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Latham Group, Inc. delivered a robust first quarter for 2026, reporting $117 million in net sales, a 5% increase year-over-year. Growth was driven by organic demand for auto covers and liners, alongside the strategic acquisition of Freedom Pools in Australia. Despite adverse weather impacting organic growth in early Q1, April trends showed a strong seasonal ramp, allowing management to reaffirm its full-year guidance of 9% revenue growth and 13% adjusted EBITDA growth. A key highlight was the execution of the Sand States strategy, with Florida achieving double-digit gains in fiberglass pools. CEO Sean Gadd outlined a new commercial organization focused on neighborhood-level segmentation to accelerate the conversion from concrete to fiberglass. Financial performance was bolstered by a 220-basis point expansion in gross margin, resulting from lean manufacturing efficiencies and volume leverage. Challenges persist, including high interest rates impacting consumer financing and rising freight costs due to oil price volatility. Management is mitigating these through temporary fuel surcharges and value engineering. With fiberglass expected to comprise 80% of in-ground sales, Latham remains well-positioned to gain market share despite the broader industry expectation of flat U.S. pool starts.

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Latham Group, Inc.: Emerging Growth exemptions mask structural transparency risks

Full Earnings Call Transcript — Q1 • 2026-05-05

Operator: Good afternoon, and welcome to the Latham Group, Inc. First Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Casey Kotary, Investor Relations representative. Please go ahead. Thank you. This afternoon, we issued our first quarter 2026 earnings press release, which is available on the Investor Relations portion of our website.
Casey Kotary: On today's call are Latham Group, Inc.'s President and CEO, Sean Gadd, and CFO, Oliver Gloe. Following their remarks, we will open the call to questions. During this call, Latham Group, Inc. may make certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements, which reflect the company's views with respect to future events and financial performance as of today or the date specified. Actual events and results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements due to risks and other factors that are set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10 and subsequent reports filed or furnished with the SEC as well as today's earnings release. Latham Group, Inc. expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law. In addition, during today's call, the company will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of the directly comparable GAAP measures to these non-GAAP measures can be found in the slide presentation that is available on our Investor Relations website. I will now turn the call over to Sean Gadd.
Sean Gadd: Thank you, Casey, and thank you all for joining us today to review our first quarter results and discuss our business outlook. Our first quarter results represent a good start to 2026. We are especially pleased with our performance given the adverse weather conditions that plagued most of North America. There are several key takeaways from the quarter that are worth noting. First, this was another quarter in which we saw year-on-year sales growth in each of our product lines. Latham Group, Inc.'s category leadership position across our product portfolio and our geographic diversification are key competitive advantages for us. Secondly, we continue to effectively execute our Sand States strategy, showing double-digit sales gains in fiberglass pools in our priority Florida market. We are taking further actions to accelerate our growth in this region. Third, we expanded our margins, benefiting from operating leverage inherent in our business model and from the lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives that continue to yield very positive results. Oliver will provide additional detail on this later on in the call. And lastly, we are pleased to confirm our 2026 guidance, which anticipates significant sales growth and even stronger growth in adjusted EBITDA within a challenging macro environment, where pool starts will be about flat to last year. Our guidance includes a moderate increase in transportation and commodity costs due to today's high oil prices, which we are mitigating with temporary fuel surcharges. We are closely monitoring the dynamic situation in the Middle East and the potential impacts on costs and consumer demand. Taking a closer look at our first quarter results, in-ground pool sales increased 3.5%, and virtually all of that growth can be attributed to the one-month contribution from the Freedom Pools acquisition. Adverse weather was definitely a factor in our organic performance, keeping organic in-ground pool sales steady year on year. However, April sales trends were in line with our expectations, and we are on track for fiberglass pools to approach 80% of our full-year in-ground pool sales in 2026. The Freedom Pools acquisition we completed on February 26 is integrating as expected. As we have noted, the acquisition expands our presence in Australia and New Zealand, markets where