fiscal 2027 first quarter
Filed Sep 2, 2026Fiscal 2027 first-quarter sales rose 7.1% to $234.6 million, while diluted EPS rose 21.2% to $0.40 and operating margin was 10.6%.
Sales, operating income, net income, EPS, operating cash flow, and free cash flow increased year over year despite a 13-week quarter compared with a 14-week prior-year quarter. Orders declined 19.6%, while backlog remained above $300 million for the sixth consecutive quarter.
Key metrics
as reported| Metric | Value | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net salesGAAP | $ 234,565 | – | 7.1 % |
| Cost of salesGAAP | 162,966 | – | – |
| Gross profitGAAP | 71,599 | – | – |
| Gross profit marginGAAP | 30.5 percent | – | – |
| Selling expenseGAAP | 18,990 | – | – |
| General and administrative expenseGAAP | 15,559 | – | – |
| Product design and development expenseGAAP | 12,114 | – | – |
| Operating expensesGAAP | 46,663 | – | – |
| Operating incomeGAAP | 24,936 | – | 7.2% |
| Operating marginGAAP | 10.6 percent | – | – |
| Interest income (expense), netGAAP | 1,134 | – | – |
| Other expense, netGAAP | (403) | – | – |
| Income before income taxesGAAP | 25,667 | – | – |
| Income tax expenseGAAP | 6,237 | – | – |
| Effective tax rateGAAP | 24.3 percent | – | – |
| Net incomeGAAP | $ 19,430 | – | – |
| Basic earnings per shareGAAP | $ 0.40 | – | – |
| Diluted earnings per shareGAAP | $ 0.40 | – | 21.2% |
| Weighted average shares outstanding, basicGAAP | 48,185 | – | – |
| Weighted average shares outstanding, dilutedGAAP | 48,901 | – | – |
| Ordersother | $ 191,799 | – | (19.6) % |
| Product backlogother | $311.3 million | – | – |
| Net cash provided by operating activitiesGAAP | $ 31,433 | – | – |
| Purchases of property and equipmentGAAP | (4,128) | – | – |
| Net cash used in investing activitiesGAAP | (3,909) | – | – |
| Payments for common shares repurchasedGAAP | (4,410) | – | – |
| Net cash used in financing activitiesGAAP | (4,500) | – | – |
| Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cashGAAP | 22,946 | – | – |
| Free cash flownon-GAAP | $ 27,524 | – | – |
| EBITDAnon-GAAP | $ 29,618 | – | – |
| Cash and cash equivalentsGAAP | $ 154,585 | – | – |
| Accounts receivable, netGAAP | 154,700 | – | – |
| InventoriesGAAP | 117,517 | – | – |
| Contract assetsGAAP | 51,608 | – | – |
| Total current assetsGAAP | 500,776 | – | – |
| Property and equipment, netGAAP | 64,292 | – | – |
| Total assetsGAAP | $ 607,380 | – | – |
| Current portion of long-term debtGAAP | $ 1,150 | – | – |
| Long-term debt, netGAAP | $ 9,355 | – | – |
| Total current liabilitiesGAAP | 230,778 | – | – |
| Total long-term liabilitiesGAAP | 58,974 | – | – |
| Total stockholders' equityGAAP | 317,628 | – | – |
| Working capital ratioother | 2.2 to 1 | – | – |
| Term DebtGAAP | $ 10,637 | – | – |
| Long-term debt, grossGAAP | 10,637 | – | – |
Segments
| Segment | Revenue | q/q | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| CommercialNet sales declined compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2026. | $ 43,703 | – | (5.3) % |
| Live EventsStrong net sales led the increase in consolidated net sales. | 86,398 | – | 8.3 |
| High School Park and RecreationNet sales declined compared with the first quarter of fiscal 2026. | 54,711 | – | (7.8) |
| TransportationStrong net sales led the increase in consolidated net sales. | 21,378 | – | 29.0 |
| InternationalStrong net sales led the increase in consolidated net sales. | 28,375 | – | 66.1 |
fiscal 2028 targets outlook
- Revenue7-10% revenue CAGR
- Note10-12% operating margin
- Note17-20% ROIC
Capital returns
- The Company repurchased 225.5 thousand shares of common stock in the first three months of fiscal 2027 at the volume-weighted average price of $19.56, equaling $4.4 million of share repurchases.
- Share repurchases were executed under the $40 million share repurchase authority approved by the Board of Directors in June 2026.
What drove it
- Net sales growth was led by strong net sales in the Transportation, Live Events, and International business units.
- Gross profit margin included the receipt of tariff refunds in the first quarter, partially offset by higher memory and other price-sensitive input costs.
