Brady Corporation

11/17/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/17/2025 06:18

Quarterly Report for Quarter Ending October 31, 2025 (Form 10-Q)

MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Brady Corporation is a global manufacturer and supplier of identification and direct part marking solutions, high-performance materials and workplace safety products that identify and protect premises, products and people. The Company is organized and managed on a geographic basis with two reportable segments: Americas & Asia and Europe & Australia. This regional operating structure allows the Company to further integrate its businesses, support continued growth through the application of the best go-to-market strategies in key geographies, facilitate new product development within recent acquisitions and further simplify and scale the global business.
Within each of the reportable segments, the Company markets, sells and distributes a broad range of identification and safety products and solutions across the following primary product categories:
•Safety and facility identification and protection, which includes safety signs, traffic signs and control products, floor-marking tape, pipe markers, labeling systems, spill control products, lockout/tagout devices, personal protection equipment, first aid products, and software and services for safety compliance auditing, procedures writing and training.
•Product identification, which includes materials, printing systems, radio frequency identification ("RFID") and barcode scanners for product identification, direct part marking, engraving equipment, brand protection labeling, work in process labeling, finished product identification, asset tracking labels, asset tags and industrial track and trace applications.
•Wire identification, which includes handheld printers, wire markers, sleeves, and tags.
•Healthcare identification, which includes wristbands, labels, printing systems, and other products used in hospital, laboratory, and other healthcare settings for tracking and improving the safety of patients.
•People identification, which includes name tags, badges, lanyards, rigid card printing systems, and access control software.
The ability to provide customers with a broad range of proprietary, customized and diverse products for use in various applications across multiple industries and geographies, along with a commitment to quality and service, have made Brady a leader in many of its markets. Brady's long-term sales growth and profitability will depend not only on the overall economic environment and our ability to successfully navigate changes in the macro environment, but also on our ability to develop and market innovative products, deliver a high level of customer service, advance our digital capabilities, and continuously improve the efficiency of our global operations. Our strategy for growth includes an increased focus on certain industries and products, streamlining our product offerings, expanding into higher growth end-markets, intensifying efforts to leverage our diverse product portfolio and synergies across our business, improving the overall customer experience, developing technologically advanced, innovative, and proprietary products, and improving our digital capabilities.
The following are key initiatives supporting our strategy in fiscal 2026:
•Investing in organic growth by enhancing our research and development process and utilizing customer feedback and observations to develop innovative new products that solve customer needs and improve environmental sustainability.
•Delivering a high-quality customer experience by aligning with customers' preferred communications channels and leveraging technology to strengthen engagement.
•Expanding and enhancing sales capabilities through an improved digital presence and the use of data-driven marketing automation tools.
•Maintaining profitability through pricing mechanisms to mitigate the impacts of ongoing supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures while ensuring prices remain competitive.
•Integrating recent acquisitions to enhance our strategic position and accelerate long-term sales growth.
•Advancing operational excellence by executing sustainable efficiency gains within our selling, general and administrative structures and within our global operations, including cost reduction initiatives, insourcing of critical products and manufacturing activities, and reducing the Company's environmental footprint.
•Continuing to build a high-performance culture, which rewards execution, fosters inclusion, and strengthens employee engagement, recruitment, and retention.
Macroeconomic Conditions and Trends
The Company's operations and financial performance are subject to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the global economic environment, including inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, and other macroeconomic challenges. These pressures may impact the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations as the global economic outlook remains uncertain.
The global trade environment remains complex and is rapidly evolving, driven by the imposition of tariffs on goods entering the U.S. and countermeasures from other nations. Our business has incurred, and expects to continue to incur, additional costs as it relates to these incremental tariffs and countermeasures for the foreseeable future. The Company has taken and will continue to take action to mitigate inflationary pressures caused by the incremental tariffs through a combination of targeted price increases and surcharges, strategic sourcing adjustments, product portfolio optimization, as well as our ongoing efforts to drive sustainable efficiency gains in our operations and administrative structures.