fiberglass pool models have a strong foothold, and broadens our reach into new markets in Western Australia, including Perth, which is the fastest-growing city in the country. We recently spent a week in Australia bringing together the Narellan and Freedom teams. In addition to this transaction being immediately accretive to Latham Group, Inc., giving us a market-leading position in the country, we anticipate achieving considerable revenue synergies from this combination over time, as well as gaining firsthand experience from the direct-to-consumer business model. Cover sales advanced 6% in the first quarter, driven by growth in auto cover demand as consumers increasingly recognize the safety and economic benefits of this excellent product. Our industry-leading auto covers are compatible with all in-ground pool types. In many parts of the U.S., they provide the homeowner with an alternative to fencing while delivering additional cost savings from reduced evaporation and chemical usage. Educational marketing campaigns, including our partnership with Olympic Gold Medalist and pool safety advocate, Bode Miller, and his wife, Morgan, to promote pool safety are surging consumer awareness and increased attachment rates of auto covers to new pool installations. First quarter liner sales were up 9% year on year, reflecting increased demand and buying in advance of the pool season. We continue to gain traction with our Sand States strategy in the first quarter and are moving forward with plans to accelerate our growth in this important region. Many of the investors and analysts who I have met since taking on the CEO role in January have asked me where I see the major growth opportunities ahead for Latham Group, Inc. and what our playbook is for capturing that growth. Let me start by saying that the opportunity is substantial. We do not need to wait for the recovery in the U.S. pool markets to drive growth. There are enough pool starts for us to go and attack the Sand States now, given our relatively low penetration in that region. The key here is that fiberglass is a growing category, and we are the number one player in it in the U.S., and so we are best positioned to gain share. Fiberglass pools are an excellent fit for the Sand States for many of the same reasons that the category is growing nationally: fast and easy installation, lasting durability, low maintenance, and we have an exceptional design range of sizes and options to choose from, many of which are smaller, rectangular-shaped pools with attached spas that are perfect for our target community. Latham Group, Inc. has laid a good foundation for growth in the Sand States. There is definitely increased brand awareness among consumers and dealers in Florida, thanks to several high-profile marketing campaigns paired with local activations. In 2026, we plan to build on that foundation to set the stage for accelerated long-term growth. As you know, I have many years of experience successfully selling against the standard in the building products industry. When I apply that experience to Latham Group, Inc.'s current position in the Sand States, I have identified several actions to capture consumer demand and provide additional value for our dealers. First, we are building out our commercial organization, with the key pillars being sales strategy, sales operations, and sales execution, with responsibilities to design and drive sales plans, product leadership, and sales effectiveness. Our goal is to provide a world-class commercial organization that supports our growth not just in Florida, but across all the Sand States and all of North America. Second, we have introduced a new market development framework and approach at Latham Group, Inc. that I believe will make us even more effective in capturing share. The key element of this framework is segmentation, meaning that we will be very selective with our targeted Sand State markets, determining the specific sections and neighborhoods that offer the greatest opportunity for us. In essence, it is all about neighborhoods. We are looking for neighborhoods with a large number of homes with home values, lot sizes, and household incomes that fall within our parameters. These can be in, adjacent to, or outside of master-planned communities. Third, we will be adding sales resources in the field to make sure we stay close to the consumer throughout the pool-buying process. In this way, we will be able to assist our dealers in converting more leads into sales and gain greater understanding of the consumer journey. We know that consumers are looking for designs that fit their lifestyle. We believe that Latham Group, Inc. has the best range of products to meet those needs. In 2026, we are increasing our investment in branding and marketing in a very targeted way to capture greater consumer awareness. Together with our network of trusted dealers, we are able to fulfill the demand we generate. In support of all this, we are revamping our marketing and advertising campaigns to give homeowners a full understanding of the true benefits of fiberglass, and why it is the right solution for their backyard to enable their dreams of creating wonderful memories to come true. With that, I will turn over the call to Oliver Gloe, our CFO, for a financial review.
