Dragonfly Energy Hldgs (NASDAQ:DFLI) reported first-quarter financial results on Thursday. The transcript from the company's first-quarter earnings call has been provided below.

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Summary

Dragonfly Energy Holdings Corp reported first-quarter results that exceeded guidance in net sales and adjusted EBITDA, despite challenges in the RV market.

Significant order from Stevens Transport for over $3 million, covering nearly 500 trucks, marking the company's largest trucking purchase order to date.

Implemented cost reduction measures, resulting in a $9 million improvement in annualized adjusted EBITDA, with additional savings from rental space consolidation.

Received a patent allowance from the Japan Patent Office, bolstering their global intellectual property portfolio, and secured a non-dilutive award to enhance domestic manufacturing capabilities.

Net sales for the first quarter were $9.7 million with a gross margin of 17.6%, and the company forecasts a 36% increase in net sales for the second quarter.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Hello everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to Dragonfly Energy's first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. After today's prepared remarks, we will host a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press Star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press Star one again. I will now hand the conference over to Simon Seravowski, please go ahead.

Simon Seravowski

Thank you Operator. We appreciate you joining us for today's call. Joining me here today, Dr. Dennis Fares, Dragonfly Energy's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Wade Sieberg, Chief Commercial Officer. Before I turn the call over to Dennis, I'd like to make a brief statement regarding forward looking remarks. During this call, the Company will be making forward looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Based on current expectations, these forward looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Actual results may differ due to factors noted in the press release and in periodic SEC filings, management or reference to non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations to the nearest corresponding GAAP measure can be found in today's release on the Company's website. Please note, fellow comparisons will be discussed today on a year over year basis unless otherwise noted. I'll now turn the call over to Dennis.

Dennis Fares

Thank you Simon and thank you everyone for joining us today. First quarter results came in above guidance on both net sales and adjusted EBITDA and reflected a softer RV environment. As expected, the RV market continues to navigate meaningful headwinds with industry shipments and recent retail sales data down year over year. While the broader market remains soft. We continue to see healthy adoption trends within our OEM partnerships driven by both expanded integration across additional model lineups and increased energy storage content within existing platforms. We are encouraged by signs of stabilization in the RV market as we move into the second quarter as well as the strong momentum we are seeing in our heavy duty trucking business. After several years of building our presence in trucking, we are now beginning to see that work translate into meaningful revenue following our quarter end. Stevens Transport,, one of the largest temperature controlled freight carriers in North America, placed our largest trucking purchase order to date valued at over $3 million covering nearly 500 trucks. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter and continue to ramp through 2026. Stevens has been a partner since 2024 when we began deploying our all electric APU across a portion of their fleet for validation testing. We believe the results of that pilot program gave Stevens the confidence to commit to transitioning their entire fleet of 2,500 trucks to our platform, and this purchase order marks the beginning of that broader commitment. Importantly, the order spans our full heavy duty trucking product portfolio, reflecting the expansion of our relationship beyond the initial deployment, a trend we are seeing more broadly as fleets transition from pilots to fleet-wide multi-system implementation. Wade will discuss the heavy duty trucking environment in more detail, but I would note that the backdrop for our trucking business has shifted meaningfully over the past several months and we believe we are well positioned to build on this momentum throughout the year. Turning to our Cost Structure as we noted on our fourth quarter call, we implemented a series of decisive actions to align our cost structure with key growth opportunities while also ensuring that incentives across the organization remain closely aligned with with long term shareholder value. This included reductions in marketing spend, primarily in DTC focused channels, targeted workforce reductions and compensation adjustments at the leadership level where members of the executive team and board agreed to reduce cash compensation by approximately 20% with that portion converted to equity based incentives, again with the goal of directly aligning the interests of our leadership team with those of long term shareholders. Since implementing these actions in March, we have realized approximately $4.5 million in annualized expense reduction on an adjusted basis. We also expect an additional $4 million in annualized expense reduction from the consolidation of rental space which is expected to be finalized in the second quarter. Collectively, these actions are expected to drive an annualized adjusted EBITDA improvement of approximately $9 million. Following these actions, we believe Dragonfly is now appropriately sized while still retaining the resources necessary to support growth as our business continues to scale. Moving on to the technology and IP side, in April we received our first patent allowance from the Japan Patent Office for our powderized solid state electrolyte and electroactive materials application. This milestone strengthens our global intellectual property portfolio which includes nearly 90 issued or pending patents across battery technology, system integration capabilities and proprietary software. While our top priority remains getting back to profitability, we continue to advance our dry electrode and solid state programs which we believe represent a significant long term opportunity for Dragonfly. We have developed a significant amount of valuable IP over the years that we look to appropriately leverage through organic development partnerships, joint ventures and similar structures. Alongside this progress, we continue to invest in our domestic manufacturing capabilities. Earlier this month we were selected for a second round of Nevada Tech Hub funding, a $527,000 non dilutive award that will support the expansion of our in house Cylindrical cell prototyping and testing capabilities. The project is expected to run through Q2 2027 and receiving this award for a second consecutive cycle reflects the program's confidence in our domestic battery manufacturing roadmap. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Wade to discuss our commercial markets in more detail.

