a way that introduces Build-A-Bear to new customers while reinforcing engagement with existing fans. We believe this collaboration represents a unique opportunity to increase brand awareness, create cultural relevance, and introduce Build-A-Bear to new customers through one of the world's most recognizable brands. Turning to our second pillar, location expansion. During the second quarter, we added 5 net new locations, bringing total net new openings to 12 through the first half of fiscal 2026 and ending the second quarter with 674 locations across 37 countries. We remain on track to achieve our objective of opening at least 50 net new locations this year, with the majority expected to be international partner-operated locations. This expansion reflects the global appeal of the Build-A-Bear brand and enables us to extend our reach efficiently into new markets. Turning to the third pillar, we remain committed to extending the reach of the Build-A-Bear brand through wholesale and licensing opportunities. As a reminder, our wholesale business remains largely program-driven and opportunistic, as we continue to make investments to grow our traditional wholesale channel and do not yet have broad replenishment capabilities. We are disappointed that this business has not developed at the pace we anticipated. We were unable to repeat the multimillion-dollar Walmart program, and other wholesale opportunities have progressed more slowly than expected. However, our experience with Walmart, namely the successful sell-through of our Build-A-Bear branded non-licensed products, demonstrated that a brand can extend into large-scale third-party distribution and reach consumers beyond our traditional channel. We continue to view wholesale and outbound licensing as attractive opportunities to further leverage the strength of our intellectual property, generate incremental profitable revenue, and extend the Build-A-Bear brand to new customers. Our fourth pillar focuses on enhancing gifting and personalization. Our new highly immersive, multi-level location at ICON Park in Orlando, which remains on track to open in the third quarter, will showcase an elevated expression of the Build-A-Bear experience and will debut a number of premium gifting and personalization offerings. Among them are our first-ever design studio, a high-touch, appointment-based experience where guests work one-on-one with a design consultant to create a truly one-of-a-kind furry friend by selecting elements such as the animal, fur type, eye color, and again, creating a truly one-of-a-kind design. A new Personalize Me station, offering furry friend embroidery and clothing customization that creates lasting keepsakes. Enhancements to our Hear Me station that highlight our record-your-voice functionality, which is a critical differentiator for our brand. And a new Scent Bar, where guests can personalize a scent to be added to their furry friend. And Build-A-Bear Bake Shop, featuring guided dessert experiences that extend the creativity and personalization of the workshop while providing guests with a unique way to celebrate special occasions. These are just some of the many features we are introducing to create a highly differentiated experience at our new location at ICON Park, allowing us to showcase the full breadth of the Build-A-Bear brand while creating new opportunities for personalization, gifting, celebration, and gift engagement in a premier tourism destination. We intend to apply relevant successes and learnings from our ICON Park location to evolve other offerings within our store portfolio. In summary, our first half performance fell below our expectations. We have revised our fiscal 2026 outlook. Importantly, the early response to our Halloween launch and recent product introductions reinforces our confidence in the enduring strength of the Build-A-Bear brand, and we remain focused on our strategic growth initiatives. With that, I will turn the call over to Voin to review our financial results and updated outlook in greater detail. Vojin Todorovic: Thank you, Chris, and good morning, everyone. I will discuss the quarterly results and then share more about our updated full-year outlook. As we shared on our last call, we expected a year-over-year decline this quarter. However, results fell short of our projections, primarily due to underperformance from summer trend products, as well as ongoing macroeconomic challenges, both contributing to weaker traffic. Specifically, for the second quarter, total revenues were $115.3 million, a decrease of 7.2%, mainly driven by a decline in our direct-to-consumer business. In the direct-to-consumer segment, transactions declined primarily due to lower store traffic. Average unit retail also decreased, partially offset by an increase in units per transaction. Domestic store traffic was down and lagged broader U.S. traffic trends. Last year's second quarter benefited from particularly strong traffic and robust demand for new collections, especially among teens and adults. Despite the year-over-year decline versus second quarter, total direct-to-consumer revenue grew 3% versus 2024. E-commerce demand declined 15.6% compared to last year as web traffic remained soft. However, demand improved sequentially from the first quarter, reflecting progress against our initiatives to strengthen the digital business. While year-to-date performance remained below last year, the team continues to make progress while returning this channel to growth. Gross margin for the quarter was 54.2%, a decrease of 340 basis points compared to last year, reflecting occupancy cost deleverage and increased promotional activity. SG&A expenses were $51.4 million, or 44.6% of total revenues, compared to 45.4% last year. The 80 basis point decrease in SG&A was driven mainly by lower incentive compensation expense. Our pre-tax income was $11.6 million compared to $15.3 million last year, a decline of 24.1%. Turning to the balance sheet. At the second quarter end, our cash balance was $14 million, representing a $25.1 million decrease versus last year, mainly driven by a higher level of stock repurchases compared to the same timeframe last year and the timing of capital expenditure activity that was more front-loaded in this year to support our strategic initiatives. Inventory at quarter end was $81.1 million, a decrease of $600,000 compared to the same period last year. The company remains comfortable with the level and composition of its inventory, and we currently expect to finish the year at or below last year's level. We continue to deliver capital to shareholders as we returned $8.5 million to shareholders during the quarter. Over the past 12 months, we have reduced our share count by more than 5%, and we currently have $43.2 million remaining under the Board-authorized $100 million share repurchase program. Turning to the outlook. We reduced our revenue and pre-tax income guidance, as well as our expectations for commercial segment growth. We continue to expect the addition of at least 50 net new experience locations, most of which will be operated by our