Oliver Gloe: Thank you, Sean, and good afternoon, everyone. I am pleased to report on what was a solid start to 2026. Please note that all comparisons we discuss today are on a year-over-year basis compared to 2025 unless otherwise noted. Net sales for 2026 Q1 were $117 million, 5% above $111 million in 2025, of which 3% represented organic growth and 2% represented the one-month benefit of the Freedom Pools acquisition we completed in February. Organic growth was led by the continued strength of auto covers and increased demand for our pool liners. By product line, in-ground pool sales were $60 million, up 4% from Q1 2025, with virtually all the year-on-year growth coming from Freedom's fiberglass pool sales. Cover sales were $33 million, up 6%, and liner sales were $24 million, up 9% compared to 2025. We achieved a first quarter gross margin of 32%, reflecting a 220 basis point increase above last year's 30%. This performance is primarily due to volume leverage, along with production efficiencies driven by our lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives. SG&A expenses increased to $37 million, up 20% from $31 million in 2025. This was largely tied to strategic investments in sales and marketing to accelerate fiberglass adoption, digital transformation initiatives, and acquisition and integration-related costs, which include $2.3 million of performance-based compensatory earnout expenses related to our Coverstar Central acquisition in 2024. Target synergies have been realized for Coverstar Central, and we are pleased with the contribution from the acquisition, which has exceeded our initial expectations. This earnout will total roughly $9 million over the course of the year, with a similar impact in each remaining quarter in 2026. Net loss was $9 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the prior year's first quarter, primarily due to the aforementioned increase in SG&A expenses. First quarter adjusted EBITDA was $12 million, 9% above $11 million in the prior year period, primarily resulting from volume leverage and efficiencies gained through our lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 10.4%, a 40 basis point expansion compared to last year's first quarter. Turning to the balance sheet, we continue to maintain a strong financial position, ending the first quarter with a cash position of $27 million, in line with our expectations. Net cash used in operating activities was $48 million, reflecting a seasonal increase in working capital needs ahead of peak pool selling season. We ended the quarter with total debt of $311 million and a net debt leverage ratio of 2.8, also in line with our expectations. Capital expenditures were $23 million in Q1 2026, compared to $4 million in the prior year period. The increase is primarily due to the purchase of four key fiberglass manufacturing facilities in Florida, Texas, California, and West Virginia for $18 million, including a $12 million deposit made in 2025 that was settled in Q1 2026. Additionally, we incurred $5 million of CapEx relating to ongoing projects in line with our expectations. As a reminder, we expect CapEx to range between $42 million and $48 million in 2026. This includes $25 million of maintenance CapEx expenditures related to the purchase of the fiberglass manufacturing facilities that I just mentioned, and investments to upgrade our newly acquired Freedom Pools manufacturing facilities. While the beginning of 2026 was affected by adverse weather conditions across North America, we are encouraged that April sales trends have been in line with the historical seasonal ramp. We continue to monitor geopolitical developments and their potential impact on our freight and raw material costs, but we believe we are well positioned to manage effectively through this pool building season. We are pleased by the steady progress we are seeing from our fiberglass awareness and adoption initiatives, highlighted by strong consumer engagement with our branding and marketing campaigns, and continued gains in Florida, our initial Sand State target market. Based on our performance to date and our current visibility into the remaining season, we are pleased to reaffirm our guidance for 2026 revenue growth of 9% and adjusted EBITDA growth of 13% at the midpoint, amid expectations for new U.S. pool starts to be flat with last year. With that, I will turn the call back to Sean for his closing remarks.
Sean Gadd: Thanks, Oliver. In summary, we are pleased with our first quarter performance, encouraged by recent order trends, and excited by the growth opportunities we see on the horizon. Latham Group, Inc. is firmly on track to outperform the market for new U.S. pool starts again in 2026, and we intend to take advantage of soft markets to accelerate our Sand States strategy and strengthen our execution. I see tremendous opportunity for Latham Group, Inc. to drive market penetration in the Sand States as well as the rest of North America, Australia, and New Zealand. With that, operator, please open the call to questions.
