Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results
Rhea-AI Summary
Natural Grocers (NYSE: NGVC) reported Q1 fiscal 2026 results for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2025. Net sales rose 1.6% to $335.6M; net income increased 14.0% to $11.3M ($0.49 diluted EPS); Adjusted EBITDA was $23.5M. Daily average comparable store sales grew 1.7% (10.6% on a two-year basis). Gross margin fell 40 basis points to 29.5%; cash and equivalents were $23.2M. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share and affirmed fiscal 2026 guidance, including diluted EPS of $2.00–$2.15 and 6–8 new stores.
Positive
- Net income +14.0% to $11.3M (Q1 fiscal 2026)
- Diluted EPS increased to $0.49 from $0.43 (+14%)
- Two-year daily average comparable store sales +10.6%
- Declared quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share
- Affirmed fiscal 2026 guidance: EPS $2.00–$2.15 and 6–8 new stores
Negative
- Gross margin down 40 basis points to 29.5% due to higher inventory shrink
- Adjusted EBITDA margin relatively flat at 7.0% (Adjusted EBITDA +3.1%)
News Market Reaction
On the day this news was published, NGVC declined 0.07%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +6.1% during that session. Our momentum scanner triggered 6 alerts that day, indicating moderate trading interest and price volatility. This price movement removed approximately $496K from the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $707M at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
NGVC was down 2.24% while close peers were mixed: VLGEA -2.59%, DDL -2.44% contrasted with IMKTA +3.24%, DNUT +3.49%, and GO +3.33%, suggesting stock-specific dynamics rather than a unified grocery move.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 03 | Product launch | Positive | -1.3% | Launch of two new organic private‑label dark chocolate bars. |
| Jan 30 | Promotional campaign | Positive | +4.1% | Big Game specials with discounts and sweepstakes to drive traffic. |
| Jan 22 | Earnings call notice | Neutral | -0.1% | Scheduled Q1 FY 2026 earnings release and investor conference call. |
| Jan 22 | Local promotion | Positive | -2.0% | Kansas Day event with tote giveaway and coupon for members. |
| Jan 15 | Product expansion | Positive | +5.0% | Five new USDA Organic frozen fruit and smoothie private‑label SKUs. |
Recent promotional and product news often produced modest, mixed reactions, with both aligned and divergent moves around marketing campaigns and private-label expansions.
Over the last few weeks, NGVC has focused on marketing events and private‑label expansion. On Jan 15, new organic frozen fruit and smoothie blends coincided with a 5% gain. Kansas Day promotions and Big Game deals in late January drove mixed moves, including a 4.08% rise on game‑related discounts. A Q1 earnings call announcement on Jan 22 had little impact, and new chocolate bar launches on Feb 3 saw a slight decline. Today’s Q1 fiscal 2026 earnings fit into this steady, execution‑focused narrative.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement highlights modest top-line growth and improved profitability, with net sales of $335.6M, diluted EPS of $0.49, and Adjusted EBITDA of $23.5M. Management reaffirmed fiscal 2026 guidance, including EPS of $2.00–$2.15 and capital expenditures of $50–$55M, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15. Investors may watch comparable sales trends, gross margin pressures such as inventory shrink, cash generation, and execution on planned new stores and remodels.
Key Terms
ebitda financial
adjusted ebitda financial
non-gaap financial measures financial
revolving credit facility financial
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Highlights for First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Compared to First Quarter Fiscal 2025
- Net sales increased
1.6% to$335.6 million - Daily average comparable store sales increased
1.7% , and10.6% on a two-year basis; - Net income increased
14.0% to$11.3 million $0.49 - Adjusted EBITDA increased
3.1% to$23.5 million - Relocated one store.
"Our first quarter results were in-line with expectations, and we are affirming our full year outlook. We believe that our differentiated selection of high‑quality natural and organic products, enhanced by our Always AffordableSM pricing strategy, continue to deliver strong value and reinforce our competitive position amid economic uncertainty," said Kemper Isely, Co-President.
In addition to presenting the financial results of Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the Company) in conformity with
Operating Results — First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Compared to First Quarter Fiscal 2025
Net sales during the first quarter of fiscal 2026 increased
Gross profit during the first quarter of fiscal 2026 increased less than
Store expenses during the first quarter of fiscal 2026 decreased
Administrative expenses during the first quarter of fiscal 2026 decreased
Operating income for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 increased
Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 was
Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 was
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had
During the first three months of fiscal 2026, the Company generated
Dividend Announcement
Today, the Company announced the declaration of a quarterly cash dividend of
Fiscal 2026 Outlook
The Company is affirming its fiscal 2026 outlook:
Fiscal 2026 | Outlook | ||
Number of new stores | 6 to 8 | ||
Number of relocations/remodels | 2 to 3 | ||
Daily average comparable store sales growth | | ||
Diluted earnings per share | |||
Capital expenditures (in millions) |
Earnings Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call today at 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss this earnings release. The dial-in number is 1-888-347-6606 (US) or 1-412-902-4289 (International). The conference ID is "Natural Grocers Q1 FY 2026 Earnings Call." A simultaneous audio webcast will be available at http://Investors.NaturalGrocers.com and archived for a minimum of 20 days.
About Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC) is an expanding specialty retailer of natural and organic groceries, body care products and dietary supplements. The grocery products sold by Natural Grocers must meet strict quality guidelines and may not contain artificial flavors, preservatives, or sweeteners (as defined in its standards), synthetic colors, or partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated oils. The Company sells only USDA certified organic produce and exclusively pasture-raised, non-confinement dairy products, and free-range eggs. Natural Grocers' flexible smaller-store format allows it to offer affordable prices in a shopper-friendly, clean and convenient retail environment. The Company also provides extensive free science-based nutrition education programs to help customers make informed health and nutrition choices. The Company, founded in 1955, has 168 stores in 21 states.
Visit www.NaturalGrocers.com for more information and store locations.
Forward-Looking Statements
The following constitutes a "safe harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Except for the historical information contained herein, statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" and are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global, national, regional or local political, economic, inflationary, disinflationary, recessionary, business, interest rate, labor market, competitive, market, regulatory, trade policy, supply chain and other factors, and other risks detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The information contained herein speaks only as of the date of this release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, except as may be required by the securities laws.
For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, please refer to the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" sections of the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Form 10-K and the Company's subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Investor Relations at 303-986-4600 or by visiting the Company's website at http://Investors.NaturalGrocers.com.
Investor Contact:
Reed Anderson, ICR, 646-277-1260, reed.anderson@icrinc.com
NATURAL GROCERS BY VITAMIN COTTAGE, INC. | ||||||
Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | ||||||
| | Three months ended | ||||
2025 | | 2024 | ||||
Net sales | $ | 335,579 | 330,221 | |||
Cost of goods sold and occupancy costs | 236,720 | 231,397 | ||||
Gross profit | 98,859 | 98,824 | ||||
Store expenses | 73,009 | 73,526 | ||||
Administrative expenses | 10,835 | 11,514 | ||||
Pre-opening expenses | 368 | 436 | ||||
Operating income | 14,647 | 13,348 | ||||
Interest expense, net | (713) | (923) | ||||
Income before income taxes | 13,934 | 12,425 | ||||
Provision for income taxes | (2,600) | (2,487) | ||||
Net income | $ | 11,334 | 9,938 | |||
Net income per share of common stock: | ||||||
Basic | $ | 0.49 | 0.43 | |||
Diluted | $ | 0.49 | 0.43 | |||
Weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding: | ||||||
Basic | 23,008,337 | 22,903,569 | ||||
Diluted | 23,250,050 | 23,168,064 | ||||
NATURAL GROCERS BY VITAMIN COTTAGE, INC. | |||||
Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) | |||||
| December 31, 2025 | | September 30, | ||
Assets | |||||
Current assets: | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 23,210 | 17,116 | ||
Accounts receivable, net | 9,950 | 11,966 | |||
Merchandise inventory | 127,886 | 132,968 | |||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 5,762 | 6,025 | |||
Total current assets | 166,808 | 168,075 | |||
Property and equipment, net | 189,525 | 182,741 | |||
Other assets: | |||||
Operating lease assets, net | 254,460 | 259,586 | |||
Finance lease assets, net | 40,927 | 42,895 | |||
Other assets | 5,516 | 5,452 | |||
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net | 11,320 | 11,755 | |||
Total other assets | 312,223 | 319,688 | |||
Total assets | $ | 668,556 | 670,504 | ||
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | |||||
Current liabilities: | |||||
Accounts payable | $ | 83,955 | 80,991 | ||
Accrued expenses | 31,734 | 37,236 | |||
Operating lease obligations, current portion | 36,628 | 36,495 | |||
Finance lease obligations, current portion | 4,070 | 4,061 | |||
Total current liabilities | 156,387 | 158,783 | |||
Long-term liabilities: | |||||
Operating lease obligations, net of current portion | 240,632 | 245,803 | |||
Finance lease obligations, net of current portion | 43,617 | 45,660 | |||
Deferred income tax liabilities, net | 7,909 | 7,863 | |||
Total long-term liabilities | 292,158 | 299,326 | |||
Total liabilities | 448,545 | 458,109 | |||
Stockholders' equity: | |||||
Common stock, | 23 | 23 | |||
Additional paid-in capital | 62,770 | 63,033 | |||
Retained earnings | 157,218 | 149,339 | |||
Total stockholders' equity | 220,011 | 212,395 | |||
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ | 668,556 | 670,504 | ||
NATURAL GROCERS BY VITAMIN COTTAGE, INC. | |||||
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) (Dollars in thousands) | |||||
| Three months ended December 31, | ||||
2025 | | 2024 | |||
Operating activities: | |||||
Net income | $ | 11,334 | 9,938 | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||
Depreciation and amortization | 7,973 | 7,950 | |||
Loss on impairment of long-lived assets and store closing costs | 21 | 50 | |||
(Gain) loss on disposal of property and equipment | (13) | 15 | |||
Share-based compensation | 857 | 1,435 | |||
Deferred income tax expense (benefit) | 46 | (742) | |||
Non-cash interest expense | 1 | 1 | |||
Other | 3 | — | |||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||||
Decrease (increase) in: | |||||
Accounts receivable, net | 2,082 | 144 | |||
Merchandise inventory | 5,082 | (1,148) | |||
Prepaid expenses and other assets | (408) | (570) | |||
Income tax receivable | 604 | — | |||
Operating lease assets | 8,579 | 8,409 | |||
(Decrease) increase in: | |||||
Operating lease liabilities | (8,548) | (8,543) | |||
Accounts payable | (977) | (12,970) | |||
Accrued expenses | (5,502) | (1,287) | |||
Net cash provided by operating activities | 21,134 | 2,682 | |||
Investing activities: | |||||
Acquisition of property and equipment | (9,572) | (9,618) | |||
