Live Ventures (NASDAQ:LIVE) reported third-quarter financial results on Thursday. The transcript from the company's third-quarter earnings call has been provided below.

This content is powered by Benzinga APIs. For comprehensive financial data and transcripts, visit https://www.benzinga.com/apis/.

Access the full call at https://ir.liveventures.com/

Summary

Live Ventures reported a revenue decrease of 3.2% to $108.9 million for Q3 2026, primarily due to a significant decline in the retail flooring segment.

The retail entertainment and steel manufacturing segments showed strong performance, with revenue growth of 12.7% and 7.3%, respectively, contributing to improved operating income and adjusted EBITDA.

The company experienced a net loss of $1.1 million, or $0.34 per share, compared to a net income of $5.4 million in the prior-year period, impacted by lower revenues and increased operating expenses.

Total cash availability stood at $39.8 million, with $10.9 million in cash and $28.9 million available for borrowing. The company has $9.5 million remaining in its share repurchase program.

Management emphasized resilience in the diversified operating portfolio and remains focused on improving performance and driving sustainable long-term value creation.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Welcome to the Live Ventures fiscal year 2026 third quarter earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct the question-and-answer session. I would now like to turn the call over to Greg Powell, Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Gregory B. Powell, Director of Investor Relations

Thank you, Jen. Good afternoon and welcome to the Live Ventures third quarter fiscal year 2026 conference call. Joining us this afternoon are John Isaac, our Chief Executive Officer and President, and David Barrett, our Chief Financial Officer. Some of the statements we are making today are forward-looking and are based on our best view of our businesses as we see them today. Actual results could differ materially due to a number of factors, including those outlined in our latest filings, Forms 10-K and 10-Q, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

We have no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements after this call, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, or otherwise. You can find our press release and our 10-Q referenced on this call in the Investor Relations section of the Live Ventures website. I direct you to our website, liveventures.com, or sec.gov for historical SEC filings. I will now turn the call over to David to walk through our financial performance.

David Barrett, Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Greg. Good afternoon, everyone. Before discussing our financial results, I'd like to touch on a few key highlights from the quarter. During the quarter, our retail entertainment and steel manufacturing segments posted revenue growth, improved operating income, and higher adjusted EBITDA. The retail entertainment segment's revenue grew 12.7% while operating income and adjusted EBITDA increased 33.8% and 28.9%, respectively. The steel manufacturing segment's revenue increased 7.3%, with operating income and adjusted EBITDA up 68.9% and 16.3%, respectively.

These results were partially offset by continued weakness in the retail flooring segment, where softness in the new home construction and home refurbishment markets weighed on operating performance. Let's now discuss the financial results for the third quarter ended June 30, 2026. Revenue decreased approximately $3.6 million, or 3.2%, to $108.9 million, compared to revenue of $112.5 million in the prior-year period. Notably, three of our four operating segments delivered year-over-year growth.

Revenue decreased primarily due to a decline of approximately $9 million in the retail flooring segment, partially offset by an increase of approximately $2.4 million in the retail entertainment segment, $1.8 million in the steel manufacturing segment, and $1.1 million in the flooring manufacturing segment. The retail entertainment segment revenue increased approximately $2.4 million, or 12.7%, to $21.4 million compared to $19 million in the prior-year period.

The revenue growth was driven by strong consumer demand across all product lines. Retail flooring segment revenue decreased approximately $9 million, or 29.4%, to $21.4 million compared to $30.4 million in the prior-year period. The decline was primarily driven by lower retail and contractor sales due to continued headwinds in the new home construction and home refurbishment markets. Flooring manufacturing segment revenue increased approximately $800,000, or 2.8%, to $31.8 million compared to $31 million in the prior-year period.

Revenue, net of intercompany eliminations, increased approximately $1.1 million compared to the prior-year period. Steel manufacturing segment revenue increased approximately $2.5 million, or 7.3%, to $36.3 million compared to $33.8 million in the prior-year period. The increase in revenue was primarily driven by higher sales volumes in the fabricated hardware, tool and die businesses, partially offset by lower revenue in the metal forming, assembly, and finishing solutions business.

Revenue, net of intercompany eliminations, increased approximately $1.8 million compared to the prior year. Gross profit decreased approximately $1.2 million, or 3.1%, to $37.1 million compared to $38.3 million in the prior-year period, driven primarily by lower revenue. In the retail flooring segment, gross margin increased approximately 10 basis points to 34.1%, reflecting improved margins in the retail flooring and steel manufacturing segments.

General and administrative expenses increased 5% to approximately $27.6 million. The increase was primarily driven by increased compensation and professional fees in the retail entertainment, flooring manufacturing, and corporate segments. These increases were partially offset by lower general and administrative expenses in the retail flooring and steel manufacturing segments. Sales and marketing expenses increased 5.4% to approximately $4.2 million, primarily reflecting higher sales and marketing expense in the retail flooring and retail entertainment segments.

Operating income decreased approximately $2.7 million, or 34%, to $5.3 million compared to $8 million in the prior-year period. The decrease was driven by lower gross profit of $1.2 million as well as higher operating expenses previously mentioned. Interest expense was approximately $3.8 million, flat compared to the prior-year period. Income before income taxes was approximately $1.4 million compared to $7.5 million in the prior-year period. Net loss was approximately $1.1 million, with a loss per share of $0.34, compared to net income of approximately $5.4 million and diluted EPS of $1.24 in the prior-year period.

The prior-year period results benefited from a $1.5 million gain on employee retention credit and a $1.3 million gain on the settlement of a holdback liability related to Precision Marshall. Adjusted EBITDA decreased approximately $3.9 million, or 29.5%, to $9.3 million compared to $13.2 million in the prior-year period. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to the decrease in revenue. Turning to liquidity, we ended the second quarter with total cash availability of approximately $39.8 million, consisting of cash on hand of approximately $10.9 million and $28.9 million available for borrowing under our various lines of credit.

As of June 30, total assets were $385.8 million and total stockholders' equity was $91.9 million. As a part of our capital allocation strategy, we may make share repurchases from time to time. We currently have approximately $9.5 million remaining available under our $10 million share repurchase program. In conclusion, our third quarter performance demonstrates the resilience of our diversified operating portfolio. While we continue to navigate challenging conditions in our retail flooring segment, our retail entertainment segment and our steel manufacturing segment both delivered solid growth and improved profitability.

We remain focused on initiatives to improve performance across our operating segments and drive sustainable value creation over the long term. We will now take questions from those of you on the conference call. Operator, please open the line for questions.

OPERATOR

Thank you. At this time, we will conduct the question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your phone now and you'll be placed into the queue in the order received. Once again, to ask a question, press star one on your phone now. And once again, if you'd like to ask a question, you may signal by pressing star one on your touch-tone phone.

Gregory B. Powell, Director of Investor Relations

Okay, seeing as there are no questions, I'll go ahead and just give closing remarks. I want to thank everyone for attending our Q3 fiscal 2026 earnings call, and we look forward to talking with you on our year-end call. Thank you.

OPERATOR

And this does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for attending.

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.