Operator: We will now open the call for questions. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. Our first question comes from Ryan James Merkel with William Blair. Please go ahead.
Ryan James Merkel: Everyone, appreciate the question. I wanted to start off with the fiberglass backlog and orders as you enter season. How is that looking, and then have you seen trends pick up now that the weather has cleared?
Sean Gadd: Yes. Thank you for that question. We are seeing what we would have expected to see coming out of the first quarter. The order file in April looks strong to us, and it looks like it is picking up for the season. We feel good enough that we have reaffirmed guidance. Generally, we are seeing the pickup in orders and feel pretty good about the trend.
Ryan James Merkel: Got it. Thanks for that. And then my second question: the fiberglass conversion is key to the story, and you are adding a bunch of resources. What are the biggest tweaks that you are making to the strategy, and then any early results, or is it a little too early?
Sean Gadd: We are definitely making some tweaks. It is too early for definitive results. The main thing, as I talked about earlier, is we are segmenting the market a little bit differently than we have in the past. We have criteria now built up where we feel like if a neighborhood fits that criteria, the likelihood of them going to Latham Group, Inc. and then to fiberglass is higher. We like that. We are starting to test that, and if we get those right with the right dealers, we will be able to start building out more and more neighborhoods. We are early, but that is on a good path for us. The second thing we are doing is adding heads, and really I am organizing commercialization into three areas: sales strategy, which is understanding where to play, doing more of the segmentation, becoming a little bit smarter around sales; sales operations, which for me is about converting what we think about the market into real game plans that the sales team can execute and then measuring that team; and then sales execution, to go and execute. We are getting a little bit more organized so that we get the most out of our sales organization across the whole U.S., including the Sand States.
Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from Gregory William Palm with Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Please go ahead.
Gregory William Palm: I wanted to piggyback on the first question a little bit since a lot has happened in the last couple of months since we were all on the phone together. It does not sound like the demand environment has changed all that much, relative to what you would have thought a couple months ago. Can you confirm that? And from an input cost side of things, you mentioned freight. I wanted to get your sense on how you are dealing with that and anything else on your radar, whether it be increasing resin prices. Are you seeing any availability shortages of key inputs like that? Anything else that should be on our radar?
Sean Gadd: Thanks, Greg. I will start by talking about the market a little bit. We still see the market overall for this year likely to remain flat, so our assumption for that has not changed. But we are seeing some green shoots, and we feel good about that. Our order trend for April looks strong and into May, so we feel good about that. PK data would have indicated some growth starting to occur with cheaper pools. We like that. Pools are getting smaller, so that is good. The volatility is not helping, but I know we have a sound approach, and we will work through that. From a dealer perspective, when we catch up with dealers, they will tell us it is pretty competitive — four or five quotes per job, which is generally up. My take is it is certainly uncertain, but I believe fewer people will be traveling — the price of gas does not help — and so they are staying at home. I think that is the opportunity and what the green shoots are that we are seeing: that people would rather spend time at home and hopefully let us help build a pool.
Oliver Gloe: Let me address the second part with regards to the conflict in the Middle East and updates on input costs. We do not see availability to be an issue as of today. Partially that is due to our supply diversification coming out of COVID. We aimed to be multisource and as diversified as possible. But we are seeing headwinds in freight. That comes in two forms. One is transportation — the price at the pump. Especially in the world of fiberglass, we are incurring transportation costs. It is expensive to ship those fiberglass pools across the nation. In terms of mitigation, we have introduced temporary fuel surcharges that we plan to fully mitigate us on transportation costs. I think it is too early to tell what the impact will be on the commodity side. We are exposed to oil derivatives in the world of resins, HDPE, and so forth. It is too early to tell. We are in discussions with suppliers and making the first purchase orders as we speak under slightly higher price levels. We will have to see how the very dynamic situation evolves. But I am confident in the playbook that we have. We applied that playbook during COVID and last year, and we have confidence that the playbook could also work this year as we work through commodities.
