Aluminum Costs Squeeze Margins as National Beverage Q1 Profit Falls 16%
FIZZ is trading near its 52-week low of $30.01 (5.0% below the low).
Summary
Flat Q1 sales of $330.7M couldn't prevent a 15.7% drop in net income to $47.0M as aluminum costs crushed gross margins. Cash fell to $107.1M after the $304.2M special dividend.
Key Events · Earnings and Guidance · FIZZ
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Q1 Net Income Falls 15.7%
Net income dropped to $47.0M from $55.8M year-over-year, with EPS of $0.50 vs $0.60. Net sales were essentially flat at $330.7M.
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Aluminum Costs Crush Gross Margin
Gross margin fell 300 basis points to 35.0% from 38.0%. Aluminum costs alone negatively affected gross margin by approximately 600 basis points, while cost of sales per case rose 12.4%.
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Special Dividend Drains Cash
The $304.2M special dividend paid July 30, 2026 reduced cash and equivalents to $107.1M from $349.5M at fiscal year-end. Working capital fell to $190.6M from $457.8M.
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Volume Declines Offset Price Increases
Average selling price per case increased 7.1%, but case volume declined 6.4%, resulting in approximately flat sales. Both Power+ Brands and carbonated soft drinks were impacted.
Analysis · FIZZ · Manufacturing
The first quarter reveals that costs are rising faster than prices for National Beverage. Net sales were flat at $330.7 million, but net income dropped 15.7% to $47.0 million, with aluminum costs alone knocking 600 basis points off gross margin. The company paid out its $304.2 million special dividend in July, cutting cash from $349.5 million to $107.1 million — still healthy, but the margin compression is the real story for a stock trading near its 52-week low.
How filings like this one have moved
In the 30 days to Sep 10, 2026, 30% of the 1963 measured filings Wiseek scored 7 moved their stock by 5% or more by the next session's close. The median move was -0.14%. These are measured outcomes after filings of this importance, not a forecast for this one.
Measured one observation per ticker per day, after exclusions. Current figures: Filing Impact Tracker · open dataset
At the time of this filing, FIZZ was trading at $28.51 on NASDAQ in the Manufacturing sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.9B. The 52-week trading range was $30.01 to $40.65. This filing was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10.