Helios Technologies Reports First Quarter 2026 Results that Exceeded Outlook with Sales Growth of 17% & Accelerated Earnings Growth Over the Prior Year

• Grew 1Q26 sales to $228 million, up 23% on a pro forma basis for the divestiture of Custom Fluidpower ("CFP") and foreign exchange (FX) impact; Electronics +29% and Hydraulics +19% pro forma and FX
• Expanded 1Q26 gross margin to 32.8% or 220 bps over prior year period driven by volume, segment mix, and cost efficiencies from in region production optimization
• Delivered 1Q26 diluted EPS of $0.59 up 168% and adjusted diluted EPS of $0.80, up 82% over prior year period
• Generated a first quarter record of $24 million in cash from operations and $17 million free cash flow
• Reduced net-debt-to-adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio to 1.6x, lowest since 1Q18, down from 2.7x in the prior-year period; Net debt of $284 million, lowest since 3Q20
• Enhanced return to shareholders with 33% increase in 1Q26 dividend; Reached over 29 years in a row of consistent cash dividend payments; Repurchased $4.6 million of Company's common stock in 1Q26
• Raising the 2026 outlook for sales and EPS; Initiating strong 2Q26 outlook with continued year-over-year improvements expected

Helios Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:HLIO) ("Helios" or the "Company"), a global leader in highly engineered motion control and electronic controls technology, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended April 4, 2026.

"We started 2026 with another strong quarter, extending the performance we built last year and reflecting the strength of our global team across all regions, along with disciplined execution in both business segments. I want to thank our colleagues around the world for delivering an outstanding start to the year. Notably, the Company delivered one of the highest sales quarters in its 56-year history, while Enovation Controls achieved a record quarter. These results reflect our accelerated pace of innovation and the go-to-market initiatives we have been advancing over the past year. Importantly, this performance was delivered against a backdrop of continued geopolitical volatility and limited recovery across our end markets," said Sean Bagan, President & Chief Executive Officer of Helios.

"As we look ahead, Helios is well positioned to build on this strong start to the year and advance The CORE Strategy and 2030 financial targets. Our focus remains on executing against our key priorities—converting our growing sales funnel into new business wins, institutionalizing innovation, and driving operational excellence across our global footprint. At the same time, we will maintain a strong value-creation mindset through thoughtful capital allocation. Supported by our customer-centric approach and expanding pipeline of innovative products, these actions position us to execute very well across a range of macro environments, as exemplified by our first quarter results," he concluded.

Raising Full Year 2026 and Establishing Second Quarter 2026 Outlook¹

Jeremy Evans, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, commented, "We have started the year with solid execution in the first quarter against our 2026 financial priorities. We grew sales 23% on a pro forma basis, expanded margins, and realized significant earnings per share accretion compared to the prior year. We continue returning capital to shareholders, highlighted by a 33% increase in our dividend and additional share repurchases. Due to our strong first quarter results, combined with improved visibility into the second quarter, we are raising the full year outlook for sales and earnings per share, reflecting expected year-over-year sales growth even at the bottom end of the range. This will be impressive performance considering the divestiture of CFP last year. We remain focused on operational execution and investing in high-return opportunities, positioning Helios for continued earnings growth and long-term value creation."

The following provides the Company's expectations for 2026 as of May 11, 2026. This assumes constant currency, based on ending first quarter 2026 foreign exchange rates.

Webcast

The Company will host a conference call and webcast tomorrow, Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to review its financial and operating results and discuss its outlook. A question-and-answer session will follow. The conference call can be accessed by calling (201) 689-8573. The audio webcast will be available at www.heliostechnologies.com.

A telephonic replay will be available from approximately 1:00 p.m. ET on the day of the call through Tuesday, May 26, 2026. To listen to the archived call, dial (412) 317-6671 and enter conference ID number 13759582. The webcast replay will be available in the investor relations section of the Company's website at www.heliostechnologies.com.