- Manufacturing and supply-chain initiatives included the ramp-up of manufacturing operations in Mexico, procurement optimization efforts, automation investments, and lean simplification initiatives.
- The Company continued targeted vertical market expansion initiatives and investments in software and service offerings intended to support recurring revenue growth.
Concerns
- The first quarter of fiscal 2027 had 13 weeks of operating results compared with 14 weeks in the prior-year first quarter.
- Orders were $191.8 million compared to $238.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
- Operating expenses included $0.8 million associated with the acquired XDC display business and microLED development activities, $0.7 million in consulting expenses, and a $2.0 million commission on a large International project.
- Higher memory and other price-sensitive input costs partially offset the gross-margin benefit from tariff refunds.
What to watch
- Booking of a few substantial transactions negotiated in Q1 that are expected to book in Q2 as final purchase orders are received.
- Whether product backlog remains above $300 million after the sixth consecutive quarter-end above that level.
- Execution of Mexico manufacturing ramp-up, procurement optimization, automation investments, and lean simplification initiatives.
- Progress toward fiscal 2028 targets of 7-10% revenue CAGR, 10-12% operating margin, and 17-20% ROIC.
Balance sheet and cash flow
- Cash and cash equivalents totaled $154.6 million at August 1, 2026.
- $10.5 million of total current and long-term debt was outstanding as of August 1, 2026.
- Accounts receivable as of August 1, 2026 was $154.7 million compared to $118.6 million at the end of fiscal 2026.
- The Company generated $31.4 million of cash from operations and used $4.1 million for purchases of property and equipment in the first three months of fiscal 2027.
- There were no advances under the loan portion of the $71.5 million senior credit facility, and the balance of letters of credit outstanding was $1.9 million as of August 1, 2026.
Analysis
Daktronics reported fiscal 2027 first-quarter net sales of $234.6 million, up 7.1% from $219.0 million, despite the reported period containing 13 weeks versus 14 weeks a year earlier. Growth was led by Transportation, Live Events, and International. International net sales rose 66.1%, Transportation rose 29.0%, and Live Events rose 8.3%, while Commercial and High School Park and Recreation declined 5.3% and 7.8%, respectively.
Gross profit was $71.6 million and gross profit margin was 30.5%, compared with 29.7% a year earlier. The company attributed the margin improvement partly to tariff refunds, offset in part by higher memory and other price-sensitive input costs. Operating income rose to $24.9 million from $23.3 million, while operating margin was 10.6% in both periods. Operating expenses were $46.7 million, including XDC and microLED development costs, operational-excellence consulting costs, and a commission on a large International project.
Net income was $19.4 million compared with $16.5 million, and diluted EPS was $0.40 compared with $0.33. Operating cash flow was $31.4 million and free cash flow was $27.5 million, compared with $26.1 million and $22.0 million, respectively. Cash and cash equivalents were $154.6 million at quarter end, while total current and long-term debt outstanding was $10.5 million. The company repurchased $4.4 million of common stock during the period.
Demand indicators were mixed. Orders declined 19.6% to $191.8 million, with Live Events orders declining 48.8%, although management said the quarter excluded a few substantial transactions negotiated in Q1 that are expected to book in Q2. Product backlog was $311.3 million, above $300 million for the sixth consecutive quarter but below the $360.3 million reported at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The company reiterated fiscal 2028 targets of 7-10% revenue CAGR, 10-12% operating margin, and 17-20% ROIC.
Management, verbatim
Fiscal 2027 began on a strong note as we continued to drive momentum in sales, operating income, and EPS, maintaining our focus on executing the growth and operational excellence initiatives laid out in our long-term plan.
Ramesh Jayaraman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Top line growth was solid again this quarter, with net sales increasing 7.1 percent compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2026, despite one less week this quarter.
Howard Atkins, Acting Chief Financial Officer
Supported by the execution of our strategic initiatives, our pipeline remains robust. At the same time, our operational improvements are making us leaner and smarter every quarter.
Ramesh Jayaraman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Not in the filing
stated, not guessed- Quarterly revenue guidance was not provided.
- Quarterly gross-margin guidance was not provided.
- Quarterly operating-expense guidance was not provided.
- Quarterly tax-rate guidance was not provided.
- Dividend information was not provided.
- Prior-quarter comparisons for income-statement, cash-flow, orders, backlog, and segment metrics were not provided.
- A prior earnings-release outlook was not provided, so reported results cannot be compared with prior guidance.
AlphAI analysis generated from the company’s SEC earnings filing (Form 8-K Item 2.02, or Form 6-K for a foreign private issuer). Every figure was cross-checked against the filing text; consensus estimates, price targets and share-price reactions are not shown because they are not in the filing. AI-generated research, not investment advice.