Notwithstanding the uncertain situation relating to tariffs, we believe our financial strength positions us well to continue investing in acquisitions and organic growth opportunities, such as expanded sales channels, marketing programs, and research and development ("R&D"). We remain focused on driving sustainable efficiency gains and automation across our operations and selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") functions, while also returning capital to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. At October 31, 2025, we had cash of $182.7 million, as well as a credit agreement with $182.0 million available for future borrowing, which can be increased to $1,077.0 million at the Company's option and subject to certain conditions, for total available liquidity of $1,259.7 million.
We believe that our financial resources and liquidity levels, including the undrawn portion of our credit agreement and our ability to increase that credit line as necessary, are sufficient to support the execution of our growth strategy and to manage the impact of economic or geopolitical events that could potentially reduce sales, net income, or cash provided by operating activities. Refer to Risk Factors, included in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2025, for further discussion of the possible impact of global economic or geopolitical events on our business.
Results of Operations
The comparability of the operating results for the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to the three months ended October 31, 2024, has been impacted by acquisitions of American Barcode and RFID Incorporated ("AB&R") on October 1, 2024, the Microfluidic Solutions business unit of Funai Electric Co., Ltd. ("Microfluidic Solutions") on April 1, 2025 and MECCO Partners LLC ("Mecco") on August 4, 2025. The operating results for each of the acquired companies has been included in the Americas & Asia reportable segment since their acquisition date.
A comparison of results of operating income for the three months ended October 31, 2025 and 2024 is as follows:
Three months ended October 31,
(Dollars in thousands) 2025 % Sales 2024 % Sales
Net sales $ 405,287 $ 377,065
Gross margin 208,832 51.5 % 189,689 50.3 %
Operating expenses:
Research and development 23,292 5.7 % 18,921 5.0 %
Selling, general and administrative 117,568 29.0 % 111,846 29.7 %
Total operating expenses 140,860 34.8 % 130,767 34.7 %
Operating income $ 67,972 16.8 % $ 58,922 15.6 %
References in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to "organic sales" refer to sales calculated in accordance with GAAP, excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, sales recorded from acquired companies prior to the first anniversary date of their acquisition, and sales recorded from divested companies up to the first anniversary of their divestiture. The Company's organic sales disclosures exclude the effects of foreign currency translation as foreign currency translation is subject to volatility that can obscure underlying business trends. Management believes that the non-GAAP financial measure of organic sales is meaningful to investors as it provides them with useful information to aid in identifying underlying sales trends in our businesses and facilitating comparisons of our sales performance with prior periods.
Net sales for the three months ended October 31, 2025 increased 7.5% to $405.3 million compared to $377.1 million in the same period in the prior year. The increase consisted of organic sales growth of 2.8%, sales growth from acquisitions of 3.2%, and a 1.5% increase from foreign translation. Organic sales grew 4.7% in the Americas & Asia segment, while organic sales declined 0.8% in the Europe & Australia segment compared to the same period in the prior year.
Gross margin increased 10.1% to $208.8 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $189.7 million in the same period in the prior year. As a percentage of net sales, gross margin increased to 51.5% in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to 50.3% in the same period in the prior year. The increase in gross margin as a percentage of net sales is primarily driven by the absence of a $4.1 million non-recurring fair value adjustment related to acquisition inventory recorded in the prior-year period, as well as by organic sales growth in higher gross margin product lines. These benefits were partially offset by incremental tariffs in the current three-month period.
R&D expenses increased 23.1% to $23.3 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $18.9 million in the same period in the prior year. As a percentage of net sales, R&D expenses increased to 5.7% in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to 5.0% in the same period in the prior year. The increase in R&D spending was primarily due to investments in microfluidic technologies and engraving systems associated with the acquisitions of Microfluidic Solutions and Mecco, and, to a lesser extent, an increase in R&D headcount within the Company's organic business. The Company remains committed to investing in innovative product development to drive long-term organic sales growth. Investments in new printing systems, pressure sensitive materials, engraving systems, microfluidic technologies, scanners and software remain the primary focus of R&D expenditures in fiscal 2026.