Wade Sieberg (Chief Commercial Officer)

Thank you, Dennis. I'd like to discuss the progress we are seeing across our commercial markets with a particular focus on heavy duty trucking where rising diesel prices and an accelerating fleet replacement cycle are strengthening the ROI case for our solutions in real time. Fleets have been operating through an extended freight recession with capital spending constrained across the industry. Against that backdrop, the Stevens Transport order is particularly meaningful. It reflects a customer who evaluated our technology under pressure and chose to commit to transitioning their entire 2500 truck fleet to our platform. Following the Werner order in the fourth quarter, Stevens has now placed a purchase order spanning nearly 500 trucks with delivery scheduled throughout 2026. The scope of the order is worth noting as it spans our full heavy duty trucking product portfolio, the Dual Flow Power Pack, the all electric APU and inverter. The deployment is also expected to span four different OEM chassis including trucks equipped with our 24 volt dual flow power pack. Together, these products address the full range of a truck's needs during a rest period. The Dual Flow supports starter battery health and reduces idle related strain. The all electric APU eliminates engine idling by powering in cab hotel loads, HVAC, climate control and onboard appliances without running the engine and the inverter delivers clean, stable AC power for onboard electronics and appliances. Our ability to deliver fully integrated solutions differentiates our platform, reinforces our position as a complete energy solutions provider in this market and increases our revenue opportunity per truck. The timing of the Stevens order is also worth noting given the broader economic environment. Diesel prices have increased significantly since the beginning of the year which has had a meaningful impact on the ROI equation for fleet operators. Evaluating our solutions Based on our internal fleet modeling, the Dual Flow power pack was delivering a payback period of just over one year at prior diesel prices. In the current pricing environment, the payback period is under 10 months with similar improvements across our all electric APU. Compounding this dynamic is the 2027 engine transition as many carriers are pre buying 2026 trucks in anticipation of higher prices when the new NOX compliant engines come to market. These next generation engines are showing higher idle rates as they need to operate at elevated temperatures to process emissions effectively leading to increased fuel consumption and engine wear during rest periods. They are also expected to be meaningfully more expensive, further strengthening the economics for our idle reduction solutions. With these converging factors, we believe the outlook for the balance of the year is increasingly favorable. Fleet capital spending is beginning to recover and the fleets that deferred equipment purchases through the downturn are now moving. We are engaging in meaningful conversations and seeing encouraging progression as fleets advance through their evaluation phases. We have spent the last few years validating our technology and establishing our credibility across industry. Now we are seeing that work start to translate into the commercial momentum we have been building toward turning to the RV market. The overall environment remained soft in the first quarter, with recent industry data showing March new RV retail sales down more than 20% year over year, while wholesale shipments also declined year over year. Against that backdrop, we remained well positioned and continue to see healthy adoption trends within our OEM partnerships. Importantly, that growth is coming not only from broader inclusion but across additional model lineups, but also from increased energy storage content within select existing models as OEMs look to deliver more capable power systems to their customers. We are in active discussions with existing OEM partners on expanding our energy storage solutions to additional model lineups and increasing battery capacity within select current platforms, and we expect to provide further updates as those conversations progress across both markets. We enter the second quarter with improving momentum, with trucking accelerating from a strong commercial foundation and RV positioned to benefit as end market conditions improve. With that, I'll turn the call back to Dennis.

