Helen of Troy Ltd.’s Home & Outdoor segment’s sales expanded 9.5 percent year-over-year to $194.9 million in the fiscal first quarter ended May 31, led by strength at its Osprey backpack brand that were boosted by international and e-commerce momentum. Hydro Flask’s gains were boosted by increased distribution at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
On an analyst call, Helen of Troy’s CFO Brian Grass said the company’s Home & Outdoor segment achieved “broad-based growth” across all three of its brands, also including the OXO houseware brand.
“Osprey was the strongest performer, with growth driven by improvements in our international distribution network and e-commerce momentum,” said Grass. “OXO benefited from lapping prior tariff-related disruption, strong point-of-sale trends, and expanded brick-and-mortar distribution. Hydro Flask growth reflects expanded retail distribution, inventory optimization, and e-commerce momentum.”
In the Q&A section of the call, Grass said the expanded retail distribution at Hydro Flask primarily related to Dick’s Sporting Goods although the brand also benefited from a planogram reset at Target. Grass also noted that the e-commerce momentum at Hydro Flask was supported by strength on the Amazon platform. Companywide, Helen of Troy said the quarter benefited from about $4 million to $5 million from the earlier timing of Amazon Prime Day, which pulled some orders into the period.
Scott Uzzell, Helen of Troy’s CEO, on the call highlighted Osprey as one of four brands – also including Braun, OXO and Olivia & June – driving consolidated growth in North American POS channels due to strong demand for newer products. He called out Osprey’s Daylite and Transporter expandable travel packs that are designed to bypass strict airline baggage fees. Uzzell said of the collection, “This is differentiated innovation over-delivering against financial targets and driving meaningful share gains.”
In Helen of Troy’s media release, the gains at the Home & Outdoor segment were also attributed to favorable comparison to the prior year as tariff uncertainty pulled retailer orders from the first quarter of fiscal 2026 and into the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025.
Home & Outdoor operating income in the quarter was $8.2 million in the fiscal first quarter compared to an operating loss of $213.8 million. Last year’s Q1 results included $219.1 million of pre-tax asset impairment charges.
The remaining 120 basis point increase in segment operating margin was primarily due to the favorable comparative impact of CEO succession costs of $1.7 million recognized in the prior year period, lower outbound freight costs and the impact of favorable operating leverage. These factors were partially offset by the net unfavorable impact of tariffs, an increase in share-based compensation expenses, and unfavorable customer mix. On an adjusted basis, adjusted operating income at the Home & Outdoor segment increased 39.2 percent to $12.3 million, or 6.3 percent of segment of net sales revenue.
Helen of Troy’s Consolidated Results Exceed Analyst Targets
Companywide, sales and earnings topped analyst targets with Uzzell noting that results from both its Home & Outdoor and Beauty and Wellness segments topping expectations. He added, “Our margin and EPS performance reflect deliberate investment in brands, innovation, and people as we focus on building more consistent, durable enterprise, not just a quarter or two of improvement.”
Companywide sales rose 8.2 percent to $402.1 million, topping analysts’ consensus target of $368.5 million.
On an adjusted basis, earnings slumped 58.5 percent to 17 cents from 41 cents a year ago but outperformed the consensus forecast of a 5 cents loss per share by 22 cents. The quarter included a pre-tax benefit of $1.8 million for phase one tariff refunds that Helen of Troy estimated will be collectible as of the end of the quarter, which contributed to adjusted EPS ahead of expectations.
In Helen of Troy’s Beauty & Wellness segment, sales increased 7.0 percent to $207.2 million. Adjusted operating income in the segment decreased 48.2 percent to $3.8 million. On a reported basis, Beauty & Wellness operating income was $52.2 million compared to a year-ago operating loss of $193.2 million, which included $195.3 million of pre-tax asset impairment charges. The segment includes Vicks, Braun, Honeywell, Pur, Hot Tools, Drybar, Curlsmith, Revlon and Olive & June.
Gross Margins Pressured by Tariffs
Companywide earnings on an adjusted basis were dragged by a decline in consolidated gross profit margin by 110 basis points to 46.0 percent, primarily reflecting the net unfavorable impact of tariffs, a less favorable inventory obsolescence impact year-over-year, and a less favorable customer mix within Home & Outdoor. The first quarter is expected to have the most year-over-year gross margin compression from tariffs due to higher rates still cycling through cost of goods sold and minimal tariff impact in the same period last year.
Adjusted operating margin decreased 30 basis points to 4 percent, reflecting the unfavorable impact of tariffs and higher investment in its organization and go-to-market structure, partially offset by lower outbound freight and favorable operating leverage.
SG&A ratio on a reported basis decreased to 31 percent compared to 45.1 percent in the same period last year, primarily driven by a pre-tax gain of $55 million from the sale of a distribution facility disclosed in April, partially offset by higher investment in people year-over-year.
On a reported basis, net income was $35.8 million, or $1.51 per share, after the after-tax gain on the sale of the distribution facility. In the year-ago period, the net loss of $450.7 million, or $19.65 a share, included asset impairment charges and related valuation allowances on deferred tax assets of $19.71 a share.
