Reliance, Inc. (RS) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Greetings, and welcome to the Reliance Inc. Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] It's now my pleasure to turn the call over to Kim Orlando, Investor Relations. Kim, please go ahead.

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and thanks to all of you for joining our conference call to discuss Reliance's second quarter 2026 financial results. I am joined by Karla Lewis, President and Chief Executive Officer; Steve Koch, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and Arthur Ajemyan, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. A recording of this call will be posted on the Investors section of our website at investor.reliance.com. Please read the forward-looking statement disclosures included in our earnings release issued yesterday and note that it applies to all statements made during this teleconference. The reconciliations of the adjusted numbers are included in the non-GAAP reconciliation part of our earnings release. I will now turn the call over to Karla Lewis, President and CEO of Reliance.

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to discuss our second quarter 2026 results. Reliance delivered another excellent quarter, building on the positive momentum of the first quarter and the continued strong execution by our teams. Market conditions remain favorable, supported by improving customer activity, extended mill lead times and strong pricing across our broad product portfolio. We achieved our second highest quarterly revenue as well as record quarterly tons sold and continued to outperform broader industry shipment trends. These results and our sustained industry outperformance reflect our scale, diversification across end markets, products and value-add service offerings and our position as a partner of choice with domestic mills. Non-residential construction end market sales remained strong, and we began to see meaningful improvements in our sales to the general manufacturing, aerospace and semiconductor markets throughout the second quarter. We also benefited from initial contributions from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security border wall contract that we were awarded earlier this year, generating activity in excess of our guidance and contributing meaningfully to our second quarter earnings. Steve and Arthur will speak about its financial impact later in the call. Elevated pricing levels, along with strong execution by our teams drove significant growth in our profitability including a 40% year-over-year increase in non-GAAP pretax income and non-GAAP earnings per share of $6.27, our highest EPS result since the second quarter of 2023. Trade policy continues to limit imports and support strong domestic pricing, which is further strengthened by extended lead times. Our long-standing domestic mill partnerships help ensure reliable material availability, allowing us to better serve our customers and capture new opportunities. Our balance sheet and liquidity remain key competitive advantages, supporting strategic growth investments and ongoing returns to stockholders as well as disciplined capital deployment. For the full year 2026, our capital expenditure outlook remains approximately $300 million with about half allocated to strategic growth investments to enhance processing capabilities, strengthen customer service, expand our footprint and grow volumes in attractive markets. As customer optimism builds and activity continues to strengthen across infrastructure, including the border wall project, semiconductor, general manufacturing and aerospace, Reliance remains exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on the many meaningful opportunities that we expect to continue to materialize throughout the second half of 2026 and into next year. I'll now turn the call over to our COO, Steve Koch.

Thanks, Karla, and good morning, everyone. Our second quarter performance reflects continued strong execution across our operations and our dedication to safety and exceptional customer service. I recognize our teams across the Reliance family of companies whose relentless focus and hard work fuel our industry-leading results and reinforce the many competitive advantages that set Reliance apart. Turning to our demand and pricing trends. Record tons sold increased 7% from the prior quarter and were up 10.8% compared to the second quarter of 2025, significantly exceeding our expectations of up 1% to 3% sequentially and up 4.5% to 6.5% year-over-year. The sequential increase in our second quarter tons sold included a 5.1 percentage point contribution from the U.S. border wall contract. Carbon steel products continued to lead our tons sold growth. Aluminum and stainless steel products also contributed at higher per ton profitability levels. Our second quarter average selling price increased 7.8% from the first quarter of 2026, exceeding our expectation of up 1.5% to 3.5%. This includes a 1.6 percentage point offset from the U.S. border wall project as a result of higher shipment volumes of lower-priced products. Pricing for carbon steel and aluminum products continued upward amid constrained supply, extended lead times and strengthening demand. These market dynamics magnify the strategic benefit of our reliable access to metal from our domestic mill partners. Turning to our end markets. Non-residential construction represented roughly 1/3 of our second quarter sales, primarily from carbon steel tubing, plate and structural products. Second quarter shipments remained strong despite supply constraints driven by sustained strong activity in data center and related energy infrastructure projects alongside solid demand in heavy civil and public infrastructure work. Our participation in the U.S. border wall project further strengthened our presence in the non-residential construction market. General manufacturing also represented about 1/3 of our second quarter sales. Our participation in this market is highly diversified across products, industries and geographies. Shipments showed strong year-over-year growth driven by industrial machinery, including data center equipment as well as shipbuilding, military, consumer products and construction machinery. Aerospace products accounted for approximately 9% of second quarter sales. We saw early signs of improvement in commercial aerospace supported by improving backlogs as OEM build rates increased, though elevated inventories persist. Defense and space-related aerospace activity remained strong during the quarter. Automotive, which we primarily serve through our toll processing operations, represented about 4% of second quarter sales. As a reminder, our toll processing volumes are excluded from our tons sold. Demand improved in the second quarter as our flexible toll processing operations quickly adapted to the variable demands of the automotive market. Lastly, demand in the semiconductor market is showing clear improvement. We are seeing momentum accelerate, supported by increasing data center activity. In summary, Reliance continues to be distinguished by our people, our strong domestic relationships and our focus on delivering unmatched customer service. In addition, the strategic investments we've made across our footprint are generating tangible returns and our disciplined commercial and operational approach continues to drive the market outperformance and profitability that further differentiate us. I will now turn the call over to our CFO, Arthur, to review our financial results and outlook.

