Snowfall and Municipal Driven Demand Combined With Strong Execution
Produced Record First Quarter Results
First Quarter 2026 Highlights*:
- Net Sales increased 20% to a record $137.8 million
- Net Income rose substantially to $6.4 million, with $0.26 of diluted EPS
- Adjusted EBITDA increased 78% to a record $16.8 million
- Record adjusted diluted EPS of $0.36
- Increasing 2026 outlook based on strength of 1Q results
*All comparisons are to first quarter 2025 financials
MILWAUKEE, May 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Douglas Dynamics, Inc. (NYSE: PLOW), North America’s premier manufacturer and upfitter of work truck attachments and equipment, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026. Unless otherwise stated, all comparisons made in this document are between the first quarters of 2026 and 2025.
Mark Van Genderen, President & CEO, stated, “The strength of our first-quarter results reflects increased snowfall driven demand, disciplined execution, and continued progress against our strategic priorities. Our performance is particularly positive in light of year over year comparison to the robust first quarter of 2025. These results establish a strong foundation for the year, and we remain focused on pursuing our strategic objectives amid an evolving macroeconomic backdrop. I want to thank our teams for their ongoing dedication as we work to address the heightened demand across many areas of our business.”
Consolidated First Quarter 2026 Results
$ in millions(except Margins & EPS)Q1 2026Q1 2025Net Sales$137.8$115.1Gross Profit Margin27.4%24.5% Income from Operations$9.9$3.2Net Income$6.4$0.1Diluted EPS$0.26($0.00)
Adjusted EBITDA$16.8$9.4Adjusted EBITDA Margin12.2%8.2%Adjusted Net Income$8.6$2.2Adjusted Diluted EPS$0.36$0.09
- Net Sales increased 20% to a record $137.8 million based on record sales of parts and accessories at Work Truck Attachments, and higher municipal volumes, which offset lower commercial volumes at Work Truck Solutions.
- Gross Margin increased 290-basis points to 27.4%, based on higher volumes at Work Truck Attachments and strong execution in both segments.
- Net Income improved substantially to $6.4 million, with $0.26 of diluted EPS.
- Adjusted EBITDA increased 78% to a record $16.8 million, which drove a 400-basis point increase in margin to 12.2%, and record adjusted diluted EPS of $0.36.
Work Truck Attachments Segment First Quarter 2026 Results
$ in millions(except Adjusted EBITDA Margin)Q1 2026Q1 2025Net Sales$60.9$36.5Adjusted EBITDA$7.7$0.3Adjusted EBITDA Margin12.6%0.9%
- Net Sales increased 67% to a record $60.9 million, driven by strong snow and ice product demand, plus a full quarter of sales from Venco Venturo, which was acquired in November 2025.
- Adjusted EBITDA increased materially to $7.7 million.
- Above average snowfall across core markets in the Northeast and Midwest during the first quarter led to a surge in demand. Dedicated execution from our team delivered record shipments of parts and accessories.
Van Genderen explained, “Our core markets experienced the heaviest snowfall in a decade this past winter, with snowfall totals approximately 25% above the 10-year average. The snowfall-driven strength of parts and accessories sales carried into the first quarter, and we are now focused on ensuring that the pre-season orders we’re currently taking for all our products are efficiently delivered to dealers in the second and third quarters of this year.”
Work Truck Solutions Segment First Quarter 2026 Results
$ in millions(except Adjusted EBITDA Margin)Q1 2026Q1 2025Net Sales$76.9$78.6Adjusted EBITDA$9.1$9.1Adjusted EBITDA Margin11.9%11.6%
- Net Sales decreased slightly to $76.9 million, with Adjusted EBITDA increasing slightly to $9.1 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to a record 11.9%.
Van Genderen stated, “Our municipal operations continue to deliver solid performance, allowing the Solutions segment to produce record bottom line results again this quarter, coupled with near record Net Sales. This impressive achievement offset slightly softer demand in certain commercial business segments.”
Dividend & Liquidity
- Returned approximately $10.1 million of cash to shareholders through the payment of a quarterly cash dividend of $0.295 per diluted share, and the repurchase of approximately 70,000 shares of company stock.
- Net cash used in operating activities of $1.0 million was in line with the prior year, primarily due to improved earnings offset by working capital changes within the quarter.
2026 Outlook
Sarah Lauber, Executive Vice President and CFO, noted, “The business trends we experienced in 2025 largely carried over into the first quarter of 2026, helping to drive record results. Winter weather supported increased demand at Attachments, particularly for parts and accessories. Despite a challenging comparison against last year’s record financials, the Solutions segment delivered excellent overall results again. Looking forward, we expect moderation on the commercial side due to economic uncertainty and continued positive momentum in our municipal operations.”
