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Image source: The Motley Fool. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET Vice President of Corporate Development, Investor Relations, and Treasury - Michael Koehler President and Chief Executive Officer - Jon-Michael Adinolfi Chief Financial Officer - Robert Kraft Operator: Good morning and welcome to the second quarter 2026 results presentation for Hillman Solutions Corp. My name is Amber, and I will be your conference call operator today. Before we begin, I would like to remind our listeners that today's presentation is being recorded. The company's earnings release and presentation were issued yesterday, and the 10-Q was issued this morning. These documents and a replay of today's presentation can be accessed on Hillman's Investor Relations website at ir.hillmangroup.com. I would now like to turn the call over to Michael Koehler with Hillman. Please go ahead. Michael Koehler: Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Hillman's second quarter 2026 results presentation. I am Michael Koehler, Vice President of Corporate Development, Investor Relations, and Treasury. Joining me on today's call are Hillman's President and Chief Executive Officer, Jon-Michael Adinolfi, or JMA, and our Chief Financial Officer, Rocky Kraft. I would like to remind our audience that certain statements made today may be considered forward-looking and are subject to the safe harbor provisions of applicable securities laws. These forward-looking statements are not guaranteed to future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the company's control and may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such statements. Some of the factors that could influence our results are contained in our periodic and annual reports filed with the SEC. For more information regarding these risks and uncertainties, please see slide 2 in our earnings call slide presentation, which is available on our website. In addition, on today's call, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Information regarding our use of and reconciliations of these measures to our GAAP results are available in our earnings call slide presentation. JMA will begin today's call by discussing the recently announced agreement to acquire Kanebridge Corporation, a master distributor serving the industrial channel. Then he will provide commentary on our quarterly results and guidance, followed by a discussion on our performance by business. Rocky will then walk through our financial results, balance sheet, and guidance before turning the call back over to JMA for some closing comments. We will then open up the call for your questions. Now, it is my pleasure to turn the call over to our President and CEO, Jon-Michael Adinolfi. JMA? Jon Adinolfi: Thank you, Michael. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. The second quarter was a great quarter for Hillman, which I'll get to in a moment. Yesterday after the market closed, we announced that we entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kanebridge Corporation, a leading master distributor of fasteners in the industrial channel. Like Hillman, Kanebridge has a specialized business model with a moat built around SKU complexity and service. They provide a long tail of unique specialty fastener SKUs, and they have decades of product experience providing unique service to their long-term customers. This is a very exciting and strategic step in the evolution of Hillman. Let me tell you why Kanebridge is a great fit for Hillman. Kanebridge is a family-owned, privately held business that has over 50 years of expertise. Kanebridge's moat is built on their long-standing customer relationships, proprietary digital ordering platform, FasNet, and their ability to stock unique specialty SKUs and ship them out in custom pack sizes on the same day. Let me outline some of the similarities between Kanebridge and Hillman. Today, Hillman serves as the long-tail, specialty master fastener distributor for our customers. These are hard-to-find fasteners that the end user must have to do a project. This is where Hillman provides unparalleled value for our customers. Kanebridge does the same thing in the industrial channel. They serve as the long-tail master fastener distributor for their customers' hard-to-find fasteners required to do the job in a timely manner. Kanebridge stocks these fasteners and can meet the urgent demands of their customers by shipping out the same day. In March, we outlined the three channels we serve today: DIY, pro-distribution, and industrial. As you know, Hillman has a strong presence in DIY, which has been our focus for nearly 30 years. We also serve the pro-distribution channel, which is nearly a $10 billion market opportunity. Today, we believe we have about 3% market share in this space, and it is a key focus of our organic growth efforts. Industrial is the third channel we serve. We love this channel because it touches so many parts of the economy, including factories of all sizes, infrastructure projects, and data centers. This is the channel Kanebridge is in, and this is why this acquisition presents such a strong opportunity for Hillman. This business is not tied to just 1 market, and many of these specialty fasteners are needed urgently. For example, machine repair or project completion, that is the Kanebridge model. Today in Canada, we currently distribute fasteners to the industrial channel with our Paulin brand. And recently, we entered into this channel in the U.S. with our acquisition of Campbell Chain. Altogether, our industrial business today is approximately $65 million. The acquisition of Kanebridge doubles the size of our industrial business and establishes a fastener distribution presence in the U.S. serving the same industrial channel. As I've explained, the Kanebridge playbook is very similar to what we think is successful, and a big reason why we think this will be an outstanding fit for us. This acquisition gives us an immediate presence to serve and grow in the industrial channel, a channel that we've identified as a meaningful opportunity where we have minimal share today. This deal expands our industrial addressable market by 50%, increasing to $3 billion in total, of which we serve just 3%. For the 12 months ending June 30th, Kanebridge generated approximately $65 million in revenue and $30 million in adjusted EBITDA. These robust margins will be accretive to Hillman's margin profile. And given Kanebridge's light CapEx model, we expect very healthy free cash flow conversion. Because of Hillman's scale, we expect to realize about $2 million of cost synergies, particularly in sourcing. Over time, this represents the opportunity for even more cost savings. Additionally, we expect to realize a material cash tax benefit of between $40 million and $45 million from this transaction. Given this tax benefit and the cost synergies, the $315 million purchase price represents a post-synergy multiple of 8.4x to 8.6x. Further, we are confident that there is meaningful organic growth and cross-selling opportunities that will drive top-line growth and make this acquisition even more attractive. The transaction is expected to close around the start of the fourth quarter. Assuming this deal closes in line with our expectations, Kanebridge should contribute approximately $15 million of net sales and roughly $5 million of adjusted EBITDA to Hillman's overall 2026 results. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. We can't wait to welcome the Kanebridge team to Hillman. Interestingly, this acquisition takes Hillman back to its roots. During the late 90s, Hillman distributed fasteners to industrial customers. It was around that time the company made the decision to divest their industrial fastener business in order to make a critical investment to expand their distribution network to serve their retail hardware customers on a national level. Looking back, we have grown to become the leading master distributor of fasteners at retail, and now that strategy has come full circle. Accretive acquisitions like Kanebridge and the two deals we closed earlier during the second quarter, Campbell Chain & Fittings and Delaney Hardware, reflect the ongoing execution of our long-term strategic initiatives we shared in March of this year during our Investor Day, of which M&A is a meaningful part. Here we outlined our blueprint, which consists of three catalysts for creating long-term shareholder value. One, fortify and grow our core DIY business. Two, win the pro across industrial specialty distribution and LBM. And three, compound our growth through accretive M&A. As we said at Investor Day, over the next five years, we believe we can grow this business between 8% and 12% per year. By 2030, we expect to reach $2.5 billion in net sales. Now let's talk about our performance during the quarter. Net sales for the second quarter of 2026 increased 10% to $442 million. This performance is right in line with our long-term growth targets we just discussed. For the quarter, adjusted EBITDA increased 2.5% to $77.1 million, compared to $75.2 million during the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow during the quarter totaled a very healthy $70.2 million. Driving the top-line 10% growth were 2 points of growth from core performance, 4.5 points of growth from new business wins, and about 3.5 points of growth from M&A. Of the 4.5 points of new business wins, we are really excited that approximately 1 point of growth came from our win the pro focus. This is a channel we didn't focus on until this year. Driving our pro growth during the quarter were a new fastener win with a regional LBM chain in the Pacific Northwest, becoming a preferred supplier of fasteners and cleaning products for a major pro customer, and our bulk fastener program in Canada that continues to grow well and will contribute to our new business revenue. These three recent proof points show that we have the right to win in the pro space. Looking to 2027, we plan to further scale our bulk and pro-specific offerings. We plan to win the pro as we leverage our distribution capabilities, product breadth, and innovation with customer service to be a preferred supplier in this channel. Altogether, we believe that these new business wins will generate about 1% top-line growth for Hillman this year and are confident that will grow to at least 2% growth next year. Given that our year-to-date performance has been in line with our expectations, we are increasing the midpoint of our full-year 2026 outlook for the contribution from the Kanebridge acquisition. This assumes the transaction closes around the start of the fourth quarter. We now anticipate that our full-year net sales will be between the narrowed range of $1.67 billion to $1.72 billion. Our increased midpoint of $1.695 billion now represents 9% growth over last year, which again is in line with our long-term growth target. Similarly, we anticipate that our full-year adjusted EBITDA will be around $285 million, an increase of $5 million over the previous midpoint given the contribution from Kanebridge. This marks an increase of 3.5% over last year. Our guidance assumes the continued execution of new business wins and our core performance growth, along with a modest improvement in market volumes during the second half, the softer comps we saw during the second half of last year. Lastly, we are narrowing the range of our full-year free cash flow while keeping the midpoint the same. We now anticipate $105 million to $115 million of free cash flow with a midpoint of $110 million. Transaction-related expenses flow through the operating income line, so we do not expect a material free cash flow benefit from Kanebridge in 2026. Note that our guidance assumes no meaningful change in tariffs throughout the rest of the year. Speaking of, now for a quick update on tariffs. The net impact of tariffs was relatively consistent this quarter, like it was in the previous. Recently we saw the expiration of Section 232 tariffs and the implementation of Section 301 tariffs, of which the net impact was neutral. Following the ruling that certain APA tariffs were deemed illegal earlier this year, new tariffs were quickly put in place. And as they were