ACCO Brands : 1Q 2026 Earnings Conference Call Presentation

Published: 2026-05-01 09:35:19 ET ACCO

Published on 05/01/2026 at 09:35 am EDT

Q1 2026 Earnings Conference Call

May 1, 2026

An explanation of how we calculate each of our Non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of our current period and historical non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found at the end of this presentation.

We use our non-GAAP financial measures both to explain our results to stockholders and the investment community and in the internal evaluation and management of our business. We believe our non-GAAP financial measures provide management and investors with a more complete understanding of our underlying operational results and trends, facilitate meaningful period-to-period comparisons and enhance an overall understanding of our past and future financial performance.

Our non-GAAP financial measures exclude certain items that may have a material impact upon our reported financial results such as restructuring charges, the impact of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations, unusual tax items, goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges, bargain purchase gain, and other non-recurring items that we consider to be outside of our core operations. On an interim basis, we also calculate adjusted income tax expense using our estimated annual income tax rate. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the directly comparable GAAP financial measures and should be read in connection with the Company's financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP.

We also provide forward-looking non-GAAP comparable sales, adjusted earnings per share, free cash flow, adjusted EBITDA, and historical and forward-looking consolidated leverage ratio. We do not provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking and historical non-GAAP measures to GAAP because the GAAP financial measure is not currently available and management cannot reliably predict all the necessary components of such non-GAAP measures without unreasonable effort or expense due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such a reconciliation, including adjustments that could be made for restructuring, integration and acquisition-related expenses, bargain purchase gain, the variability of our tax rate and the impact of foreign currency fluctuation and material acquisitions, and other charges reflected in our historical results. The probable significance of each of these items is high and, based on historical experience, could be material.

May 1, 2026 3

Achieved sales and adjusted EPS above outlook

Better-than-expected comparable sales drove improved sales in the quarter

In the Americas segment sales trends improved, reflecting growth in Latin America and computer accessories

In the International segment sales trend improvement driven by timing of purchases in Europe

Executing on $100M multi-year cost reduction program, have realized approximately $10 million in 1Q; $70 million since inception of the program

Integration of EPOS acquisition on track, part of our strategic pivot to technology peripherals

Reiterating 2026 full-year outlook

May 1, 2026 4

| Premium enterprise wired and wireless headsets + other audio solutions

| Signifies ACCO Brands refined strategy to expand in growing technology peripherals

| Integration on track, with expected sales of $80 million over 11 months in 2026

| Expect to achieve $15 million in cost savings over 12 to 18 months

| Forecasted to be modestly accretive to profit and neutral to adjusted EPS in 2026, with restructuring savings

s90MM

Revenue 2025A

130+

Patents

s1.7BN

[ Product Image ]

Total Addressable Market

U C C E R T I F I C A T I O N P A R T N E R S

A leading enterprise and productivity solutions provider

May 1, 2026 5

3 Months Ended

| Reported sales up 8.3.%

Favorable FX 6.0%

EPOS benefited sales by 4.8%

Comparable sales down 2.5%*

| Gross margin rate decline due to unfavorable product mix

| Higher SG&A due to the EPOS acquisition and unfavorable FX,

more than offsetting cost reduction savings

1Q 202e Commentary

$ in Millions 2026 2025 % Chg

Net Sales

s3N3.7 s317.N 8.3%

Gross Profit

s10e.8

s99.e

7.2%

% Margin

31.1%

31.4%

*Adjusted SG&A

$95.1

$92.7

2.6%

% Total Revenue

27.7%

29.2%

*Adj. Operating Income

s11.7

se.9

69.6%

% Margin

3.4%

2.2%

*Adj. EPS

$0.02

($0.02)

*Comparable Sales, Adjusted SG&A, Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EPS are Non-GAAP Financial Measures

May 1, 2026 6

I N T E R N A T I O N A l C O M M E N T A R n

| Improved rate of decline reflecting the positive impact of price, timing of replenishment for office products and favorable mix

| Computer accessories growth ex large government

order in prior year

| International adjusted operating margin flat to prior year

A M E R I C A S C O M M E N T A R n

| Solid growth in computer accessories categories

| Good sales growth in Latin America

| Americas adjusted operating margin expansion due to cost reduction programs

1Q Segment Commentary

1Q 202e 1Q 202U n2n Change

$ in millions

A C C O B R A N D S A M E R I C A S

Sales

$178.5

$173.9

2.6%

*Comparable Sales

$169.9

$173.9

(2.3%)