SG&A expenses include selling and administrative costs directly attributed to the Americas & Asia and Europe & Australia segments, as well as certain other corporate administrative expenses including finance, information technology, human resources and other administrative expenses. SG&A expenses increased 5.1% to $117.6 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $111.8 million in the same period in the prior year. As a percentage of net sales, SG&A decreased to 29.0% in the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to 29.7% in the same period in the prior year. The decrease in SG&A as a percentage of net sales is primarily due to cost reductions from reorganization activities completed in the prior fiscal year.
Operating income increased 15.4% to $68.0 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to $58.9 million in the same period in the prior year. The increase in operating income was due to organic sales growth in the Americas & Asia reportable segment, gross margin improvement across both reportable segments, and SG&A cost efficiencies in the Europe & Asia segment. Additionally, operating income for three months ended October 31, 2024 included non-recurring acquisition-related and other costs of $5.1 million.
OPERATING INCOME TO NET INCOME
Three months ended October 31,
(Dollars in thousands) 2025 % Sales 2024 % Sales
Operating income $ 67,972 16.8 % $ 58,922 15.6 %
Other income (expense):
Investment and other income 1,712 0.4 % 1,234 0.3 %
Interest expense (1,208) (0.3) % (1,356) (0.4) %
Income before income taxes 68,476 16.9 % 58,800 15.6 %
Income tax expense 14,540 3.6 % 12,017 3.2 %
Net income $ 53,936 13.3 % $ 46,783 12.4 %
Investment and other income was $1.7 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $1.2 million in the same period in the prior year. The change was primarily due to an increase in the market value of securities held in deferred compensation plans.
Interest expense decreased to $1.2 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $1.4 million in the same period in the prior year. The decrease in interest expense was primarily due to a decrease in the weighted average interest rate on outstanding borrowings on the Company's credit agreement during the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to the same period in the prior year.
The Company's income tax rate was 21.2% and 20.4% for the three months ended October 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
Business Segment Operating Results
The Company evaluates short-term segment performance based on segment profit and customer sales. Interest expense, investment and other income, income tax expense, and certain corporate administrative expenses are excluded when evaluating segment performance.
The following is a summary of segment information for the three months ended October 31, 2025 and 2024:
Three months ended October 31,
2025 2024
SALES GROWTH INFORMATION
Americas & Asia
Organic 4.7 % 5.1 %
Acquisitions 4.9 % 7.4 %
Currency - % (0.2) %
Divestiture - % (1.6) %
Total 9.6 % 10.7 %
Europe & Australia
Organic (0.8) % 0.7 %
Acquisitions - % 15.0 %
Currency 4.4 % 3.6 %
Total 3.6 % 19.3 %
Total Company
Organic 2.8 % 3.6 %
Acquisitions 3.2 % 9.9 %
Currency 1.5 % 1.2 %
Divestiture - % (1.1) %
Total 7.5 % 13.6 %
SEGMENT PROFIT
Americas & Asia $ 59,863 $ 54,900
Europe & Australia 18,732 13,114
Total $ 78,595 $ 68,014
SEGMENT PROFIT AS A PERCENT OF NET SALES
Americas & Asia 22.3 % 22.4 %
Europe & Australia 13.7 % 10.0 %
Total 19.4 % 18.0 %
Americas & Asia
Americas & Asia net sales increased 9.6% to $268.9 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $245.4 million in the same period in the prior year. The increase consisted of organic sales growth of 4.7% and sales growth from acquisitions of 4.9%.
Organic sales in the Americas increased in the mid-single digits in the three months ended October 31, 2025. Organic sales growth was driven by growth in the wire identification and product identification product lines, which was partially offset by an organic sales decline in the safety and facility identification product line.
Organic sales in Asia increased approximately 12% in the three months ended October 31, 2025. The organic sales increase in the three-month period was realized throughout Asia with continued growth from electronics manufacturing services providers, technology companies, and industrial suppliers across Japan, India, Malaysia and Singapore. Organic sales growth was primarily driven by growth in the product identification and safety and facility identification product lines.
