A global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of safety equipment and other related products for the law enforcement, first responder, military and nuclear markets, announced today its consolidated operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2026.
- Net sales of $155.4 million for the first quarter
- Gross profit margin of 38.7% for the first quarter
- Net income of $2.0 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the first quarter
- Adjusted EBITDA of $21.1 million for the first quarter
- Adjusted EBITDA margin of 13.6% for the first quarter
- Declared quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share in April 2026.
“Following a year of meaningful financial and strategic progress, we began 2026 with significant momentum and delivered another quarter of strong performance,” said Warren Kanders, CEO and Chairman. “Our orders backlog ended the first quarter at $355 million, a record for Cadre, up $166 million from the start of the year, driven largely by the blast attenuation seat contract award and the TYR acquisition, as well as strong demand in duty gear and armor. The substantial backlog growth represents an important forward indicator and gives us confidence in our outlook as we progress through the remainder of 2026. Overall, we continue to see strong and recurring demand for our suite of leading, mission-critical safety products, and today’s environment of heightened geopolitical tension and increased defense spending, reinforces our belief in Cadre’s growth trajectory.”
Mr. Kanders added, “Since January 2024, Cadre has deployed over $400 million in targeted M&A, including our latest acquisition of Alien Gear Holsters, a recognized brand with an established direct-to-consumer presence. We continue to strengthen our diversified platform of durable safety businesses and remain well positioned to capitalize on attractive growth opportunities ahead, supported by a robust acquisition pipeline and significant financial flexibility. Looking forward, we are focused on further embedding the Cadre Operating Model across our full portfolio with its principles of lean operations, continuous improvement, and leadership accountability driving value as we scale.”
First Quarter 2026 Operating Results
For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, Cadre generated net sales of $155.4 million, as compared to $130.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, primarily as a result of recent acquisitions, partially offset by timing-related order fluctuations and lower demand for existing nuclear safety products and lower agency demand for hard goods in the Distribution segment.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2026, Cadre generated gross profit of $60.2 million, as compared to $56.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025.
Gross profit margin was 38.7% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, as compared to 43.1% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, mainly driven by an increase in inventory step-up amortization and unfavorable product mix, partially offset by favorable pricing, net of material inflation.
Net income was $2.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, as compared to net income of $9.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, primarily as a result of increases in compensation expense, interest expense, transaction expense and related party expense, partially offset by increased gross profit.
Cadre generated $21.1 million of Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, as compared to $20.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 13.6% for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, as compared to 15.8% for the prior year period.
Product segment gross profit margin was 39.9% for the first quarter, compared to 44.4% for the prior year period.
Distribution segment gross profit margin was 19.7% for the first quarter, compared to 21.6% for the prior year period.
Liquidity, Cash Flows and Capital Allocation
- Cash and cash equivalents decreased by $81.6 million from $122.9 million as of December 31, 2025 to $41.3 million as of March 31, 2026.
- Total debt increased by $58.5 million from $307.3 million as of December 31, 2025 to $365.8 million as of March 31, 2026.
- Net debt (total debt net of cash and cash equivalents) increased by $140.2 million from $184.4 million as of December 31, 2025 to $324.6 million as of March 31, 2026.
- Capital expenditures totaled $3.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2026, compared with $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2025.
Acquisition of Alien Gear Holsters
On April 7, 2026, Cadre completed its acquisition of Alien Gear Holsters and certain assets from Tedder Industries, LLC, through a court-supervised bankruptcy auction. Alien Gear Holsters is a leading manufacturer of proprietary holsters and gear for the consumer, law enforcement, military, and security markets.
GDELS Contract Award
On March 10, 2026, Cadre announced that its subsidiary Med-Eng, LLC had been awarded two contracts totaling $86.4 million by General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) to provide blast attenuation seats. The seats will be deployed in the upcoming production of Mowag EAGLE V 4×4 command and control vehicles, and the Mowag EAGLE V 6×6 medium protected ambulance military vehicles. Production is expected to start this year with smaller deliveries occurring in 2026 with full scale deliveries occurring in 2027.
Acquisition of TYR Tactical
On January 30, 2026, Cadre completed its acquisition of TYR Tactical, LLC, a leading global manufacturer of tactical gear and equipment for military, law enforcement, and government agencies worldwide.
Dividend
On April 21, 2026, the Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share, or $0.40 per share on an annualized basis. Cadre’s dividend payment will be made on May 15, 2026 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on the record date of May 1, 2026. The declaration of any future dividend is subject to the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors.
2026 Outlook
For the full year 2026, Cadre expects to generate net sales in the range of $736 million to $758 million and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $136 million and $141 million. We expect capital expenditures to be in the range of $10 million to $14 million. Cadre has not provided net income guidance due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting certain types of expenses and gains, which affect net income but not adjusted EBITDA. Therefore, we do not provide a reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA guidance to net income guidance.
Conference Call
Management will host a conference call on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. EST to discuss the latest corporate developments and financial results. The dial-in number for callers in the US is (800)-715-9871 and the dial-in number for international callers is 646-307-1963. The access code for all callers is 9511718. A live webcast will also be available on the Company’s website at https://www.cadre-holdings.com/.
A replay of the call will be available through May 26, 2026. To access the replay, please dial 800-770-2030 in the U.S. or +1-609-800-9909 if outside the U.S., and then enter the access code 9511718.
About Cadre
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Cadre is a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of safety products. Cadre’s equipment provides critical protection to allow users to safely and securely perform their duties and protect those around them in hazardous or life-threatening situations. The Company’s core products include body armor, explosive ordnance disposal equipment, duty gear and nuclear safety products. Our highly engineered products are utilized in over 100 countries by federal, state and local law enforcement, fire and rescue professionals, explosive ordnance disposal teams, and emergency medical technicians. Our key brands include Safariland® and Med-Eng®, amongst others.
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
The Company reports its financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). The press release contains the non-GAAP measures: (i) earnings before interest, taxes, other income or expense, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), (ii) adjusted EBITDA and (iii) adjusted EBITDA margin. The Company believes the presentation of these non-GAAP measures provides useful information for the understanding of its ongoing operations and enables investors to focus on period- over-period operating performance, and thereby enhances the user’s overall understanding of the Company’s current financial performance relative to past performance and provides, along with the nearest GAAP measures, a baseline for modeling future earnings expectations. Non-GAAP measures are reconciled to comparable GAAP financial measures within this press release. We do not provide a reconciliation of the non-GAAP guidance measure adjusted EBITDA for the fiscal year 2026 to net income for the fiscal year 2026, the most comparable GAAP financial measure, due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting certain types of expenses and gains, without unreasonable effort, which affect net income but not adjusted EBITDA. The Company cautions that non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, the Company’s reported GAAP results. Additionally, the Company notes that there can be no assurance that the above referenced non-GAAP financial measures are comparable to similarly titled financial measures used by other publicly traded companies.
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