Hillman Solutions reported first-quarter 2026 net sales of $370.1 million, up 3.0% from $359.3 million a year earlier.
The company posted a net loss of $4.7 million, compared with a loss of $0.3 million in the prior-year quarter. Loss per diluted share was $0.02, versus essentially breakeven a year ago. Adjusted diluted EPS fell to $0.07 from $0.10.
Adjusted EBITDA declined to $50.1 million from $54.5 million in the first quarter of 2025, a drop of $4.4 million. Operating cash flow swung to a use of $19.5 million from a use of $0.7 million a year earlier. Free cash flow was negative $34.3 million, compared with negative $21.3 million in the prior-year quarter.
Hillman ended the quarter with gross debt of $737.8 million, up from $693.1 million at the end of 2025. Net debt rose to $710.1 million from $665.8 million. Net debt to trailing-12-month adjusted EBITDA increased to 2.6x from 2.4x. Liquidity totaled $282.4 million, including $254.7 million available on its revolving credit facility and $27.7 million in cash and equivalents.
The company repurchased about 1.2 million shares during the quarter at an average price of $8.29, spending $10.1 million.
After quarter-end, Hillman closed two acquisitions: Campbell Chain & Fittings and Delaney Hardware. The company said those deals helped lift full-year 2026 net sales guidance to $1.63 billion to $1.73 billion, from a prior range of $1.60 billion to $1.70 billion. It left adjusted EBITDA guidance at $275 million to $285 million and free cash flow guidance at $100 million to $120 million. Today the company's shares have moved -1.34% to a price of $8.81. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