About Helios Technologies

Helios Technologies is a global leader in highly engineered motion control and electronic controls technology, providing premium products that ensure safety, reliability, and seamless connectivity to diverse end markets including agriculture, construction, data centers, energy, health and wellness, industrial, marine, material handling, and recreational vehicles. Helios sells its products to customers in over 80 countries around the world. Its strategy is to be a diversified, customer-centric global enterprise distinguished by innovation, operational speed, and a high-performance culture. The Company has paid a cash dividend to its shareholders every quarter since becoming a public company in 1997. For more information please visit: www.heliostechnologies.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains "forward‐looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward‐looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. They include statements regarding current expectations, estimates, forecasts, projections, our beliefs, and assumptions made by Helios Technologies, Inc. ("Helios," the "Company," "we," "us," or "our"), its directors or its officers about the Company and the industry in which it operates, and assumptions made by management, and include among other items, (i) the Company's strategies regarding growth, and improving margins, including its intention to develop new products and undertake acquisitions and divestitures; (ii) the effectiveness of creating the Centers of Excellence; (iii) its financial plans; (iv) trends affecting the Company's financial condition or results of operations; (v) the Company's ability to continue to control costs and to meet its liquidity and other financing needs; (vi) the Company's ability to declare and pay dividends; (vii) the Company's ability to respond to changes in customer demand domestically and internationally, including as a result of the cyclical nature of the business; and (viii) the Company's ability to mitigate the impacts of changes in trade policy on our business. In addition, we may make other written or oral statements, which constitute forward-looking statements, from time to time. Words such as "may," "expects," "projects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Similarly, statements that describe our future plans, objectives or goals also are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. All forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward‐looking statements include, but are not limited to, (i) the Company's ability to respond to global economic trends and changes in customer demand domestically and internationally, including as a result of standardization and the cyclical nature of our business, which can adversely affect the demand for capital goods; (ii) supply chain disruption and the potential inability to procure goods; (iii) conditions in the capital markets, including the interest rate environment and the continued availability of capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all (or hyperinflation); (iv) global and regional economic and political conditions, including trade policy, tariffs and other trade barriers, inflation, exchange rates, changes in the cost or availability of energy, transportation, the availability of other necessary supplies and services and recession; (v) changes in the competitive marketplace that could affect the Company's revenue and/or cost basis, such as increased competition, lack of qualified engineering, marketing, management or other personnel and increased labor and raw materials costs; (vi) risks related to health epidemics, pandemics and similar outbreaks, which may have material adverse effects on our business, financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows; (vii) risks related to our international operations, including the potential impact from the ongoing geopolitical conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; (viii) risks related to our recent management transitions; (ix) new product introductions, product sales mix and the geographic mix of sales nationally and internationally; and (x) stakeholders', including regulators', views regarding our environmental, social and governance goals and initiatives, and the impact of factors outside of our control on such goals and initiatives. Further information relating to additional factors that could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated is included but not limited to information under the heading Item 1. "Business" and Item 1A. "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2026, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 3, 2026, as well as any subsequent filings with the SEC.

Helios has presented Non-GAAP measures including adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted free cash flow, adjusted free cash flow conversion, sales in constant currency, and pro-forma sales. Helios believes that providing these specific Non-GAAP figures are important for investors and other readers of Helios financial statements, as they are used as analytical indicators by Helios management to better understand operating performance. The determination of the amounts that are excluded from these Non-GAAP measures is a matter of management judgment and depends upon, among other factors, the nature of the underlying expense or income recognized in a given period. You should not consider the inclusion of this additional information in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Please carefully review the Non-GAAP reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and the related additional information provided throughout. Because these metrics are Non-GAAP measures and are thus susceptible to varying calculations, these figures, as presented, may not be directly comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies.

This news release also presents forward-looking statements regarding Non-GAAP measures, including adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin and adjusted diluted earnings per share. The Company is unable to present a quantitative reconciliation of these forward-looking Non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures because such information is not available, and management cannot reliably predict the necessary components of such GAAP measures without unreasonable effort or expense. In addition, the Company believes that such reconciliations would imply a degree of precision that would be confusing or misleading to investors. The unavailable information could have a significant impact on the Company's 2026 financial results. These Non-GAAP financial measures are preliminary estimates and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among others, changes in connection with quarter-end and year-end adjustments. Any variation between the Company's actual results and preliminary financial data set forth above may be material.

Financial Tables Follow:

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Non-GAAP Forward-looking Financial Measures:

Adjusted operating income, adjusted operating margin, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, net debt-to-adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share, sales in constant currency and pro forma sales are not measures determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, commonly known as GAAP. Nevertheless, Helios believes that providing these specific Non-GAAP figures are important for investors and other readers of Helios financial statements, as they are used as analytical indicators by Helios management to better understand operating performance. These Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered a substitute for GAAP. Please carefully review the attached Non-GAAP reconciliations to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and the related additional information provided throughout. Because these metrics are Non-GAAP measures and are thus susceptible to varying calculations, these figures, as presented, may not be directly comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. The Company does not provide a reconciliation of forward-looking Non-GAAP financial measures, such as adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per diluted share disclosed above in our 2025 Outlook, to their comparable GAAP financial measures because it could not do so without unreasonable effort due to the unavailability of the information needed to calculate reconciling items and due to the variability, complexity and limited visibility of the adjusting items that would be excluded from the Non-GAAP financial measures in future periods.

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For more information, contact:



Tania Almond

Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communication

(941) 362-1333

tania.almond@HLIO.com



Deborah Pawlowski

Alliance Advisors IR

(716) 843-3908

dpawlowski@allianceadvisors.com