Primo Brands Reports 2026 First Quarter Results

TAMPA, Fla. and STAMFORD, Conn., May 7, 2026 /CNW/ - Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB) ("Primo Brands" or the "Company") today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

"We delivered a strong start to 2026, with momentum building across the business," said Eric Foss, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "First quarter top-line results exceeded our expectations, driven by robust growth in Retail channels led by our premium brands and continued improvement in Direct Delivery.

"This performance and the trajectory across the business give us the confidence to raise our full-year organic Net Sales growth outlook.  At the same time, while we have multiple levers to help mitigate inflationary pressures, given the dynamic macro environment, we are widening our Adjusted EBITDA guidance range.

"As a leader in a structurally-advantaged category, with a consumer- and customer-first culture, we're investing to capitalize on the category momentum and the power of our brands. By elevating service and execution, we're positioned for sustained growth, margin expansion, stronger free cash flow, and long-term stakeholder value. We are excited about the opportunities ahead."      

FIRST QUARTER PERFORMANCE

• Net sales increased 0.8% to $1.63 billion compared to $1.61 billion primarily driven by an increase in sales attributable to our premium brands, partially offset by a decrease in sales attributable to the exited US Office Coffee Services ("OCS") business not recurring in the current year.
• Gross margin was 28.6% compared to 32.3%, primarily driven by increased transportation related costs, non-recurring integration related costs incurred in the current year, and increased depreciation and amortization.
• SG&A expenses were $336.7 million compared to $327.8 million and remained relatively consistent as a percentage of Net sales.
• Net income from continuing operations and net income per diluted share were $27.3 million and $0.07 per diluted share, respectively, compared to net income from continuing operations and net income per diluted share of $34.7 million and $0.09, respectively.
• Adjusted EBITDA decreased 10.4% to $306.0 million compared to $341.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 240 bps to 18.8%, compared to 21.2%.  

FIRST QUARTER CASH FLOW & LIQUIDITY  

• Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations of $103.8 million, less $118.1 million of capital expenditures and additions to intangible assets, resulted in $(14.3) million of free cash flow, or $128.6 million of Adjusted Free Cash Flow (adjusting for the items set forth on Exhibit 6), compared to net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations of $38.8 million and Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $54.7 million in the prior year period.
• Total debt, excluding unamortized debt costs and discounts, was $5.3 billion and unrestricted cash and cash equivalents totaled $287.9 million, each as of March 31, 2026, resulting in net debt of $5.0 billion and a net leverage ratio of 3.52x.
• Cash dividends of $44.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2026.
• Approximately $29.0 million, including brokerage commissions, for share repurchases under our share repurchase plan during the quarter ended March 31, 2026.

 2026 FULL YEAR FINANCIAL OUTLOOK

EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL 

Primo Brands will host a conference call to discuss these results on Thursday, May 7, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.  The company's supplemental earnings presentation is now available on the Events & Presentation section of Primo Brands investor relations website at ir.primobrands.com.  Details to access the earnings call and webcast are below.

North America: (888) 510-2154

International: (437) 900-0527

Conference ID: 73994

Webcast Link: https://app.webinar.net/JZ9lw3ZB5Yr

A slide presentation and live audio webcast will be available through Primo Brands' website at ir.primobrands.com.

Replay Information:

The earnings conference call will be recorded and archived for playback on the investor relations section of Primo Brands' website following the event.

ABOUT PRIMO BRANDS CORPORATION

Primo Brands is a leading North American branded beverage company focused on healthy hydration, delivering responsibly sourced diversified offerings across products, formats, channels, price points, and consumer occasions, distributed in every U.S. state and Canada. Primo Brands has a comprehensive portfolio of highly recognizable and conveniently packaged branded water and beverages that reach consumers whenever, wherever, and however they hydrate through distribution across retail outlets, away from home such as hotels and hospitals, and hospitality and food service accounts, as well as direct delivery to homes and businesses. These brands include established "billion-dollar brands" Poland Spring® and Pure Life®, premium brands like Saratoga® and The Mountain Valley®, leading regional spring water offerings such as Arrowhead®, Deer Park®, Ice Mountain®, Ozarka®, and Zephyrhills®, purified water brands including Primo Water® and Sparkletts®, and flavored and enhanced beverages like Splash Refresher™ and AC+ION®. Primo Brands also has an industry-leading line-up of innovative water dispensers, which create consumer connectivity through recurring water purchases. Primo Brands operates a vertically integrated coast-to-coast network that distributes its brands to more than 200,000 retail outlets, as well as directly reaching customers and consumers through its Direct Delivery, Exchange and Refill offerings. Through Direct Delivery, Primo Brands delivers responsibly sourced hydration solutions direct to home and business customers. Through its Exchange business, consumers can visit approximately 26,500 retail locations and purchase a pre-filled, multi-use bottle of water that can be exchanged after use for a discount on the next purchase. Through its Refill business, consumers have the option to refill empty multi-use bottles at over 23,500 self-service refill stations. Primo Brands also offers water filtration units for home and business customers across North America. Primo Brands is a leader in reusable beverage packaging, helping to reduce waste through its multi-serve bottles and innovative brand packaging portfolio, which includes recycled plastic, aluminum, and glass. Primo Brands has a portfolio of over 80 springs and actively manages water resources to help assure a steady supply of quality, safe drinking water today and in the future. Primo Brands also helps conserve over 28,000 acres of land across the U.S. and Canada. Primo Brands is proud to partner with the International Bottled Water Association ("IBWA") in North America, which supports strict adherence to safety, quality, sanitation, and regulatory standards for the benefit of consumer protection. Primo Brands is committed to supporting the communities it serves, investing in local and national programs and delivering hydration solutions following natural disasters and other local community challenges. Primo Brands employs more than 12,000 associates with dual headquarters in Tampa, Florida, and Stamford, Connecticut. For more information, please visit www.primobrands.com.

