Atkore (ATKR) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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Date

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 at 8 a.m. ET

Call participants

• President and Chief Executive Officer — William Waltz
• Chief Financial Officer — John Deitzer
• President, Electrical — John Pregenzer

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Takeaways

• Net Sales -- $656 million, driven by a 2% organic volume increase, primarily from the Electrical segment.
• Adjusted EBITDA -- $69 million (non-GAAP), with productivity gains contributing over $30 million year over year, mainly from the Safety and Infrastructure segment.
• Adjusted EPS -- 83¢ per share, a decline from $1.63 per share in the prior-year period.
• Tax Rate -- 3% for the quarter, down from 21% in the prior year, reflecting a one-time discrete foreign tax benefit.
• Average Selling Prices -- Decreased 3% overall, with declines in PVC conduit offset by higher steel conduit pricing.
• Divestiture -- Completed sale of the Tektron mechanical tube product line and facility, resulting in $18 million in cash proceeds and a pending $7 million in additional proceeds expected in Q2.
• Facility Exits -- Three manufacturing facility closures are expected to complete in the second fiscal quarter as part of the 80/20 initiative.
• Volume Growth Outlook -- Management expects mid-single-digit volume growth for the full year, supported by nonresidential demand and strategic investments.
• Full-Year Guidance -- Net sales forecasted at $2.95 billion-$3.05 billion, adjusted EBITDA at $340 million-$360 million, and adjusted EPS at $5.05-$5.55.
• Segment Performance -- Electrical segment margin compressed due to higher material costs and lower pricing; Safety and Infrastructure segment margin rose to 16.2% due to increased productivity, although expected to regress to 12%-14% for the remainder of the year.
• Cash Flow -- Operating cash flow declined year over year due to Q4 timing, but expected to improve as significant receivables collections occur in Q2.
• Balance Sheet -- No debt maturity repayments required until 2030, with cash flow benefiting from divestiture proceeds.
• Backlog Trends -- Growing backlogs and order commitments in global construction and data center end markets, especially for data center and solar projects.
• Steel Conduit Pricing -- Prices rose for the fourth consecutive quarter, supporting improved spreads; guidance assumes stable but not increasing spreads in coming quarters.
• PVC Conduit Competition -- Imports continue to enter the market with limited tariff protection and now comprise less than 10% of the market.
• Aluminum Tariffs -- 50% tariffs on offshore-sourced aluminum are impacting input costs; management is seeking domestic alternatives but expects margin pressure to persist.
• Mechanical Tube Shift -- Production capacity is being reallocated from mechanical to electrical conduit, aligning with the 80/20 initiative and supporting growth in target markets.
• Copper Volatility -- Management notes significant copper price fluctuations as a near-term risk factor impacting input costs and margin forecasting.

Summary

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) posted quarterly results above management's outlook, highlighted by cost savings and a favorable business mix despite lower adjusted EPS and a decline in average selling prices. Management confirmed strategic progress with divestitures, facility closures, and a focus on growth in electrical infrastructure and data center end markets. Cash flow is expected to recover in coming quarters, and the full-year outlook is unchanged, reflecting prudent guidance as management cited first-half price-versus-cost headwinds and commodity price exposure.

• Management stated the price-versus-cost headwind is "largely loaded here in the first half" and expects back half dynamics to be "price versus cost positive here."
• The one-time tax benefit materially reduced the reported tax rate from 21% to 3% compared to the prior year.
• Solar project activity was down for the quarter but is anticipated to increase due to project backlogs and productivity gains at the Hobart facility.
• Data center demand and large construction project backlogs are accelerating, with both firm orders and letters of intent cited by management as indicators for ongoing growth.

Industry glossary

• 80/20 initiative: Atkore's operational strategy to concentrate resources and manufacturing capacity on high-value products and core markets, enhancing focus and efficiency.
• Tektron mechanical tube: A product line and facility divested by Atkore, previously serving non-electrical mechanical end markets.
• Hobart facility: Atkore's plant specializing in manufacturing solar torque tubes, referenced as a key driver of productivity gains.

Full Conference Call Transcript

William Waltz: Thanks, Matt. And good morning, everyone. Starting on Slide three, we are pleased with our first quarter performance. We achieved net sales of $656 million and adjusted EBITDA of $69 million. Both were above our outlook range. Our 83¢ of adjusted EPS was also above the top end of our outlook range. Organic volume increased 2% in the first quarter driven by strong performance in our Electrical segment. Our teams have been focused on improving manufacturing efficiency and controlling costs, which has helped generate over $30 million of product savings year over year. We also continue to advance our strategic alternative process to evaluate opportunities to strengthen our business and maximize value for our shareholders.

