Good afternoon. As a reminder, if you registered for this meeting as a shareholder using the 16-digit control number found on your proxy card, you can submit a question by typing your question in the text box on your screen and clicking Submit. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Cheri. Please go ahead.
Well, as our commentator, introduced me, I'm Cheri Beranek, President and Chief Executive Officer of Clearfield, and I'd like to call this meeting to order. Also present at the meeting today are Walter Jones, Jr., Kate Kelly, Rebecca Seidel, Kathleen Skarvan, and Carol Wirsbinski. Not able to be present today from Deloitte & Touche, are Clearfield independent auditors, Wesley Fowers and Benjamin Thompson. Who will take us through the business portion of the shareholders meeting.
Thanks. We will take questions about the formal portion of the meeting at this time, and we will take general business and other questions after the end of the formal portion of the meeting. You can ask a question about the matters being voted on at the meeting by typing your question. Note that the meeting is being recorded, and a webcast replay will be available on the same meeting website following today's meeting. I would now like the meeting. We will turn the meeting over to Cheri and Dan for their remarks and questions on matters related to the proposals at the meeting, including any questions for Deloitte & Touche, the company's independent auditor. This meeting was called by a notice 2026 to all shareholders of record on December 29th, 2025.
We have received proxies representing more than a majority of the shares of common calls. A quorum is present. The board of directors has appointed Dan Herzog, our Chief Financial Officer, Broadridge Financial Solutions, and me as inspectors of election. You can vote at any time. Voting at the meeting will be online via the links you see on the screen in the voting section. Please note this is the only way to vote your shares at this time. Wish to change your vote? No further action is required at this time. There are three items of business at today's meeting. First, the election of eight directors to serve until the next. The nominees are Cheri Beranek, Walter Jones, Jr., Kate Kelly, Ronald G. Roth, Ademir Sarcevic, Rebecca Seidel. Recommend that shareholders vote for each of the nominees.
Second, the advisory vote on the compensation paid to our named executive officers. The board of directors recommend that we give compensation. Third, the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent registered public accounting firm. The board of directors recommend that shareholders vote for the appointment of Deloitte & Touche. Information regarding the director nominees and other proposals as such for do so by using the available links in the voting section on your screen. We will now answer any questions that have been submitted. If you have not submitted a question, you may do so by typing a question. Questions at this time regarding the 2026 annual meeting and the three items of business for consideration by shareholders.
There's been one question submitted regarding the annual meeting, and that's if there are any shareholders who find this format unsatisfactory or who would prefer not to. I think, as you all know, Clearfield has is very open about our shareholder outreach and our investment outreach, and we are commonly available for in-person or have allowed and encouraged our shareholders to visit us at our facility, you know, in Brooklyn Park. What we're seeing as an industry of public companies is that, and it's what our peers in the industry are doing, and we would expect to continue in this format going forward.
There being no further questions, please vote online at this time. If after you voted by the Internet and do not wish to change your vote, no further action is needed at this time. Now that everyone has had the opportunity to vote, I declare the polls closed. I'm pleased to report that the inspector of the elections have determined that there are sufficient votes to elect each of the eight nominees to the board to serve until the next annual meeting or until their respective successors have been elected on an advisory basis, the compensation paid to our named executive officers. Lastly, there are sufficient votes to ratify the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent auditors. There is voted online during the meeting.
The official results of the vote will be published in an 8-K, which will be filed within the next four business days. Upon registering for this meeting as a shareholder, you are provided the opportunity to present questions using the chat function that you will see on your screen. If we run out of time to answer in the chat. Before Cheri and Dan get started, I want to bring to your attention that our remarks today may involve forward-looking statements regarding the company's future plans. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future actions, outcomes, results, or performance. They are plans, objectives, and expectations described in the remarks, 10-K. At this point, I will turn the meeting over to Dan for a short summary of our fiscal 2025 results. Other questions that may have been submitted during the meeting.
Transformational year for Clearfield, one defined by strategic focus, leadership, investment, and a return to focus on our Clearfield segment for growth and profitability. Made the decision to divest the business. The divestiture sharpens our strategic focus, removes an underperforming asset, and improves the company's long-term margin profile for manufacturing platforms.
Across the Clearfield organization in fiscal 2025, we invested in sales and marketing leadership to strengthen and return to profitability. Backed by our healthy balance sheet, we continue to believe we are well-positioned to execute on our strategic initiatives to strengthen our market and continue profitable growth. I'll now turn it over to Cheri for final comments.
Thank you, Dan. We move into fiscal 2026 across our core markets, while expanding into adjacent opportunities that enhance long-term shareholder value. Increasingly, our solutions are used where fiber connects resources at the edge. High bandwidth, locally low latency fiber is the only way society will be able to support data-intensive emerging technologies. From autonomous vehicles, we serve operators that need scalable, reliable fiber infrastructure across diverse environments. The industry is navigating explosive data growth architectures. Networks are extending beyond centralized data centers toward edge environments closer to users. Applications are growing while skilled labor remains limited. Clearly, at every stage of deployment, our recently announced NOVA product line exemplifies this approach, offering high-density, all work performed at the front of the rack. Our primary field, Clearfield solutions, are modular, craft-friendly, and built to minimize labor and operational complexity.
You can expect Clearfield to continue expanding its footprint in the [dirty] broadband. We'll introduce additional high-density modular solutions that support AI-driven architectures and growing fiber demands. We thank all of our shareholders for their support in what we are doing. This is a wonderful opportunity. I've always looked forward to the annual shareholders directly and to answer any questions they might have, you know, on our business. We do have several that have been submitted. They really follow up with some of the material that I just spoke about. A lot of business from our data center customers. What evidence do we have, you know, for that?
The, I think the best way to respond to that is our NOVA platform has only been, which is supported, and typically, we see our product lines needing to be put through a point of evidence, point of proof, in being able to do their testing. When we announced NOVA, we did not anticipate that our data center business would be part of the fiscal year 2026 build, but that it would be positioning further in that area. That's that we are not looking to compete with the, our large competitors at the hyperscale centers themselves. You know, that's millions of pieces of data. Where NOVA fits and where Clearfield will be successful is at the edge of the network as we, as consumers, become part of that AI world.
Today, they call it infill into the market and to the edge. Clearfield is well positioned with our community broadband providers to be an integral part of that market. The second question is, do we think we can materially, in order to advance our Clearfield has, for 15 years, been positioned for the ILEC carriers, both the small carriers, the community broadband carriers, that we have always carriers even become bigger. I think one of the areas that I spoke with confidence here, is we, during the COVID world, had the opportunity to prove ourselves, and today, as those large regionals become part of the Tier 1 provider, I believe that we'll have the opportunity to prove ourselves. Probably not here in the fiscal year 2026, to be at about $170 million for the year.
I think between $160 and $170 is where our current forecast is at. We are committed to that and believe allowing us to increase our guidance for fiscal year 2028, 2029 and beyond. Thank you, shareholders, for your continued support. We look forward to updating you quarterly on our progress. Thank you very much.