Segment profit increased 9.0% to $59.9 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $54.9 million in the same period in the prior year. As a percentage of net sales, segment profit was essentially flat at 22.3% compared to 22.4% in the same period in the prior year. The increase in segment profit was primarily due to organic sales growth across the segment. Additionally, segment profit for the three months ended October 31, 2024 included acquisition-related costs and other purchase accounting adjustments. The decrease in segment profit as a percentage of sales was primarily driven by increased investments in R&D, and to a lesser extent, incremental tariffs in the current three-month period.
Europe & Australia
Europe & Australia net sales increased 3.6% to $136.4 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $131.6 million in the same period in the prior year. The increase reflected a 4.4% benefit from foreign currency translation, which was partially offset by an organic sales decline of 0.8%.
Organic sales in Europe declined in the low-single digits in the three months ended October 31, 2025. The organic sales decline during the three-month period was primarily driven by a decrease in the people identification and safety and facility identification product lines, which was partially offset by organic sales growth in the wire identification product line. The decline was driven by the Middle East, the United Kingdom and Germany, which was partially offset by growth in France.
Organic sales in Australia increased in the low-single digits in the three months ended October 31, 2025. Organic sales growth was primarily driven by growth in the wire identification product line.
Segment profit increased to $18.7 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to $13.1 million in the same period of the prior year. As a percentage of net sales, segment profit increased to 13.7% from 10.0% in the same period of the prior year. The increase in segment profit was primarily driven by a more efficient cost structure following reorganization activities completed in the prior fiscal year. Additionally, segment profit for the three months ended October 31, 2024 included acquisition-related costs and other purchase accounting adjustments.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company's cash balances are generated and held in numerous locations throughout the world. At October 31, 2025, approximately 99% of the Company's cash and cash equivalents were held outside the United States. The Company's organic and inorganic growth has historically been funded by a combination of cash provided by operating activities and debt financing. The Company believes that its cash flow from operating activities and its borrowing capacity are sufficient to fund its anticipated requirements for working capital, capital expenditures, research and development, common stock repurchases, and dividend payments for the next 12 months. Although the Company believes these sources of cash are currently sufficient to fund domestic operations, annual cash needs could require repatriation of cash to the U.S. from foreign jurisdictions, which may result in additional tax payments.
Cash Flows
Cash and cash equivalents were $182.7 million at October 31, 2025, a decrease of $8.3 million from July 31, 2025. The significant changes were as follows:
Three months ended October 31,
(Dollars in thousands) 2025 2024
Net cash flow provided by (used in):
Operating activities $ 33,356 $ 23,406
Investing activities (28,388) (147,901)
Financing activities 2,636 18,263
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 731 1,775
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $ 8,335 $ (104,457)
Net cash provided by operating activities was $33.4 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to $23.4 million in the same period of the prior year. The increase in cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to improved profitability from both reportable segments.
Net cash used in investing activities was $28.4 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025, primarily reflecting the acquisition of a business for $17.4 million and capital expenditures of $11.0 million. Net cash used in investing activities was $147.9 million in the three months ended October 31, 2024, primarily reflecting acquisition of businesses totaling $140.6 million and capital expenditures of $7.3 million.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $2.6 million in the three months ended October 31, 2025, compared to $18.3 million of net cash used in financing activities in the same period of the prior year. The change was primarily driven by lower net borrowings and, to a lesser extent, increased share repurchases during the three months ended October 31, 2025 compared to the same period in the prior year.
Material Cash Requirements
Our material cash requirements for known contractual obligations include capital expenditures, repayment of borrowings on our credit agreement and lease obligations. We believe that net cash provided by operating activities will continue to be adequate to meet our liquidity and capital needs for these items over the next 12 months and in the long-term beyond the next 12 months. We also have cash requirements for purchase orders and contracts for the purchase of inventory and other goods and services, which are based on current and anticipated customer needs and are fulfilled by our suppliers within short time horizons. We do not have significant agreements for the purchase of inventory or other goods or services specifying minimum
order quantities. In addition, we may have liabilities for uncertain tax positions, but we do not believe that the cash requirements to meet any of these liabilities will be material.