*Adjusted Operating Income

*Adjusted Operating Margin

$12.8

$10.0

28.0%

7.2%

5.8%

140 bps

A C C O B R A N D S I N T E R N A T I O N A l

Sales

$165.2

$143.5

15.1%

*Comparable Sales

$139.5

$143.5

(2.8%)

*Adjusted Operating Income

$11.1

$9.6

15.6%

*Adjusted Operating Margin

6.7%

*Comparable Sales, Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted Operating Margin are Non-GAAP Financial Measures.

May 1, 2026 7

1Q 202e

Change vs. Prior near

Items of Significant Impact

Bps

Gross Profit

$106.8M

$7.2M

Pricing2Product Cost

Cost Savings

130

Gross Margin

31.1%

(30 bps)

Fixed Cost Absorption

(110)

Mix

(80)

Acquisition

Adjusted SG&A

$95.1M

$2.4M

Cost Savings

(240)

Sales Deleverage

SG&A Margin

27.7%

(150 bps)

Incentive Compensation

(70)

Investments2FX

Acquisition

May 1, 2026 8

($ in millions)

Facility

Balance1

Interest Rate Methodology

Rate

USD Revolver2

$87

SOFR + CSAN + 22U bps

5.98%

EUR Revolver2

EURIBOR+ 22U bps

4.27%

AUD Revolver2

Australian BBSR + 22U bps

6.04%

EUR Term loan A

EURIBOR + 22U bps

4.38%

Subtotal Senior secured credit facilities3

$326

Weighted average

4.94%

Senior unsecured notes

575

N.2U% fixed

4.25%

Total Gross Debt

$901

Weighted average interest rate

4.48%

| Capital structure as of March 31, 2026

| Gross debt down $35M year-over-year

| Company had cash on hand of $118.9M

| No debt maturities until 20295

| Debt is split 64/36 fixed and variable with weighted average rate of 4.48%

| Cash balance decreased $15.7M year-over-year

| *Consolidated leverage ratio of 4.1x at end of 1Q 2026

Currencies converted using March 31, 2026 closing spot rates

Represents amounts outstanding under the $467.5M multicurrency revolving credit facility

Includes $24M of other debt and excludes unamortized debt issuance costs.

Credit Spread Adjustment of 10 bps

Assumes we refinance our senior unsecured notes by September 2028. *Consolidated leverage ratio is a Non-GAAP financial measure

May 1, 2026 9

| Cash flow seasonally weighted toward

second half of the year

| Free cash flow of $1M

| $7M returned to shareholders in the form of dividends

Free Cash Flow Commentary

$ in millions*

1Q 202e

1Q 202U

n2n Change

Net cash provided by operations

$(1)

Additions to PP&E

(2)

Free Cash Flow

s(2)

Dividends paid

(7)

Share repurchase

(15)

Cost of acquisitions, net of cash acquired

(1)

(10)

Other, net**

(3)

(5)

Increase/(decrease) in debt

(23)

Increase in cash on hand

sUU

se0

s(U)

D E B T 2 C A S H R E C O N C I l I A T I O N

Debt

Cash

$ in millions*

Beginning of period 12/31/2025

$841

$64

Increase/(Decrease)

(4)

End period 3/31/2026

s901

s119

*Numbers may not foot due to rounding; Free cash flow are Non-GAAP financial measures

**Includes FX impact on cash offset by net proceeds from exercise of stock options

May 1, 2026

C A PI T A l

All O C AT I O N

| Free cash flow of s1M

| Recently completed two synergistic

acquisitions

SH A R E H O l D E R | Dividends paid of s7M

R E T U R NS

*Consolidated Leverage Ratio are Non-GAAP financial measures

D E BT

R E D U C T I O N

| 1Q 2026 consolidated leverage ratio of N.1x*

| Gross debt down $35M year-over-year

Guidance

Full near 202e

Reported Net Sales

$1,525M to $1,570M

Reported Net Sales Growth

0.0% to 3.0%

EPOS Acquisition

5.0%

Foreign Exchange

1.0%

Comparable Sales*

(6.0%) to (3.0%)