Acquisition of other intangibles | (29) | (60) | |||
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment | — | 25 | |||
Proceeds from property insurance settlements | 22 | 236 | |||
Net cash used in investing activities | (9,579) | (9,417) | |||
Financing activities: | |||||
Borrowings under revolving loans | 161,500 | 157,000 | |||
Repayments under revolving loans | (161,500) | (148,100) | |||
Finance lease obligation payments | (886) | (969) | |||
Dividends to shareholders | (3,455) | (2,749) | |||
Payments on withholding tax for restricted stock unit vesting | (1,120) | (1,002) | |||
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities | (5,461) | 4,180 | |||
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 6,094 | (2,555) | |||
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 17,116 | 8,871 | |||
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ | 23,210 | 6,316 | ||
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information: | |||||
Cash paid for interest | $ | 214 | 308 | ||
Cash paid for interest on finance lease obligations, net of capitalized interest of | 460 | 496 | |||
Income taxes paid | 7 | 163 | |||
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash investing and financing activities: | |||||
Acquisition of property and equipment not yet paid | $ | 6,318 | 3,828 | ||
Acquisition of other intangibles not yet paid | 7 | 27 | |||
Lease assets obtained in exchange for new operating lease obligations | 3,894 | 1,612 | |||
Lease assets obtained in exchange for new finance lease obligations | (32) | — | |||
| NATURAL GROCERS BY VITAMIN COTTAGE, INC. |
Non-GAAP Financial Measures | |
(Unaudited) |
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not measures of financial performance under GAAP. We define EBITDA as net income before interest expense, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA as adjusted to exclude the effects of certain income and expense items that management believes make it more difficult to assess the Company's actual operating performance, including certain items such as impairment charges, store closing costs, share-based compensation, amortization of SaaS implementation costs and non-recurring items.
The following table reconciles net income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, dollars in thousands:
| Three months ended | |||||
| 2025 | | 2024 | |||
Net income | $ | 11,334 | 9,938 | |||
Interest expense, net | 713 | 923 | ||||
Provision for income taxes | 2,600 | 2,487 | ||||
Depreciation and amortization | 7,973 | 7,950 | ||||
EBITDA | 22,620 | 21,298 | ||||
Impairment of long-lived assets and store closing costs | 45 | 87 | ||||
Share-based compensation | 857 | 1,435 | ||||
Amortization of SaaS implementation costs | 3 | — | ||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 23,525 | 22,820 | |||
EBITDA increased
Adjusted EBITDA increased
Management believes some investors' understanding of our performance is enhanced by including EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP financial measures. We believe EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide additional information about: (i) our operating performance, because they assist us in comparing the operating performance of our stores on a consistent basis, as they remove the impact of non-cash depreciation and amortization expense as well as items not directly resulting from our core operations, such as interest expense and income taxes and (ii) our performance and the effectiveness of our operational strategies. Additionally, EBITDA is a component of a measure in our financial covenants under our credit facility.
Furthermore, management believes some investors use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as supplemental measures to evaluate the overall operating performance of companies in our industry. Management believes that some investors' understanding of our performance is enhanced by including these non-GAAP financial measures as a reasonable basis for comparing our ongoing results of operations. By providing these non-GAAP financial measures, together with a reconciliation from net income, we believe we are enhancing investors' understanding of our business and our results of operations, as well as assisting investors in evaluating how well we are executing our strategic initiatives.
Our competitors may define EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA differently, and as a result, our measures of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA of other companies. Items excluded from EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are significant components in understanding and assessing financial performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are supplemental measures of operating performance that do not represent and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to, or substitute for, net income or other financial statement data presented in the consolidated financial statements as indicators of financial performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools, and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of the limitations are:
- EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
- EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
- EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any depreciation or interest expense for leases classified as finance leases;
- EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect the interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on our debt;
- Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect share-based compensation, impairment of long-lived assets, store closing costs and amortization of SaaS implementation costs;
- EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect our tax expense or the cash requirements to pay our taxes; and
- Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements.
Due to these limitations, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as supplemental information.
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SOURCE Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.
FAQ
What were Natural Grocers (NGVC) Q1 fiscal 2026 revenue and net income figures?
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