I would now like to turn the call over to TJ Cole, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations for Cresco Labs. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Cresco Labs' first quarter 2026 earnings conference call. On the call today, we have Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Charles Bachtell, Chief Financial Officer, Sharon Schuler, and President, Greg Butler, who will be available for the Q&A. Prior to this call, we issued our first quarter earnings press release, which has been filed on SEDAR and is available on our investor relations website. These preliminary results for the first quarter are provided prior to the completion of all internal and external reviews. Therefore, are subject to adjustment until the filing of the company's quarterly financial statements. We filed our corresponding financial statements and MD&A for the quarter ended March 31st, 2026 on SEDAR and EDGAR earlier this morning. Before we begin, I want to remind you that statements made on today's call may contain forward-looking information. Actual results may differ materially.
The risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could influence actual results are described in our earnings press release and in the most recent annual information form and MD&A filed with the securities regulators. This call also contains non-GAAP measures, also outlined in our earnings press release and in the MD&A filed with the securities regulators. Please also note that all financial information on today's call is presented in U.S. dollars, and all interim financial information is unaudited. With that, I'll turn the call over to Charlie.
Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining Cresco Labs' first quarter 2026 earnings call. We started 2026 with a distinct plan: build for growth from a scaled foundation and go deeper in markets that have structural advantages, all while maintaining margin and cost discipline. In the first quarter, we delivered against each of those priorities. As we outlined last quarter, following our exit from California and the impact of excise taxes in Michigan, Q1 establishes the baseline for our 2026 growth trajectory and beyond. With growth initiatives that have or will materialize subsequent to the quarter, we expect to build through the balance of the year. In Q1, we generated $151 million in revenue. We produced $77 million in adjusted gross profit and $33 million in Adjusted EBITDA. These results are in line with our expectations and reflect the efficiency gains we've made over the past two years.
As this efficiency intersects with growth initiatives, increasing scale and optionality, performance will improve throughout the year, with this momentum translating into meaningful growth and value creation well into 2027. First, I wanna thank the Cresco team. They continue to be incredibly focused and intentional in how they make decisions across wholesale, retail, and capital allocation. That's what's driving our momentum in 2026. Now I'll walk through how Q1 delivered against our plan. First, a strategic footprint and a return to growth. We're building for growth by strengthening our leadership positions in priority markets while adding new markets that have compelling long-term value. Pennsylvania is a clear example of this. We already hold the number one branded share in the state, supported by a scaled cultivation platform and 18 existing Sunnyside locations.
Building on that, we entered into a highly accretive agreement to acquire nine dispensaries in the state of Pennsylvania. Subsequent to the quarter, we began operating the nine stores under a management service agreement, bringing our total footprint in Pennsylvania to 27 stores, and they're already contributing to our second quarter results. We're applying a proven integration playbook and see a defined path to improving productivity and returns. The transaction's expected to close following standard regulatory approvals. This is a well-structured transaction that builds on our leading position in the second-largest medical market in the country, further preparing us for a likely adult use catalyst. In Ohio, we are expanding our position. Subsequent to the quarter, we completed our strategic retail build-out with two new Sunnyside dispensaries, Bridgeport in April and Aberdeen this week, bringing our total to eight stores in the state.
Both locations expand our presence in key border markets, which remains a differentiator in our approach to the state. In newer markets, we're growing through organic expansion, including successful license application wins. In Kentucky, we reached a significant milestone with our first harvest in April, demonstrating the development of Kentucky's program and a shift from CapEx build-out to revenue production. We expect branded products to reach patients in the second quarter. New medical programs take time to ramp up, so Kentucky's contributions this year will be modest, matching the pace of patient enrollment and dispensary openings. That said, the program is expected to scale materially over time later this year and into 2027. In Texas, we are very excited to have received one of only 15 merit-based licenses for what we expect to be one of the most attractive long-term growth opportunities in the industry.
This provides yet another low-cost, high-return entry as the regulatory framework evolves in the second most populous state in the country. We look forward to helping that market develop, consistent with how we have executed in our core markets that we helped launch. Second, we win where we operate. While we continue to identify opportunities to deepen and expand our footprint, we're equally focused on improving our base business, ensuring our operations, brands, and teams are consistently high-performing in every state we serve. Our wholesale business remains a core strength. We hold leading positions across our core states of Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Ohio. That's driven by the consistency of our cultivation, the strength of our brands, and our established distribution strategy across both our retail network and third-party stores.