Gregory William Palm: On some of these initiatives that you talked about — resegmentation, adding sales resources — how do you feel about your current dealer network, and how important of a lever can that be, not just adding new and more dealers, but also leaning into some of your more successful ones?
Sean Gadd: Dealers are very important. They are the extension of us as they sit across the kitchen table, and we need them to represent us well. I believe we have the opportunity to get more out of our current network, which is goal number one. In our core markets — Midwest, Northeast, Canada — that is really about account management. We are defining what account management looks like for Latham Group, Inc. and making sure our organization is trained around good account management. I expect to get more out of our current network. Then we will add where we have white space. We will always look for dealers to take on white space if our current dealer network does not get us there. That is part of the strategy. In the Sand States and material conversion, we have a good network of dealers there right now that we will be feeding as we go into these neighborhoods, and they will benefit from referrals and everything else that comes out of those neighborhoods. We feel good about the network in the Sand States, particularly Florida, and our intention will be over time to grow it.
Operator: Thanks, Greg. Our next question comes from Timothy Ronald Wojs with Baird. Please go ahead.
Timothy Ronald Wojs: Good afternoon. First question on the resegmentation of some of the sales force and things like that. Is the plan that there are incremental investments in terms of dollars going into some of the initiatives, or are you just reallocating what you have?
Sean Gadd: A little bit of both. We are definitely going to get ahead a little bit because we need more people on the ground and people thinking about the game plan. That would be additive, but our intention is that SG&A as a percentage of sales should stay the same over the medium and long term. We will continue to fund that as we grow. We will also look at opportunities to trim back on the back side of the business to give us some space to spend on the front side of the business and invest.
Timothy Ronald Wojs: And, Oliver, on the price/cost question, is higher resin in the guide, or is it more of a wait-and-see approach? If you do see higher resins, do you have the ability to take cost out or improve efficiencies or pass them on price? Is that the main message?
Oliver Gloe: It is probably more the latter. Transportation cost is relatively foreseeable, and that is in the guide. Commodities are too early to tell.
Timothy Ronald Wojs: Sounds good. Thank you.
Operator: Our next question comes from William Andrew Carter with Stifel. Please go ahead.
William Andrew Carter: I wanted to double click to make sure we understand exactly what the pricing is for the year. You are putting in temporary fuel surcharges — can you give a magnitude of how much that is incremental to the old guidance? You are not taking any price increases on products for resins — just want to triple check that. And you said we are well prepared for materials during the season. Is that a comment that everything is good for now and you take a price increase later? Finally, if you have to take a price increase, can you take one mid-season, or does that mess things up? How do those dynamics work around when you have to make a decision on pricing?
Oliver Gloe: Perfect. For transportation cost and the temporary surcharge, for the year it is probably worth about 60 basis points. Again, it is very dynamic and volatile, and as the headwinds change, the temporary surcharge can change over time as well — but that is the order of magnitude. For commodities, it is too early to tell. We are just about to start ordering materials that would be subject to a change in pricing. Materials get shipped to our sites, work their way through inventory, and ultimately into the P&L as they are consumed. We have our playbook, and we will react in time if necessary. As a reminder, last year we did a mid-season price increase in June. It is not preferred, but it is not unheard of.
Operator: Thanks. Thank you.
Scott Stringer: Our next question comes from Scott Stringer with Wolfe Research. Please go ahead. The adverse weather mentioned in Q1 — did that push some sales into the second quarter? The guidance implies some acceleration through the rest of the year, so it would be helpful to know the tailwind from sales being pulled into Q2, if that is the case.