During the quarter, we completed the divestiture of our Tektron mechanical tube product line and manufacturing facility. The sale further enhances our focus on electrical infrastructure portfolio and is aligned with our broader 80/20 initiative aimed at directing our manufacturing capacity to electrical end markets. In the second fiscal quarter, we expect to complete the previously announced exit of three manufacturing facilities. We will continue to provide updates on the ongoing strategic alternative process as appropriate as we move forward. I am also pleased to highlight the release of our fiscal year 2025 sustainability report, which we recently published. This report details our ongoing initiatives and accomplishments of our 2025 goals.

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2026, we are on track to deliver our FY26 outlook that we presented in November. We expect our net sales to be in a range of $2.95 billion and $3.05 billion. Our net sales outlook adjusts for approximately $40 million of annual sales related to our Tektron Advantage two product resulting from the divestiture. Adjusting the data between $340 million and $360 million remains unchanged. Adjusted EPS is expected to be in the range of $5.05 and $5.55. We remain focused on our core electrical infrastructure portfolio, which is supported by broader megatrends and where we see the most opportunity to grow.

Our team is focused on continuous improvement initiatives in our plans and providing unmatched service and quality for our customers. By doing so, we are confident in our ability to drive sales volume and profitability. I'd like to take a moment to thank all of our employees for everything they do to support our key stakeholders. With that, I'll now turn the call over to John Deitzer, to talk through the results from the quarter and provide more details on our outlook.

John Deitzer: Thank you, Bill, and good morning, everyone. Moving to our consolidated results on slide four. In the first quarter, we achieved net sales of $656 million and adjusted EBITDA of $69 million. Adjusted EPS was 83¢ per share compared to $1.63 in the prior year. Our tax rate in the first quarter was 3%, a decrease from 21% in the prior year. The first quarter tax rate reflects a one-time discrete benefit associated with tax planning related to a foreign operation. Turning to slide five and our consolidated bridges. Organic volumes were up 2% compared to the '25.

Our average selling prices declined 3% during the quarter, most of which came from our PVC conduit products, which were partially offset by increased average selling prices for our steel conduit products. Moving to slide six. Our 2% volume increase during the first quarter was driven primarily from our metal electrical conduit and our plastic pipe conduit product categories. Both product categories benefited from healthy nonresidential end market demand. Our metal framing, cable management, and construction service businesses saw lower volume compared to the prior year primarily due to the timing of certain project-based work. We expect growth from these businesses throughout the duration of the year.

Our mechanical tube business, which includes our solar-related products, is also expected to grow throughout the year due to the expected timing of large utility-scale solar projects. As we previously communicated, we are shifting certain available capacity from our existing non-solar mechanical products to our electrical conduit products as part of our 80/20 initiative. We would expect that to continue throughout the year to help support electrical end market demand. Overall, we continue to expect mid-single-digit volume growth for the full year. Turning to Slide seven. Net sales increased year over year in our electrical segment driven by higher volume growth offset by lower selling prices.

Adjusted EBITDA margins compressed in our Electrical segment due to higher material costs and lower average selling prices. Net sales in our S and I segment were lower compared to the previous year primarily due to lower volume. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margins both increased year over year due to increased productivity. As Bill mentioned earlier, Atkore recognized over $30 million of year-over-year productivity, most of which was generated from our S and I segment. Turning to slide eight. We ended the quarter in a favorable cash position despite a year-over-year decline in our operating cash flow. Keep in mind that our Q4 FY '25 operating cash flow was our strongest quarter, generating approximately $200 million.

Our first quarter in FY '26 ended before we typically receive large collections from our accounts receivables. Those cash collections fell into the first part of our fiscal Q2. Our results included approximately $18 million in cash proceeds recognized from our Tektron tube divestiture. These proceeds represent a portion of the divestiture proceeds. We anticipate receiving an additional $7 million in the second quarter from the sale of our real estate where the products were manufactured. Our balance sheet remains in a strong position with no debt maturity repayments required until 2030. Moving to slide nine. We continue to expect volume growth to be mid-single digits for the full year.

