A designer and manufacturer of intelligent motion and lifting equipment for material handling. Its hoists, cranes, chains, and conveyors move heavy loads through factories, energy sites, and transportation hubs, sold under brands like Kito, Crosby, and STAHL to industrial distributors and crane builders. The company's roots reach back to 1875, when a Chicago predecessor made sliding doors for railroad freight cars before turning to hoists, and its name comes from a late-1920s merger of Ohio's Columbus Chain Company with hoist maker Chisholm-Moore. Its classic hoists carry starry names like the Comet and the Lodestar.
Revenue more than doubled to $531.5M after the Kito Crosby acquisition, but $55.2M in inventory step-up costs pushed gross margin to 27.5%.
The Kito Crosby acquisition reshaped Columbus McKinnon's income statement. rose 125.3% to $531.5 million, but contracted 5.2 points to 27.5% as $55.2 million in from the deal overwhelmed the top-line gain. The company is now a much larger business carrying $2.2 billion in , and its profitability depends on how quickly these acquisition-related costs clear.
Key takeaways
more than doubled to $531.5 million, driven by $304.8 million from the Kito Crosby acquisition and $16.1 million of favorable volume, partially offset by a $34.8 million from the divestiture of the U.S. Power Chain Hoist and Chain Manufacturing Operations.
fell 5.2 points to 27.5%, as $55.2 million in non-cash tied to the Kito Crosby acquisition weighed on profitability.
Section summaries
Management's Discussion and Analysis
Q1 FY2027 revenue more than doubled to $531.5M driven by the Kito Crosby acquisition, while gross margin fell to 27.5% on deal-related amortization.
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rose 125.3% to $531.5M, with $304.8M from the Kito Crosby acquisition and $16.1M of favorable volume, partially offset by a $34.8M divestiture .
increased 89.4% to $146.3M, but margin contracted 520 to 27.5% due to $55.2M of tied to the acquisition.
Operating loss was $17.7 million, compared to a $153.2 million loss a year ago that included a $200 million ; selling, general, and administrative expenses rose sharply to $120.1 million, or 22.6% of sales, primarily from the addition of Kito Crosby.
rose to $47.6 million from $8.7 million a year ago, reflecting the $2.2 billion in taken on to fund the acquisition, and the swung to negative 31% due to a on interest carryforwards.
turned positive at $25.6 million, supported by $53.2 million in and , while were $5.7 million with full-year of $50–60 million.
Liquidity stood at $567.1 million, including $98.4 million in cash and $468.7 million in availability, which management believes is sufficient to fund operations and debt obligations for at least 12 months.
What changed
The Kito Crosby acquisition closed on February 3, 2026, and this is the first full quarter of combined results; the prior Q4 FY2026 included only roughly two months of contribution, making the sequential increase of 21.4% largely a reflection of a full quarter's inclusion.
The $55.2 million step-up charge flagged in the FY 2026 annual report as a one-time item materialized this quarter, driving the decline from 34.5% in Q4 FY2026 to 27.5%.
swung from a $166.8 million use of cash in Q1 FY2026 to a positive $25.6 million, as the prior-year period was burdened by $140.8 million in deal-related payments that did not repeat.
remained essentially flat sequentially at $2.22 billion, down 0.2% from $2.23 billion at fiscal year-end, as the company paused the debt reduction seen in prior quarters to integrate the acquisition.
What to watch
Whether recovers from 27.5% as the $55.2 million in clears, and where the underlying margin settles once acquisition accounting is fully absorbed.
Whether the combined company's can cover the $47.6 million in quarterly , particularly given the variable-rate exposure on the $1.46 billion Term Loan B.
Whether the $34.8 million divestiture annualizes and organic volume growth continues, or whether integration disruption weighs on demand in the legacy business.
The pace of capital expenditure deployment toward the $50–60 million full-year , and whether turns positive after the $20.0 million generated this quarter.
Operating expenses grew sharply: selling expenses rose to $54.7M (10.3% of sales), G&A to $65.4M (12.3%), and of intangibles to $34.8M, all primarily from Kito Crosby.
surged to $47.6M from $8.7M on acquisition-related borrowings; the swung to (31)% due to a valuation allowance on interest carryforwards.
turned positive at $25.6M versus a $18.2M use last year, supported by $53.2M of and , while rose to $5.7M with FY2027 of $50–60M.
Liquidity remained strong at $567.1M, including $98.4M of cash and $468.7M of availability, which management believes is sufficient to fund operations and debt obligations for at least 12 months.
There have been no material developments from the legal proceedings as previously disclosed in the 2026 Form 10-K and the notes to the consolidated financial statements thereto.
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There have been no material developments from the legal proceedings as previously disclosed in the 2026 Form 10-K and the notes to the consolidated financial statements thereto.