Key insights
- Helios Technologies (HLIO) reported a significant earnings beat for Q1 2026, with EPS of $0.80 versus an expected $0.69, and revenue exceeding forecasts. The stock surged over 10% in premarket trading. While positive for HLIO, the broader market impact is limited, acting as a slightly bullish signal due to positive earnings surprise.
Helios Technologies Inc. (HLIO) reported robust financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, significantly surpassing earnings expectations and driving a notable increase in its stock price. The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.80, beating the forecasted $0.69 by 15.94%. Revenue reached $228.4 million, exceeding the anticipated $220.14 million. Following these results, Helios Technologies’ stock surged by 10.11% to $73.93 in premarket trading, reflecting strong investor confidence.
Helios Technologies showcased a strong start to fiscal year 2026 with impressive financial results. The company achieved a 17% increase in revenue compared to Q1 2025, driven by robust performance across both its Hydraulics and Electronics segments. This growth was supported by strategic operational improvements and product innovations, positioning Helios favorably within its competitive landscape.
Helios Technologies outperformed expectations with an EPS of $0.80, significantly above the forecasted $0.69. The revenue of $228.4 million also surpassed the anticipated $220.14 million, marking a 3.75% surprise. This earnings beat reflects the company’s effective cost management and strategic initiatives that have bolstered its financial performance.
In response to the strong earnings report, Helios Technologies’ stock experienced a notable increase, rising by 10.11% to $73.93 in premarket trading. The stock continued its momentum, currently trading at $74.90, just 1% below its 52-week high of $76.47. This impressive performance caps a remarkable run for investors, with the stock delivering a 109% return over the past year and a 29% gain in the last six months alone. The company’s market capitalization now stands at $2.48 billion. Despite the strong performance, InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock may be overvalued relative to its Fair Value, placing it among companies on the Most Overvalued list.
Helios Technologies remains optimistic about its future prospects, maintaining its guidance for fiscal year 2026. The company expects continued revenue growth driven by its diversified product portfolio and strategic market expansions, particularly in the data center and industrial segments. The ongoing focus on innovation and operational excellence is anticipated to support sustained margin improvements.
CEO of Helios Technologies commented, "Our strong Q1 performance underscores our commitment to operational excellence and strategic growth initiatives. We are pleased with our progress and remain focused on delivering value to our shareholders through continued innovation and market expansion."
During the earnings call, analysts inquired about the company’s strategy for managing inflationary pressures and its plans for further market diversification. Executives highlighted ongoing cost management initiatives and emphasized the importance of expanding into new markets such as data centers to mitigate risks associated with market variability.
Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the Helios Technologies First Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Tania Almond, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Thank you. You may begin.
Tania Almond, Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications, Helios Technologies: Thank you, operator. Good day, everyone. Welcome to the Helios Technologies First Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. We issued a press release announcing our results yesterday afternoon. If you do not have that release, it is available on our website at hlio.com. You will also find slides there that accompany today’s discussion as well as our prepared remarks. Joining me today are Sean Bagan, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Jeremy Evans, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Sean will begin with highlights from the first quarter. Jeremy will then review our financial results in more detail and provide our outlook. Sean will return with some closing remarks, and then we will open the call for questions. Before we get started, please turn to slide 2, where you will find our safe harbor statement.
As you may be aware, we will make some forward-looking statements during this presentation and the Q&A session. These statements apply to future events that are subject to risks and uncertainties, as well as other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented today. These risks and uncertainties and other factors can be found in our annual report on Form 10-K for 2025, along with our upcoming 10-Q to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can find these documents on our website or at sec.gov. I’ll also point out that during today’s call, we will discuss some non-GAAP financial measures which we believe are useful in evaluating our performance. You should not consider the presentation of this additional information in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP.
We have provided reconciliations of comparable GAAP with non-GAAP measures in the tables that accompany today’s slides. Please reference slides 3 through 5 as I now turn the call over to Sean.
Sean Bagan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Helios Technologies: Thanks, Tania, welcome everyone. We appreciate you joining us today. Anyone who watched this year’s Kentucky Derby saw more than just a winner. They saw focused execution under pressure at exactly the right moment. Golden Tempo stayed focused, found his stride, and delivered when it mattered most. We believe our first quarter performance tells a similar story. Helios entered 2026 having done the hard work, sharpening our go-to-market model, strengthening our balance sheet, and building a team and culture aligned around the CORE 2030 strategy we introduced at our Investor Day. Like that Saturday race, the results for Helios this quarter weren’t just a one-headline moment. They were a collection of firsts and records. The highest quarterly sales ever for Enovation Controls, our largest electronic segment business. A record first quarter of cash generation for the company.
Our first ever regular dividend increase of 33%. Perhaps one of the most telling measures of how far we’ve come, we reduced our net leverage by more than a full turn in just 1 year, bringing us to 1.6 times net debt to adjusted EBITDA, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2018. The balance sheet position isn’t just a financial milestone, it’s a strategic one, opening a meaningful level of optionality in how we deploy capital as we pursue the next leg of our growth. 2025 was our year of repositioning. 2026 is where that work finds its stride.
As we came out of the starting gates on the 2030 financial targets, a plan built on 5% plus organic sales growth annually, our first quarter performance didn’t just meet that bar, it cleared it decisively, giving us early momentum against a 5-year roadmap that we intend to run all the way through. The core strategy laid out a clear set of performance priorities to double our sales by 2030 and expand adjusted operating and EBITDA margins to 20% plus and 25% plus, respectively. The work we have done over the last 18 months to sharpen our go-to-market model, invest in innovation, and enhance operational excellence across our global footprint is an outcome of our momentum model, the engine behind this performance.
Our first quarter results reflect the effectiveness of the Helios business system as we are executing our organic sales growth plans and improving our margins year-over-year while we manage through a choppy geopolitical environment and invest for future growth. Let me summarize the first quarter. With a more robust demand environment than expected, total sales exceeded the high end of our outlook range, up 17% year-over-year to $228 million. On a pro forma basis, excluding the Custom Fluid Power or CFP divestiture and the impact of foreign exchange, sales grew 23%, with both segments in all regions contributing to the increase. Our profitability measures kept improving as higher sales volume drove significant year-over-year expansion in our margins. We continue to deeply engage with our existing and prospective customers, seeking out opportunities, leveraging our enhanced go-to-market model.
Our teams from both hydraulics and electronics across our relevant major brands attended the CONEXPO trade show in the first quarter and showcased our latest products with a record level of show attendees present. Based on the level of booth activity and leads we extracted, we are seeing healthy activity across most of the markets we address. On a consolidated pro forma basis, we saw year-over-year growth across all the major end markets that we serve. With our balance sheet in excellent shape, our board of directors approved the aforementioned increase to the quarterly dividend in March, and we continue to return capital to shareholders under our existing $100 million share repurchase authorization. These actions reflect our confidence in the long-term outlook and alignment with the value creation framework we shared as part of the core strategy.
With that, I’ll turn the call over to Jeremy to review the financial results in more detail. Jeremy?
Jeremy Evans, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Helios Technologies: Thank you, Sean, and good day, everyone. As I review our first quarter results, please refer to slides 6 through 8. First quarter sales were $228 million, up 17% compared with $195 million in the prior year period and above the expectations we laid out on our fourth quarter call. Chang