On retail, Sunnyside dispensaries generate over 30% more revenue per store than state averages, and we've sustained that outperformance over multiple quarters despite heightened competition and pricing pressure. This reflects the strength of our operating model from site selection to in-store execution. I also wanna highlight the performance of our cultivation team. Despite operating within a largely fixed footprint, we are driving incremental improvements in both yield and quality. Through continued optimization of our genetics, environmental controls, and post-harvest processes, we're producing higher volumes and better quality from the same assets. This enables us to supply the wholesale market while maintaining our targeted mix of own brands in our stores and supporting exclusive offerings at Sunnyside. Florida is a good example of this. We've held our share position despite increased capacity coming online from competitors, driven by operational gains within our existing footprint.
These efforts have improved product quality with average flower potency up materially year-over-year, alongside higher yields and a broader strain portfolio, with new harvests already entering the market in the second quarter. Together, our scaled brands and our retail footprint allow us to drive demand, optimize shelf space, and capture margin across our footprint. Before I pass it to Sharon, I want to address what rescheduling means for Cresco Labs and outline the next steps. Moving state legal medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III is the most consequential reform we've seen. It's a win for all patients nationwide and will usher in a new era of healthcare where cannabis has a federally confirmed medical use. For Cresco, this will immediately benefit the medical side of our business, including through the removal of 280E, which also further validating the role cannabis plays for our patients.
More broadly, this is an important step in a longer path towards normalization. We look forward to the hearings on the general rescheduling of cannabis on June 29th and expect that continued progress will, over time, improve profitability, strengthen balance sheets, and expand access to capital across the industry. With that, I'll turn it over to Sharon to walk through our Q1 financial performance in more detail.
Thank you, Charlie, and good morning, everyone. As we outlined last quarter, Q1 serves as the baseline for the year, primarily driven by our exit from California, disruption in the Michigan market following the introduction of the excise tax, and the fact that our growth initiatives began last year will not be seen in our financials until Q2 and later. As a result, we reported $151 million in revenue. Normalizing for our planned exit from California and the near-term disruption in Michigan, wholesale revenue was down 1.6% and retail revenue was down 3.1% sequentially in what is seasonally our slowest quarter. Improvements in cultivation yields and potency helped support pricing, offsetting broader market pricing compression and allowing us to achieve adjusted gross margins at 51%.
Adjusted SG&A increased modestly in the quarter to support several growth initiatives, including two organic dispensary openings, progress towards our Kentucky launch and M&A. Most of that spend was offset by productivity gains across the base business and corporate functions, where AI and automation are helping teams move faster and do more with the same resources. Adjusted SG&A came in at $51 million or 34% of revenue. Adjusted EBITDA was $33 million, representing 22% of revenue, primarily reflecting lower revenue and the impact of operating leverage. Importantly, our cost structure is lean, positioning us to convert incremental gross profit into EBITDA at a high rate as revenue grows. We ended the quarter with $67 million in cash and restricted cash, positioning us well to continue pursuing attractive growth opportunities.
As is typical, Q1 is our lowest operating cash flow quarter due to the timing of interest payments and working capital. During the quarter, we used $6 million operating cash flows, and we invested $11 million in capital expenditures and acquisitions, with the majority of the investment going towards the phase 1 build-out of our Kentucky facility. As we look forward to Q2 with improvements across our markets following Q1 seasonality, stabilization in Michigan, and the inclusion of additional dispensaries in Pennsylvania and Ohio, we expect Q2 revenue to increase approximately 10% sequentially, subject to timing of ongoing integration across our growth initiatives. We anticipate maintaining gross margins between 48%-50%, reflecting the continued tension between the pricing c ompression environment and the operational improvements we've made over the past year. We expect SG&A to increase modestly, reflecting new store openings and recent M&A activity.
The M&A is accretive today, and we expect that contribution to build as integration progresses and we drive greater revenue and cost synergies. Combined with cost disciplines, this offset pricing pressure in our base business, and we expect Adjusted EBITDA margins to hold near 21%. With that, I'll turn it back to Charlie for closing remarks.
