Hamilton Beach Cuts 2026 Sales Outlook After Retailer Pullback

The Tip Desk · November 4, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter revenue rose 5.6% to $140.3 million as the company now expects full-year sales to be flat rather than up approaching mid-single digits.

Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company (HBB) said it now expects 2026 revenue to be flat year over year, down from prior guidance of growth approaching the mid-single digit range, after several retail partners became more cautious with holiday inventory commitments.

The small electric household appliance maker also said it now expects fourth-quarter sales to be lower than previously anticipated. Operating profit is now expected to decline high teens on a percentage basis, versus a previous estimate of high single digits, on the lower revenue projection and higher incentive compensation tied to the share-price appreciation. The full-year revenue forecast continues to reflect the expiration of the Bartesian licensing agreement at the end of 2025. Excluding IEEPA tariff refunds, gross margin is still expected to be modestly better than 2025.

Third-quarter revenue increased 5.6% to $140.3 million from $132.8 million a year earlier. That followed an 11.6% increase to $142.6 million in the second quarter and an 8.6% decline to $122.0 million in the first quarter.

President and Chief Executive Officer R. Scott Tidey said the third-quarter results were in line with expectations and reflected the recovery of the U.S. consumer business after last year’s tariff-related headwinds, plus margin benefits from ongoing tariff mitigation. He said the company was encouraged by underlying health and continued sell-through, but that declining consumer sentiment over the past couple of months had led retail partners to become more cautious with inventory for the upcoming holiday season.

The company said the year-over-year revenue increase was primarily driven by growth in U.S. Consumer, reflecting recovery from the third quarter of 2025, when one large retailer delayed orders as it assessed inventory and pricing in response to tariffs implemented in April 2025. Health contributed strong double-digit revenue growth.

Gross margin increased 640 basis points to 27.5% from 21.1%. Gross profit was $38.5 million. The company attributed the year-over-year improvement to continued sell-through of inventory no longer subject to IEEPA tariffs, compared with a year-earlier period when inventory was subject to a temporary spike in tariff rates on imports from China to 125%.

Selling, general and administrative expenses rose to $34.2 million from $25.2 million. The company said the increase was driven by $4.0 million in higher incentive-related personnel costs primarily due to the appreciation in share price, plus $1.6 million in increased advertising and $1.3 million in accelerated depreciation of the legacy ERP system. Operating profit was $4.4 million compared with $2.9 million. Net income was $3.5 million, or $0.26 a share, compared with $1.7 million, or $0.12 a share. Income tax expense was $1.6 million.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2026, net cash provided by operating activities was $80.5 million, compared with $14.6 million used in the same period in 2025. The company said the increase was primarily driven by IEEPA refunds received in the second quarter and lower working capital, mainly due to reduced inventory levels after 2025 included accelerated purchases ahead of tariff uncertainty.

In the three months ended September 30, 2026, the company paid down $25 million of debt, repurchased 24,908 shares of Class A common stock for $0.6 million and paid $1.7 million in dividends. On September 30, 2026, net cash was $67.5 million, compared with net debt of $32.8 million a year earlier.

The company now expects 2026 cash flow from operating activities less cash used for investing activities to be $40 million to $50 million, up from previous guidance of $35 million to $45 million, primarily due to normalization of working capital following tariff-related disruption in the prior year. The forecasted operating profit continues to reflect an incremental $6 million in planned advertising spend in 2026 and approximately $5 million in non-recurring accelerated depreciation associated with the legacy ERP system.