international partners. We have lowered our revenue guidance to a range of $500 million to $525 million, down from our previous range of $530 million to $550 million. This reflects second quarter results below our expectations, continuing traffic uncertainty, and no longer expecting to anniversary our multimillion-dollar Walmart order from last year. For the second half, we expect third quarter performance to improve sequentially, supported by a more favorable year-over-year comparison. As Chris noted, we are seeing positive momentum in our stores and e-com at the beginning of our third quarter, but our performance is still slightly below our prior expectations. Looking ahead, as is typical, we expect the fourth quarter to be our strongest quarter, even with an anticipated year-over-year decline in commercial segment revenue. Moving to our updated pre-tax income guidance. We have lowered our pre-tax income guidance range to a range of $60 million to $68 million, down from our previous range of $72 million to $78 million. Excluding the approximately $7 million of the tariff refund related to prior year costs, we expect adjusted pre-tax income to be in the range of $53 million to $61 million. The outlook also reflects $10 million to $11 million of ongoing traffic tariffs and related costs based on the current increased tariff rate of 12.5%, as well as approximately $3 million in longer-term investments. In closing, we continue to see opportunities to expand our global footprint and to further develop our wholesale business. Even with our updated guidance, we expect 2026 to be one of the stronger years in Build-A-Bear history, and we are focused on working to build teams and strengthen our foundation for fiscal 2027 and beyond. With that, we would like to thank our store and warehouse associates, along with our corporate team members and partners, for their dedication to the Build-A-Bear brand as we continue to work toward delivering on our strategic mission to add a little bit more heart to life around the world. This concludes our prepared remarks. We will now turn the call back over to the operator for questions. Operator? Operator: [Operator Instructions] And our first question today will come from Chris Moore with CJS Securities. Christopher Moore: Maybe we'll start on the commercial side. So you lost 4 partners. Maybe talk a little bit about what happened there and what's behind the updated guide, assuming no commercial growth in '26? J. Christopher Hurt: Yes, thanks, Chris, and good morning. From our commercial segment, we had guided to a plus 20% for the full year. With the reduction of the Walmart multimillion-dollar that we now don't anticipate that, that will happen in the back half of the year, that was a reduction in that guidance. We do anticipate to still be close to our original guidance with our commercial segment with our international partners and our domestic partners. There is certainly a repositioning of some of those store locations, and we still have our guidance to open at least 50 net new locations this year. Christopher Moore: Got you. And with respect to Walmart, I mean, it sounded like things were going pretty well there. Any other details you can provide on that front? J. Christopher Hurt: Yes, as we talked about, from the Walmart last year, that was an opportunistic opportunity for us with a direct program going into those locations. This year, we were unable to anniversary that particular program, and there has been some slowness in anticipation of other wholesale opportunities within the back half. We are continuing to work on those wholesale systems to be able to provide replenishment and to be able to work into those as we move forward. We still see this as an important opportunity and growth strategy for Build-A-Bear. As we talked about with that Walmart last year, we did see a strong sell-through with the Build-A-Bear branded licensed products, and we believe that is the opportunity for us in the future to be able to take advantage of these opportunistic wholesale opportunities. Christopher Moore: Got it. That's helpful. And just in thinking in terms of wild cards, kind of looking at what's going on in Iran and the potential China response. Is that one of the bigger potential negative wild cards? If the U.S. really presses China, China reacts unfavorably? Is there a potential there from a kind of Chinese tariff perspective that could have a meaningful negative impact on you guys later this year or '27? Vojin Todorovic: I'll take that, Chris. So thank you for the question. It is very challenging to answer some of those things. Clearly, the geopolitical and macro environment do impact us in some cases more or less. But tariffs, even this quarter, have, or in the year, have changed from 10%, what we assumed, to 12.5%. Again, that's something that's outside of our control, and if and when it will happen, if it happens at all. But we continue to stay focused on what we can control. We are working with our partners around the world, really to find ways to mitigate some of those things and strengthen our supply chain to support our business across the globe. And clearly, some of those challenges, especially if there is a hike in oil prices, will impact us directly or indirectly, but it is really challenging to think about what those impacts are. But in the past, we have a strong history and good history of finding ways to mitigate some of the challenges during those times of these unusual spikes, if you will. Operator: And our next question, we'll hear from Eric Beder with SCC Research. Eric Beder: What are you seeing in terms of the consumer, what are you seeing in terms of their purchasing, in terms of imperative to purchase, and are they trading down for some of the other pieces now that you have the Mini Beans and some other pieces? Is that part of the issue too? J. Christopher Hurt: Thanks for the question, Eric. And as you know, we stated our second quarter performance was below our expectations, and we've seen a continuation of persistent traffic challenges throughout the quarter. We have seen, as we move into the first half of the third quarter, as I talked about with our Halloween launch, we have seen a change into those traffic patterns to the positive, and we've seen a change in our sales performance. While slightly still below our expectations, that performance of our Halloween product really demonstrates the ability of people to come in and go through the full experience. We are seeing our 4 levers as far as DPT be above last year, and we've been able to take people through that, as we said, that entire experience. Those items are Halloween collection, or more back to our core items, where people are able to dress those, be able to go through the full experience. And that has given us the outlook of the third quarter as we move through. Although August is still a part of our difficult comparison period, we see this as a positive sign moving forward. But again, slightly below our prior expectations. Eric Beder: Great. And when you look at, are the inventories somewhat distorted? Are the