CEO Commentary
The majority of Uzzell’s prepared comments on the call discussed Helen of Troy’s progress against a multi-year strategy announced on its April quarterly call that has a goal of making Helen of Troy “a better company on the road to being a bigger company.” He said the business is focusing on consumer-first innovation, commercial and operational discipline, and people and culture.
As part of efforts to be closer to the consumer, Helen of Troy has designated five dedicated segment general managers, each with full ownership of the brand portfolio, including strategy, innovation, commercial execution, and business results. The company has also formalized three geographic general managers roles to accelerate brand development internationally.
“The result is dedicated leaders who live and breathe a focused consumer segment or marketplace rather than balancing competing priorities across multiple brands,” said Uzzell. “We expect this will free up our segment presidents to do what they do best, clear the forest for strategic growth by scaling enterprise solutions, advancing cross-portfolio opportunities, and shaping our long-term strategic agenda. We believe this will result in a company closer to the consumer with sharper ownership, faster decision-making, and the leadership firepower to unlock full potential of our brands.”
Helen of Tory is also “strengthening the fundamentals of our commercial and operational execution,” including a higher focus on pricing discipline, reducing exposure to lower-margin channels, and shifting towards higher-value products.
Uzzell added, “We are also bringing greater consistency to how we price and promote, ensuring we drive demand in ways that protect brand value. At the same time, we are improving alignment across sales, marketing, and product with a sharper focus on higher-impact products and our most important customers.” At the same time, we are improving alignment across sales, marketing, and product with a sharper focus on higher impact products and our most important customers. At its core, this work is about bringing greater control and consistency to how we operate across channels and with our customers.”
Other priorities include seeing more consistency in pricing and presentation across e-commerce channels, improving digital shelf and retail media effectiveness, and elevating demand planning. Helen of Troy is also looking to speed up decision-making with closer collaborations within teams and by deploying test and learning models to explore scale potential. Uzzell said, “These changes are fostering a more efficient operating model with clear ownership, one that enables us to act with clarity and control. At the same time, we’re continuing to invest our time and resources in growth.”
Outlook and Tariffs
Helen of Troy raised its full-year fiscal 2027 revenue outlook to a range of $1.759 billion to $1.831 billion, up from a prior range between $1.751 billion and $1.822 billion.
Home & Outdoor sales are expected to range between $859 million to $884 million ($854 million to $882 million previously); Beauty & Wellness sales are projected between $900 million to $947 million ($897 million to $940 million previously)
Helen of Troy kept adjusted EPS guidance at $3.25 to $3.75 and maintained adjusted EBITDA guidance at $190 million to $197 million. Free cash flow guidance stayed at $85 million to $100 million, while capital spending plans were lifted slightly.
Management said first-half sales should rise in the low to mid-single digits, while the second half could see a low single-digit decline at the midpoint of the range because of tougher comparisons. The company also expects about 20 percent of full-year adjusted EPS to come in the first half and about 15 percent in the second quarter.
The outlook includes about $9.2 million of benefit from phase-one tariff refunds. Management said the bulk of the remaining $7 million from that phase should be collected in the second quarter. The company is preparing to file claims for phase two of the tariff refund process, but it is not assuming any benefit from future phases in its base outlook.
Executives said the company plans to reinvest much of the tariff-refund benefit into the business, including product development, commercial capabilities, supply chain work and international expansion.
Uzzell said, “Brands that deliver meaningful innovation and meet real consumer needs can continue to win, even in a more cautious spending environment.”
In the Q&A section, management expressed confidence that the pricing actions used to offset tariffs won’t have a detrimental impact on sales despite promotional pressures in many of Helen of Troy’s categories.
Uzzell said, “For the most part, we feel like 80 percent of where we wanted to get pricing. We were able to pass it through, and we’re competing in those markets. We’ll always continue to monitor that to make sure that whether it’s competition, what’s going on in the marketplace or what’s going on with our retailers, we have the right to adjust. At this point, we’ve had to flow that through to offset the work of the negative impact of tariffs a year ago.”
Helen of Troy also said its outlook considers expectations of continued inflationary pressures, softness in discretionary categories, conservative retailer inventory management and an increasingly competitive and promotional landscape. The outlook also anticipates heightened geopolitical and supply-chain risks, including ongoing tensions in the Middle East, have begun to drive volatility in energy and commodity markets that could continue, increasing uncertainty around input costs and supply chain continuity.
Uzzell said, “As we look at our enterprise, we’re focused on the 80 percent of things that we believe we can control, which is investing in brands, people, and new product innovation, and getting back to growth. As we think about the external factors that are out there, whether it being continued inflationary pressure, softness in discretionary categories, retailers in the marketplace in general being just much more conservative as they wait by. These are things that are not just for us. This is everybody in the category. We’re just live in an uncertain world.”
Image courtesy Osprey/Helen of Troy, Ltd.