Our volume growth expectations are a combination of core construction growth as well as contributions from certain growth initiatives such as solar and global construction services. The recent Dodge Momentum Index forecast continues to support growth in the core nonresidential end markets. As a reminder, we are no longer providing quarterly guidance. Rather, we will continue to update our full-year expectations. In November, we communicated that our full-year expectations are weighted more toward the back half of the year. We still believe this to be true. With that said, we expect our second quarter to be similar to but slightly better than our first quarter results from an adjusted EBITDA perspective.

For the full year, expect net sales to be in the range of 2.95% to $3.05 billion and adjusted EBITDA in the range of $340 million to $360 million. And adjusted EPS in the range of $5.05 and $5.55. With that, I'll turn it to John Pregenzer to give an update on our end markets and our long-term strategic focus.

John Pregenzer: Thanks, John. Turning to slide 10. Last year, we announced our intention to consolidate three manufacturing facilities. This decision helps us to prioritize our portfolio for domestically manufactured electrical infrastructure products. These actions are part of our broader 80/20 initiative to serve our customers efficiently while also creating a more streamlined cost structure. We are on track to exit these facilities in our second fiscal quarter. As John mentioned, our expected volume growth in fiscal '26 is a combination of base market growth and contributions from certain key strategic investments. The Dodge Momentum Index continues to suggest favorable forward-looking indicators of growth.

A recent Moody's ratings analysis suggests that $3 trillion of investment will flow into the data center market in the next five years to support the need for servers, computing equipment, and new power capacity. Our portfolio of metal framing, cable management, and the entirety of our conduit product line are well positioned to benefit from this growth. As the electrical industry plans to support these growth figures, available labor continues to be top of mind. The associated builders and contractors estimate that approximately 350,000 additional workers are needed to meet the demand for construction services in 2026. And that number grows to 450,000 in 2027. Atkore has a history of prioritizing labor-saving opportunities for installers through new product development.

Our PVC junction boxes, 20-foot conduit, and patented MC Glide armored cable are just a few examples of how Atkore has made construction installation more efficient. The electrical industry is a great place to be, and we are working to meet the market demand by executing our Atkore business system, centered on strategy, people, and process. With that, we'll turn it over to the operator to open the line for questions.

Operator: At this time, I would like to remind everyone in order to ask a question, press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. Your first question comes from Andy Kaplowitz with Citigroup.

Andy Kaplowitz: Good morning. Can you give us a little more color on the core markets that you're seeing? I know you just talked about it, but it looks like core PVC and metal conduit markets in terms of volume accelerated a bit in Q1 compared to what you saw in FY 2025. Maybe you can talk about that. Then conversely, I know you've talked about construction services ramping up at some point. I mean, there are a lot of mega projects out there, particularly in data centers as you kinda cited. So when can we see that start to move?

John Pregenzer: Yeah. Andy, I'll start here and then turn it over to the Johns. Yeah. You are correct. And, again, John Deitzer or something, we wanna get precise numbers. But PVC, we're seeing good growth with steel conduit. We're seeing good growth with, you know, so up and, you know, good markets overall. Mhmm. And then regarding data centers, it truly is just the timing of year over year, and those projects we are seeing. Again, without giving you precise numbers, we are seeing strong backlogs and commitments for orders and expansion opportunities. So, you know, we're bullish on this fiscal year, and then, you know, even more so as we get into fiscal year '27 and so forth.

Andy Kaplowitz: And, Bill, begs the sorry. Did you wanna say something else?

William Waltz: No, Andy. Just a few more information on that is strong Dodge Momentum Index in the quarter. We could really see, obviously, being driven by data centers, warehousing is strong. And education, health care, some other end markets, we're seeing some growth. Specifically to PVC, we have seen some increases from the border wall. It's been one of the areas that's been driving some of the stronger PVC conduit demand.

Andy Kaplowitz: Very helpful color. And, you begs the question, obviously, it's early in the year, but you didn't raise your EBITDA and EPS despite pretty good Q1. Especially given the good productivity. So is there anything incrementally you're concerned about, or is it just really early in the year?

John Deitzer: Andy, I'll jump in here. I mean, yeah. Go ahead, Bill. I'll go, John.

William Waltz: I'll start here. And start in Yeah. Yep. Andy, I think it's just we're first quarter, we're pleased with the results here. I think as we look forward, we still have a lot to do. So, I can walk through some of the other dynamics here. We're seeing, but just mean, the fur good first quarter and wanna maintain where we're at.