Thank you, Sharon. I'll wrap up with a few thoughts on how we're building Cresco for sustained growth. Q1 reflects continued progress against a clear plan and a strengthening of our growth platform. Year- to- date, we've added 11 dispensaries across Pennsylvania and Ohio, expanding our scaled footprint in core markets and reinforcing a model that we believe will drive sustained growth over time. At the same time, we see significant multi-year upside as a limited license holder in key emerging markets like Kentucky and Texas. Where early positioning today creates the potential for outsized growth over time. Our margin profile and cost structure provide a foundation for operating leverage. As the industry evolves, including rescheduling, we're focused on converting that foundation into sustained growth and expanding returns.
Cresco is more focused, more efficient, and structurally stronger than a year ago, with assets, balance sheet, and the team to scale the business and drive meaningful long-term value creation. Thank you to the entire Cresco Labs team for your continued execution, and to our shareholders for your continued support as we build for the years ahead. With that, we'll now open up the call for questions.
We will now begin the question- and- answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, press star one again. Please pick up your handset when asking a question, and if you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from Aaron Grey with Alliance Global Partners. Your line is open.
Hi. Good morning. Thanks for the question. Nice to see momentum picking up for the industry and Cresco. Specifically, I just want to talk about more on the PA stores added. I know it's in line with your desire for more depth. I'm curious to what factors, such as maybe pricing or timing, made it the right asset at the right time, and whether a higher expectation for adult use to begin in PA also influenced the decision?
Good morning, Aaron. Thanks for the question. Yeah, you know, Pennsylvania is one of our main states, right? Anytime we have an opportunity to create additional depth, as I mentioned, we're the branded share leader in the state. With the additional stores, that'll also put us into a leadership position from a retail footprint. We've found, as others have, a lot of success in operating and competing in a state where you can build that type of scale. As far as the anticipation of adult use, that's sort of a cherry on top. You know, we do expect that the adult use catalyst will come at some point for Pennsylvania, this definitely positions us very well to be very competitive when that happens. We're excited about the transaction.
Okay, great. Thanks. Given the II-phased approach taken on rescheduling, how do you approach making more meaningful changes to the business, given we should be getting a lot more color on rescheduling for the whole plan, as well as guidance from Treasury in the next six months or so? Is it just realizing the 280E benefits near term and awaiting more notable changes once there's more clarity? Or are there steps you can take to ensure you're best positioned to take advantage of potentially new licensing, banking ops or otherwise? Thanks.
Yeah. I think the answer there is kind of all the above. Starting first and foremost, just really excited about the movement. This is the first substantive reform that the industry's achieved at a federal level ever, right? The one thing I wanna make sure everybody takes from this is, you know, the conviction of the administration to see this through. You know, when you look at the timing between the executive order and when this final order was issued from the DOJ, that was four months worth of really intense focus and evaluation and learning that the administration went through as it relates to the nuances of cannabis. It is easier said than done.
I think what we can take from this phased approach to it is that, you know, it seems the true intent by the administration was to do this as expeditiously as possible, but also make sure it is as defensible and durable as it can be. I think that's what we're seeing with the two-phased approach. As far as how we're looking at the business, it's still early. We are definitely in learning and evaluation mode. We are expecting additional color and guidance to be coming from multiple departments of the administration here. You know, I think the application for the manufacturing part of the business just came out a couple of days ago.
It's still too early to describe exactly how this is going to unfold and how we're going to approach it, but just know that we're all over it, we're very excited about it, and we're gonna make sure that we put Cresco in the best position possible based on the structures that are eligible, and the strategy behind it. Very, very exciting development for the industry and for Cresco.
Okay, great. Happy to see the momentum federally and some great momentum from you guys at the state level. I'll jump back in the queue.
Thanks, Aaron.
Your next question comes from Bill Kirk with ROTH Capital Partners. Your line is open.
Good morning, everyone. I want to keep going on what Aaron Grey was just asking. Charles Bachtell, I don't think you touched specifically on retrospective 280E relief. My question would just be, when you're making operational or investment plans and decisions and allocations, how do you account for such a large variable out there with such a wide range of outcomes?
Yeah, that's a good question, Bill. It is right now, it's still too early. It's great that we've got sort of the encouragement, I think is how it was described in the rule, for the, for the Treasury to take a retrospective application to prior tax years, which would be not only wonderful, but I also think appropriate. We don't have that next level of guidance or interpretation or final position from Treasury or the IRS yet. It is still a variable. To your point, it's a big variable, but I would also say we're coming at it from the perspective of we did not have rescheduling or that encouragement, you know, 20 days ago.