recently renewed, so is the total net impact to Hillman's neutral. More recently, we have received a modest amount of tariff-related refunds. However, we expect this benefit to be generally offset by cost increases and payback resulting from the adjustment in how Section 232 tariffs were being applied. Our dual-sourcing strategy is not a response to tariffs, it's the best business model we operate. The flexibility afforded to us by this strategy allows us to react to changes in the geopolitical tariff landscape. We always strive to have our actual sourcing mix determined by the lowest total landed cost. Should we see these elevated costs continue, we will price for these costs. Now let's turn to our results by business for the quarter. Our biggest segment, Hardware and Protective Solutions, or HPS, increased 10% versus Q2 of 2025. HPS had a solid quarter driven by a 4% lift in core performance growth, a 2% lift from new business wins, and a 4% from M&A. Robotics and Digital Solutions, or RDS, which is our highest margin segment, had a great quarter. RDS saw healthy top-line growth and meaningful growth in its bottom-line performance. RDS is our high-margin technology-enabled business. Our over 31,000 kiosks are destinations that solve a critical need for our customers. Net sales in RDS were up 11% versus the year-ago quarter, and adjusted EBITDA increased by 10.4% to $19.6 million. Adjusted gross margins and adjusted EBITDA margins were both healthy, totaling 77.4% and 31.9% respectively. Driving our performance during the quarter was our Minute Key 3.5 rollout as we continue to execute. Minute Key 3.5 is a platform upgrade, not just a product refresh. Since we began rolling out this new platform to our top two customers, we have seen demonstrable improved growth in our Minute Key business. Economics per machine improved as this installed base scales and the customer awareness of our new machines and new offerings increases. Today we have approximately 4,500 Minute Key 3.5 machines in the field, an increase of over 600 machines since our last earnings call in April. We expect to end 2026 with over 5,000 Minute Key 3.5 machines in the field and are on track to finish the rollout of these kiosks. Turning to Canada, net sales in our Canadian business during the quarter increased 7.8% compared to the prior-year quarter. We continue to benefit from new business momentum in Canada and are following the same playbook that we are in the U.S. Our goal is to be a leader at retail in Canada while we win the Canadian pro and LBM specialty distribution and industrial. Driving the increase was a 14% increase in new business wins, with core performance down 6% due to soft market and FX headwinds. New business wins were split between DIY and pro. Driving this growth was a successful expansion to new PS categories with an existing customer retail and the expansion of pro spec fasteners and anchors with a top customer in Canada. Our Canadian team has done a great job this year with two solid quarters, and we expect the momentum to continue throughout the year. We are pleased with our performance during the quarter and are very excited to have the M&A machine running. Listen, the three transactions we have done this year are great fits for this organization and open us up to opportunities for future growth. Hillman continues to perform. The way we serve our customers, the products we offer, and the consistency of demand for our products make Hillman a special company. We are an essential operating infrastructure of the North American hardware aisle. We are embedded in more than 29,000 retail locations servicing over 31,000 kiosks, managing over 111,000 SKUs, all with our own people. This depth of integration creates switching costs that we believe the market underestimates and our competitors do not replicate. Our core hardware business generates steady, resilient cash flows driven by repair, maintenance, and remodeling activities. Demand that persists across economic cycles, as we have seen for over 60 years. Layered on top of this durable core hardware are three accelerating growth drivers. Our technology-enabled high-margin RDS business that is growing at low double digits and accelerating, pro-distribution and industrial channels with meaningful white space that expands our addressable market by over $13 billion, and an M&A playbook that adds capabilities, categories, and channel diversification with attractive returns. As we look ahead, our focus remains squarely on execution, discipline, and prudent allocation of resources and capital, all while deepening the customer relationships that have made us successful and staying nimble as conditions evolve. Hillman is in a great spot, and I am optimistic about our future. With that, I'll now hand it over to Rocky to take you through the numbers. Robert Kraft: Thanks, JMA. Let's get to our results, then we will review guidance. Net sales in the second quarter of 2026 totaled $442.3 million, an increase of 10% versus the prior-year quarter. Our strong top-line performance was right in line with our long-term growth expectations. Driving this growth were approximately 2 points of growth in core performance, 4.5 points growth from new business wins, and 3.5 points growth from M&A. Second quarter adjusted gross margin totaled 47.1%, down 120 basis points over a year ago, but improving 150 basis points from the first quarter and consistent with our expectations. Adjusted SG&A as a percentage of sales was 29.6% during the quarter, relatively consistent with a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter totaled $77.1 million, increasing 2.5% versus the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA to net sales margin during the quarter built up to 17.4%, down 130 basis points from a year ago, but improving meaningfully from 13.5% in the first quarter. Margins improved sequentially, driven by our highest margin business, RDS, experiencing outsized growth and the impact of tariff-related COGS flowing through our income statement lessening throughout the year. Now turning to cash flow. For the quarter, net cash generated by operating activities was $88 million, and free cash flow increased to a very strong $70.2 million. During the quarter, our healthy free cash flow was in line with our expectations. The main driver was the 2025 inventory spend, which included tariffs, now turning to cash. Also contributing were net tariff refunds and a nearly $6 million reduction in CapEx. Let me now turn to leverage and liquidity. We ended the second quarter of 2026 with $665 million of total net debt outstanding, which improved by $45 million from the first quarter and in line with how we ended 2025. At quarter end, our net debt to trailing 12-month adjusted EBITDA ratio was 2.4x, which is unchanged versus the end of 2025. Immediately following the acquisition, we expect leverage will increase approximately 1 full turn. Assuming we do not do any other meaningful M&A, we should end 2027 at approximately 2.5x, which is the high end of our long-term leverage target. That said, we continue to evaluate the market for accretive acquisition opportunities. Shortly after the end of Q2, we successfully refinanced our credit facilities. We put in place a new $735 million term loan B and $375 million ABL revolver, which extended our maturity to 2033 and 2031, respectively. Pricing on these were consistent with our prior facilities with the term loan B pricing at SOFR plus 200 and the ABL pricing at SOFR plus 125. We used the proceeds from the term loan B refinancing to pay off the previous note and pay down our revolver, which is currently undrawn. The refinancing gives us a stronger, more flexible capital structure to support our long-term strategic priorities, including our ability to pursue acquisitions like Kanebridge. As JMA mentioned, we are acquiring Kanebridge for $315 million. We plan to finance the acquisition with a combination of cash on hand, a draw on the ABL, and the issuance of an add-on term loan B. During the quarter, we deployed $13.3 million to buy back 1.7 million shares at an average price of $7.62 per share. Our repurchase activity during the quarter accelerated when compared to the first quarter as we opportunistically bought more stock back given the valuation share price. Our objective remains to offset dilution resulting from employee equity grants and opportunistically buy back stock if there is a meaningful discount between the value of Hillman and where the stock is trading. However, given the increase in leverage resulting from the Kanebridge acquisition, we plan to reduce our SRP spending and focus on net leverage in the short term. All right, let me now turn to our guidance. As JMA mentioned, we are raising the midpoint of our full-year net sales guidance by $15 million, which is the result of the expected contribution from Kanebridge, which we expect to close around the start of the fourth quarter. We are also narrowing the range given we are seven months into the year. We now anticipate 2026 net sales to be between $1.67 billion to $1.72 billion with a midpoint of $1.695 billion. We now expect our full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $285 million, which is a $5 million increase from our previous midpoint of $280 million. Driving the increase is the expected EBITDA contribution from Kanebridge, assuming closing on our anticipated timeline. Lastly, we are reiterating the midpoint of our free cash flow guide while narrowing the range a bit. Our full-year 2026 free cash flow range is between $105 million and $115 million with the same $110 million midpoint. Put simply, this was a quarter of proof points. Margins are moving in the right direction, cash conversion remains strong, and we've extended our capital structure runway to 2033. We did this all while adding a high-quality strategic acquisition in Kanebridge, which opens up new market growth opportunities for us. We're growing the top line, expanding the bottom line, and doing it while investing in our future growth. That's what we're focused on delivering, and today's raised guidance reflects our confidence in the path ahead. Jon Adinolfi: Thanks, Rocky. Before we open it up for Q&A, I want to thank our associates across Hillman for their continued hard work and dedication. What you bring to the table is the reason we keep delivering for our customers every day. For our customers, partners, and stakeholders, thank you for your trust and partnership as we continue to grow together. We are proud of the execution this quarter and even more excited about what's ahead with Kanebridge and a clear path to continued growth. We look forward to updating you on our progress in the near future. Operator, please open the call for questions. Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Lee Jagoda of CJS Securities. Your line is open. Lee Jagoda: I guess to start, can you just give us some color around how the deal came together, how long you were talking to these guys, and whether it was privately negotiated or through an auction? Jon Adinolfi: Yes, Lee, this is a business that we've admired from afar for quite some time. So we're excited when there was an opportunity to join a process, so this was a competitive bid. It's a business that we spent quite a bit of time on the due diligence side. We have some familiarity, we buy some products from them today. They are a leading provider, as I shared earlier, especially long-tail SKUs, especially in the screw portion of the business. It's amazing what they've compiled, great service. And when we looked at the compelling value, we just felt like it needed to be a part of Hillman. And it just fits the business so well. When you think about this, we don't do anything in their space in the U.S., we do in Canada, we got a great Canadian business. Our Paulin business is having a strong year, and it just was the right fit. So as we went through the process, met the owners, the leadership team, we were quite impressed with the Kanebridge team. Having seen them from afar and then getting to know them, it really became clear that it was meant to be for these two companies to come together. Lee Jagoda: Got it. And it's interesting, you mentioned that you buy some things from them today, but I guess turning it around, of the 100,000 or so SKUs that you sell today, is there anything or any meaningful amount of those SKUs that you could see kind of joining the Kanebridge selection and then selling through their current channels? Jon Adinolfi: Absolutely, yes, that's actually one of the more exciting pieces of it. We believe that we can bring them some product. And as I mentioned, I touched on it, the sourcing capability. We have some of the best vendors and manufacturing partners across the globe. We think between what we can help them get from our network plus what we can help them buy at a better rate, we think there's some real synergies. And like I said, they touch customers all through the value chain and in certain parts of the economy that we think are quite compelling. So yes, it's a really exciting opportunity for us. We can't wait to be able to welcome them to the team. Lee Jagoda: If I can just sneak one more in. The FasNet software platform seems like it's a nice competitive advantage. Is there an opportunity for you to leverage that across your network? I mean, obviously, on the industrial MRO side, it seems like it would be obvious, but even more towards the retailer hardware channels, is that something that your customers might want to leverage? Jon Adinolfi: Today, I would say we're going to operate Kanebridge as it is today, a platform that our customers want to make sure we take great care of them. We do believe we can learn from their service model and their opportunities that they create. What I will say is we already, I mean, just even this morning had a chat with our John who runs our special orders desk. We buy tons of great products from them. We think they can help us be even better with that partnership. So we'll report on more of those opportunities in the future, but there are clearly synergies between these two companies. Lee Jagoda: Great. I'll hop back into queue. Thanks. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Reuben Garner of Benchmark. Your line is open. Reuben Garner: I guess first, how national is their business, and if it's not and still regional, are there investments that can be made to expand it or is it more M&A? I guess talk about their market share is probably the easiest way to do it. Jon Adinolfi: Reuben, they are, I would say, very national, so they do cover all the U.S. So today we feel like they have a nice footprint. They are certainly the long-tail, I'll say, supplier of choice, I would call it. So we think there is opportunity to grow that. We know that there's, you know, they have a great product line, great service. They drop orders and turn them very quickly for their customers when needed. We can add some additional capability there to operate in two locations today. We and the management team will evaluate what we can do in the future, but we think there's clearly an opportunity to grow this business, especially that long-tail SKU portion of the opportunity. So, yes, there is definitely quite a bit of growth that we think we can help fuel. Reuben Garner: Okay, and then I'm going to shift gears a little bit. There's been a couple of companies talking about some acceleration in the consumer in recent weeks, the last kind of 6, 8 weeks, especially at kind of the entry level. Have you guys seen any signs of that in your business? Is any of that kind of baked into the outlook or would that be upside if it does indeed take flight? Jon Adinolfi: Yes, Reuben, I would say in general, we've seen more of the same from a market perspective. Our focus has really been on supporting our customers, making sure we continue to drive high service levels, keep the products in stock. I can't sit here and say that we've seen any outsized change in demand in recent weeks. So we will be ready when it comes. Reuben Garner: Great. Congrats again, guys, and good luck. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Matthew Bouley of Barclays. Your line is open. Elizabeth Langan: You have Elizabeth Langan on for Matt this morning. I think maybe stepping back a little bit, I was wondering if you could talk about, obviously this expands your industrial MRO pretty much meaningfully, how are you thinking about your other strategic priorities with the pro, expanding through specialty distribution and LBM? Jon Adinolfi: Good morning, Elizabeth. Yes, we actually feel like this fits directly and is right down the fairway of what we talked about when we during Investor Day, we shared publicly that we will continue to grow our core, grow our pro-distribution channel as well as industrial. I mean, this business clearly fits that narrative and strategy. It doubles our industrial business, and we feel like it's a great fit, compliments what we do in Canada. So for us, we're really excited about the fact that we've actually been able to grow our pro initiatives organically by 1%. That was one thing I highlighted earlier in the presentation because we're really excited, we've got traction, we got a team dedicated who's going after the pro. We've got the industrial team now with this business in the U.S. because we didn't have a foundation to start. So we believe and we're really excited. We've got a nice pro-distribution start in both the U.S. and Canada. In Mexico, we have the same in the industrial side now that we have this U.S. business. So we feel like this fits really well in where we're going. We feel like we have proof points to prove that this is where we should continue to put our energy. So we can't wait to get started with the Kanebridge business, and welcome to the team. Elizabeth Langan: Yes, that makes a lot of sense. And then on Canada, you mentioned, obviously, you saw some really nice growth with the new business wins there. Could you talk a little bit more about that, kind of like what the process has been like going into market there, launching new things, and just any detail around that? Jon Adinolfi: Yes, I mean, I would say our Canadian team on the retail and the pro side have had a great year. I think it's one where they've demonstrated when you've got one good brand name, for instance, Paulin, you've got great products, you've got great service and delivery, you take care of your customers, you're able to win new business. So I'm excited about what that team has done, both the retail and the pro side. So that's an example where you see Canada in total is clicking nicely. And they're battling a challenging market. So it's one where I think the Hillman value proposition overall, taking care of its customers, comes to fruition. And they've done a nice job. And I cited a few of those wins. We expect more of those to continue in the back half of the year, going to continue to focus on taking care of their customers. Elizabeth Langan: Alright, thank you very much. Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our next question comes from David Manthey of Baird. Your line is now open. David Manthey: First question, Rocky, I think you said 3.5% contribution from acquisitions. That was a little higher than we thought based on the revenues of the two companies coming in. So that would calculate to, I think, $14 million for like 10. I'm just wondering if there was anything unusual there that made the revenues come in stronger than expected. And then related to that, as we're looking at the core business and stripping out Campbell and Delaney, and looking strictly at HPS segment contribution margin, ex those acquisitions, what was the sort of organic growth and contribution margin on the core business, excluding acquisitions? Robert Kraft: Yes, so lots of questions there, Dave. Campbell and Delaney did come out of the gates a little stronger than we anticipated, so they performed very nicely in the quarter. We were pleased with that. Secondarily, I just think as you think about the whole business and what we said at Investor Day is we expected the core to grow above zero. We grew it 2. We expect over the long term new business to be 4 plus. It was 4.4. And then we expect M&A to get us between 8 and 12, which, you know, we did 9.8 for the quarter, so we feel like we were kind of clicking on all cylinders. Now, obviously, that's not going to happen every quarter. It's not a straight line, but Q2 looked a lot like what we've set out to achieve from a longer-term perspective. When you think about just the HPS business kind of on a standalone basis, you know, good top-line results in the quarter, and from a contribution perspective, you know, the business performed as we expected in the quarter, about 15, sorry, about 16% EBITDA, which, again, kind of in line with what we expect. You know, when you look at the contribution across all of our businesses in the quarter, while we had a really nice improvement sequentially, when you look year over year down a bit, that was planned and anticipated because of what we're seeing from a cost perspective on inventory. We expect the second half actually, you know, contribution to be better than we saw in the first half, and that's what we've talked about in prior calls. David Manthey: Got it. And next, yes, congrats on the Kanebridge deal. Could you talk about the customer base there, like number of customers? Are these mostly fastener specialists? Are they generalists? What sort of end markets do they serve? Any sort of context there would be helpful. Jon Adinolfi: Yes, so we're excited about their customer base. They have thousands of customers. They are the long tail, so they are supporting all different parts of the economy, candidly. So you've got everything from manufacturing to they do provide some products into the construction channels. But think about industrial and commercial really outside of the core of what we do in the U.S. That's what's exciting about it. They are the ones where they can ship on demand, they can drop orders in minutes and literally turn them out. So they are very good and very good at getting orders out the same day when needed. So they are touching many, many different customers across the spectrum. And these are mostly folks that we don't touch at all. So it's truly incremental. So we think about all the different verticals in industrial, they're touching the different areas. I mean, they have everything from the military grade, you know, screws to, you know, things that could go into a construction environment and commercial building to maintenance and repair in a small, medium or large factory. You know, we commented on data centers. I mean, they are serving all parts of the economy outside of retail. So hopefully that gives you kind of a broad spectrum of what they are doing today and why we're so excited about the business. David Manthey: Yes, and if I could get one more here. It sounds like you're referring to shipping direct to customer, and I'm wondering if that's the primary model here where, as you said, there's a long tail here, other distributors are procuring these for their customers, you're direct shipping those to end customers. Is that the model here? Jon Adinolfi: So I want to be clear, part of the reason we put in master distributor, just like we are in retail, they are master distributors. So while they can drop to an end user, they are selling through distribution. I want to be perfectly clear that everybody understands, you know, that is an important part of our business model. Why we think Hillman could be the best fastener company in the world is the fact that we will go out there and be able to continue to support our customers as they support the end users. So I want to be clear there that we are selling through distribution. While they can drop ship, yes. David Manthey: Okay, that's what I was asking. Yes, I didn't mean you're selling to end users. I meant you're sending to end users in a drop ship on behalf of the other distributors. So, okay. Very good. Thank you. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Brian McNamara from Canaccord. Your line is now open. Brian McNamara: Two quick ones from me. First, Rocky, just a clarification on leverage. Did I hear you correctly? You said you expect this acquisition to take it up a turn, but you expect to be at 2.5x at the year end? Did I mishear that? Robert Kraft: End of '27. At the end of '27, Brian. I would expect to be back at or below 2.5 turns, assuming, you know, that would assume we don't do any other M&A between now and then. Brian McNamara: Understood. Thank you. JMA on new business wins. Can you talk about your progress there? I think you mentioned a win, particularly obviously in pro in the Pacific Northwest. How are those sales discussions overall going, particularly with current customers who maybe didn't know you had that capability, but also the new ones too? Any thoughts or comments on progress there would be helpful. Thank you. Jon Adinolfi: Absolutely. So yes, new business as we shared, 4.5%, so a bit above where we were expecting to be. So really pleased with overall new business, and it was across, I would say DIY, pro, and industrial. So all three channels had some nice wins for the period. I think on the pro side is where you're going that we're really excited about because those are truly new opportunities that we've been working on for, you know, better part of I guess this year. You know, we're starting to see where you know you bring them good solid value, you take care of the customer, you make sure you get the product through which we do really well in retail, and when we're able to demonstrate that on the pro side, we started to see the wins that we, you know, that gave you a couple of proof points in the prepared comment. So, I think it's really that, on the boots, on the ground, if you will, boots on the ground, being with the customer, making sure you get them what they need. And we are, I'll say, changing and adapting our model to be able to do that. We actually just had a new business pro review yesterday, and we were hearing a number of different stories of where, you got the right products, you're able to take care of the customer and turn them, you can actually get that business that we weren't getting before. So that, I'll say, flywheel is starting to turn, and we're really excited about the early results. And I think when you get good people, you got great products, and you take care of the customer, good things happen, and we're seeing that. Brian McNamara: If I can squeeze one last one on M&A, it sounds like there's still opportunities out there. We had thought you'd do three deals this year. We didn't expect a deal of this size, but how does the market look overall? It seems like it's a lot more active than this time last year. Jon Adinolfi: Yes, there's definitely some more activity out in the marketplace now. We see, you know, and I think it comes down to, you know, depending on which bucket they fall in, right, whether it's a tuck-in or smaller deal and then some of the strategic, which is what we just did with Kanebridge. We think there's nice opportunities on both sides of that, I'll say, equation. And, yes, we're seeing more things come to market and we're seeing more interesting deals. So I'd say the market is warming up, if you will. Brian McNamara: Very helpful. Best of luck, guys. Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Lee Jagoda of CJS Securities. Your line is open. Lee Jagoda: So just in case I don't think I missed it, but can you talk to the seasonality, if any, around Kanebridge versus the core business and also maybe touch on like the inventory needs compared to your core business just because they're going to be shipping some more proprietary SKUs, and then lastly, just maybe a look back on the trajectory of that business the last couple of years in terms of the growth rate? Jon Adinolfi: Yes, so from a seasonality perspective, much less than our core business. I know we don't have a major seasonality, but we do have a curve. So I would say, flattish to small seasonality, they do a nice steady business. If you look back over time, Kanebridge has not had a nice run, COVID, long tail filled in very nicely. They've had, you know, over the last five years, there's been modest growth, but we think we can actually really turn that and move it forward. So we're really excited about what we can do with it and focusing on that growth. That team's done a great job taking care of their customers. We need to give them a little bit more, I'll say, firepower to go after some new business. And we will do that with that team. Robert Kraft: Yes, I think, Lee, when you think about inventory, clearly a slower turning business than kind of the core of Hillman, but the business looks a lot like our specialty business. So think of the drawers that you see inside traditional hardware stores, slower turning inventory, but also command a much higher rate because of that. Lee Jagoda: You see that in the Kanebridge results. So, I guess based on that, you're assuming some dis-synergies in the first quarter out of the box then, just given that the EBITDA you're including is below the run rate? Robert Kraft: Yes. Now, we just, again, we're assuming that this is bought kind of, Lee, around the beginning of the fourth quarter, so we're just being conservative around what the number will look like. And I don't expect to see any negative synergies associated with it. We're buying the inventory of a business that's in good shape, that's serving their customers very well. It's not like a need to buy a bunch of inventory to get this up to standard. They're there. They're performing very well as we sit today. Lee Jagoda: Okay, so then the run rates that you kind of list, the trailing revenue and EBITDA of that business, that should be the same or greater going forward, not anything different than that? Robert Kraft: Correct, Lee, yes, yes. We're going to grow the business. Lee Jagoda: Perfect. Okay. Operator: Thank you. This concludes the question and answer session. I would now like to turn it back over to Mr. Adinolfi for closing remarks. Jon Adinolfi: Thanks again, everyone, for joining us this morning. We look forward to updating you on our progress in the near future. Have a great day. Operator: Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program, and you may now disconnect. Before you buy stock in Hillman Solutions, 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 Hillman Solutions 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 $399,832!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,374,595!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 968% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 215% 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 August 10, 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 positions in and recommends Hillman Solutions. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Hillman Solutions (HLMN) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Hillman’s second quarter saw strong revenue growth and a positive market reaction, driven by robust contributions from recent acquisitions and continued momentum in new business wins. Management attributed the 10% sales growth to organic gains, new pro-channel contracts, and the impact of Campbell Chain & Fittings and Delaney Hardware deals. CEO Jon-Michael Adinolfi highlighted the company’s “right to win in the pro space,” pointing to specific bulk fastener wins in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. The quarter’s results reflected Hillman’s ability to leverage its broad product range and high service levels to secure new accounts and outperform expectations across its channels. Is now the time to buy HLMN? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $442.3 million vs analyst estimates of $436.7 million (9.8% year-on-year growth, 1.3% beat) Adjusted EPS: $0.17 vs analyst estimates of $0.17 (in line) Adjusted EBITDA: $77.15 million vs analyst estimates of $75.86 million (17.4% margin, 1.7% beat) The company slightly lifted its revenue guidance for the full year to $1.70 billion at the midpoint from $1.68 billion EBITDA guidance for the full year is $285 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $279.4 million Operating Margin: 9.3%, in line with the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $1.79 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Lee Jagoda (CJS Securities) asked about the potential for Hillman SKUs to be integrated into Kanebridge’s offering. CEO Jon-Michael Adinolfi confirmed cross-selling is a key synergy, saying, “We believe that we can bring them some product… and help them buy at a better rate.” Reuben Garner (Benchmark) questioned if Hillman is seeing recent acceleration in consumer demand reflected in its business. Adinolfi responded, “I can't sit here and say that we've seen any outsized change in demand in recent weeks. So we will be ready when it comes.” Elizabeth Langan (Barclays) inquired about the fit of Kanebridge with Hillman’s strategic priorities and the status of pro and industrial expansion. Adinolfi highlighted that Kanebridge “doubles our industrial business” and fits directly into the company’s plan to grow core, pro, and industrial channels. David Manthey (Baird) sought clarity on the customer base for Kanebridge. Adinolfi explained that Kanebridge serves “thousands of customers” across manufacturing, construction, and maintenance, with most being incremental to Hillman’s existing base. Brian McNamara (Canaccord) asked about the outlook for new business wins and the M&A environment. Adinolfi noted that the pro side is seeing “early results” from dedicated teams and that “the market is warming up” for further acquisition opportunities. In the coming quarters, our analysts will be closely tracking (1) the successful integration and synergy realization from the Kanebridge acquisition, (2) progress on new business wins in the pro and industrial channels, and (3) the continued rollout and monetization of the Minute Key 3.5 platform. Additional attention will be paid to Hillman’s ability to manage tariff impacts and maintain margin discipline amid evolving market conditions. Hillman currently trades at $9.22, up from $8.31 just before the earnings. Is the company at an inflection point that warrants a buy or sell? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 5 Growth Stocks. The biggest stock winners almost always had one thing in common before they ran. Revenue growing like crazy. Meta. CrowdStrike. Broadcom. Our AI flagged all three. They returned 315%, 314%, and 455%, respectively. Find out which 5 stocks it’s flagging this month — FREE. Get Our Top 5 Growth Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,552% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Interested in Hillman Solutions Corp.? Here are five stocks we like better. Hillman agreed to acquire Kanebridge Corporation for $315 million, a deal expected to close around the start of Q4 2026. Kanebridge generated approximately $65 million in revenue and $30 million in adjusted EBITDA over the past 12 months, and the acquisition is expected to double Hillman’s industrial business. Second-quarter net sales rose 10% to $442.3 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 2.5% to $77.1 million. Robotics and Digital Solutions delivered 11% sales growth and a 31.9% adjusted EBITDA margin. Hillman raised its 2026 outlook to $1.67 billion-$1.72 billion in sales and approximately $285 million in adjusted EBITDA, reflecting the expected Kanebridge contribution. Leverage is projected to increase by about one turn after closing, while the company plans to prioritize debt reduction over share repurchases. Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN) reported second-quarter 2026 net sales growth of 10% and raised the midpoint of its full-year sales and adjusted EBITDA outlook following an agreement to acquire industrial fastener master distributor Kanebridge Corporation. President and Chief Executive Officer Jon Michael Adinolfi said the company entered a definitive agreement to acquire Kanebridge for $315 million. The transaction, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, is expected to close around the start of the fourth quarter. → SpaceX’s First Earnings Report Could Decide Whether Shorts or Bulls Have Control Kanebridge is a family-owned, privately held master distributor of specialty fasteners serving the industrial channel. Adinolfi said the company has more than 50 years of experience and differentiates itself through long-standing customer relationships, its FastNet digital ordering platform, specialty SKU inventory and same-day shipment capabilities in custom pack sizes. For the 12 months ended June 30, Kanebridge generated approximately $65 million in revenue and $30 million in adjusted EBITDA, according to Hillman. Hillman expects the acquisition to double the size of its industrial business, which currently totals about $65 million, including its Canadian Paulin operations and the recently acquired Campbell Chain business in the U.S. → Financials Hit Record Highs as the AI Trade Unravels—Can They Keep Leading? Adinolfi said the acquisition expands Hillman’s industrial addressable market by 50% to $3 billion, where the company currently estimates it has approximately 3% market share. Kanebridge serves customers across industrial and commercial applications, including manufacturing, construction-related uses, maintenance and repair, and data centers. Hillman expects approximately $2 million in cost synergies, particularly from sourcing, as well as a transaction-related cash tax benefit of between $40 million and $45 million. Including the tax benefit and expected cost synergies, the company said the purchase price represents a post-synergy multiple of 8.4x to 8.6x. → Why Rare Earth Processing Could Be the Real 2027 Opportunity Assuming the deal closes on schedule, Kanebridge is expected to contribute approximately $15 million in net sales and roughly $5 million in adjusted EBITDA during 2026. Adinolfi said Hillman also sees opportunities to cross-sell products, apply its global sourcing capabilities and support Kanebridge’s growth investments. Hillman reported second-quarter net sales of $442.3 million, up 10% from the prior-year period. The company attributed the increase to approximately two percentage points of core performance growth, 4.5 percentage points from new business wins and 3.5 percentage points from acquisitions. Adjusted EBITDA rose 2.5% to $77.1 million, compared with $75.2 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.4%, down 130 basis points year over year but improving from 13.5% in the first quarter. Chief Financial Officer Rocky Kraft said adjusted gross margin was 47.1%, down 120 basis points from the prior year but up 150 basis points sequentially. He cited outsized growth in the higher-margin Robotics and Digital Solutions business and a reduction in the impact of tariff-related cost of goods sold as factors behind the sequential margin improvement. Free cash flow totaled $70.2 million during the quarter, while operating cash flow was $88 million. Kraft said cash flow benefited from inventory spending during 2025, which included tariffs that were now turning to cash, along with net tariff refunds and a nearly $6 million reduction in capital expenditures. Hardware and Protective Solutions sales increased 10%, driven by 4% core growth, 2% from new business wins and 4% from acquisitions. Robotics and Digital Solutions sales increased 11%, while adjusted EBITDA rose 10.4% to $19.6 million. Robotics and Digital Solutions adjusted gross margin was 77.4%, and adjusted EBITDA margin was 31.9%. Canadian sales rose 7.8%, supported by a 14% increase in new business wins, partly offset by a 6% decline in core performance amid soft markets and foreign-exchange headwinds. Hillman had approximately 4,500 MinuteKey 3.5 kiosks in the field at quarter-end, up more than 600 machines since its April earnings call. The company expects to exceed 5,000 MinuteKey 3.5 machines by the end of 2026. Hillman raised the midpoint of its 2026 net sales outlook by $15 million, reflecting the anticipated contribution from Kanebridge. The company now expects full-year sales of $1.67 billion to $1.72 billion, with a midpoint of $1.695 billion, representing 9% growth over 2025. The company now expects adjusted EBITDA of approximately $285 million, up $5 million from the previous midpoint of $280 million. Hillman narrowed its free-cash-flow outlook to a range of $105 million to $115 million while maintaining the midpoint at $110 million. The outlook assumes continued execution on new business wins, core growth and a modest improvement in market volumes in the second half. It also assumes no meaningful change in tariffs for the remainder of the year. Hillman ended the quarter with $665 million in total net debt, a $45 million improvement from the first quarter. Its net debt-to-trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA ratio was 2.4x, unchanged from year-end 2025. Following quarter-end, the company refinanced its credit facilities with a new $735 million Term Loan B maturing in 2033 and a $375 million asset-based lending revolver maturing in 2031. Hillman said the revolver is currently undrawn. Kraft said leverage is expected to rise by about one full turn immediately after the Kanebridge closing. Assuming no additional meaningful acquisitions, the company expects leverage to return to approximately 2.5x by the end of 2027. Hillman plans to fund the Kanebridge purchase using cash on hand, an ABL draw and an add-on Term Loan B. During the quarter, Hillman repurchased 1.7 million shares for $13.3 million, or an average price of $7.62 per share. Kraft said the company expects to reduce share-repurchase spending in the near term and prioritize net leverage following the Kanebridge acquisition. Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN) is a leading provider of hardware and related products to the home improvement, retail, industrial and manufacturing markets. The company's portfolio encompasses key duplication systems and security solutions, hardware essentials such as fasteners and anchors, signage and labeling products, and outdoor and seasonal items. Hillman's product offerings are sold through a network of major home improvement retailers, wholesalers, independent distributors and other specialty outlets. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hillman grew from a family-run enterprise into a global supplier of hardware solutions. 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 "Hillman Solutions 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. The acquisition of Kanebridge Corporation doubles Hillman's industrial business and establishes a critical fastener distribution presence in the U.S. market. Management views Kanebridge as a strategic 'full circle' move, returning to industrial roots with a high-margin, light-CapEx model that mirrors Hillman's retail moat in SKU complexity. Top-line growth of 10% was driven by a combination of core performance, M&A, and a significant 4.5% contribution from new business wins. The 'Win the Pro' initiative achieved a milestone 1% contribution to total growth, validating the company's expansion into LBM and specialty distribution channels. Robotics and Digital Solutions (RDS) continues to be the primary margin driver, benefiting from the accelerated rollout of the Minute Key 3.5 platform. Operational resilience in Canada remains high, where new business wins of 14% successfully offset a 6% decline in core performance due to market softness and FX headwinds. Management maintains a neutral stance on recent tariff shifts, utilizing a dual-sourcing strategy to optimize landed costs regardless of geopolitical changes. Full-year 2026 net sales guidance raised to $1.67 billion - $1.72 billion, incorporating a $15 million contribution from the Kanebridge acquisition expected to close in Q4. Adjusted EBITDA guidance increased to approximately $285 million, reflecting the accretive nature of the Kanebridge deal despite transaction-related expenses. Management expects new business wins to accelerate from 1% of top-line growth this year to at least 2% in 2027 as pro-specific offerings scale. The financial framework assumes a modest improvement in market volumes during the second half of 2026, aided by softer year-over-year comparisons. Long-term targets remain focused on reaching $2.5 billion in net sales by 2030 through a mix of 8-12% annual growth and disciplined M&A execution. The $315 million Kanebridge acquisition will be financed through cash, the ABL revolver, and an add-on term loan B, resulting in a temporary leverage increase of one full turn. Hillman successfully refinanced its credit facilities, extending maturities to 2031 and 2033 to provide a more flexible capital structure for future M&A. Share repurchase activity will be reduced in the short term to prioritize net leverage reduction following the Kanebridge transaction. A material cash tax benefit of $40 million to $45 million is expected from the Kanebridge transaction, improving the effective post-synergy purchase multiple. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management confirmed the deal was a competitive bid for a business they had 'admired from afar' and already utilized as a supplier. The acquisition provides an immediate U.S. industrial foundation that Hillman previously lacked, complementing their existing Paulin brand in Canada. Hillman expects $2 million in immediate cost synergies, primarily through global sourcing scale and better manufacturing rates. While Kanebridge will initially operate as a standalone platform, Hillman intends to learn from their 'FasNet' digital ordering system to enhance service models across other channels. Management noted they have not seen an outsized change in demand or consumer acceleration in recent weeks, describing the environment as 'more of the same.' The company remains focused on high service levels to be ready for any eventual market volume recovery. Kanebridge is characterized as a slower-turning inventory business compared to Hillman's core, but it commands higher margins due to the specialty nature of the SKUs. The industrial business exhibits much less seasonality than the core retail hardware business, providing a steadier revenue stream throughout the year.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Net Sales: $442.3 million in Q2 2026, a 10% increase versus the prior year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA: $77.1 million, up 2.5% from $75.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted Gross Margin: 47.1%, down 120 basis points year-over-year but up 150 basis points sequentially from Q1. Adjusted EBITDA Margin: 17.4% of net sales, down 130 basis points from a year ago but improving from 13.5% in Q1. Free Cash Flow: $70.2 million for the quarter. Net Cash from Operating Activities: $88 million in Q2. Hardware and Protective Solutions (HPS) Net Sales: Increased 10% versus Q2 2025, driven by 4% core performance growth, 2% new business wins, and 4% from M&A. Robotics and Digital Solutions (RDS) Net Sales: Up 11% year-over-year. RDS Adjusted EBITDA: Increased 10.4% to $19.6 million. RDS Adjusted Gross Margin: 77.4%. RDS Adjusted EBITDA Margin: 31.9%. Canada Net Sales: Increased 7.8% compared to the prior year quarter, with new business wins up 14% and core performance down 6%. Full-Year 2026 Net Sales Guidance: Narrowed to $1.67 billion to $1.72 billion, with a midpoint of $1.695 billion (9% growth). Full-Year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance: Approximately $285 million, a $5 million increase from the previous midpoint. Full-Year 2026 Free Cash Flow Guidance: $105 million to $115 million, with a midpoint of $110 million. Cambridge Acquisition: Expected to contribute approximately $15 million in net sales and roughly $5 million in adjusted EBITDA to 2026 results. MiniKey 3.5 Machines: Approximately 4,500 in the field, an increase of over 600 machines since the last earnings call; expected to end 2026 with over 5,000. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Signs with HLMN. Is HLMN fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 04, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Hillman Solutions Corp (NASDAQ:HLMN) reported a strong second quarter with net sales up 10% to $442 million, in line with its long-term growth targets. The company announced the acquisition of Cambridge Corporation, a leading master distributor of fasteners in the industrial channel, which doubles its industrial business and expands its addressable market by 50% to $3 billion. Cambridge's high-margin business (approximately $30 million adjusted EBITDA on $65 million revenue) is expected to be accretive to Hillman's margin profile and generate strong free cash flow conversion. The company is raising its full-year 2026 net sales guidance midpoint to $1.695 billion (9% growth) and adjusted EBITDA to $285 million, reflecting the expected contribution from Cambridge. New business wins, particularly in the Pro channel, contributed 4.5 points of growth in the quarter, with the company confident these wins will generate at least 2% top-line growth next year. The Robotics and Digital Solutions (RDS) segment, the company's highest-margin business, saw net sales up 11% and adjusted EBITDA up 10.4%, driven by the successful MiniKey 3.5 rollout. Free cash flow was strong at $70.2 million in the quarter, and the company successfully refinanced its credit facilities, extending maturities to 2033 and 2031. The Cambridge acquisition is expected to provide a material cash tax benefit of $40-$45 million, reducing the effective purchase price multiple to 8.4-8.6 times post-synergies. Adjusted gross margin declined 120 basis points year-over-year to 47.1%, and adjusted EBITDA margin fell 130 basis points to 17.4%, though both improved sequentially. Core performance growth was only 2% in the quarter, indicating modest organic demand, with the company noting no outsized change in consumer demand recently. The Canadian business saw core performance down 6% due to soft market conditions and FX headwinds, partially offset by strong new business wins. The Cambridge acquisition will increase leverage by approximately one full turn, and the company plans to reduce share repurchase spending to focus on deleveraging in the short term. The company's guidance assumes no meaningful change in tariffs for the rest of the year, and while tariff impacts were neutral this quarter, there is uncertainty and potential for cost increases. The company expects only a modest improvement in market volumes in the second half, relying on softer comps rather than a strong demand recovery. Transaction-related expenses for Cambridge will flow through operating income, and the company does not expect a material free cash flow benefit from the acquisition in 2026. Q: Can you provide more color on how the Cambridge acquisition came together, whether it was privately negotiated or through an auction, and what made it a compelling fit for Hillman?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) explained that Cambridge was a business Hillman had admired for some time, and the opportunity arose through a competitive bid process. He highlighted that Hillman already purchased products from Cambridge, and the due diligence confirmed that Cambridge's model as a long-tail specialty fastener master distributor in the industrial channel perfectly mirrors Hillman's successful strategy in retail. The fit was so strong that it became clear the two companies were meant to come together, especially given Hillman's existing industrial presence in Canada and its desire to expand in the U.S. Q: Of the 100,000+ SKUs Hillman sells today, are there meaningful opportunities to cross-sell Hillman's products through Cambridge's industrial channel?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) confirmed that cross-selling is one of the most exciting aspects of the deal. Hillman's global sourcing network and vendor relationships can provide Cambridge with access to a broader product range and better purchasing rates. This creates real synergies, as Cambridge's customer base touches various parts of the economy that Hillman does not currently serve, making the opportunity truly incremental. Q: Is Cambridge's business national or regional, and what is the potential for investment to expand its footprint and market share?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) stated that Cambridge is a very national business covering all of the U.S. and is considered a supplier of choice for long-tail SKUs. While they currently operate from two locations, there is a clear opportunity to grow the business, particularly in the long-tail SKU segment. Hillman plans to evaluate future investments with Cambridge's management team to fuel additional growth. Q: Have you seen any signs of acceleration in consumer demand recently, and is any potential inflection baked into your outlook?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) responded that Hillman has seen "more of the same" in terms of market demand. The company's focus remains on supporting customers and maintaining high service levels. He did not report any outsized change in demand in recent weeks, but noted that Hillman will be ready to capitalize when the market does inflect. Q: How does the Cambridge acquisition fit with your other strategic priorities, particularly the expansion into Pro distribution and LBM?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) stated that the acquisition is "right down the fairway" of the strategy outlined at Investor Day. It directly doubles the size of Hillman's industrial business and complements its Canadian operations. He emphasized that the company is seeing traction in its organic Pro initiatives, which grew by 1% in the quarter, and that Cambridge provides a foundation for industrial growth in the U.S. that didn't previously exist. Q: Can you elaborate on the strong new business wins in Canada and the process of expanding into that market?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) credited the Canadian team's success to a strong brand (e.g., Paulen), great products, and excellent service and delivery. The team has demonstrated the ability to win new business across both retail and Pro channels despite a challenging market. He cited specific wins, including expansion into new product categories with an existing retail customer and the expansion of ProSpec fasteners with a top customer, and expects this momentum to continue. Q: The 3.5% contribution from M&A was higher than expected. Can you explain the performance of the acquired businesses and the organic growth and contribution margin of the core HPS segment?A: Robert Kraft (CFO) explained that Campbell and Delaney performed stronger than anticipated out of the gate. He reiterated that the quarter's performance aligned with long-term targets: 2% core growth, 4.4% new business wins, and M&A contribution bringing total growth to 9.8%. On a standalone basis, the HPS business delivered good top-line results with an EBITDA contribution of approximately 16%, in line with expectations. The year-over-year margin decline was planned due to inventory costs, with second-half contribution expected to improve. Q: Can you describe Cambridge's customer base, the end markets they serve, and whether they primarily sell through distribution or direct to end users?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) clarified that Cambridge serves thousands of customers across all parts of the industrial economy, including manufacturing, construction, commercial, and maintenance and repair. They are a master distributor, selling through distribution, though they can drop-ship to end users on behalf of their distributor customers. This model is similar to Hillman's retail approach and is a key reason the acquisition is such a strong strategic fit. Q: Can you clarify the expected impact of the Cambridge acquisition on leverage, and what is the expected timeline to return to target levels?A: Robert Kraft (CFO) clarified that the acquisition is expected to increase leverage by approximately one turn. Assuming no other meaningful M&A, the company expects to end 2027 at approximately 2.5 times net debt to adjusted EBITDA, which is the high end of its long-term leverage target. He also noted that the company plans to reduce share repurchase spending in the short term to focus on deleveraging. Q: Can you provide more detail on the progress of new business wins, particularly in the Pro channel, and how sales discussions are evolving?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) reported that new business wins totaled 4.5%, slightly above expectations, with wins across DIY, Pro, and Industrial channels. He highlighted the 1% growth from Pro as particularly exciting, as it represents truly new opportunities. The company is seeing the "flywheel start to turn" as its boots-on-the-ground approach, combined with the right products and customer service, is winning business that was previously inaccessible. Q: How active is the M&A market currently, and are there more opportunities like Cambridge on the horizon?A: Jon Adinolfi (President and CEO) noted that the M&A market is warming up, with more activity and interesting deals coming to market. He sees opportunities on both ends of the spectrum, from smaller tuck-in deals to larger strategic acquisitions like Cambridge, and expressed confidence in the company's ability to continue executing its M&A playbook. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Hillman Solutions Corp. (HLMN) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.17 per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate . This compares to earnings of $0.17 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.08 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.07, delivering a surprise of -12.5%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates just once. Hillman Solutions Corp., which belongs to the Zacks Building Products - Miscellaneous industry, posted revenues of $442.25 million for the quarter ended June 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.10%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $402.8 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates just once 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. Hillman Solutions Corp. shares have lost about 9.1% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 9.4%. While Hillman Solutions Corp. 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 Hillman Solutions Corp. 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 $0.22 on $456.6 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.60 on $1.66 billion 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, Building Products - 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. Another stock from the same industry, Southland Holdings (SLND), has yet to report results for the quarter ended June 2026. This infrastructure construction company is expected to post quarterly loss of $0.53 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -179%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Southland Holdings' revenues are expected to be $170 million, down 21.1% 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 Hillman Solutions Corp. (HLMN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Southland Holdings, Inc. (SLND) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Net Sales increased 10% to $442 million Agreed to Acquire Kanebridge Corp subsequent to quarter end - establishes industrial master distribution presence in U.S. Raises FY 2026 Net Sales and Adj. EBITDA outlook CINCINNATI, Aug. 