Dennis Fares

Thank you Wade. Turning now to our first quarter financial results. Net sales were $9.7 million, including $5.8 million in OEM net sales and $3.7 million in Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) net sales reflecting the softer demand environment in the RV market. Gross margin was 17.6% reflecting lower volumes. We expect meaningful improvement in Q2 as trucking revenue scales and fixed cost absorption improves. Operating expenses totaled $7.4 million compared to $9.8 million, primarily driven by our targeted cost reduction measures. Net loss attributable to common shareholders was $7.7 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, and adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) was negative $4.6 million. Looking ahead to the second quarter, we expect net sales of approximately $13.2 million, representing sequential growth of 36%. As we begin to realize meaningful trucking revenue for adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA), we anticipate a loss of approximately $1.9 million, representing a sequential improvement of $2.7 million, reflecting a higher revenue run rate and the cost actions we implemented in Q1 flowing through the business we continue to target positive adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) at an annualized net sales run rate of approximately $70 million. With a more efficient cost structure in place and commercial momentum building across both our trucking and RV businesses, we believe we are well positioned to reach this target and deliver long term value for our shareholders. We view 2026 as a pivotal year for Dragonfly. Over the past year, we have both greatly improved our capital structure and reduced our cost base. Importantly, our board and executive team now operate under a compensation structure weighted toward equity, closely aligning their interests with those of our long term shareholders. We are also beginning to see the tangible benefits from our investments in the trucking market with material commercial orders and believe our momentum in the market will continue to increase as other carriers and OEMs follow suit. Especially against the backdrop of higher fuel prices. With a stronger balance sheet, a leaner cost structure, and accelerating commercial traction and trucking, we believe Dragonfly Energy is strongly positioned to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us. We look forward to seeing many of you at upcoming meetings and conferences. In closing, I would like to thank our employees, customers and stockholders for their continued support of Dragonfly Energy. Operator. We would like to open the call for questions.

OPERATOR

We will now begin the question and answer session. Please limit yourself to one question and one follow up. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star one again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality if you are muted locally. Please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q and A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Chip Moore with Roth. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Chip Moore (Equity Analyst)

Hey. Hey. Dennis and Wade, thanks for taking the question. How you guys doing? Good. How you doing, Chip? Good. Hey, so nice to see this commercial momentum on the trucking side. Wondering maybe if you could expand a bit on. I think you. Wade, you talked about some of the efforts there and conversations you've been having, but any way to help think about the pipeline of opportunities, you know, similar to the order you outlined, you know, what's the addressable opportunity and how far are some of those conversations?

Wade Sieberg (Chief Commercial Officer)

Yeah, the pipeline is really strong, Chip. Thanks for the question. We've been for the last three years since we've entered this market, we've been iterating product solutions and lining that up with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)s and a lot of fleet trials that are happening in the marketplace over the last three years and A percentage of those fleets now started to order trucks. I mean, just, you know, I saw on Transport Topics yesterday that, you know, truck orders are up 200% again. I think the second straight month has been up triple digits. So you're seeing it at the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) level where fleets are starting to now order trucks again. And as they're ordering those trucks, they're taking into account all of the technologies that they've been testing over that time. This is one of the reasons why, you know, on a previous call, we talked about Werner announcements that we had and at the end of last year. And that announcement was significant because at the time, they weren't spending any money on really anything. So to be able to get them to spend capital on technology at that point was a real significant marker for us within the heavy duty truck market. So as far as total addressable market, they're building 250,000 trucks every single year. And about half of those have sleeper cabs and, and need some sort of driver comfort feature so that the overall market is really strong for the solutions that we're putting out there.

Chip Moore (Equity Analyst)

That's great. That's helpful, Wade. And you know, maybe for my follow up, you know, maybe. Maybe Dennis, around, you know, dry electrode and solid state, obviously, you know, capital being a priority in preserving the balance sheet. But any, any updates there or, you know, anything capital light or anything else being explored around those assets.

Dennis Fares

Yeah, I mean, we're still obviously that the top priority, as I mentioned, is revenue cost structure and getting back to profitability. But we do have some, you know, obviously minimal spend to maximize what we can do in terms of developing the dry electrode, the solid state, continuing the development of ip. So what we're doing, really just in the background, we're developing partnerships, you know, we have. We have interested parties obviously in what we're doing. It's a, you know, tricky time in terms of batteries. It's. What's happening outside of China is becoming more and more difficult. So having technology is very important and it's not lost on anyone trying to do something domestically. So we continue to develop the supply chain, to develop the partnerships, and we look forward to being able to announce something really meaningful in the future here. Great. Appreciate it. Thanks very much. Thanks, Chip.

OPERATOR

A reminder. If you would like to ask a question, please press Star one to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press Star one. Again, There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back to Dennis Fares for closing remarks.

Dennis Fares

Thank you all for joining us today. We look forward to sharing more updates with you in the coming quarters.

OPERATOR

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company's SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants' and analysts' statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.