Adjusted EPS* $0.84 to $0.89

Free Cash Flow* $75M to $85M

Consolidated leverage Ratio 3.7x to 3.9x

*Comparable Sales, Adjusted EPS, Free Cash Flow and Consolidated Leverage Ratio are Non-GAAP financial measures

Guidance

2Q 202e

Reported Net Sales

$400M to $410M

Reported Net Sales Growth

1.0% to 4.0%

EPOS Acquisition

5.0%

Foreign Exchange

1.0%

Comparable Sales*

(5.0%) to (2.0%)

*Comparable Sales and Adjusted EPS are Non-GAAP financial measures

Adjusted EPS $0.24 to $0.28

THREE COMPlEMENTARn BUSINESS SEGMENTS SERVING ENTERPRISE, EDUCATION, AND CONSUMER

MARKETS ACROSS 35 COUNTRIES

2025 Revenue

Founded

Employees

Countries

W H O W E A R E . . .

ACCO Brands is the leader in branded consumer products that enables people to work with more productivity, learn with more confidence and play with more enjoyment. We develop, nurture and acquire a comprehensive portfolio of distinct, innovative and widely recognized brands.

*Proforma results include EPOS 2025 full year sales

May 1, 2026

T E C H N O l O G n P E R I P H E R A l S

s389M*

2N% of revenue

Hardware technology accessories for enterprises, personal computing and gaming

l E A R N I N G & C R E A T I V E

sNN0M

27% of revenue

Academic and creative supplies for writing, drawing, planning and expression

W O R K S P A C E S O l U T I O N S

s783M

N9% of revenue

Essential office solutions for document handling, organization, storage and productivity

Our non-GAAP financial measures include the following:

Comparable Sales: Represents net sales excluding the impact of material acquisitions, if any, with current-period foreign operation sales translated at prior-year currency rates. We believe comparable sales are useful to investors and management because they reflect underlying sales and sales trends without the effect of material acquisitions and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and facilitate meaningful period-to-period comparisons. We sometimes refer to comparable sales as comparable net sales.

Adjusted Operating Income (loss)2Adjusted Income (loss) Before Taxes2Adjusted Net Income (loss)2Adjusted Net Income (loss) Per Diluted Share: Represents operating income (loss), income (loss) before taxes, net income (loss), and net income (loss) per diluted share excluding restructuring and goodwill and indefinite lived trade name impairment charges, the amortization of intangibles, the bargain purchase gain, non-recurring items, other income/expense, adjustments to reflect the estimated annual tax rate and discrete income tax adjustments, including income tax related to the foregoing. We believe these adjusted non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors and management because they reflect our underlying operating performance before items that we consider to be outside our core operations and facilitate meaningful period-to-period comparisons. Senior management's incentive compensation is derived, in part, using adjusted operating income and adjusted net income per diluted share, which is derived from adjusted net income. We sometimes refer to adjusted net income per diluted share as adjusted earnings per share or adjusted EPS.

Adjusted Income Tax Expense (Benefit): Represents income tax expense (benefit) excluding the tax effect of the items that have been excluded from adjusted income (loss) before taxes, unusual income tax items such as the impact of tax audits and changes in laws, and other discrete tax items. We believe our adjusted income tax expense (benefit) is useful to investors because it reflects our income tax calculated using the estimated annual tax rate before discrete tax items that we consider to be outside our core operations and facilitates meaningful period-to-period comparisons. For interim periods, the income tax expense (benefit) is calculated using the estimated annual income tax rate.

Adjusted EBITDA: Represents net income excluding the effects of depreciation, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of intangibles, interest expense, net, other (income) expense, net, and income tax expense, restructuring and goodwill and indefinite lived trade name charges, bargain purchase gain and other non-recurring items. We believe adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors because it reflects our underlying cash profitability and adjusts for certain non-cash charges and items that we consider to be outside our core operations and facilitates meaningful period-to-period comparisons. In addition, this calculation of adjusted EBITDA is used in our loan agreement to calculate our leverage ratio covenant.