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hillman Solutions Corp. (Nasdaq: HLMN) (the “Company” or “Hillman”), a leading provider of hardware and related products, reported financial results for the thirteen and twenty-six weeks ended June 27, 2026. Second Quarter 2026 Highlights (Thirteen weeks ended June 27, 2026) Net sales increased 9.8% to $442.3 million compared to $402.8 million in the prior year quarter Net income increased to $21.1 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to $15.8 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter Adjusted diluted EPS1 totaled $0.17 per diluted share, unchanged from the prior year quarter Adjusted EBITDA1 increased to $77.1 million compared to $75.2 million in the prior year quarter Net cash provided by operating activities increased to $68.5 million compared to $48.1 million in the prior year quarter Free Cash Flow1 increased to $70.2 million compared to $31.2 million in the prior year quarter Repurchased approximately 1.7 million shares of its common stock at an average price of $7.62 per share, which totaled $13.3 million Subsequent to the quarter end, successfully closed the refinancing of its existing credit facilities, consisting of a new $735 million senior secured Term Loan B and a $375 million asset-based revolving credit facility Subsequent to the quarter end, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Kanebridge for $315 million, with closing expected around the start of Q4 2026 Balance Sheet and Liquidity at June 27, 2026 Gross debt was $701.3 million compared to $693.1 million on December 27, 2025 Net debt1 was $665.4 million compared to $665.8 million on December 27, 2025 Liquidity available totaled $331.3 million; consisting of $295.5 million of available borrowing under the revolving credit facility and $35.8 million of cash and equivalents Net debt1 to trailing twelve month Adjusted EBITDA was 2.4x at quarter end unchanged from 2.4x on December 27, 2025 Management Commentary "Hillman delivered a strong second quarter, with robust free cash flow and top line growth of 10%, which is in line with our long-term growth targets," commented Jon Michael Adinolfi, President and CEO of Hillman. "Consistent demand for our hardware products, healthy new business wins - including in Pro distribution - and low-double digit growth in our Robotics and Digital Solutions business due to our MinuteKey 3.5 rollout, drove healthy growth during the quarter." "Given our continued execution and the expected contribution from the Kanebridge acquisition, we are raising the midpoint of full-year Net Sales guidance and our Adjusted EBITDA expectations, while reiterating our free cash flow guidance midpoint." "We continue to execute our Blueprint for strategic growth. Kanebridge, together with recent acquisitions Campbell Chain and Fittings and Delaney Hardware, expand our categories, capabilities, and the channels we serve. As we look to the rest of the year, we remain confident in our ability to manage the dynamic market environment while taking great care of our customers and delivering value for our shareholders." Full Year 2026 Guidance - Updated Based on year-to-date performance and its expectations for the remainder of the year, management updated its guidance most recently provided on April 27, 2026. The guidance assumes the Kanebridge acquisition closes around the start of Q4 2026. 1) Denotes Non-GAAP metric. For additional information, including our definitions, use of, and reconciliations of these metrics to the most directly comparable financial measures under GAAP, please see the reconciliations toward the end of the press release. Second Quarter 2026 Results Presentation Hillman plans to host a conference call and webcast presentation on August 4, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its results. President and Chief Executive Officer Jon Michael Adinolfi and Chief Financial Officer Rocky Kraft will host the results presentation. Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time Listen-Only Webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/8mb5xri2 A webcast replay will be available approximately one hour after the conclusion of the call using the link above. Hillman’s quarterly presentation and Form 10-Q are expected to be filed with the SEC and posted to its Investor Relations website, https://ir.hillmangroup.com, prior to the webcast presentation. About Hillman Solutions Corp. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Hillman is a leading provider of hardware and related products serving retail, pro distribution, and industrial customers. Over the last 60-plus years, Hillman has built a legacy of service and growth by forming strategic partnerships with North America’s leading home improvement, hardware, and farm and fleet retailers. Hillman differentiates itself from the competition with its dedicated field sales team of 1,200+ associates, direct-to-store distribution capabilities, and world class global sourcing and supply chain expertise. The company offers an extensive product portfolio of more than 111,000 SKUs, including fasteners (power screws, nuts, and bolts), hardware (builder’s hardware, door locks, rope & chain, accessories), project gear & supplies (gloves, work gear, paint & cleaning sundries), and key and engraving services (key duplication, auto keys, and engraving). Hillman is committed to delivering exceptional customer service, innovative products, and dependable solutions to its customers and regularly earns vendor of the year recognition from top customers. For more information on Hillman, visit www.hillman.com. Forward-Looking Statements All statements made in this press release that are considered to be forward-looking are made in good faith by the Company and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," “target”, “goal”, "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company’s expectations with respect to future performance and statements relating to the Kanebridge transaction, which may not be consummated on the terms described in the press release, or at all. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside the Company's control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the failure to obtain required regulatory approvals for the transaction or the receipt of such approvals on unfavorable terms; (2) the failure to satisfy other closing conditions for the transaction; (3) delays in consummating the transaction; (4) the possibility that the transaction may not be completed or not completed in a timely manner; (5) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the definitive agreement; and (6) risks relating to the integration of the acquired business and the realization of anticipated synergies and other benefits may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than expected; (7) unfavorable economic conditions that may affect our and our customers’, suppliers’ and other business partners’ operations, financial condition and cash flows including spending on home renovation or construction projects, inflation, recessions, instability in the financial markets or credit markets; (8) increased supply chain costs, including tariffs, raw materials, sourcing, transportation and energy; (9) the highly competitive nature of the markets that we serve; (10) the ability to continue to innovate with new products and services; (11) seasonality; (12) large customer concentration; (13) the ability to recruit and retain qualified employees; (14) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company; (15) adverse changes in currency exchange rates; or (16) regulatory changes and potential legislation that could adversely impact financial results. The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and readers should also refer to those risks that are included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 17, 2026. Given these uncertainties, current or prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this communication to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Contact: Michael KoehlerVice President – Corporate Development, Investor Relations, [email protected] HILLMAN SOLUTIONS CORP. Condensed Consolidated Statement of Net Income, GAAP Basis (dollars in thousands) Unaudited HILLMAN SOLUTIONS CORP. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (dollars in thousands) Unaudited HILLMAN SOLUTIONS CORP. Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows (dollars in thousands) Unaudited Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to the Most Directly Comparable GAAP Financial Measures The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures to analyze underlying business performance and trends. The Company believes that providing these non-GAAP financial measures enhances the Company’s and investors’ ability to compare the Company’s past financial performance with its current performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are provided as supplemental information to the financial measures presented in this press release that are calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures determined or calculated in accordance with GAAP. The Company’s definitions of its non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Because GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis are not accessible, and reconciling information is not available without unreasonable effort, reconciliations to GAAP financial measures are not provided for forward-looking non-GAAP measures. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could be material to future results. Non-GAAP financial measures such as consolidated adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share (EPS) exclude from the relevant GAAP metrics items that neither relate to the ordinary course of the Company’s business, nor reflect the Company’s underlying business performance. Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA (Unaudited) (dollars in thousands) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and is the primary basis used to measure the operational strength and performance of our businesses as well as to assist in the evaluation of underlying trends in our businesses. This measure eliminates the significant level of noncash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of our businesses and from intangible assets recognized in business combinations. It is also unaffected by our capital and tax structures, as our management excludes these results when evaluating our operating performance. Our management use this financial measure to evaluate our consolidated operating performance and the operating performance of our operating segments as well as to allocate resources and capital to our operating segments. Additionally, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors because it is one of the bases for comparing our operating performance with that of other companies in our industries, although our measure of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Reconciliation of Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share (in thousands, except per share data) Unaudited We define Adjusted Diluted EPS as reported diluted EPS excluding the effect of one-time, non-recurring activity and volatility associated with our income tax expense. The Company believes that Adjusted Diluted EPS provides further insight and comparability in operating performance as it eliminates the effects of certain items that are not comparable from one period to the next. The following is a reconciliation of reported diluted EPS from continuing operations to Adjusted Diluted EPS from continuing operations: Per Share Impact of Adjusting Items Reconciliation of Net Debt We define Net Debt as reported gross debt less cash on hand. Net debt is not defined under U.S. GAAP and may not be computed the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies. The Company believes that Net Debt provides further insight and comparability into liquidity and capital structure. The following is the calculation of Net Debt: Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow We calculate free cash flow as cash flows from operating activities less capital expenditures. Free cash flow is not defined under U.S. GAAP and may not be computed the same as similarly titled measures used by other companies. We believe free cash flow is an important indicator of how much cash is generated by our business operations and is a measure of incremental cash available to invest in our business and meet our debt obligations. Source: Hillman Solutions Corp.

