SPAR Group (SGRP) Q2 2026 Earnings Call: EBITDA Rises 63%, Guidance Reset

SPAR Group (SGRP) returned to profitability in Q2 2026 as cost reductions and a shift toward recurring, higher-margin merchandising services offset weaker remodel activity.

Key Takeaways

• Q2 net revenue declined 4.5% year over year to $36.9 million, primarily due to lower remodel volume.
• GAAP net income attributable to SPAR Group was $409,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, marking the company’s first profitable quarter since Q1 2025.
• Adjusted EBITDA increased 63% year over year to $2.1 million, while adjusted net income rose to $838,000, or $0.04 per diluted share.
• Gross margin remained above 22% at 22.8%. Management sees a path toward approximately 25% over time as revenue mix, productivity and scale improve.
• SPAR revised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to $130 million-$138 million, reflecting lower expected remodel activity and continued emphasis on merchandising.
• The company began trading on the OTCQB under the ticker SGRP in late July following its Nasdaq delisting notice.

Core Financial Data

Business and Operating Performance

The core U.S. merchandising business and Canadian operations both generated sales growth during the quarter. Canada, which is largely merchandising-based, remained a strong contributor to SPAR’s North American platform.

Management said the overall revenue decline was entirely attributable to remodel activity. SPAR has reduced exposure to remodel markets and accounts where returns do not justify the working capital required. The company is instead prioritizing recurring merchandising programs that can support stronger margins and more durable revenue.

SPAR is also developing a scan-based trading proposition with ReposiTrak and using the retail technology company’s expertise to replatform its technology capabilities. Management expects these initiatives to improve scalability, inventory visibility and the company’s go-to-market offering.

Management Guidance

SPAR revised its full-year 2026 outlook to reflect lower remodel activity and continued growth efforts in merchandising:

Management said SG&A is trending toward the lower end of the 2026 range as the company approaches year-end and moves into 2027. After certain restructuring actions are fully annualized, SPAR expects its underlying annual SG&A run rate to move toward approximately $20 million.

Over the longer term, management believes gross margin can approach 25%, supported by a better revenue mix, maturing productivity initiatives and increased scale.

Risks and Areas to Watch

Lower remodel activity is reducing revenue despite improving profitability. The strategy also requires SPAR to balance margin quality against the working capital needed to support client programs.

Operating activities used $8.7 million of cash during Q2, which management attributed primarily to working-capital timing associated with growth in merchandising.

SPAR’s move from Nasdaq to the OTCQB could remain a focus for shareholders. Management said the company had limited grounds to appeal the delisting and viewed OTCQB as the next-best market given its size and compliance requirements.

Analyst Q&A Highlights

Management confirmed that the reduced revenue outlook reflects only lower remodel activity rather than lost merchandising business. Merchandising grew in both Q2 and the first half of 2026, while Canada also recorded growth.

Asked about the ReposiTrak agreement, management said SPAR is working with the retail technology company to replatform its systems and expects significant benefits from the initiative.

Regarding ongoing legal matters involving Robert Brown, management declined to provide details but said it does not believe the matter is material to SPAR’s operations.

Full Earnings Call Transcript

Complete Earnings Call Transcript

Management Remarks

Operator

Thank you. Good day and welcome to the SPAR Group second quarter, 2026 financial results conference call. [Operator Instructions]. Please note this event is being recorded.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Phillip Kupper from Three Part Advisors. Please go ahead.

Phillip Kupper

Thank you operator and good morning everyone we appreciate you joining us for SPAR group inc's conference call to review second quarter 2026 results.

Joining me on the call today are as far as Chief Executive Officer William Linnane; and the company's Chief Financial Officer, Steve Hennen. This call is also being webcast and can be accessed through the audio link on the events and presentation page of the investor relations section at investors.sparinc.com.

The information recorded on this call speaks only as of today, so please be advised that any time-sensitive information may no longer be accurate as of the date of any replay or transcript reading.

I would also like to remind you that the statements made on today's discussion that are not historical facts, including statements, expectations, future events or future financial performance are forward looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Forward looking statements by their nature are uncertain and outside of the company's control. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Please refer to today's earnings press release for our disclosures on forward looking statements. These factors and other risks and uncertainties are described in detail in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Management may also refer to non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliations to the nearest GAAP measures can be found at the end of our earnings release.

SPAR Group assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Additionally, the earnings press release we issued earlier today is posted on the investor relations section of our website at sparinc.com. A copy of the release was also included in an 8K submitted to the SEC.