Non-GAAP Measures

To supplement its reporting of financial measures determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), Primo Brands utilizes certain non-GAAP financial measures. Primo Brands utilizes comparable net sales, which excludes the impact of the exited Eastern Canadian operations and exited US Office Coffee Services business. Primo Brands also utilizes Adjusted net income (loss), Adjusted net income (loss) per diluted share, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin to separate the impact of certain items from the underlying business. Because Primo Brands uses these adjusted financial results in the management of its business, management believes this supplemental information is useful to investors for their independent evaluation and understanding of Primo Brands' underlying business performance and the performance of its management. Primo Brands utilizes net debt and net leverage ratio.  Management uses net debt as an assessment of overall liquidity, financial flexibility, and leverage, and net leverage ratio as an indicator of the Company's ability to meet its future financial obligations. Additionally, Primo Brands supplements its reporting of net cash provided by (used in) operating activities from continuing operations determined in accordance with GAAP by excluding additions to property, plant and equipment and additions to intangible assets to present free cash flow, and by excluding the additional items identified on the exhibits hereto to present adjusted free cash flow.  Management believes these measures are useful to demonstrate the Company's ability to generate future cash flows from operations. The Company has revised its presentation of Comparable Net sales in order to exclude both the impact of the exited Eastern Canadian operations and exited US Office Coffee Services business. As a result of this change, the Company's 2025 Comparable Net sales as disclosed in this Press Release differs from the comparable metric disclosed in previous presentations. See Appendix for definitions of non-GAAP metrics.

The non-GAAP financial measures described above are in addition to, and not meant to be considered superior to, or a substitute for, Primo Brands' financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with the Company's results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, other companies may calculate these measures differently. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures included in this press release and the accompanying tables. In addition, the non-GAAP financial measures included in this earnings announcement reflect management's judgment of particular items, and may be different from, and therefore may not be comparable to, similarly titled measures reported by other companies. We have not reconciled our Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow guidance to GAAP net income or loss and cash flows from operations, respectively, because we do not provide guidance for such GAAP measures due to the uncertainty and potential variability of certain adjusting items, including stock-based compensation expense, acquired intangible assets and related amortization, income taxes, acquisition, integration and restructuring expenses, and unrealized (gain) loss on foreign exchange and commodity forwards. Because such items cannot be provided without unreasonable efforts, we are unable to provide a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure guidance to the corresponding GAAP measure. However, such items could have a significant impact on our future GAAP results.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 conveying management's expectations as to the future based on plans, estimates and projections at the time Primo Brands makes the statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and Primo Brands cautions you that several important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any such forward-looking statement. You can identify forward-looking statements by words such as "may," "will," "would," "should," "could," "expect," "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "predict," "project," "seek," "potential," "opportunities," and other similar expressions and the negatives of such expressions.  However, not all forward-looking statements contain these words.  The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future financial and operating trends and results (including Primo Brands' 2026 outlook and resiliency in 2026 and beyond), execution of the Company's strategy and Primo Brands' competitive position. The forward-looking statements are based on assumptions regarding management's current plans and estimates. Management believes these assumptions to be reasonable, but there is no assurance that they will prove to be accurate.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in this press release include, among others: our ability to manage our expanded operations following the business combination; we face significant competition in the segment in which we operate; our success depends, in part, on our intellectual property; we may not be able to consummate acquisitions, or acquisitions may be difficult to integrate, and we may not realize the expected benefits; our business is dependent on our ability to maintain access to our water sources; our ability to respond successfully to consumer trends related to our products; the loss or reduction in sales to any significant customer; our packaging supplies and other costs are subject to price increases; risks related to our common stock; the affiliates of One Rock Capital Partners, LLC own a significant amount of the voting power of the Company, and their interests may conflict with or differ from the interests of other stockholders; legislative and executive action risks; risks related to sustainability matters; costs to comply with developing laws and regulations, including those surrounding the production and use of plastics, as well as related litigation relating to plastics pollution; our products may not meet health and safety standards or could become contaminated, and we could be liable for injury, illness, or death caused by consumption of our products; risks related to litigation or legal proceedings; risks related to loss of controlled company status; risks related to uncertainties regarding the interpretation of tax laws and regulations; and risks associated with our substantial indebtedness.

The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Readers are urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures, including but not limited to risk factors contained in Primo Brands' Annual Report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as well as other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Primo Brands does not undertake to update or revise any of these statements considering new information or future events, except as expressly required by applicable law.  

Website: ir.primobrands.com

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