May 11th, 2026

The call conveyed materially positive operational and financial momentum: strong top-line growth (17% reported, 23% pro forma), robust margin expansion, record cash generation, significant leverage reduction to 1.6x, and a raised full-year guide. Management highlighted meaningful product and go-to-market progress with sustained order/backlog strength and ongoing innovation commercialization. Offsetting risks include tariff uncertainty (including unresolved IEPA refunds), inflationary cost pressures (freight, energy, maintenance), pockets of end-market softness (marine, some ag geographies), and limited second-half visibility. Overall, the positives—strong growth, margin improvement, cash generation, and balance sheet strengthening—substantially outweigh the noted risks, though management remains cautious on H2 volatility.

Company Guidance

Helios raised its 2026 outlook to $840–$870 million of sales (vs. $839M reported in 2025 and $792M pro forma), implying ~8% pro‑forma growth at the midpoint; segment guidance is Hydraulics $520–$535M (≈+7% pro‑forma at midpoint) and Electronics $320–$335M (≈+10% at midpoint). For the year management expects adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.5%–21% and diluted non‑GAAP EPS of $2.70–$2.95 (≈+11% at the midpoint). Q2 guidance is $227–$232M of sales (≈+16% y/y at the midpoint after the CFP divestiture), Hydraulics $141–$144M (≈+13% pro‑forma), Electronics $86–$88M (≈+21%), consolidated adjusted EBITDA margin of 20%–21% and diluted non‑GAAP EPS of $0.78–$0.83 (≈+36% at the midpoint). Management reiterated that the first half is expected to be stronger than the second, affirmed a multi‑year goal of ~100 bps margin expansion per year toward 2030 targets (adjusted operating margin 20%+, adjusted EBITDA 25%+), and noted risks from tariffs, freight and energy that they plan to mitigate via volume, mix, pricing and regional sourcing.