Lauber continued, “Taking these factors into account, we are raising our strong guidance ranges for the year. This momentum reinforces our belief in the power of our market leading brands and our 2026 growth trajectory, driving our ability to deliver long-term value for stakeholders.”
2026 Outlook Ranges* OriginalUpdatedLowHighLowHighNet Sales$710$760$750$795Adjusted EBITDA$100$120$110$125Adjusted Diluted EPS$2.25$2.85$2.55$3.05Effective tax rate24%25%24%25%*In millions, except per share, and tax rate dataThe 2026 outlook assumes relatively stable economic and supply chain conditions, that pre-season orders are expected to be shipped approximately equally between the second and third quarters, and that core markets will experience average snowfall in the fourth quarter of 2026.
With respect to the Company’s 2026 financial outlook, the Company is not able to provide a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP because it does not provide specific guidance for the various extraordinary, nonrecurring, or unusual charges and other certain items. These items have not yet occurred, are out of the Company’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. As a result, reconciliation of the non-GAAP guidance measures to GAAP is not available without unreasonable effort and the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.
Earnings Conference Call Information
The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 a.m. Central Time). To join the conference call, please dial 1-833-634-5024 domestically, or 1-412-902-4205 internationally.
The call will also be available via the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.douglasdynamics.com. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, replays will be available for one week following the call.
About Douglas Dynamics
Home to the most trusted brands in the industry, Douglas Dynamics is North America’s premier manufacturer and up-fitter of commercial work truck attachments and equipment. For more than 75 years, the Company has been innovating products that not only enable people to perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively, but also enable businesses to increase profitability. Through its proprietary Douglas Dynamics Management System (DDMS), the Company is committed to continuous improvement aimed at consistently producing the highest quality products, at industry-leading levels of service and delivery that ultimately drive shareholder value. The Douglas Dynamics portfolio of products and services is separated into two segments: First, the Work Truck Attachments segment, which includes commercial snow and ice control equipment sold under the FISHER®, SNOWEX® and WESTERN® brands, and truck mounted cranes and dump hoists sold under the VENCO VENTURO brands. Second, the Work Truck Solutions segment, which includes the up-fit of market leading attachments and storage solutions under the HENDERSON® brand, and the DEJANA® brand and its related sub-brands.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release contains financial information calculated other than in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). The non-GAAP measures used in this press release are Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings Per Share (EPS), and Free Cash Flow. The Company believes that these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors and other external users of its consolidated financial statements in evaluating the Company’s operating performance as compared to that of other companies. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures can be found immediately following the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows included in this press release.
Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, as further adjusted for certain charges consisting of unrelated legal and consulting fees, stock-based compensation, severance, restructuring charges, acquisition costs, inventory step up related to Venco Venturo, CEO transition costs, debt modification expense, and loss on extinguishment of debt. The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA in evaluating the Company’s operating performance because it provides the Company and its investors with additional tools to compare its operating performance on a consistent basis by removing the impact of certain items that management believes do not directly reflect the Company’s core operations. The Company’s management also uses Adjusted EBITDA for planning purposes, including the preparation of its annual operating budget and financial projections, and to evaluate the Company’s ability to make certain payments, including dividends, in compliance with its senior credit facilities, which is determined based on a calculation of “Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA” that is substantially similar to Adjusted EBITDA.
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings Per Share (calculated on a diluted basis) represents net income and earnings per share (as defined by GAAP), excluding the impact of stock based compensation, severance, restructuring charges, acquisition costs, inventory step up related to Venco Venturo, CEO transition costs, debt modification expense, loss on extinguishment of debt, and certain charges related to unrelated legal fees and consulting fees. Management believes that Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings Per Share are useful in assessing the Company’s financial performance by eliminating expenses and income that are not reflective of the underlying business performance.
Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure that we define as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less the acquisition of property and equipment. Free Cash Flow should be evaluated in addition to, and not considered a substitute for, other financial measures such as Net Income and Net Cash Provided By (Used in) Operating Activities. We believe that free cash flow represents our ability to generate additional cash flow from our business operations.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements include information relating to future events, future financial performance, strategies, expectations, competitive environment, regulation, product demand, the payment of dividends, and availability of financial resources. These statements are often identified by use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "continue," "should," "could," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "will" and similar expressions and include references to assumptions and relate to our future prospects, developments, and business strategies. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, weather conditions, particularly lack of or reduced levels of snowfall and the timing of such snowfall, our ability to manage general economic, business and geopolitical conditions, including the impacts of natural disasters, labor strikes, global political instability, adverse developments affecting the banking and financial services industries, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments, increases in the price of steel or other materials, including as a result of tariffs, necessary for the production of our products that cannot be passed on to our distributors, our inability to maintain good relationships with our distributors, our inability to maintain good relationships with the original equipment manufacturers with whom we currently do significant business, lack of available or favorable financing options for our end-users, distributors or customers, increases in the price of fuel or freight, including as a result of the ongoing conflict in Iran, a significant decline in economic conditions, the inability of our suppliers and original equipment manufacturer partners to meet our volume or quality requirements, inaccuracies in our estimates of future demand for our products, our inability to protect or continue to build our intellectual property portfolio, the effects of laws and regulations and their interpretations on our business and financial condition, including policy or regulatory changes related to climate change, our inability to develop new products or improve upon existing products in response to end-user needs, losses due to lawsuits arising out of personal injuries associated with our products, factors that could impact the future declaration and payment of dividends, or our ability to execute repurchases under our stock repurchase program, our inability to effectively manage the use of artificial intelligence, disruptions at our manufacturing facilities, our inability to compete effectively against competition, our inability to successfully implement our new enterprise resource planning system, our inability to achieve the projected financial performance with the assets of Venco Venturo, which we acquired in 2025 and unexpected costs or liabilities related to such acquisition, as well as those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 and any subsequent Form 10-Q filings. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements in this release speak only as of the date hereof and we undertake no obligation, except as required by law, to update or release any revisions to any forward-looking statement, even if new information becomes available in the future.
For further information contact:
Douglas Dynamics, Inc.
Nathan Elwell
Vice President of Investor Relations
847-530-0249
[email protected]
Financial Statements
Douglas Dynamics, Inc.Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets(In thousands) March 31,December 31, 20262025
(unaudited)(unaudited) Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents$5,189$8,297Accounts receivable, net 67,702 97,561Inventories 185,775 149,656Inventories - truck chassis floor plan 4,239 4,184Refundable income taxes paid - 920Prepaid and other current assets 4,832 5,415Total current assets 267,737 266,033 Property, plant, and equipment, net 45,944 44,764Goodwill 116,779 116,779Other intangible assets, net 114,751 116,269Operating lease - right of use asset 71,058 68,972Non-qualified benefit plan assets 11,779 12,038Other long-term assets 2,243 1,846Total assets$630,291$626,701 Liabilities and stockholders' equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable$35,770$38,687Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 26,131 33,406Floor plan obligations 4,239 4,184Operating lease liability - current 7,234 7,154Income taxes payable 123 -Short term borrowings 20,000 5,000Current portion of long-term debt 7,416 7,416Total current liabilities 100,913 95,847 Retiree benefits and deferred compensation 15,056 14,947Deferred income taxes 33,540 33,104Long-term debt, less current portion 133,391 135,162Operating lease liability - noncurrent 62,443 60,134Other long-term liabilities 5,514 6,061 Total stockholders' equity 279,434 281,446Total liabilities and stockholders' equity$630,291$626,701
Ended March 31,
2026 Three Months
Ended March 31,
2025 Work Truck Attachments Net Sales$60,911 $36,457Adjusted EBITDA$7,663 $327Adjusted EBITDA Margin 12.6% 0.9% Work Truck Solutions Net Sales$76,886 $78,610Adjusted EBITDA$9,148 $9,104Adjusted EBITDA Margin 11.9% 11.6%
2025
Net cash used in operating activities$(994) $(1,337)Acquisition of property and equipment (3,161) (2,161)Free cash flow$(4,155) $(3,498)
2025
Net income$6,376 $148 Interest expense - net 2,062 2,384Income tax expense 1,519 342Depreciation expense 2,339 2,273Intangibles amortization 1,517 1,550EBITDA 13,813 6,697 Stock-based compensation 2,537 2,150Debt modification expense - 176Loss on extinguishment of debt - 156Other charges (1) 461 252Adjusted EBITDA$16,811 $9,431 (1) Reflects unrelated legal, severance, restructuring and consulting fees for the periods presented. Reflects $58 in inventory step up related to Venco Venturo included in cost of sales in the three months ended March 31, 2026.
2025
Net income $6,376 $148 Adjustments: Stock based compensation 2,537 2,150 Debt modification expense - 176 Loss on extinguishment of debt - 156 Other charges (1) 461 252 Tax effect on adjustments (750) (683)Adjusted net income $8,624 $2,199 Weighted average basic common shares outstanding 23,098,094 23,121,555 Weighted average common shares outstanding assuming dilution 23,587,508 23,121,555 Adjusted earnings per common share - dilutive$0.36 $0.09 GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share$0.26 $(0.00)Adjustments net of income taxes: Stock based compensation 0.08 0.07 Debt modification expense - - Loss on extinguishment of debt - - Other charges (1) 0.02 0.02 Adjusted diluted earnings per share $0.36 $0.09 (1) Reflects unrelated legal, severance, restructuring and consulting fees for the periods presented. Reflects $58 in inventory step up related to Venco Venturo included in cost of sales in the three months ended March 31, 2026.