inventory comparisons here somewhat also distorted here in Q2 by the tariffs being now part of the cost of goods, and last year they weren't? How should we think about the inventories going forward? I know you said at the end of the year, it's going to be flattish. Is that because in general, A, you do a good job, but B, it also has to do with the tariff kind of normalizing, too? Vojin Todorovic: So I'll try to answer that, Eric. Tariffs have been really -- we've seen significant fluctuations since they were implemented, at least for our business, in April of last year. And they fluctuated from 50s to 20s, down to 10%, and again, they were increased to 12.5% recently. In addition to this really complicated story, we got some refunds from IEEPA tariffs that were enforced last year. That went through our P&L mostly in Q1, and a portion of that was in Q2. So we were really in this situation during the Q2 that our tariff impact with lower rates this year versus last year. And last year, they were starting late in the second quarter for us. You know, we had about $1 million-dollar impact in both quarters, so that wasn't that much of an impact this time around. But as we go for the back half of the year and we go for assuming they stay at 12.5%, clearly that will have some smaller impact on our pre-tax projection for the remainder of the year that's reflected in our guidance. But we should see some benefit from the overall total inventory as the rate would be lower compared to where the rate was at the end of last year. Eric Beder: Got it. Okay. And kind of last question here. When you look at last year, the spring launch was a huge positive. And this year wasn't as strong, kind of what's the -- what are your takeaways from that as you look forward to what you're going to do for the next spring, summer launch for that going forward? Thank you. J. Christopher Hurt: Yes, thanks, Eric. And you're right. We talked about that. We were going up against very high comparisons in the second quarter for last year based on an innovation that I talked about of our fruit stand assortment, along with a licensed product of our Sanrio Sweet Shop. That drove us after 5 years of record-breaking results over 20 quarters, to take the summer as an opportunity to push our innovation, and we did do that. We pushed our innovation with a line of Slushie Plushies, Beary Goods, and even Mashimals in that time period. Summer is a time when you would want to push that envelope. Other times of the season, there are products that consumers are really looking for, whether that's Valentine's, Easter, Halloween, as we've seen success, and holiday. So summer is when we traditionally push that innovation. The reality is we pushed it too far. That product did not resonate as well with our consumers. It wasn't as dressable. It didn't go through the full customization experience. And as a result, we saw weaker results from that product line. As we move into Halloween, it's more into our core line that resonates with our guests, that gives them that full customization experience. We centered on a fan favorite from last year with the Poseable Bat, introducing a new trend item in there with the spider, both of those able to be dressable, stuffable, be able to record your voice in, along with others in that line. And that's what we see going forward. Our holiday collections are in that more core item, along with licensed characters and trend products. So we believe that, that going forward, we will still push trend. We have been very good at being able to get on emerging trends and look at those. But in the summer line, we did push it too far, in our opinion, and it did not resonate with our guests. Operator: And next we'll move to Keegan Cox with D.A. Davidson. Keegan Tierney Cox: I kind of wanted to get in on the commercial stores a little bit more, maybe just a follow-up. I know last quarter you talked about commercial partners closing smaller footprints to open larger stores. I was wondering if that dynamic played out in the store closures we saw this quarter or if anything has changed on that front? J. Christopher Hurt: Yes, thanks, Keegan. Again, we still expect to open at least 50 net new locations this year, and predominantly those being our partner-operated stores. And that did play out. There are partners that first opened in these smaller shop-in-shops and now have opened standalone stores. There is timing that is happening within that. Historically, we've had a very small percent of store closures, and our partners are repositioning as they understand their business and what they understand where these locations should be in the country and in the cities. So we are seeing some repositioning. And again, the majority of our openings will be in the back half of the year, and those will be with our international partners. It's actually, we're very early into our international expansion. Over this two-year period, we've seen this growth and doubled the number of countries that we're in. So with new partners, they are looking at where the best opportunities are for them, as they have some test-and-learn abilities, and to be able to reposition their stores and now some of them move into higher volume standalone locations. Keegan Tierney Cox: Got it. And my follow-up is on the gross margins. I know part of the decline was occupancy deleverage, but you did mention promotional activity. So I just wanted to kind of get an idea of what items you had to promote, sounds like the summer trend? And then, if you're seeing any trade-down aspects? Vojin Todorovic: So, thank you for -- Yes, Keegan, yes, you are right about our margin was down and some of that's caused by the increased promotional activity. Really, that was more focused to drive our move through some of the summer trend product that missed our expectations. But as Chris pointed out, we had strength in our dollars per transaction. We still are. And I mentioned our units per transaction were up, so some of those things are helping out. But because of some of those, for us, heavier promotions, again, we still have very low discount rates that impacted our average unit retail. But still, dollar per transactions were up. Operator: [Operator Instructions] We'll next move to Greg Gibas with Northland Securities. Gregory Gibas: Maybe to just follow up on your prepared remarks, I think you said early Q3 results have improved over the first half. Can you maybe clarify what metrics you're referring to and maybe what you attribute that to? Is that simply the Halloween launch versus just kind of the summer products? Any color there would be helpful. J. Christopher Hurt: Yes, Greg, thank you. Yes, as we talked about, we have seen some sequential improvement in both traffic and both in our early sales reads with the Halloween launch. We are going up against, as we talked about, early comparisons in the back half of the year. However, August is still part of that difficult comparison period. So these improvements in both our traffic and both in our sales performance are encouraging as we move forward into the back half of the year. This is, as I talked about moving into that, Halloween. 