Now I'd like to turn the call over to the company's CEO, William Linnane.

William Linnane

Thank you, Philip, and good morning. Thank you for your interest in SPAR Group and for joining us today. After our prepared remarks, we will open the line for questions. The second quarter represented an important milestone in SPAR's transformation.

We returned to profitability for the first time since the first quarter of 2025. We've also delivered more than 60% year-on-year growth in adjusted EBITDA and maintained gross margins above 22%. These results reflect the progress we've made over the last 12 months to simplify the business, strengthen operating discipline, improve the quality of our revenue, and focus on profitable growth.

While there was a revenue mix shift to higher margin business, which impacted overall growth in the quarter, we have focused our efforts on markets and accounts where we have the scale and expertise necessary to offer competitive rates to the customer and still earn a reasonable return on the investment.

We maintained operational discipline, supporting a stronger profitability program. We have continued to prioritize reoccurring merchandising programs over lower margin project work and the results are increasingly evident in both our earnings and cash generating potential. Importantly, the underlying health of the business continues to improve. Both our core U.S. merchandising business and our Canada operations generated sales growth in the quarter.

Canada remains a strong performer, underscoring the strength and resilience of our diversified North America platform. At the same time, our operational initiatives are gaining traction. Gross margins have stabilized in the low 20% range and remain towards the upper end of our guidance. We continue to believe there's a clear path towards achieving gross margins of approximately 25% over time as our revenue mix improves. Productivity initiatives mature and scale benefits increase.

We are also making significant progress in building a leaner, more efficient organization. Our actions over the last year have reduced complexity, improved execution, and positioned the business to drive greater operating leverage as we grow. We continue to expect our underlying SG&A run rate to trend towards approximately 20 million annually.

Looking ahead, I believe the business has been a fundamentally stronger position than it was a year ago. Our balance sheet has improved during the first half of the year. Our operations are delivering greater consistency and we have established a clear roadmap to enhance how SPAR executes, goes to market, leverages technology, and delivers financial performance.

Overall, we believe we're building a business with improving momentum, expanding operating leverage, and increasing visibility into long-term value creation. Finally, we began trading on the OTCQB in late July under the same ticker symbol. SGRP following the NASDAQ delisting notice. Notably, this does not change our strategy. Our focus remains on execution, operational improvement, and maintaining transparency.

I will discuss our strategic initiatives in a few moments after Steve covers our detailed financial results for Q2. Steve.

Steven Hennen

Thank you, William, and good morning, everyone. Second quarter 2026 net revenues totaled $36.9 million, down 4.5% year over year, primarily due to the lower volume in our remodel business. As William commented, we continue to shift the business to more recurring margin-enhancing merchandising services.

Gross profit for the second quarter was $8.4 million, or 22.8% of revenue, compared with $9.1 million or 23.5% of revenue in the prior year quarter. Higher stabilized gross margins were driven by the intentional shift towards merchandising work that combines people-centric expertise with technology-based tools.

Selling, General and Administrative expenses for the quarter were $6.8 million, which included $543,000 in non-recurring or one-time costs. This compared to $7.9 million in the prior year. As William mentioned, after we anniversary certain restructuring actions next year, our underlying SG&A-based costs will be approximately $20 million as we transform into a leaner, more efficient, and effective business model.

Operating income for the quarter was $1.2 million compared to operating income of $715,000 in the prior year. Second quarter GAAP net income attributable to SPAR Group was $409,000 or two cents per diluted share compared to break-even results in the prior quarter. Adjusted net income attributable to SPAR Group was $838,000 or $0.04 per diluted share compared to adjusted net income of $151,000 or $0.01 per diluted share in the prior year period.

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $2.1 million in the quarter, up 63% from 1.3 million in the prior year. We believe our net margins are durable and sustainable, especially as the merchandising business becomes a larger percent of our business wins.

Turning to our financial position as of June 30, 2026. Our balance sheet remains solid with positive working capital of $25.8 million, excluding the balance owed on the line of credit and the current portion of the long-term debt. This includes $2.9 million in cash and cash equivalents. Net cash used by operating activities was $8.7 million for the quarter, primarily reflecting working capital timing associated with growth in the merchandising business.

We are revising our full year 2026 financial outlook to reflect our continued focus on growing the merchandising side of the business and current expectations for lower remodel activity this year. While this impacts revenue expectations, it supports our objective in improving earnings quality, profitability, and long-term shareholder value. Net revenues in the range of $130 million to $138 million compared to 2025 net revenues of $136 million for the U.S. and Canada.