Thanks, Steve, and thanks, everyone, for joining today's call. We delivered another strong quarter with sales increasing 27% year-over-year on stronger-than-anticipated shipments and pricing. Our second quarter gross profit of $1.3 billion was up 11% compared to the first quarter of 2026 and up 20% compared to the second quarter of 2025. On a FIFO basis, which is how we evaluate our ongoing performance, non-GAAP gross profit margin expanded to 30.5% compared to 30.1% in the first quarter of 2026, down modestly from 30.6% in the prior year quarter. This includes a roughly 40 basis point margin headwind from the U.S. border wall project. However, as we are leveraging existing infrastructure, the project's below company average operating cost per ton more than offset its impact on gross profit margin, adding approximately 30 basis points to pretax income margin. Higher-than-anticipated carbon and aluminum product costs caused us to increase our full year LIFO expense outlook to $300 million from our prior estimate of $150 million. As a result, we recorded second quarter LIFO expense of $112.5 million, significantly above our estimate of $37.5 million. Accordingly, we also expect to record LIFO expense of $75 million in the third quarter of 2026. At the end of the second quarter, the LIFO reserve on our balance sheet was approximately $700 million, which remains available to support future operating results and help mitigate the impact of future metal price declines. Aluminum was a notable driver of the LIFO expense increase, disproportionately affecting our LIFO gross profit margin relative to historical levels. Higher aluminum pricing resulting from Section 232 tariffs without a corresponding increase in demand also continued to constrain LIFO gross profit margins. However, we are realizing higher gross profit per ton on aluminum sales and across our entire product portfolio as a result of the current pricing environment. Non-GAAP SG&A expense increased 11% compared to the second quarter of 2025, driven by higher incentive compensation from improved profitability, inflationary impacts on compensation and related benefits, freight and fuel cost inflation resulting from the U.S.-Iran conflict and higher variable warehousing and delivery costs associated with our increased tons sold. On a per ton basis, non-GAAP SG&A expense was flat due to favorable operating leverage from higher shipment volumes, including contributions from the U.S. border wall project. Continued market share gains, higher shipment volumes and increased gross profit dollars drove meaningful operating leverage, resulting in a 40% year-over-year increase in non-GAAP pretax income to $429 million. Our non-GAAP second quarter earnings per diluted share grew 42% year-over-year to $6.27 with the U.S. border wall project contributing $0.41 per share. LIFO expense of $1.64 per share for the second quarter exceeded the $0.54 estimate included in our guidance and $0.35 in the prior year quarter. Moving on to our balance sheet and cash flow. Cash flow from operations in the second quarter improved sequentially to approximately $162 million despite a significant working capital build from increased shipments and higher metal pricing. Our inventory turn rate based on tons improved to approximately 5.2x compared to 4.8x in 2025. Accounts receivable DSO of approximately 42 days remained healthy and consistent with the prior year. During the quarter, we funded $93 million of capital expenditures and paid $64 million in dividends. We did not repurchase any shares of our issued and outstanding common stock during the quarter and have approximately $529 million remaining available under our current share repurchase program. We remain opportunistic in our approach. Our total debt was $1.7 billion at the end of the second quarter. Our leverage position remains very strong with a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 0.9, providing substantial liquidity and flexibility to execute on all of our capital allocation priorities. Looking ahead to the third quarter, we expect demand and pricing to remain at healthy levels with continued improvement across several of the key products and end markets we serve, subject to ongoing risks from domestic and international trade policy and the U.S.-Iran conflict as well as subject to normal seasonality. We anticipate third quarter 2026 non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the range of $6.40 to $6.60, up 76% to 81% year-over-year, including an estimated $75 million of LIFO expense or about $1.10 per diluted share. Please refer to our second quarter earnings release for further details on our Q3 outlook as well as anticipated contributions from the U.S. border wall project. This concludes our prepared remarks. Thank you again for your time and participation. We'll now open the call for your questions. Operator?

[Operator Instructions] Our first question today is coming from Lawson Winder from Bank of America.

This is Sathish on for Lawson. My first question is on the border wall contract. So the shipments accounted for like 5.1% of Q2 volumes and then you expect an additional 2% improvement in Q3. Is there potential for further upside to these volumes? Or should we assume volumes to be fairly consistent through the remainder of Phase 1 period that's through mid-2027?

Yes. Sathish, the volumes, as we mentioned, were stronger than we had anticipated. We just started shipping under the contract in April, and we did see the volumes ramp. And per the guidance we're giving that you just spoke about, yes, we expect higher shipments in Q3. We believe that's close to a full shipment run rate and should be close to that going through the middle of next year. Although, of course, it's all dependent on metal supply to us and how quickly our customer pulls the inventory from us. But I think you could assume for now that the Q3 guide is -- will be sustained through the following quarters.