2 years ago, we brought our Halloween product forward, this launch forward, and we saw great success. We did that again last year. So we're going up against 2 years of very successful Halloween launches. So to be able to come across that in the third year, is encouraging as we move forward. So yes, both the positivity in traffic and a sales increase, while not to our prior expectations, it has increased in both of those areas. Gregory Gibas: Got it. That's great to hear. And to maybe quickly follow up on kind of the Walmart program, not repeating there, what is your understanding of kind of the reasoning there, and are you able to quantify its impact to guidance? Vojin Todorovic: So I'll start with that. That was a multimillion-dollar deal that we had with Walmart, and it did have an impact on guidance because we weren't able to anniversary that opportunistic program from last year. But at the same time, some of the other initiatives haven't panned out at the pace that we anticipated them. But when you think about that, we said our total commercial segment would grow at least 20%. Now we are bringing it down to basically being flat. Pretty much all of that decline, it is tied back to our traditional wholesale business. As we think about the context of guidance, we also did miss our expectation in Q2, driven again by that summer trend product performance and persistent traffic pressures. And then as we talked about the rest of the year, even though we are seeing some positive momentum and we are positive, we are slightly behind our original expectations. So we are cautiously optimistic about the back half of the year, and that's reflected in our guidance. Operator: There are no further questions at this time. I would like to turn the floor back to Chris Hurt for closing remarks. J. Christopher Hurt: Thank you for joining us today and your interest in Build-A-Bear. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to speaking with you again next quarter. Have a great day. Operator: Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. We thank you for your participation. You may disconnect your lines at this time. . 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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 recommends Build-A-Bear Workshop. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Build-A-Bear (BBW) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Build-A-Bear (BBW) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.7 per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate . This compares to earnings of $0.94 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. A quarter ago, it was expected that this toy retailer would post earnings of $0.76 per share when it actually produced earnings of $1.03, delivering a surprise of +35.53%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. Build-A-Bear, which belongs to the Zacks Retail - Miscellaneous industry, posted revenues of $115.29 million for the quarter ended July 2026, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.23%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $124.25 million. The company has not been able to beat consensus revenue estimates 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. Build-A-Bear shares have lost about 36.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 12.1%. While Build-A-Bear has underperformed 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 Build-A-Bear 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 $0.84 on $128.46 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $4.04 on $539 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, Retail - Miscellaneous is currently in the top 38% 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. Petco Health & Wellness (WOOF), another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended July 2026. The results are expected to be released on September 2. This pet store chain is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.06 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -25%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Petco Health & Wellness' revenues are expected to be $1.49 billion, up 0.3% 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 Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (BBW) : Free Stock Analysis Report Petco Health and Wellness Company, Inc. (WOOF) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Interested in Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Second-quarter performance weakened: Revenue fell 7.2% year over year to $115.3 million, while pre-tax income declined 24.1% to $11.6 million, pressured by lower store traffic, softer e-commerce demand and weaker summer merchandise. Management cut fiscal 2026 guidance: Revenue is now expected at $500 million–$525 million, versus the prior $530 million–$550 million range, while pre-tax income guidance fell to $60 million–$68 million. The commercial segment is now expected to be roughly flat, partly because a prior Walmart program will not repeat. Core products and Halloween helped stabilize trends: Management said more customizable, dressable offerings such as Chummy Shark performed well, and the Halloween launch produced a record non-fourth-quarter sales week. The company continues expanding its store base and targets at least 50 net new locations this year. Bath & Body Works Stock Surged Despite Falling Sales—Here’s Why Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) reported lower second-quarter revenue and profit as weaker store traffic and an underperforming summer trend assortment weighed on results, prompting the retailer to reduce its full-year revenue and pre-tax income outlook. Chief Executive Officer Chris Hurt said the company had expected fiscal 2026 to have a more difficult first half followed by improving comparisons and performance in the second half. While management still expects the back half to be stronger than the first half, Hurt said second-quarter results came in below projections because summer products did not resonate as expected and macroeconomic conditions continued to pressure traffic. → Quantum Computing Is Raising the Stakes for Cybersecurity: 5 Stocks to Watch Bath & Body Works Hits Multi-Year Lows: Bargain or Trap? “We have moderated our direct-to-consumer expectations for the balance of the year,” Hurt said. The company also reduced its outlook for its commercial segment, which includes wholesale and partner-related operations. Second-quarter revenue totaled $115.3 million, down 7.2% from the prior year, primarily reflecting lower direct-to-consumer sales. Pre-tax income fell 24.1% to $11.6 million from $15.3 million a year earlier. → NVIDIA Reveals $21 Billion SpaceX Stake: Signal of Confidence or Circular Financing? How Bath & Body Works Is a Perfect Example of a Value Stock For the first half of fiscal 2026, Build-A-Bear reported revenue of $240.6 million and pre-tax income of $35.5 million. Adjusted pre-tax income was $28.5 million excluding a $7 million refund tied to IEEPA tariffs related to 2025 costs. Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer Voin Todorovic said direct-to-consumer transactions declined mainly because of lower store traffic. Average unit retail also declined, though that was partly offset by an increase in units per transaction. Domestic store traffic lagged broader U.S. traffic trends, he said. → Berkshire Boosts Its Bet: This AI Hyperscaler Is Now a Top-3 Holding E-commerce demand declined 15.6% year over year as web traffic remained soft, although demand improved sequentially from the first quarter. Total direct-to-consumer revenue remained 3% above its 2024 level, according to the company. Gross margin declined 340 basis points to 54.2%, reflecting occupancy-cost deleverage and increased promotional activity. SG&A expense was $51.4 million, or 44.6% of revenue, compared with 45.4% a year earlier, aided primarily by lower incentive compensation expense. Hurt said the company faced difficult comparisons following a strong summer 2025, when direct-to-consumer revenue rose 11% and web demand increased 15%. That prior-year performance was aided by Build-A-Bear’s Fruit Stand collection, Sanrio Sweet Shop offerings and movie-related products including a How to Train Your Dragon launch. This year, Build-A-Bear increased product experimentation with concepts such as Slushie Plushie, Beary Goods and Mashimals. Hurt said those products were less customizable and did not generate the consumer response the company expected. “The reality is, we pushed it too far,” Hurt said during the question-and-answer session. He said the products were not as dressable and did not support the full customization experience that customers seek from the brand. Management said the quarter reinforced the importance of Build-A-Bear’s core customization offerings. The dressable Chummy Shark sold out during the quarter, while the company’s Promise Pets intellectual property continued to generate above-average dollar-per-transaction results due to clothing and accessory attachment rates. The company used promotions to move through underperforming summer trend inventory, Todorovic said, contributing to the lower gross margin and average unit retail. He added that discount levels nevertheless remained low and dollar per transaction increased. Build-A-Bear said its Halloween launch generated its highest non-fourth-quarter sales week in company history and its third-highest U.S. e-commerce sales week, behind only Black Friday weeks in 2020 and 2025. Hurt said early third-quarter trends have improved versus the first half, with sequential gains in traffic and sales. However, he cautioned that performance remained slightly below the company’s earlier expectations and that August is still part of a difficult comparison period. The Halloween collection included the return of the Posable Bat, a new Jumping Spider and Mini Beans versions of the products. Hurt said the collection’s more core, dressable and customizable merchandise has supported customer engagement. The company also highlighted upcoming licensed and brand-building initiatives, including a Sanrio Halloween collection featuring the Lloromannic characters Berry and Cherry. Build-A-Bear said it will be the first retailer in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. to offer Lloromannic in plush form. Later this year, McDonald’s is expected to begin rolling out Build-A-Bear-themed Happy Meals in the U.K. Build-A-Bear lowered its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to $500 million to $525 million from a prior range of $530 million to $550 million. The company now expects pre-tax income of $60 million to $68 million, down from prior guidance of $72 million to $78 million. Adjusted pre-tax income, excluding the approximately $7 million prior-year tariff refund, is expected to range from $53 million to $61 million. The outlook includes an estimated $10 million to $11 million of ongoing tariff and related costs based on a 12.5% tariff rate, as well as about $3 million in longer-term investments. Management said it no longer expects to repeat a multimillion-dollar Walmart program from the prior year. Todorovic said the commercial segment is now expected to be roughly flat for the year rather than grow at least 20%, with the change largely tied to traditional wholesale performance. Build-A-Bear ended the quarter with 674 locations in 37 countries after adding five net new locations during the quarter and 12 during the first half. The company continues to target at least 50 net new experience locations for the full year, mostly operated by international partners. Cash at quarter-end was $14 million, down $25.1 million year over year, which Todorovic attributed primarily to increased stock repurchases and earlier capital spending. The company returned $8.5 million to shareholders during the quarter, reduced its share count by more than 5% over the past 12 months, and had $43.2 million remaining under its $100 million share repurchase authorization. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc operates a specialty retail business focused on interactive “workshop” experiences that allow customers to create customized stuffed animals. Through its in-store and online platforms, the company offers a wide range of plush toys, apparel, accessories and sound modules, enabling guests to personalize each creation. In addition to its core bear products, Build-A-Bear has expanded its portfolio to include licensed characters from leading entertainment and media franchises. Founded in 1997 by Maxine Clark and headquartered in St. 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 "Build-A-Bear Workshop Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Second quarter performance fell short of projections due to a strategic push into product innovation that moved too far away from the brand's core customization experience. Management attributed the DTC revenue decline to the underperformance of the summer trend collection, specifically less-customizable concepts like Slushie Plushies that failed to resonate with guests. Persistent macroeconomic challenges and soft web traffic contributed to a decline in transactions, though average units per transaction increased. The company identified a clear guest preference for 'Make-Your-Own' signature experiences, evidenced by the sell-out of the dressable Chummy Shark and growth in the Promise Pets platform. Early third-quarter results show sequential improvement driven by a record-breaking Halloween launch, which delivered the highest non-Q4 sales week in company history. Strategic focus remains on four pillars: organic growth, location expansion, wholesale/licensing, and gifting/personalization to reach large addressable markets beyond vertical retail. Full-year revenue guidance was lowered to $500 million to $525 million, reflecting Q2 misses, ongoing traffic uncertainty, and the loss of a multimillion-dollar Walmart wholesale program. Management expects a stronger second half of the year as comparisons become less challenging, though performance remains slightly below prior expectations. The company remains on track to open at