Free Cash Flow: Free cash flow represents cash flow from operating activities less cash used for additions to property, plant and equipment. We believe free cash flow are useful to investors because it measures our available cash flow for paying dividends, reducing debt, repurchasing shares and funding acquisitions.

Net Debt: Represents balance sheet debt plus unamortized debt origination costs and less any cash and cash equivalents.

Consolidated leverage Ratio: Represents net debt divided by trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA.

May 1, 2026 17

The following tables set forth a reconciliation of certain Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) information reported in accordance with GAAP to Adjusted Non-GAAP Information for the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025.

Three Months Ended March 31, 202e

Income Tax

Operating

Income before

(Benefit)

SG&A

% of Sales

(loss) Income

% of Sales

Tax

% of Sales

Expense

Tax Rate

Net Income

% of Sales

(in millions, except per share data)

Reported GAAP

s99.1

28.8 %

s(10.N)

(3.0)%

s1N.9

N.3 %

s(N.U)

(30.2)%

s19.N

U.e %

Reported GAAP income per diluted share (EPS)

$0.20

Litigation settlement

(B)

(4.0)

4.0

1.0

3.0

Restructuring

6.7

1.7

5.0

Amortization of intangibles

11.4

3.1

8.3

Bargain purchase gain

(C)

(37.6)

Acquisition related costs

(D)

3.1

0.8

2.3

Discrete tax items and adjustments to annual tax rate

(A)

(1.4)

1.4

Adjusted Non-GAAP

$95.1

27.7 %

$11.7

3.4 %

$2.5

0.7 %

$0.7

29.0 %

$1.8

0.5 %

Adjusted income per diluted share (Adjusted EPS)

$0.02

Three Months Ended March 31, 202U

Operating (loss)

Income Tax

Income

% of Sales

loss before Tax

% of Sales

Benefit

Tax Rate

Net loss

% of Sales

(in millions, except per share data)

Reported GAAP

s(e.7)

(2.1)%

s(1e.U)

(U.2)%

s(3.3)

20.0 %

s(13.2)

(N.2)%

Reported GAAP loss per diluted share (EPS)

$(0.14)

Restructuring

2.3

0.5

1.8

Amortization of intangibles

11.3

3.0

8.3

Discrete tax items and adjustments to annual tax rate

(A)

(1.1)

1.1

Adjusted Non-GAAP

$6.9

2.2 %

$(2.9)

(0.9)%

$(0.9)

30.0 %

$(2.0)

(0.6)%

Adjusted loss per diluted share (Adjusted EPS)

$(0.02)

May 1, 2026 18

The income tax impact of discrete tax items. For interim periods for years ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, the Company adjusted its tax rate to 30.0%, respectively, which represents its full year non-GAAP estimated annual tax rate. The Company's full year non-GAAP estimated annual tax rate remains subject to variation from the mix of earnings across the Company's operating jurisdictions.

Settlement of patent infringement litigation.

Represents the bargain purchase gain associated with the acquisition of EPOS.

Acquisition related costs.

May 1, 2026 19

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net income (loss) reported in accordance with GAAP to Adjusted EBITDA.

Three Months Ended March 31,

(in millions)

202e

202U

% Change

Net income (loss)

s19.N

s(13.2)

Stock-based compensation

4.4

7.8

(43.6)%

Depreciation

5.4

6.7

(19.4)%

Litigation settlement

(B)

4.0

Amortization of intangibles

11.4

11.3

0.9 %

Restructuring

6.7

2.3

Interest expense, net

9.3

8.9

4.5 %

Bargain purchase gain

(C)

(37.6)

- %

Other expense, net

3.1

0.4

Income tax benefit

(4.5)

(3.3)

36.4 %

Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP)

$21.6

$20.9

3.3 %

Adjusted EBITDA as a % of Net Sales

6.3 %

6.6 %

May 1, 2026 20

Disclaimer

ACCO Brands Corporation published this content on May 01, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 01, 2026 at 13:34 UTC.