Carter’s, Inc. (NYSE:CRI), North America’s largest and most-enduring apparel company exclusively for babies and young children, today reported its first quarter fiscal 2026 results.

“We saw strong demand for our brands during the first quarter across each of our U.S. Retail, U.S. Wholesale and International channels,” said Richard F. Westenberger, interim Chief Executive Officer & President, Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer. “We posted strong results over the Easter holiday selling period which occurred earlier this year and our investments in marketing drove meaningful traffic increases in our U.S. Retail store and eCommerce businesses.

“Our profitability in the quarter was negatively affected by higher tariffs, investment spending and other inflationary cost pressures and higher interest costs. We expect the impact of these items to moderate as we move through the year and today we have reiterated our full year outlook for both sales and operating profit growth in 2026.

“As announced last week, we look forward to welcoming Sharon Price John as our new Chief Executive Officer next month. Sharon’s extensive industry experience, especially in the children’s space, and her demonstrated record of success position her well to lead the next chapter of Carter’s transformation and growth.”

Adjustments to Reported GAAP Results

In addition to the results presented in this earnings release in accordance with GAAP, the Company has provided adjusted, non-GAAP financial measurements, as presented below. The Company believes these adjustments provide a meaningful comparison of the Company’s results and afford investors a view of what management considers to be the Company’s underlying performance. These measures are presented for informational purposes only. See “Reconciliation of Adjusted Results to GAAP” section of this release for additional disclosures and reconciliations regarding these non-GAAP financial measures.

There were no adjustments in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. First quarter of fiscal 2025 results included pre-tax expenses of $6.1 million related to the retirement of the Company’s previous CEO and $3.2 million related to operating model improvement initiatives.

Consolidated Results

First Quarter of Fiscal 2026 compared to First Quarter of Fiscal 2025

Net sales increased $51.3 million, or 8.1%, to $681.1 million, compared to $629.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025, reflecting growth in each segment. Net sales in the U.S. Retail, International, and U.S. Wholesale segments grew 12.8%, 14.3%, and 0.5%, respectively. U.S. Retail comparable net sales increased 10.5%. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates used for translation had a favorable effect on consolidated net sales of approximately $5.6 million, or 0.9% in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Operating income increased $2.3 million, or 9.0%, to $28.4 million, compared to $26.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Operating margin increased to 4.2%, compared to 4.1% in the prior year period, reflecting higher pricing, favorable channel mix, partially offset by incremental tariff costs, inflationary pressure in store-related expenses, as well as the non-recurrence of costs related to leadership transition and operating model improvements in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Adjusted operating income (a non-GAAP measure) decreased $6.9 million, or 19.6%, to $28.4 million, compared to $35.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Adjusted operating margin decreased to 4.2%, compared to 5.6% in the prior year period, principally due to incremental tariff costs, inflationary pressure in store-related expenses, partially offset by higher pricing, favorable channel mix, and benefits from cost savings initiatives.

Net income decreased $1.2 million to $14.3 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, compared to $15.5 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Adjusted net income (a non-GAAP measure) decreased $9.4 million to $14.3 million, compared to $23.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. Adjusted earnings per diluted share (a non-GAAP measure) was $0.39, compared to $0.66 in the first quarter of fiscal 2025.

Net cash provided by operations in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 was $6.4 million, compared to net cash used in operation of $48.6 million in the prior year period. The improved operating cash flow was primarily driven by higher sell through of inventory during the period, lower days of supply, and the timing of interest payments on our senior notes.

See the “Reconciliation of Adjusted Results to GAAP” sections of this release for additional disclosures regarding non-GAAP measures.

Return of Capital

In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, the Company paid a cash dividend of $0.25 per common share totaling $9.2 million. No shares were repurchased in the first quarter.

Future declarations of quarterly dividends and the establishment of future record and payment dates will be at the discretion of the Company’s Board of Directors based on a number of factors, including business conditions, the Company’s future financial performance, investment priorities, and other considerations.

2026 Business Outlook

We do not reconcile forward-looking adjusted operating income or adjusted diluted earnings per share to their most directly comparable GAAP measures because we cannot predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of certain components of such reconciliations that are not within our control due to factors described above, or others that may arise, without unreasonable effort. For these reasons, we are unable to assess the probable significance of the unavailable information, which could materially impact the amount of future operating income or diluted EPS, the most directly comparable GAAP metrics to adjusted operating income and adjusted diluted earnings per share, respectively.

The Company’s outlook (and related assumptions) for the second quarter and full-year fiscal 2026 include an anticipated non-GAAP adjustment related to CEO transition costs of approximately $2 million to $3 million. If the Company were to receive refunds of previously paid tariffs, the Company intends to treat such refunds as non-GAAP adjustments in the appropriate period.

For fiscal year 2026 (a 52 week fiscal year), the Company projects approximately:

• Low single-digit to mid-single-digit percentage growth in net sales ($2.898 billion in fiscal 2025);
• Low single-digit to mid-single-digit percentage growth in adjusted operating income ($176 million in fiscal 2025);
• Low double-digit to mid-teens percentage decline in adjusted diluted earnings per share ($3.47 in fiscal 2025);
• Operating cash flow of $110 million to $120 million; and
• Capital expenditures of $55 million.

The Company's outlook for fiscal year 2026 assumes (comparisons vs. prior year unless otherwise noted):

• Earnings contributions weighted to the second half due to greater projected net impact of tariffs and investment spending in the first half relative to the second half;
• Lower gross margin rate, reflecting incremental tariff costs partially offset by higher pricing, other tariff mitigation actions, and productivity savings;
• Low-single digit increase in SG&A, reflecting organizational restructuring and store fleet rationalization savings offset by investments in demand creation, information technology, and other cost inflation across the business;
• Net interest expense of approximately $40 million, reflecting higher principal amount and coupon rate associated with the refinancing of its senior notes in Q4 2025;
• Effective tax rate of approximately 22%; and
• Average number of shares outstanding of approximately 36 million.

For the second quarter of fiscal 2026, the Company projects approximately:

• Low-single-digit percentage growth in net sales ($585 million in Q2 fiscal 2025);
• $11 million to $13 million in adjusted operating income ($12 million in Q2 fiscal 2025); and
• $0.02 to $0.06 in adjusted diluted earnings per share ($0.17 in Q2 fiscal 2025).

The Company's outlook for second quarter fiscal 2026 assumes (comparisons vs. prior year unless otherwise noted):

• Earlier Easter holiday (2026 vs 2025);
• Lower gross margin rate, reflecting higher net incremental tariff costs, partially offset by higher planned pricing, supply chain mitigation actions, and productivity improvements;
• Low single-digit increase in SG&A, reflecting organizational restructuring savings offset by investments in demand creation and other cost inflation across the business;
• Net interest expense of approximately $10 million, reflecting higher principal amount and coupon rate associated with the refinancing of its senior notes in Q4 2025;
• Average number of shares outstanding of approximately 36 million.

Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call with investors to discuss first quarter fiscal 2026 results and its business outlook on May 6, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. To listen to a live webcast and view the accompanying presentation materials, please visit ir.carters.com and select links for “News & Events” followed by “Events.” To access the call by phone, please preregister on https://register-conf.media-server.com/register/BI8f3f9f0c26574d83b41c9aff8fe5b51e to receive your dial-in number and unique passcode.

A webcast replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call at ir.carters.com.