least 50 net new locations in fiscal 2026, with the majority expected to be international partner-operated sites. Guidance assumes ongoing tariff costs of $10 million to $11 million based on the current 12.5% rate, alongside approximately $3 million in long-term investments. The upcoming 30th anniversary in 2027 will serve as a catalyst for growth, featuring nostalgic 'vault' reintroductions and a special edition of the Bearemy mascot. The commercial segment guidance was revised from 20% growth to flat, primarily due to the inability to repeat a multimillion-dollar Walmart program and slower-than-expected wholesale development. A $7 million IEEPA tariff refund related to fiscal 2025 costs was excluded from adjusted pre-tax income to reflect underlying operational performance. Inventory levels are being managed tightly, with expectations to finish the year at or below last year's levels despite tariff-related cost fluctuations. The new ICON Park location in Orlando will serve as a testbed for premium gifting and personalization features, including the first-ever design studio and a Bake Shop. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management explained the shift from 20% growth to flat was largely due to the loss of a multimillion-dollar opportunistic Walmart program from the prior year. Wholesale replenishment capabilities are still being developed, leading to slower progress in other third-party distribution opportunities than originally anticipated. Management acknowledged that tariffs recently increased from 10% to 12.5%, which is reflected in the updated guidance. While geopolitical risks like oil price spikes are difficult to predict, the company highlighted its history of finding supply chain mitigations during periods of unusual cost spikes. Management admitted they 'pushed the envelope' too far with non-dressable items that did not allow for the full customization experience guests expect. Future trend products will be more closely aligned with core 'stuffable' and 'dressable' attributes, as seen in the successful Halloween and upcoming holiday collections. Recent store closures were characterized as strategic repositioning by international partners moving from small shop-in-shops to higher-volume standalone locations. The company remains in the early stages of international expansion, having doubled its country footprint over the last two years.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Revenue: $115.3 million in Q2, a decrease of 7.2% year-over-year. Pre-Tax Income: $11.6 million in Q2, down 24.1% from $15.3 million last year. Gross Margin: 54.2%, a decrease of 340 basis points year-over-year. SG&A Expenses: $51.4 million, or 44.6% of total revenues, down 80 basis points from last year. E-commerce Demand: Declined 15.6% year-over-year. Cash Balance: $14 million at quarter end, down $25.1 million year-over-year. Inventory: $81.1 million, a decrease of $600,000 year-over-year. Store Locations: 674 locations across 37 countries, with 12 net new openings in the first half. Shareholder Returns: $8.5 million returned to shareholders during the quarter. Full-Year Revenue Guidance: Lowered to $500-$525 million, down from $530-$550 million. Full-Year Pre-Tax Income Guidance: Lowered to $60-$68 million, down from $72-$78 million. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with BBW. Is BBW fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 27, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Record-breaking Halloween launch delivered the highest non-Q4 sales week in company history and the third-highest US e-commerce sales week ever. Early Q3 results show improved traffic and sales performance, indicating positive momentum despite challenging comparisons. Strong performance of core customizable products like dressable Chummy Shark and Promise Pets, which drove higher dollars per transaction. Continued global expansion with 12 net new locations in H1, on track to open at least 50 net new locations in 2026. New strategic initiatives, including the Icon Park location with premium gifting and personalization offerings, and the McDonald's Happy Meal collaboration, are expected to drive brand awareness and growth. Q2 revenue declined 7.2% year-over-year, falling short of projections due to underperforming summer trend products and macroeconomic pressures. Persistent traffic challenges, with domestic store traffic lagging broader US trends and e-commerce demand down 15.6%. Gross margin decreased 340 basis points due to occupancy cost deleverage and increased promotional activity. Full-year guidance reduced, with revenue and pre-tax income expectations lowered due to weaker-than-expected performance and the inability to repeat the Walmart program. Wholesale business development has been slower than anticipated, with the multi-million dollar Walmart program not repeating and other opportunities progressing slowly. Q: What were the primary drivers behind the company's weaker-than-expected second-quarter results and the subsequent reduction in full-year guidance?A: CEO Chris Hurt explained that Q2 results fell short of projections due to continued traffic challenges, driven by the underperformance of the summer trend collection (including slushy plushies and berry goods) and macroeconomic conditions. CFO Vojin Todorovic added that the company reduced its full-year revenue guidance to $500-$525 million (from $530-$550 million) and pre-tax income guidance to $60-$68 million (from $72-$78 million), reflecting the Q2 miss, ongoing traffic uncertainty, and the inability to anniversary the multi-million dollar Walmart order from last year. Q: Can you elaborate on the performance of the summer trend collection and what insights were gained from its underperformance?A: CEO Chris Hurt stated that the company pushed innovation too far with less customizable concepts like slushy plushies and berry goods, which did not resonate with guests. However, products highlighting the signature customization experience, such as the dressable Chummy Shark, sold out during the quarter. The key takeaway is that guests respond positively to products that emphasize Build-A-Bear's core customization experience, and the company will strike a better balance between innovation and core elements going forward. Q: What happened with the Walmart program, and how does it impact the commercial segment outlook?A: CEO Chris Hurt noted that the multi-million dollar Walmart program from last year was opportunistic and could not be repeated this year. CFO Vojin Todorovic clarified that the commercial segment growth guidance was reduced from at least 20% to essentially flat, with the decline tied back to the traditional wholesale business. Despite this setback, the company still views wholesale and outbound licensing as attractive opportunities for brand extension and incremental profitable revenue. Q: How is the company responding to the current tariff environment and geopolitical risks?A: CFO Vojin Todorovic acknowledged that tariffs have fluctuated significantly, recently increasing to 12.5%, and that geopolitical factors are outside the