We've got a business, and a strategy that's built for that scenario already, and we will continually evaluate how we will adapt or modify both strategy and structure as more information comes out. We expect that to happen, you know, just like everything else here, as expeditiously as possible. We'll keep our eyes open and we'll react.
Thank you. Sharon, I believe you said 2Q revenue, expected to be +10% sequentially from 1Q. If you could, if you were to exclude the 11 new locations, the nine Pennsylvania, the two Ohio. If you excluded those contributions, what would the sequential 2Q over 1Q revenue number look like?
Yeah, when you look at the base business, we're still seeing growth in that low single-digit sequential growth from Q1. The remaining would come from the additional growth initiatives.
That's it. That's perfect. That's what I was looking for. I'll pass it along. Thank you, guys.
Okay. Awesome. Thanks.
Thank you.
Your next question comes from Kenric T with Canaccord Genuity. Your line is open.
Thank you, and good morning. Charlie, just with respect to Pennsylvania, obviously a very impressive footprint and looking more impressive now with the MSA agreement on those new stores. Could you give us some indication as it relates to, you know, the amount of current excess capacity you have, sort of the readiness for adult use and rooms you could potentially be turning on for adult use and perhaps the spend required to get you there if we were to see movement finally on adult use in PA?
Sure. Hi, Kendrick. Pennsylvania as it relates to additional capacity for an AU scenario, we do have additional capacity in the footprint. I would not say that it is, you know, enough to support full adult use at maturity, but we also have the opportunity to expand our cultivation footprint in that state. We're putting ourselves in a position to manage that as effectively as possible. This is something that we've done in other markets too, when they have potential catalysts in their future, but haven't become actuals yet. Making sure that we've got that retail footprint in place was priority number one. Again, really bullish on not only the opportunities in that marketplace, but the footprint that we have there. Greg, do you have additional details?
The only thing I'd add, and good morning, Kenric, is I think what we're excited about for Pennsylvania is that adult use will be a tremendous growth vehicle. Flexibility, as Charles Bachtell said, we have techniques that we have not put into place in Pennsylvania to continue to drive more grams per square foot out of our facilities as needed, but also how we think about retail assortment between first brand and third brand, as well as more third brand comes online for adult use, will also be a lever we can pull to ensure that we're ready to go as the market rolls out.
Thanks for your answer. That's very clear. Just a quick further one in the context of the rescheduling discussions. Could you provide or refresh us on rough % of revenues that are medical or medically focused? A number of your peers have taken the opportunity in the context of the rescheduling headlines. It would be useful to be able to handicap your share of medical if you're able, if you're willing.
Sure. Sharon will take this.
Yeah. Hey, Kendrick. I would say roughly approximately 50% of our revenue comes from medical. I would just take that in consideration, though, when you're thinking about the 280E impact. That's not really a proxy per se for how that'll play out, right? Obviously, there's a lot of work that has to still be done around costs and how that gets divvied.
I appreciate that, and totally understand. It's just useful to have some sort of a proxy or measure. Just a quick final one. On Michigan, you called out, you know, disruptive in quarter as expected, but I think, Sharon, in your commentary, you also mentioned sort of, you know, expected to stabilize. Is that just the broader market reset and stabilization, or are there levers that you as Cresco are pulling to sort of facilitate the stabilization in your results of the Michigan impact?
You know what? I think Greg should take that one.
Yeah, I think, look, the government intervention that happened in Michigan definitely shook the market. As we look at it, this tax has to be shared end to end in the state overall. You can't have it if the manufacturers and retailers are absorbing that impact alone. Given that Michigan continues to have the lowest price of any state in the U.S., there is room for prices to go up in that market. We need to get this flowing through to the whole system end to end. I think ultimately what you're just gonna see now is you have manufacturers and resellers who are gonna be opting out because of the absorption in their margins. They just can't operate. That will start to drive some consolidation and efficiency in the state, which should ultimately help the situation we're seeing.