Credit Agreement
On August 1, 2019, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries entered into an unsecured $200 million multi-currency credit agreement with a group of five banks.
On November 14, 2022, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries entered into a second amendment to the credit agreement to, among other items, (a) increase the lending commitments by $100 million for total lending commitments of $300 million, (b) extend the final maturity date to November 14, 2027, (c) increase the interest rate on certain borrowings by 0.125%, and (d) increase the available amount under the credit agreement, at the Company's option and subject to certain conditions, from $300 million up to (i) an amount equal to the incremental borrowing necessary to bring the Company's consolidated net debt-to-EBITDA ratio as defined in the credit agreement to 2.5 to 1.0 plus (ii) $200 million.
On October 10, 2024, the Company and certain of its subsidiaries entered into a third amendment to the credit agreement to, among other items, change the applicable benchmark rate for borrowings denominated in Canadian Dollars under the credit agreement.
As of October 31, 2025, the outstanding balance on the Company's credit agreement was $115.9 million. The maximum amount outstanding on the credit agreement during the three months ended October 31, 2025 was $119.6 million. As of October 31, 2025, the U.S. dollar-denominated borrowings of $54.5 million bear interest at 5.0%; the Euro-denominated borrowings of €44.0 million bear interest at 2.8%; and the British Pound-denominated borrowings of £8.0 million bear interest at 4.8%. The Company had letters of credit outstanding under the credit agreement of $2.1 million as of October 31, 2025 and there was $182.0 million available for future borrowing, which can be increased to $1,077.0 million at the Company's option, subject to certain conditions. The credit agreement has a final maturity date of November 14, 2027. As such, borrowings were classified as long-term on the condensed consolidated balance sheets.
Covenant Compliance
The Company's credit agreement requires it to maintain certain financial covenants, including a ratio of debt to the trailing twelve months EBITDA, as defined in the debt agreements, of not more than a 3.5 to 1.0 ratio (leverage ratio) and the trailing twelve months EBITDA to interest expense of not less than a 3.0 to 1.0 ratio (interest expense coverage). As of October 31, 2025, the Company was in compliance with these financial covenants, with a ratio of debt to EBITDA, as defined by the agreements, equal to 0.4 to 1.0 and the interest expense coverage ratio equal to 70.8 to 1.0.
Forward-Looking Statements
In this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, statements that are not reported financial results or other historic information are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the Company's future financial position, business strategy, targets, projected sales, costs, income, capital expenditures, debt levels and cash flows, and plans and objectives of management for future operations.
The use of words such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "should," "project" or "plan" or similar terminology are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain and are subject to risks, assumptions, and other factors, some of which are beyond Brady's control, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For Brady, uncertainties arise from:
•Increased cost of raw materials, labor, material shortages and supply chain disruptions, including as a result of tariffs or other impacts of the global trade environment
•Decreased demand for the Company's products
•Ability to compete effectively or to successfully execute the Company's strategy
•Ability to develop technologically advanced products that meet customer demands
•Ability to identify, integrate, and grow acquired companies
•Difficulties in protecting websites, networks, and systems against security breaches and difficulties in preventing phishing attacks, social engineering or malicious break-ins
•Risks associated with the loss of key employees
•Litigation, including product liability claims
•Global climate change and environmental regulations
•Foreign currency fluctuations
•Changes in tax legislation and tax rates
•Potential write-offs of goodwill and other intangible assets
•Differing interests of voting and non-voting shareholders and changes in the regulatory and business environment around dual-class voting structures
•Numerous other matters of national, regional and global scale, including major public health crises and government responses thereto and those of a political, economic, business, competitive, and regulatory nature contained from time to time in Brady's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") filings, including, but not limited to, those factors listed in the "Risk Factors" section within Item 1A of Part I of Brady's Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2025.
These uncertainties may cause Brady's actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in its forward-looking statements. Brady does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements except as required by law.
Brady Corporation published this content on November 17, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Edgar on November 17, 2025 at 12:18 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]