Richardson Electronics Extends Sales-Growth Streak to Nine Quarters
Net sales were $64.9 million in the first quarter ended August 29, 2026, and net income rose 112.6% to $4.1 million, or $0.27 a share diluted.
Richardson Electronics, Ltd. (RELL) reported net sales of $64.9 million for the first quarter ended August 29, 2026, an 18.9% increase from $54.6 million a year earlier, extending a run of year-over-year sales growth to nine consecutive quarters.
The pace of that growth slowed from the 27.6% year-over-year increase recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. All three reportable units still posted higher sales than a year earlier.
Power and Microwave Technologies remained the largest unit. PMT sales were $46.8 million, up 19.7% from $39.1 million a year earlier, driven by semiconductor wafer fabrication and RF and microwave products. That unit’s year-over-year growth rate had been 28.1% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.
Green Energy Solutions sales were $9.2 million, up 27.1% from $7.3 million a year earlier, driven by wind products and new products including Battery Energy Storage Systems. Canvys sales were $8.9 million, up 7.9% from $8.3 million a year earlier, driven by higher North America sales.
Gross margin expanded to 34.6% of net sales from 31.0% a year earlier. An IEEPA Tariff Refund impacted gross margin by 1.7%. PMT gross margin rose to 35.4% from 31.3% a year earlier on product mix and the refund, after a decline to 31.1% from 31.4% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. GES gross margin rose to 32.6% from 29.6% a year earlier on product mix that included new products. Canvys gross margin rose to 33.0% from 30.9% a year earlier, primarily due to the IEEPA Tariff Refund.
Operating income was $5.1 million, compared with $1.0 million a year earlier. Operating expenses were $17.4 million, or 26.8% of net sales, versus 29.2% a year earlier, primarily due to higher employee compensation, including incentives tied to sales growth, and higher travel.
Net income was $4.1 million, or $0.27 a share diluted, up 112.6% from $1.9 million, or $0.13 a share, a year earlier. EBITDA was $6.0 million, compared with $3.3 million a year earlier.
Backlog was $184.4 million at August 29, 2026, up 36.9% from $134.7 million a year earlier and 12.2% from $164.4 million at the end of fiscal 2026, the highest level in more than three years. The increase was primarily driven by PMT; GES backlog improved 10.2%.
Cash and cash equivalents were $36.9 million as of August 29, 2026, versus $31.8 million as of May 30, 2026. The company generated $4.2 million of free cash flow in the quarter and had no outstanding debt on its revolving line of credit. Capital expenditures were $1.7 million, primarily related to facilities improvements and IT systems.
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President Edward J. Richardson said first-quarter performance continued to reflect strong demand in PMT, particularly for engineered solutions serving the semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment market, as well as distributed RF and microwave products, and that the company also experienced significant growth in GES and Canvys. He said the company believes fiscal 2027 will be another year of profitable growth supported by the highest level of backlog in more than three years and continued customer demand across semiconductor manufacturing, power management, energy storage, defense and specialized display solutions.
The board declared a $0.06 per share quarterly cash dividend, matching the dividend declared with the fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results, payable on November 25, 2026, to common stockholders of record as of November 6, 2026.