John Deitzer: Bill, anything if you wanted to add? No. I was going to do very much the same. It's like to sit here to let's hit our numbers, grow. We had great productivity that we called out. So things are moving along at this stage, but before we get too far out ahead of our Andy, let's get it another quarter. Before we even start talking about the second half of year. Because there still is you know, reasonable pickup in Q3 and Q4. So it just seems like the wise thing to do at this stage.

Andy Kaplowitz: Agreed. And then just one more quick one. An update, I think you talked about the competitive environment a little bit. You PVC conduit pricing still down, but steel conduit up. I think you said import competition in PVC conduit remains, but sort of what are you seeing in the two major markets there? Particularly from the foreign competition?

John Deitzer: Yeah. So specifically for foreign competition, it also start with PVC and go to steel. PVC continues imports continue to come in. So maybe not surprised because, again, there's very few tariffs. It's the 10%. And as we walk through, you know, it all depends. This is not new news on the what somebody claims is the value. So I don't think anything's dramatically changed there, but it's not like it's necessarily improved. It's still probably again, we don't have precise numbers on the market size. But it's still probably less than 10%, you know, of the whole market. So but it's growing like our PVC business is also growing.

Steel, I think there is moving more in our favor where you know, again, we had strong growth and you know, give or take for the last three months, I wanna say from a year over year perspective, it was down low to mid single digits for imports. So while they're stepping back slightly, you know, we're continuing to grow. And then I think in the prepared remarks, but if not, you know, both are quarter over quarter like, excuse me, sequential quarters are up in price and also sequentially go up in margins and so forth. So moving, you know, definitely in the right direction with narrow conduit.

Andy Kaplowitz: Appreciate all the color.

John Deitzer: Thanks, Andy.

Operator: Your next question comes from David Tarantino with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

David Tarantino: I appreciate there's an update specific on the strategic review, but maybe could you give us some more color and an update on the cost-saving effort, what you expect productivity to contribute following the nice start to this quarter? And particularly around the exit of those three facilities? Expected to be completed here soon?

John Deitzer: Yeah. So I'll I'll walk through it and get in color from the team here. But so for strategic alternatives, we're we're still being worked. So but, again, as we've already said, you know, the board doesn't have a time frame, so I don't wanna sit here and give you know, any more handicap on things or time frame or so forth. But, you know, continuing to progress through different things. Obviously, we mentioned small things like the divestiture of Tektron, we're still moving forward. HDP, probably at a faster pace than you could you know, the imagine than the overall you know, examination if we do consider you know, Atkore as a whole corporation and so forth.

So from that standpoint, moving forward, phenomenal quarter with productivity. I expect this to be our best year probably for productivity on the same hand. You know, realistically, we're not gonna have $30 million every quarter But you know, we started a good January, and know, it should be last year was a strong productivity, and this should be a good year of productivity. And then finally, to the three plant closures, all the John Brigantier or John add a little bit more color. But I think to what John Deitzer has, mentioned in the past, you know, it's ten, twelve, million, and we think potentially more you know, as we get things running.

And I would say they're running, you know, the closures at a you know, smooth and ready to on schedule, complement the job begins or if he wants to add anything to that.

John Pregenzer: No, Dave. I think everything's going as planned. So Seeing favorable transfer of the of the manufacturing equipment and start up. Hiring of the people in the plants that are getting the additional capacity is going well. The training's going well, so we don't see any issues with executing all three of those actually on plan and on schedule.

John Deitzer: Great. And then just to add, David, just a little bit of color on the productivity dynamic throughout the year. We are very pleased, as Bill mentioned, around the first quarter's performance. And as John mentioned, we're really pleased with the where we're going. We have a little bit of dynamics quarter to quarter this year. Just meaning the second quarter in particular last year in Q2 is a pretty strong was the high watermark for us from an EBITDA perspective. And so the comp will have a little bit of a dynamic this year, Q2 year over year.

That being said, though, we're really pleased with the overall plan for annual productivity this year and then think of these initiatives will continue to benefit us as we move into '27. But in the second quarter, we're not likely to see the strength here that we saw in the first quarter largely due to the year over year comparison item. Hopefully, that helps and frame it a little bit. The dynamics.