company's control. The company is focused on what it can control, working with global partners to strengthen the supply chain and mitigate challenges. The updated guidance reflects $10-$11 million of ongoing tariffs and related costs, and the company has a strong history of finding ways to mitigate such challenges. Q: What is the company's strategy for the upcoming Halloween season and the rest of the third quarter?A: CEO Chris Hurt highlighted that the Halloween launch delivered the highest non-fourth quarter sales week in company history and the third highest US e-commerce sales week. The assortment featured trend-right products like the fan-favorite Pogel Bat and a new Jumping Spider, both dressable and customizable. Early Q3 results show sequential improvement in traffic and sales, reinforcing confidence in the brand's ability to capitalize on seasonal trends while maintaining the core Build-A-Bear experience. Q: Can you provide more details on the new Icon Park location and its role in the gifting and personalization strategy?A: CEO Chris Hurt described the new multi-level location at Icon Park in Orlando, opening in Q3, as an elevated expression of the Build-A-Bear experience. It will debut a first-ever design studio with appointment-based one-on-one consultations, a personalize me station for embroidery and clothing customization, enhancements to the hear me station, a new scent bar, and a Build-A-Bear Bake Shop. These features aim to showcase the full breadth of the brand and create new opportunities for personalization, gifting, and celebration, with learnings to be applied across the store portfolio. Q: How is the company addressing the decline in e-commerce demand, and what progress has been made?A: CFO Vojin Todorovic reported that e-commerce demand declined 15.6% in Q2 compared to last year, with web traffic remaining soft. However, demand improved sequentially from Q1, reflecting progress against initiatives to strengthen the digital business. While year-to-date performance remains below last year, the team continues to make progress toward returning this channel to growth. Q: What is the company's outlook for store expansion and international growth?A: CEO Chris Hurt confirmed the company remains on track to open at least 50 net new locations this year, with the majority being international partner-operated stores. The company ended Q2 with 674 locations across 37 countries. Some partners are repositioning from smaller shops to larger standalone stores, and the company is early in its international expansion, with new partners testing and learning to identify the best opportunities. Q: How are consumer purchasing behaviors changing, and is there evidence of trade-down?A: CEO Chris Hurt noted persistent traffic challenges in Q2, but the company has seen positive changes in traffic patterns with the Halloween launch. Dollar per transaction remains above last year, and units per transaction increased, partially offsetting a decrease in average unit retail. The company is not seeing significant trade-down, as guests continue to engage with the full customization experience, including dressing and accessorizing their furry friends. Q: What drove the gross margin decline in the second quarter?A: CFO Vojin Todorovic explained that gross margin decreased 340 basis points to 54.2%, reflecting occupancy cost deleverage and increased promotional activity. Promotions were focused on moving summer trend products that missed expectations. Despite this, dollar per transactions were up, and the company maintains very low discount rates overall. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

As recently as June 2025, specialty retailer Build-a-Bear Workshop (BBW) earned a write-up in this space for its stellar 5-year returns – 4,658%, compared to only 1,490% for artificial intelligence (AI) heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA). Build-A-Bear has since experienced a dramatic reversal of fortune, with shares plunging 18% in early trading on Thursday, August 27, after the retailer reported disappointing second-quarter results and cut its full-year outlook for the second time this year. Warren Buffett Says Peter Thiel Can Quit Giving Pledge If It’s Too ‘Woke’ for Him — ‘A Lot of Reasons Why Rich People Don’t Like Other Rich People’ Elon Musk Says We’re ‘1000% Going to Go Bankrupt’ Without Al and Robots — ‘We’re Totally Screwed’ as Interest on National Debt Tops $1 Trillion Nvidia Reports $7.8 Billion in Q2 Gains on Equity Portfolio That Includes SpaceX, Intel, CoreWeave, and More Get exclusive insights with the FREE Barchart Brief newsletter. Subscribe now for quick, incisive midday market analysis you won't find anywhere else. The company now expects annual sales of $500 million to $525 million, down from its previous guidance of $530 million to $550 million, while also reducing pre-tax income expectations to $60 million to $68 million from $72 million to $78 million. The quarterly numbers paint a picture of a business under significant pressure. Revenue fell 7% to $115.3 million, missing the $120.8 million that analysts had forecast, while earnings declined to $8.8 million, or 70 cents per share, compared with $12.4 million, or 94 cents per share, a year earlier. CEO Chris Hurt acknowledged that second-quarter results fell short of expectations and that certain wholesale opportunities may take longer to materialize than previously anticipated. BBW stock has now declined 46% since the beginning of 2026 and its five-year returns have narrowed to 122%, representing a stunning collapse for a company that had previously been one of retail's most remarkable performers. The contrast with Nvidia's current trajectory is stark. NVDA last night reported revenue that more than doubled to $96.2 billion, forecast 70% revenue growth for fiscal 2028, and is up 6% today as BBW crashes. Nvidia is now up more than 800% over the past five years. Build-A-Bear's management team is also in flux, adding uncertainty to an already difficult situation. Longtime CEO Sharon Price John stepped down in June, and the company just terminated Chief Growth Officer David Henderson without cause, paying him more than $32 million in connection with his departure. The leadership upheaval comes at precisely the wrong time, as the company battles slowing store traffic attributed to an uncertain economic environment. The retail company expects to absorb $10 million to $11 million in tariff costs for the year, partially offset by $13 million in anticipated tariff refunds — a dynamic playing out across the retail sector. However, unlike peers such as Dollar General (DG), which posted 3.5% same-store sales growth, or Target (TGT), whose stock has rallied 66% over the past year, Build-A-Bear lacks the scale and diversification to weather consumer spending headwinds effectively. The specialty retailer's dependence on discretionary consumer spending for experiential toy purchases makes it particularly vulnerable in an environment where consumer sentiment sits at 49.5, well below recessionary thresholds, and where lower-income consumers are prioritizing essentials over discretionary items. For now, it seems like the Cinderella story where Build-a-Bear outperforms our favorite AI stocks has been quietly put to bed. This article was created with the support of automated content tools from our partners at Sigma.AI. Together, our financial data and AI solutions help us to deliver more informed market headline analysis to readers faster than ever. On the date of publication, Sarah Holzmann did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com