As we look at Q1 and now looking into Q2, it really is not a demand problem. We saw a lot of retailers load up on inventory in Q4 to get ahead of the tax coming through. In Q1, they're now selling that inventory. In some cases, they may have bought in low potency, aging product, so it's taking a little bit longer for it to flow through. Even if you look at the post-420 sales, they're still challenged, but the rate of challenge is getting better. That gives us a little bit of a glimpse of what the next couple of quarters are gonna look like. Still tough overall. As we look at our footprint, Michigan is less than 3% of the total, so we've gotta find opportunities elsewhere to make up for that toughness.
That will happen, but we are encouraged of what we will see in Michigan and where we can find growth elsewhere in our portfolio.
That's great. Thanks so much. I'll get back in queue.
Thanks, Kenric.
Your next question comes from Pablo Zuanic with Zuanic & Associates. Your line is open.
Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Charlie, in the press release and in your scripts, you use the word normalization after rescheduling of medical. What do you mean exactly by that?
You know, I mean, really any level of reform, keep in mind to have a scenario for any industry where you're legal in 40 states, but still illegal at a federal level, that is not a normal situation. Reform at a federal level is furthering the normalization of the industry, and we're not only encouraged by the first step here, but we're really excited about future steps.
Do you really expect normalization as you defined it, in this administration?
Sorry, could you repeat that?
No. Sorry about that. As you're defining normalization, and I think I understand what you mean, do you believe that we can have normalization in this presidential term?
Oh, yeah. I do. I think we saw phase one of it, with the moves and the rescheduling as it relates to medical cannabis. I am continue to be really encouraged by this administration's not only approach, but commitment to following through on the positions that were stated before this administration took office. You know, I, without question these were campaign statements and commitments that were made, and we're seeing them come to reality. I'd be surprised if anybody wasn't encouraged by what they're seeing.
Okay. Thank you. look, just to follow up on the same topic, there's a lot of things are not clear yet, right? there's this debate about what the DEA decides and what the state regulators decide, right? for example, you know, the ability of the companies to export, is that something left to the DEA or to the respective state boards and regulators? by the same token, even if these companies become federally legal and let's say other companies want to take equity stakes in them, Nasdaq-listed companies, is that left to the states to decide or is it left to the DEA?
I think overarchingly there's, it's too early to confirm one way or the other on how that question will play out. What we know right now is that the current federal position is almost a deferral or an incorporation of the state regulatory and licensing structure. I think that's the first step that anybody should take is, well, if it's incorporating the state's approach to medical cannabis, those are the parameters under which you would be federally legal. Until that change, I think that's the first sort of note in the evaluation of whether or not exporting is possible is you have to We have a limited amount of information that we've received so far, and what we have so far is just an incorporation of state structure.
More, we anticipate more clarity to come in the weeks and months ahead.
Thank you. I wanna add just one more. I mean, obviously, congratulations on the Pennsylvania transaction. Just to be 100% clear, in the second quarter, would that still be MSA or at some point you can start consolidating those nine stores in your revenues? On the same topic, is there an opportunity for something similar in other states? I realize that the caps vary by state, but could there be an opportunity either with social equity stores or with MSA agreements in other states in your footprint?
Yeah. As far as the regulatory approval, always tough to handicap timing. We are hopeful that that will occur in Q2, likely towards the end of it. We do have the MSA structure in place. As it relates to other markets, you know, it's possible. Each one of these markets is different, so you really do have to look at the specific parameters and language that's associated with it. Greg, do you wanna add more context?
I'd only add that we are encouraged by our growth initiatives. I think what we've said on previous calls is that we think we've built something very special at Sunnyside that has some capabilities that enable that retail to win. What we're finding is that licensed owners are increasingly interested in partnering with us to get access to those capabilities to help them run their licensed retail. As we look at, Pablo, to your question, on other states, absolutely. I think you can take the Sunnyside model and partner with a licensed owner in a state that helps them run their retail more efficiently, and of course helps us, right? Because we're getting to continue to build out that platform through partnerships with other owners.
Thank you.
There are no further questions at this time.
Thanks, Pablo.
I will now turn the call back over to Charlie for closing remarks.
Great. I wanna thank everybody for their time today. Again, wanna thank the Cresco team for everything that goes into preparing our organization for, you know, the bright skies ahead. Look forward to our next call and we'll talk to you then. Thank you.
That concludes today's call. Thank Thank you all for attending. You may now disconnect.