David Tarantino: Yes. Thanks. That's helpful. And then nice to see the price declines in the top line narrow, but maybe to put a finer point on price cost, could you give us an update on what you have here embedded in the guide at looks like much of the year over year headwind that was previously expected is kind of already occurred. So how should we be thinking about that previous unmitigated $50 million headwind now and the offsets to it?

John Deitzer: Got it, David. Yeah. It's a good question. In the price versus cost headwind that we have this year is largely loaded here in the first half. You see the impact in the first quarter We, again, I think the second quarter year over year, we're gonna have a price versus cost unfavorable I don't wanna start guiding price versus cost, you know, quarter to quarter, but we do anticipate the totality of the back half to be price versus cost positive here. Might be very slightly, but you know, that's you know, potentially here as we're ramping. So it is very much loaded here in the first half.

So you know, we'll see how the dynamics play out throughout the year. But right now, to your point, very much a first half issue. That we're working through.

David Tarantino: Okay. Great. Thanks for the color, guys.

John Deitzer: Thank you, David.

Operator: Your next question comes from Chris Moore with CJS Securities.

Chris Moore: Hey. Good morning, guys. Yeah. So terrific margins on S and I. Is that 16.2%, is that sustainable moving forward or just kinda any thoughts there?

John Deitzer: Thanks, Chris. I mean, I feel like a little bit of a broken record. I've said this a few times, We anticipate that business to be more in the, let's call it, 12 to 14% adjusted EBITDA margin level. It does have some mix dynamics when we think about the growth in solar, etcetera. You know, that might have a little bit of margin dynamic with it. But that team has done a very nice job of performing from a productivity perspective and has driven those margins higher.

So I do anticipate, you know, some of the mix dynamics probably will level out a little bit, and I don't know if we're gonna be able to continue exactly at that the positive productivity level we had. We did have, you know, some items that were more discrete benefits here in the first quarter that helped push that elevated a little bit. So we'll probably see margin regression in the S and I segment here as we move throughout the year.

Chris Moore: Got it. And from a cash flow perspective, you talked about Q1 timing, some of the issues there. Just maybe from a fiscal '26 perspective, can you talk a little bit further in terms of, you know, kinda overall thoughts and how we should be thinking about it.

John Deitzer: Yeah. It's a it's a great question. So as we move through the year, we do anticipate cash from ops to improve. The first quarter was a bit of a headwind as we mentioned, but you have to go back and remember how strong of a cash flow quarter we had in the '25. And so you know, we had we had we had received multiple AR payments both back in July and then in September. And the way this quarter ended on December 26, we you know, several large receivables we have fell into our fiscal January, but really occurred, you know, December 28 or thirtieth type of dynamic.

As we look forward, we expect to be modestly here price cash from ops positive in the second quarter and then continue to ramp here in the third and fourth quarter from a cash flow perspective. You have seen we have modestly reduced our on capital expenditures here this year. We're just really, you know, ensuring we're investing in the right projects and know, really dialing that in as well as we move through the year.

Chris Moore: Got it. And may maybe just last one for me. Obviously, backlog is not historically important metric for you guys, but with some of the chain you know, focus here on data center, etcetera, Is it potentially becoming a little bit more important, and is that something that's building a little bit at this point in time?

John Pregenzer: Yeah. I think Chris there are a couple of thoughts there. For the core business, you know, it's shipping five days, ten days, and little backlog. For the data center, business itself or, you know, global construction business to question I answered for Andy, we are seeing backlogs grow in a couple of fast facets. One, the amount of orders we have in and then also things if it's not in order, kinda like an LOI so forth. So I don't know at this stage or for this year if we wanted to dimensionalize that publicly, But, you know, there is the potential as it continues to grow.

It is a business that think we're all very optimistic at the pace that business has in front of us.

Chris Moore: Got it. Appreciate it. I'll I'll leave it there. Thanks, guys.

John Pregenzer: Thanks, Chris.

Operator: Your next question comes from Deane Dray with RBC.

Deane Dray: Good morning, Dean.

John Deitzer: Hey. How I'd like to circle back on some of the competitive dynamics and how it impacted price in the quarter. Just when steel being up year over year, that's really encouraging. Is that more a reflection of stronger volume? And competitive changes there? And for PVC down, I know there's new capacity coming on. How much of that weighed on, you know, the ongoing PVC pressure? And This all kind of frames the question of when do you think you get a normalized year over year price? Does that it's gonna be kinda hard to pinpoint which quarter, but is it still your expectation that it'll happen this year?