Oliver Gloe: I would say the adverse weather really means we had a lot of snow and ice on the ground in January and February. If you think of our annual organic growth of 6%, we certainly did not quite achieve that in Q1 — it was probably half of that — and I would attribute that to weather. If you translate that to shipping days, that equates to about one shipping day in today’s seasonality. I am not reading too much into that. The season is young; Q1 is a comparatively small quarter. Translating our under-proportional organic growth in Q1 vis-à-vis the annual guide into shipping days, it is one day. Another way of saying it: April trends have been as expected. We are seeing the seasonal ramp. Whether we catch up on that one day in Q2 or Q3, nothing we have seen in Q1 and in our ramp in April would make us change our view on 2026 and the guide.
Scott Stringer: Got it. And then on visibility into Q2 and Q3 for in-ground pool installs — is that pretty much set, or how much variability is there over the next two quarters?
Sean Gadd: For Q2, we are all but set based on our current lead times. We started the quarter really well. For Q3, while we have orders that fall into Q3, it is probably too early to tell, but from what we are hearing in the market and what we are seeing, we remain very confident in what the order file looks like and will continue to hold guidance.
Oliver Gloe: If I compare today’s order book versus prior years, there is really nothing that would cause us to think differently about the seasonal pattern vis-à-vis last year — all confirming the guide.
Scott Stringer: That is helpful. Thanks for the time, guys.
Operator: Our next question comes from Analyst with Barclays. Please go ahead.
Analyst: Good afternoon. For my first question, what are the top concerns you are seeing from buyers today? Between rates, economic uncertainty, and the need to step up consumer awareness of fiberglass pools, what is the biggest challenge today?
Sean Gadd: The number one thing tied to interest rates is financing — basic financing is difficult to get. Anyone who does not have the cash or a strong FICO score is unable to get financing. We are hearing that a fair bit, similar to last year. Dealers are saying they are having to fight for the sale a little harder than previously. When I mentioned four to five quotes, it is typically two to three quotes, so everyone is fighting for the business. In an environment where things are tough, I actually feel good about fiberglass pools because pools are getting smaller — that fits our trend. Fiberglass pools have low maintenance, so the ongoing cost is lower than alternatives. The expenditure on chemicals and evaporation is lower, especially if you have an auto cover. And the composite pool means there are no ongoing resurfacing expenses. While we see the market as a little tough, we do not see it adversely affecting us relative to last year.
Analyst: Got it. In terms of your increased branding and marketing spend, can you walk us through the cadence through the year and its impact on SG&A? And what does this look like — a targeted program for dealers, more salespeople on the ground, or more on ads and marketing?
Sean Gadd: It is a bit of both. We are running a national campaign — that lifts all markets, which is great. With the trend of people moving from the Midwest and Northeast into the Sand States, we like that because fiberglass is the standard in those markets, so they know us. The timing for the national campaign is set for the pool season — we started mid-to-late February and are running through July/August. For the neighborhoods, that will be much more tactical — digital marketing, door hangers, localized marketing around homes, and events to inspire the neighborhood. Those are tactical, smaller expenses that we will run city by city, neighborhood by neighborhood.
Oliver Gloe: On the increase and cadence, over the foreseeable future, SG&A as a percent of sales will be flat. It was 22.5% last year; we expect a similar amount this year. The majority is spent as-you-go in the sales organization and marketing. There is a little bit of digital transformation and also inflation on core G&A. Additionally, we have about $3 million of SG&A from Freedom. I would like to remind you that in addition, we have the earnout expenses for Coverstar Central — about $9 million — tied to 2026, so it will not recur in 2027; it did not occur in 2025. With regards to cadence, it is roughly the same as usual. Q1 and Q2 are a little bit heavier because we are running our national TV campaign earlier and longer in 2026 versus 2025.
Operator: Our next question comes from Charles Perron in for Susan Maklari with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.