ST. LOUIS, August 13, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) today announced that the Company will report second-quarter fiscal 2026 results for the period ended August 1, 2026, on Thursday, August 27, 2026, before the opening of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company will host its quarterly investor conference call to discuss the results at 9 a.m. ET on the same day. The dial-in number for the live conference call is (201) 493-6780 (toll/international) or (877) 407-3982 (toll-free). The access code is Build-A-Bear. The live Internet broadcast may be accessed at the Company’s investor relations website, http://IR.buildabear.com. The call is expected to conclude by 10 a.m. ET. A replay of the conference call webcast will be available on the investor relations website for one year. A telephone replay will be available from approximately 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, August 27, 2026, until 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 17, 2026, and can be accessed by calling (412) 317-6671 (toll/international) or (844) 512-2921 (toll-free). The access code is 13761631. About Build-A-Bear Founded in 1997, Build‑A‑Bear is a leading global retailtainment brand on a mission to add a little more heart to life. At Build-A-Bear, guests are invited to create personalized furry friends through a unique stuffing, dressing, accessorizing and naming process, accentuated by a memorable "heart ceremony" that creates moments of connection for people of all ages. Over the years, Build‑A‑Bear has grown into a multi‑generational phenomenon, positioned at the intersection of pop‑culture trends. Beyond its signature retail experience, the brand also offers pre‑stuffed plush, gifting, partnerships with best‑in‑class licensed and collectible characters, and original storytelling through Build‑A‑Bear Entertainment, LLC. Build‑A‑Bear’s current brand platform and message, "The Stuff You Love," crosses ages and cultures while celebrating nearly 30 years of helping people mark life’s meaningful moments. Today, Build‑A‑Bear operates more than 650 company-owned, partner-operated, and franchise experience locations across more than 30 countries, complemented by buildabear.com. Build‑A‑Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) reported $529.8 million in total revenues for fiscal 2025, representing the company's fifth consecutive year of record results. Learn more at the Investor Relations section of buildabear.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260813960976/en/ Contacts Investor Relations Contact Gary Schnierow, Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate [email protected] Media Relations Contact [email protected]

ST. LOUIS, June 11, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) announced today that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.23 per share of issued and outstanding common stock. The dividend will be paid on July 9, 2026, to all stockholders of record as of June 25, 2026. About Build-A-Bear Founded in 1997, Build‑A‑Bear is a leading global retailtainment brand on a mission to add a little more heart to life. At Build-A-Bear, guests are invited to create personalized furry friends through a unique stuffing, dressing, accessorizing and naming process, accentuated by a memorable "heart ceremony" that creates moments of connection for people of all ages. Over the years, Build‑A‑Bear has grown into a multi‑generational phenomenon, positioned at the intersection of pop‑culture trends. Beyond its signature retail experience, the brand also offers pre‑stuffed plush, gifting, partnerships with best‑in‑class licensed and collectible characters, and original storytelling through Build‑A‑Bear Entertainment, LLC. Build‑A‑Bear’s current brand platform and message, "The Stuff You Love," crosses ages and cultures while celebrating nearly 30 years of helping people mark life’s meaningful moments. Today, Build‑A‑Bear operates more than 650 company-owned, partner-operated, and franchise experience locations across more than 30 countries, complemented by buildabear.com. Build‑A‑Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE: BBW) reported $529.8 million in total revenues for fiscal 2025, representing the Company's 5th consecutive year of record results. Learn more at the Investor Relations section of buildabear.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain statements that are, or may be considered to be, "forward-looking statements" for the purpose of federal securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. We generally identify these statements by words or phrases such as "may," "might," "should," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "predict," "future," "potential" or "continue," the negative or any derivative of these terms and other comparable terminology. All the information concerning our future liquidity, future revenues, margins and other future financial performance and results, achievement of operating of financial plans or forecasts for future periods, sources and availability of credit and liquidity, future cash flows and cash needs, success and results of strategic initiatives and other future financial performance or financial position, as well as our assumptions underlying such information, constitute forward-looking information. These statements are based only on our current expectations and projections about future events. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed under the captions entitled "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 16, 2026, and other periodic reports filed with the SEC which are incorporated herein. All our forward-looking statements are as of the date of this Press Release only. In each case, actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking information. We can give no assurance that such expectations or forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. An occurrence of or any material adverse change in one or more of the risk factors or other risks and uncertainties referred to in this Press Release or included in our other public disclosures or our other periodic reports or other documents or filings filed with or furnished to the SEC could materially and adversely affect our continuing operations and our future financial results, cash flows, available credit, prospects, and liquidity. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260611710711/en/ Contacts Investor Relations Contact Gary Schnierow, Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate [email protected] Media Relations Contact [email protected]