John Deitzer: Yeah. Dean, I'll start then for John or John if they wanna in there. So and with the multipassitive question, I think starting with steel, think overall demands were strong. So I don't know, but I assume my competitors are also you know, up there. And also with p with imports going back, you know, you did have a, you know, a good market for us to grow. And for us to get price and us to get margin. So market demand's strong and so forth. For imports and so forth there, don't know. Again, I can't say specifically.

I don't think it's necessarily more supply coming into the market as much as I would say in general you know, base back to us hitting our numbers and so forth there. It's probably what we perceived with, you know, price dynamics, both top line and spread and so forth. So in my mind, I'm pretty pleased that, you know, we're back Yeah. Commit to the future, but we're back paying pretty well how we think the markets are going to react. And I think the earlier comments from John Deitzer we're still expecting spread compression within PVC. As to looking out and go, when does that stop?

I may turn over to my peers, but at least for me to you know, try to pay one quarter with any precision is a little tougher there.

Deane Dray: That's really helpful. And then just as you talk about shifting some of the manufacturing resources to your core electrical, have you been able to size what you think your capacity increased is going to be, let's say, a percent basis. In conduit, or will it be in, you know, other nonconduit electrode like cable?

John Deitzer: So I think, especially, Dean, is think of it more conduit, and here's why. To go the if you think of what mechanical makes, it's ERS and I. It is metal products. So therefore, Harvey, for example, you know, one of our largest facilities, it is using the 80/20 rule effectively, which is actually, I think, helped the S and I margins to earlier questions. So let's get with our key customers with key products, and we don't have to have a thousand c items. So it's actually helping in our intention in the future to actually help the margins there.

And then it is freeing up capacity for our electrical products to earlier conduits metal conduits specifically, and to, you know, questions that we just answered. You know, is where we are seeing volume growth and you know, with data centers and overall markets, it's a place that we would expect long term growth. So it's working well to say what percents but I think it's enough that we can keep up with the markets as we go forward. So it's kind of a win there and complement John Pregenzer and the rest of the team, you know, for really that effectively here.

Deane Dray: That's helpful. Thank you. Just one thing to circle back on your earlier question in David's earlier question as well. It is a little bit difficult to predict the dynamics associated with price versus cost because there's so many different factors. One item that I think we're watching here in the near term a little bit is the volatility and fluctuation that we've seen in copper. Know, if we just rewind you know, like, six months ago, it's up roughly, you know, 40% give or take from where we gave our outlook you know, back in November, we're probably up around 25%.

There's just been a lot of volatility there, and that would be one variable on also trying to make you know, some of these assessments as we move forward. I mean, these markets move quickly, and so know, that's one of the dynamics here that we're trying to watch and understand as we move throughout the year is that volatility a little bit. But I think the team's done a nice job because one of the one of the facility closures is, in the area where we use copper, and I think it's you know, the team's working to improve the cost structure and try to be reactive to some of that volatility as well.

So, you know, there's just a lot of lot of moving parts and dynamics versus trying to pinpoint a singular, hey. This is know, when things change in one way or another.

Deane Dray: Of course. I appreciate that. Thank you.

John Deitzer: Thanks, Dean.

Operator: Your next question comes from Justin Clare with Roth Capital Partners.

Justin Clare: Good morning. So just wanted to follow-up on steel conduit pricing here. So I think it's the fourth quarter in a row that pricing has improved. So wondering if you could just speak a little bit to the trend you expect ahead. Do you anticipate continued price improvement in fiscal Q2? And then does the guidance for the year embed a continued upward trend in steel pricing? How are you thinking about that? And then just lastly, is the higher pricing supporting margin improvement for steel conduit? If you could speak to potential magnitude or how that's being affected.

John Deitzer: Yeah. So, Justin, I'll start here, and the team can add as always. So you are correct that you know, steel conduit prices since it's been four quarters, so continue to go up with price. And also, in most of those quarters, it's been up sequentially. And for example, our last quarter, probably our best quarter for spreads in a long time. So those things are moving up. I at this stage in our forecast, I don't think we're expecting a meaningful spread increases.

So but I also won't bake anything in to go for what we're guiding for you, Jen, and say, oh, there's gonna be so much more Steel prices are expected, and I'm just going from different, you know, people's professional forecast that we use. To continue to go up slightly over the next, you know, six, nine months here. So I think we can keep up with pricing, but I wouldn't expect a lot of extra spread, or at least that's not baked into our numbers here.