Charles Perron: First, I would like to shift gears and talk about auto covers and the opportunities you see in this market. Considering the changing macro dynamics, is there any impact you are seeing in terms of adoption, and any efforts you can undertake to further expand penetration over the coming years?
Sean Gadd: We are not seeing a decrease in adoption. We had a pretty good quarter in auto covers and covers in general. We had very large growth last year; we expect it to grow this year and in the coming years as well. It is really about awareness. The reality is most people still do not know that auto covers are available. Auto covers can fit on every pool, so the market is very large for us. We have our value-added resellers set up to take advantage of that. We are also getting our licensed sales organization focused around that product, and it is still early. We see that as more upside as we go. It is a good product; it does what it needs to do; consumers who have it love it, and we just need to continue to drive awareness. We do not see that trend changing.
Charles Perron: And on input costs and inflation, should we see more unfavorable dynamics, can you further lean on lean manufacturing and value engineering initiatives to protect margins?
Oliver Gloe: Lean and value engineering continue to be key contributors to our P&L. The contribution is about $2.0–$2.5 million per quarter. In Q1, it was $2.0 million — Q1 is a light quarter and value engineering programs move with volume. As programs mature, you see the tailwind becoming part of our DNA — how we lead our plants and factories — as part of the everyday cadence. You will see a lot more programs, maybe not all of the same magnitude, because the low-hanging fruit in lean manufacturing has been largely addressed. In value engineering, we are in the beginning of the journey; there are still some low-hanging fruits our team is pursuing. Both initiatives are under full steam and in Q1 delivered what we expected, with no change in our thoughts for the rest of the year.
Operator: Our next question comes from Sean Callan with Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Sean Callan: Hi, thank you for taking my question. First, the double-digit growth in Florida was quite impressive. What do you think has led to the success in Florida versus the other Sand States, and what lessons can you take from Florida to apply to the other Sand States? And then one cleanup question on the surcharges — are you aiming to offset the higher transportation cost on a dollar basis or a margin basis?
Sean Gadd: Florida is our largest focus of all the Sand States. We are set up quite well from a sales headcount perspective. We have worked on dealers for the last eighteen months, so we have dealers that are really the right partners to help fulfill the demand we are creating. We have been running a marketing campaign for eighteen months, so we are seeing the flow of that. We have a strong value proposition relative to concrete, and we are getting deeper into the market and communicating it better. We feel that if a homeowner understands the benefits of fiberglass over concrete, there is a high chance they go with fiberglass. We are still early in the adoption curve. Our mission is to drive awareness and connect that awareness to our dealers’ positioning at the kitchen table. While we are pleased with the numbers, we intend to accelerate from here, and we are still working off relatively small numbers in Florida.
Oliver Gloe: On the surcharges, we are aiming to offset transportation cost on a dollar basis. The headwind we incur is being passed on with temporary surcharges.
Operator: Our next question comes from William Andrew Carter with Stifel. Please go ahead.
William Andrew Carter: Hey, thanks. I wanted to double click and make sure on that incentive cost — you are not backing that out. So if you were to put that back in, the incremental here is still $28–$38 million in investment year? I just want to understand that. No — sorry, the earnout around Coverstar. My fault.
Oliver Gloe: The earnout is included in SG&A and will be sitting on top of roughly 22.5% of revenue as it is an expense tied to an acquisition. For EBITDA purposes, it is backed out.
William Andrew Carter: Okay, so it is not excluded — it is within guidance, that expense. Just double checking.
Oliver Gloe: Correct. It is an add-back to EBITDA, and it is in the ceiling.
William Andrew Carter: My fault. Sorry about that. Thank you.
Operator: This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the call back over to management for closing remarks.
Sean Gadd: Thank you very much. I want to thank everybody for joining the call. We felt like we had a strong quarter — mildly impacted by weather — but the momentum is there. April looks strong, and we feel confident about our guide. With that, I want to conclude the call. I look forward to seeing you over the coming weeks and months at different events, and again, thank you for attending.
Operator: The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.