Okay. And in your opening remarks, you talked about the ability to capitalize on many meaningful opportunities that will continue to emerge in the second half and into 2027. Can you maybe provide a bit more color on what these opportunities are? Is there a potential to add similar large government or infrastructure contracts in the near term?

I mean, the border wall contract is a very significant contract. So I don't know that there will be more of that size. However, we do want to highlight that we have the capability to do those types of large contracts or large orders just with the momentum we see from our customers, whether it's on the data center, the infrastructure side, the power side, military spending. There's just a lot of customer optimism. And I think Reliance is doing a better job of having our companies cooperate with each other to be able to provide a broader package to customers and make it easier for them to come to us as a solution for their multiple product needs. And so we anticipate being able to support our customers when they desire it. But -- and with reshoring, there's just a lot of positive momentum right now.

Congrats on a great quarter.

Our next question is coming from Samuel McKinney from KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Despite continued run-ups in carbon and nonferrous pricing over the course of the second quarter versus the end of the first quarter, I'll say, your quarter-end inventory increased less than $100 million despite the $600 million increase in revenue. Could you talk about the inventory positioning moving forward given that many of your orders are of that just-in-time variety?

Yes, Sam. The -- our inventory turn rate was a little above 5x for the quarter, which is a little faster than typical. Our company-wide goal is 4.7 turns. But we're very comfortable with where our inventory position is. There is some limited supply, some supply constraints at some of the mills. But with our strong relationships, we're very happy with how our mill partners are treating us, and we're able to get the inventory we need for our customers. But inventory levels are, I think, probably a little lower across the industry right now.

Yes. And I also would add to that, Karla, that our strategy of buying domestically, although lead times are extended, they're still a lot shorter than imports coming in. So based on our robust inventories and our access, we feel like we're still in a really good position to capitalize on the growing demand in the marketplace.

Okay. Appreciate that. And then SG&A as a percent of sales this quarter was lower than it's been in a couple of years. With all the storage handling you're doing for the border wall contract, I think it would be helpful for all of us if you could further discuss just the cost to service that contract versus the rest of your business. I know the storage handling obviously much cheaper.

Yes. SG&A costs and -- as a percent of sales, the average sell price being significantly higher drives that down as a percentage. There are -- we're still facing inflationary factors on different elements of our SG&A expense, resulting in higher dollars, but the elevated selling prices helped to cover that. And on the border wall contract, we're not -- we are doing some value-add processing, but at -- I would say, at a lower rate based on total tonnage that we're providing than the rest of the company. So that keeps the SG&A cost lower per ton for the volume going into the border wall.

And Sam, I would add that, yes, since we're leveraging our vast existing infrastructure, that's what's truly allowing us to lower the variable cost on this project. Otherwise, for anybody else to be able to take this on, they have to make significant investments in infrastructure, including facilities, equipment, et cetera. So yes, absolutely, the variable cost per ton is significantly lower than the company average and hence, the pretax margin accretion impact that we mentioned.

Our next question today is coming from Timna Tanners from Wells Fargo.

I wanted to ask a little bit about the components of the product mix you have. So what you're seeing there? Plate and beam seem particularly tight and prices have inched up further. Aluminum, at least LME has retreated. How does that play out for your products and pricing into the second half? And then I have a follow-up, I guess, with more flat-rolled questions.

Timna, yes, beam and plate prices have seen strong increases. It's a tight market, and there's significant customer demand pulling that. So we're participating in those markets as we always do, just at higher pricing levels and I think a stronger pull on those products. And there was the aluminum price pullback, but from very high levels. And I would say from that standpoint, even though prices pulled back a bit, it still elevated pricing levels, we're making very high levels of gross profit dollar margin on the aluminum products we're selling as well as beam and plate.

Yes, Timna, I would add to Karla's comments, based on our market position in beams and plate and some of our service centers that have been in this business for a long time when demand -- when supply gets a little bit tight, we get what we've been getting in the past years. People don't like to use the word allocation. But when it is really tight, we get what we got in the past. And also when we need some favors or have some jobs that come up, we do get preferential treatment. So I would say that just the long track record really helps us in a market like this.

Okay. That makes sense. On the flat-rolled side, it does seem like lead times came down, came back up depending on who you're looking at. Are you seeing evidence that the mills are starting to catch up with their lead times? What are you seeing on the flat-rolled side? It seems like even if you're not importing, there's quite a bit on the water. So just a little more color, that would be great.

We are not importing flat rolled, Timna. I would say that our average flat-rolled order is about 2 weeks late, but with some mills that are 4 to 8 weeks late. We've not seen a whole lot of signs of our suppliers catching up, although they really are trying to deal with the increased demand and some production challenges.

Okay. Great. And before I let you go, if I could, don't have as much color on the other components, the stainless and alloy. What are you seeing trend-wise there in terms of pricing and activity?

So for stainless, prices have stayed pretty steady. And then some specialty stainless where there's been an inventory glut, that seems to be working itself off, and we think that the second half should show some increase in prices.

Our next question today is coming from Nick Cash from Goldman Sachs.