Justin Clare: Got it. Okay. And then just one on the tariffs. I believe aluminum tariffs were potentially expected to have an impact on the cost structure. Wondering how that's evolving if you secured domestic sources, of supply and what the potential impact on the margins could be.

John Deitzer: Yeah. Again, without getting too specific on future but you are correct, Justin, that for us, the tariffs because where we did get our products our aluminum from offshore, at least offshore Canada, I'll be specific. So they are being impacted by the tariffs. We are looking at the mess sources, but, you know, I don't wanna give out here if nothing else for competitors. You know, the probability of that you know, because it's even simple things like that, getting to it through specs, And then also, you know, I do think the domestic manufacturers, back to they know that people like us and so forth are looking for domestic supply. You know, they're raising the price.

So how much of an arbitrage we have compared to our competitors or how much we can save compared to the tariffs is hard to quantify. But I will tell you, it has been an impact that we I don't think we passed along the impact of the 50% aluminum tariffs. That kinda ties back to John Deitzer's question. Question. Or answer, excuse me, even though things like copper are so volatile right now. That us predicting that our cable business is a little bit more challenging in the short term here.

Justin Clare: Got it. Okay. I appreciate it. Thank you.

John Deitzer: Yeah. Thanks, Justin.

Operator: Your next question comes from Chris Dankert with Loop Capital.

Chris Dankert: Morning. Thanks for taking the questions. Guess just to kind of circle back on solar, and I think you touched on it on your prepared remarks, but I missed it. Can just kinda give us a sense for what the solar activity is now kind of how we're shifting capacity in that market and then just kind of an update there?

John Deitzer: Yeah. So what we said, and then it's a great I'm gonna joke and say a setup question for us. Is solar from the quarter just with timing of projects, was down from a year over year perspective. That said, we do have a good backlog there, almost to other people's questions on global mega projects. You know, borders coming in, commitments from OEMs, And then the other thing that's helping us that we mentioned last year, but our facility Hobart that we make a lot of the solar torque tubes in is forming really well. So that does a couple things that helps drive some of the productivity we talked about for the first quarter.

It helps you know, with our, you know, overall estimates for productivity for the year. And the increase in throughput is helping as this demand does come up here. So I think solar like global mega projects, should be a good thing for, you know, this quarter and, quite frankly, the second half of the year. To earlier questions, you look at the step up you know, between what we're estimating for profits in Q1 and To hit the, you know, the average of our numbers of $350 million EBITDA. Q2 compared to what we need to deliver in Q3 and Q4.

Chris Dankert: As a point of clarification, I just I assume that the solar torque tubes were generally for domestic projects. Is any of that for export outside of North America right now?

John Deitzer: Some. So I don't know long term. How much will be, but it does one of our customers has ordered you know, a meaningful amount here for projects overseas, but I don't know if that's a long term trend or not versus a short term. So I think I would leave it at majority of our focus and our customers or America base. With coincidentally short term some projects going overseas.

Chris Dankert: Got it. Got it. That's helpful. And then I guess just finally on Hobart, any update as far as factory loading their, operational metrics? Anything worth calling out either in terms of just being on track or any kind of wind or headaches there?

John Pregenzer: Yeah. John? Yeah. No. Hobart's Hobart's going well. You know, obviously, bringing in the additional solar volume, but their operational rates are continuing to improve. A lot of the productivity that we delivered was contributed by Hobart. So I think everything's progressing as we need it to be.

Chris Dankert: Sounds good. Thanks, guys.

John Deitzer: Thank you, Chris.

Operator: This concludes the question and answer session. I would now like to turn the call back over to Bill Waltz for closing remarks.

William Waltz: Thank you. Let me take a moment to summarize my three key takeaways from today's discussion. First, Atkore's fiscal 2026 is off to a good start. Our results reflect a combination of healthy end markets and self-help productivity gains. We will continue to operate with a proactive mindset as we progress throughout the year. Second, we anticipate favorable market demand for the balance of the year as we reaffirm our full-year outlook. Finally, as we execute previously announced strategic actions and evaluate additional opportunities, we are laser-focused on creating long-term value for our shareholders. With that, thank you for your support and interest in our company. We look forward to speaking with you during our next quarterly call.

This concludes the call for today.

Operator: This concludes today's conference. You may now disconnect.

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