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Richardson Electronics reported fiscal first-quarter sales of $64.9 million and net income of $4.1 million for the quarter ended August 29, 2026, as revenue grew across all three business units. Diluted earnings were 27 cents a share, above the 10-cent analyst consensus cited by Investing.com, while revenue also exceeded the publication’s $59 million estimate.
The LaFox, Illinois-based electronics supplier said sales rose 18.9% from $54.6 million a year earlier, and net income increased 112.6% from $1.9 million. The results extend a run of nine consecutive quarters of year-over-year sales growth, according to Chief Executive Edward Richardson. The company said demand was particularly strong for semiconductor wafer-fabrication equipment solutions in its Power and Microwave Technologies business.
Investing.com reported that the shares rose 2% in after-hours trading following the release. Richardson Electronics also said its backlog reached $184.4 million at quarter-end, its highest level in more than three years, and reiterated its expectation that fiscal 2027 would be another year of profitable growth.
Growth spanned all three businesses
Power and Microwave Technologies (PMT), the company’s largest business unit, generated sales of about $46.8 million, up 19.7% year over year. Richardson Electronics attributed the increase to stronger sales in semiconductor wafer-fabrication equipment and radio-frequency and microwave products. The segment accounted for most of the company’s $10.3 million increase in consolidated sales.
Green Energy Solutions (GES) sales rose 27.1% to about $9.2 million. The company cited higher sales of wind products and new offerings, including battery energy storage systems. Canvys, which supplies specialized display solutions, grew 7.9% to about $8.9 million, reflecting stronger North American sales.
Management identified continued demand across semiconductor manufacturing, power management, energy storage, defense and specialized display solutions as support for its fiscal-year outlook. Those are the company’s stated areas of customer demand; the earnings release did not provide a numerical full-year sales or earnings forecast.
Backlog and margins provide more detail
Backlog stood at $184.4 million on August 29, up 36.9% from a year earlier and 12.2% from $164.4 million at the end of fiscal 2026. The company said the increase from year-end was driven primarily by PMT, while GES backlog rose 10.2%. Backlog represents orders not yet recognized as sales, and the release did not specify when those orders are expected to convert into revenue.
Consolidated gross margin widened to 34.6% from 31.0% in the prior-year quarter. Richardson Electronics said the quarter’s margin was affected by a 1.7% impact from an IEEPA tariff refund, alongside business-specific factors. PMT margin increased to 35.4% from 31.3%, while GES rose to 32.6% from 29.6%, with the company citing product mix and new products in the latter segment. Canvys margin rose to 33.0% from 30.9%, primarily because of the tariff refund.
Operating expenses increased to $17.4 million from $16.0 million, mainly because of higher employee compensation, including sales-related incentives, and travel costs. But expenses fell as a share of sales to 26.8% from 29.2%. Operating income consequently rose to $5.1 million from $1.0 million, while other expense was $0.1 million; in the year-earlier quarter, the company reported $1.4 million of other income.
Cash position and dividend
Richardson Electronics reported $4.2 million in free cash flow for the quarter and ended August 29 with $36.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared with $31.8 million at its May 30 fiscal year-end. It had no outstanding balance on its revolving credit line with PNC Bank. Capital expenditures were $1.7 million, mainly for facility improvements and information-technology systems, compared with $1.0 million a year earlier.
The board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 6 cents per common share and 5.4 cents per Class B common share. The company said the payment is scheduled for November 25 to holders of record on November 6. Those dates and amounts were stated in the company’s release.
Conference call scheduled for October 8
Richardson and Chief Financial Officer Robert Ben are scheduled to discuss the results on a conference call at 9 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, October 8. The company’s September 30 notice said the call would include a question-and-answer session and that a replay would be available starting at 1 p.m. Central Time that day for seven days.
In its results release, Richardson said the wider economic environment remained fluid but pointed to the elevated backlog and customer demand in describing its outlook for profitable growth in fiscal 2027. The release did not detail a specific sales or earnings target, nor did it provide a timetable for converting the backlog into shipments.