Gross margins of 21.5% to 23.5% versus 2025 gross margin of 15.9% for the U.S. and Canada. And Selling, general and Administrative costs, excluding unusual items of $21 million to $24 million versus 2025 of $32.2 million.

With that, I will turn it back to William.

William Linnane

Thanks, Steve. Our outcome-based model is gaining traction, and a key differentiator of that strategy is our ability to combine technology, data, and execution at scale. By pairing real-time insights with a flexible, accountable workforce, we help retailers improve inventory visibility, accelerate replenishment, and respond more effectively during peak periods and labor shortages, and ultimately improve in-store performance and sales.

This integrated approach strengthens client outcomes while creating durable, reoccurring revenue opportunities for SPAR. Based on that foundation, we have made meaningful progress with ReposiTrak in developing a compelling scan-based trading, or SBT, proposition that we believe can create significant value for retailers and consumer brands.

In parallel, we have begun replatforming our technology capabilities by leveraging ReposiTrak's deep retail technology expertise. Together, these initiatives are enhancing our go-to-market offering, improving scalability, strengthening our technology foundation, and further differentiating SPAR in the marketplace.

Looking ahead, we have greater visibility of the operating model and strategic priorities than at any point in the past. We are building a leaner, simpler organization with good financial footing. Our operations have stabilized and we have improved our profitability trajectory, expanding our service offering, modernized our technology and are driving sustainable long-term growth.

Finally, we believe that our associates are at the heart of everything we do. And we will continue to build a winning culture by investing in their training, their development, and their growth. While our return to profitability in the second quarter is encouraging, we view it as the beginning of a much larger opportunity. Over nearly six decades, BAR has helped retailers and brands to improve in-store execution and drive sales performance.

We believe we are well positioned to build on that legacy. We are building a stronger, more efficient and more capable SPAR, one that is better positioned to serve our clients, create opportunities for associates, and deliver long-term value for shareholders.

Steve and I would like to thank our employees for their dedication, passion, and relentless hope in serving our customers every day. Their commitment has been instrumental in stabilizing the business, advancing our transformation and delivering the improved financial performance we reported this quarter.

With that, operator, I would like to open the line for questions.

Operator

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from Guy Regal with Schneider. Please go ahead.

Question-and-Answer Session

Guy Regal

So I have a couple of questions here. What was the rationale for not trying to stay on the NASDAQ?

Steven Hennen

Given the size of the company and the compliance I think the OTCQB is a market that we can operate on, but ultimately the shareholders and we had limited grounds to appeal at that point. So we moved the company to the OTCQB as the next best market to be on.

Guy Regal

Okay. And I didn't get a chance to read it in the 10Q. Pretty big section regarding Robert Brown. Where do you stand with him?

Steven Hennen

Yes I don't want to comment on ongoing legal matters but we don't believe that it's material to the operation. And obviously we're focused on the business itself and it will resolve itself. But I don't want to really get into any other detail on that question.

Guy Regal

Okay. And then, you know, in terms of your lower revenue guidance, is it a function of your determining that -- was it just associated with the remodel business, or did you lose some merchandising business. Can you speak to that?

Steven Hennen

Yes, sure. Yes, the merchandising business was in growth in Q2 and in the first half and the Canada business, which is largely merchandising was in growth. So yes, it's purely a decline in the remodel business related to choices we've made around markets where we can really earn margins that make sense for us relative to the working capital we're tying up in some of the work we're doing. So we're quite focused on keeping that gross margin high as we get to a leaner organization to create the right operating leverage. So yes, the answer is it's purely remodel decline.

Guy Regal

Okay. And then can you explain the IT agreement that you have with ReposiTrak? I see you're paying them $151,500 a month. Why that agreement?

William Linnane

As you know, they're a retail tech company. So we're working with them on replatforming our technology. We think there's significant benefits to replatforming that technology.

Guy Regal

Okay. And my last question. Did you say that going forward, your annual SG&A costs will be a total of about $20 million?

William Linnane

Yes, we're trending towards that number. I think in the guidance, we said $21 million to $24 million for the fiscal year 2026, but we're trending towards the lower end of that as we approach the back end of the year into 2027.

Operator

This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to William Linnane for any closing remarks.

William Linnane

Thank you, and thank you for continuing to follow our company. I look forward to providing our Q3 results and updates on strategic initiatives in a few months. Have a great day. Thank you.

Operator

The conference has concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.