Hardware products and merchandising solutions provider Hillman (NASDAQ:HLMN) will be reporting results this Monday afternoon. Here’s what you need to know. Hillman missed analysts’ revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $370.1 million, up 3% year on year. It was a slower quarter for the company, with EPS in line with analysts’ estimates and a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. Is Hillman a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members. This quarter, the market is expecting Hillman’s revenue to grow 8.4% year on year, improving from the 6.2% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. Hillman has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates multiple times over the last two years. Looking at Hillman’s peers in the professional tools and equipment segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Stanley Black & Decker posted flat year-on-year revenue, meeting analysts’ expectations, and Fortive reported revenues up 7.9%, topping estimates by 2.5%. Stanley Black & Decker traded up 1.4% following the results while Fortive was down 8.8%. Read our full analysis of Stanley Black & Decker’s results here and Fortive’s results here. Over the last year or so, investors' attention has moved from one major market theme to the next, spanning AI disruption and surging infrastructure investment to geopolitical tensions, interest rates, and the health of the broader economy. While some of the professional tools and equipment stocks have shown solid performance in this choppy environment, the group has generally underperformed, with share prices down 5% on average over the last month. Hillman is down 1.1% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $12 (compared to the current share price of $7.87). ONE MORE THING: The $21 AI Application Stock Wall Street Forgot. While Wall Street obsesses over who’s building AI, one company is already using it to print money. And nobody’s paying attention. AI chip stocks trade at ridiculous valuations. This company processes a trillion consumer signals monthly using AI and trades at a third of the price. The gap won’t last. The institutions will figure it out. You need to see this first. Read the FREE Report Before They Notice.

Seeks to extend maturities with new $735 million Term Loan B and $375 million ABL Reports Preliminary Q2 2026 Net Sales of between $440 million - $444 million; an increase of 9% to 10% Sets Earnings Results Presentation Date for August 4, 2026 CINCINNATI, July 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hillman Solutions Corp. (Nasdaq: HLMN) (the "Company" or "Hillman"), a leading provider of hardware products and merchandising solutions, reported preliminary financial results for the thirteen weeks ended June 27, 2026 and announced that it has launched a refinancing of its existing Term Loan B and asset based revolving credit facility (the "Transaction"). Preliminary Q2 2026 Financial ResultsIn connection with the Transaction, the Company is providing the following preliminary, unaudited estimates of certain financial results for its second quarter of 2026 which consists of the thirteen weeks ended June 27, 2026. For Q2 2026, Hillman currently estimates: Net sales between $440 million and $444 million, an increase of between 9% and 10% over the year-ago quarter Operating income between $40 million and $42 million, an increase of between 10% and 16% over the year-ago quarter Adjusted EBITDA1 between $76 million and $78 million, an increase of between 1% and 4% over the year-ago quarter Full Year 2026 Guidance – ReiteratedBased on year-to-date performance and its expectations for the remainder of the year, management reiterated its guidance most recently provided on April 27, 2026. Denotes Non-GAAP metric. For additional information, including our definitions, use of, and reconciliations of these metrics to the most directly comparable financial measures under GAAP, please see the reconciliations toward the end of the press release. Debt RefinancingThe proposed refinancing is expected to consist of the following: $735 million senior secured Term Loan B (the "New Term Loan"), maturing 2033 $375 million senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility (the "New ABL Facility”), maturing 2031 The net proceeds of the Transaction are expected to be used to refinance the Company's existing Term Loan B due 2028, pay down the existing ABL facility due 2027, as well as related fees and expenses, and for general corporate purposes. The new Term Loan B is being arranged by a Jefferies-led arranger group, while the new ABL is being arranged by a U.S. Bank-led arranger group. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be consummated on the terms described above, or at all. Second Quarter 2026 Results Presentation Hillman plans to host a conference call to discuss its results for the thirteen and twenty-six weeks ended June 27, 2026 on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Hillman plans to issue its earnings release after market close on Monday, August 3, 2026. President and Chief Executive Officer Jon Michael Adinolfi and Chief Financial Officer Rocky Kraft will host the results presentation. Results Presentation Details:Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2026 Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time Listen-Only Webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/8mb5xri2 Sell-side analysts wishing to participate in the call’s live question and answer session must register by clicking here: https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BIaca5d531cce346b087362f06f7651fdd A webcast replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of the presentation using the Listen-Only Webcast link above. Hillman’s earnings release and quarterly results presentation are expected to be filed with the SEC and posted to its website, https://ir.hillmangroup.com, before the results presentation begins. Presentation of Preliminary Second Quarter 2026 ResultsThe preliminary financial results presented above are unaudited and preliminary estimates that have been prepared by management in good faith on a consistent basis with prior periods. However, Hillman has not completed its financial closing procedures for the thirteen weeks ended June 27, 2026, and actual results are subject to adjustment and may differ from these preliminary estimates, and such differences could be material. Among the factors that could cause or contribute to material differences between the Company’s actual results and expectations indicated by the forward-looking statements are risks and uncertainties that include, but are not limited to: changes to the Company’s financial results for the thirteen weeks ended June 27, 2026 due to the completion of financial closing procedures, final adjustments and other developments that may arise between now and the time that the Company’s financial statements for the period are finalized and publicly released and other risks and uncertainties described below and in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, Deloitte & Touche LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, has not audited, reviewed, compiled, or performed any procedures with respect to these preliminary financial results and does not express an opinion or any other form of assurance with respect to these preliminary financial results or their achievability. Hillman undertakes no obligation to update or supplement the information provided above until the Company releases its financial statements for the thirteen weeks ended June 27, 2026. Presentation of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresIn addition to the preliminary results presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company has also presented a non-GAAP financial measure — Adjusted EBITDA— which presents results on a basis adjusted for certain items. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and is the primary basis used to measure the operational strength and performance of our businesses as well as to assist in the evaluation of underlying trends in our businesses. This measure eliminates the significant level of noncash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of our businesses and from intangible assets recognized in business combinations. It is also unaffected by our capital and tax structures, as our management excludes these results when evaluating our operating performance. Our management and Board of Directors use this financial measure to evaluate our consolidated operating performance and the operating performance of our operating segments and to allocate resources and capital to our operating segments. Additionally, we believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors because it is one of the bases for comparing our operating performance with that of other companies in our industries, although our measure of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled from operating income under GAAP below. The Company is not able to provide a reconciliation of preliminary Adjusted EBITDA to preliminary net income (the closest comparable financial measure presented in accordance with GAAP) without unreasonable effort or expense. Preliminary net income cannot be reasonably estimated due to timing for completing our quarterly financial closing procedures, including with respect to the accounting for income taxes and certain subsequent events. Reconciliation of Preliminary Operating Income to Preliminary Adjusted EBITDAThe following table presents a reconciliation of operating income (see explanation above as to why we cannot reconcile to net income), the most directly comparable available financial measure under GAAP, to the top and bottom ends of our Adjusted EBITDA range for the thirteen weeks ended June 27, 2026: (1) Includes consulting and other costs associated with severance related to our distribution center relocations and corporate restructuring activities. (2) Transaction and integration expense includes professional fees, gain on bargain purchase, and other costs related to acquisition activity, including costs related to the Campbell Chain and Fittings and Delaney Hardware acquisitions in 2026. About Hillman Solutions Corp. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Hillman is a leading provider of hardware and related products serving retail, pro distribution, and industrial MRO customers. Over the last 60-plus years, Hillman has built a legacy of service and growth by forming strategic partnerships with North America's leading home improvement, hardware, and farm and fleet retailers. Hillman differentiates itself from the competition with its dedicated field sales team of 1,200+ associates, direct-to-store distribution capabilities, and world class global sourcing and supply chain expertise. The company offers an extensive product portfolio of more than 111,000 SKUs, including fasteners (power screws, nuts, bolts), hardware (builder's hardware, door hardware, rope & chain, accessories), project gear & supplies (gloves, work gear, paint & cleaning sundries), and key and engraving services (key duplication, auto keys, and engraving). Hillman is committed to delivering exceptional customer service, innovative products, and dependable solutions to its customers and regularly earns vendor of the year recognition from top customers. For more information on Hillman, visit www.hillman.com. Forward-Looking StatementsAll statements made in this press release that are considered to be forward-looking are made in good faith by the Company and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," “target”, “goal”, "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company’s expectations with respect to future performance and statements relating to the Transaction, which may not be consummated on the terms described in this press release, or at all. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside the Company's control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) unfavorable economic conditions that may affect our and our customers’, suppliers’ and other business partners’ operations, financial condition and cash flows including spending on home renovation or construction projects, inflation, recessions, instability in the financial markets or credit markets; (2) increased supply chain costs, including tariffs, raw materials, sourcing, transportation and energy; (3) the highly competitive nature of the markets that we serve; (4) the ability to continue to innovate with new products and services; (5) seasonality; (6) large customer concentration; (7) the ability to recruit and retain qualified employees; (8) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against the Company; (9) adverse changes in currency exchange rates; or (10) regulatory changes and potential legislation that could adversely impact financial results. The foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and readers should also refer to those risks that are included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 17, 2026. Given these uncertainties, current or prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this communication to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. ContactMichael Koehler Vice President Corporate Development, Investor Relations, Treasury [email protected]