A maker of body armor, holsters, and duty gear for police, first responders, and the military, Cadre Holdings sells brands including Safariland and Protech Tactical. Its roots trace to 1964, when Neale Perkins built a custom holster for his father in a garage in Sierra Madre, California, and named the company Safariland after the African safaris they shared. Safariland later brought the first commercially available soft body armor for law enforcement to market in the 1970s.
Revenue rose 32% to $207.1M on acquisitions and nuclear demand, but net income fell 6.6% as deal costs and higher compensation weighed on the bottom line.
hit a quarterly record, but the cost of growth is rising. Revenue rose 31.8% to $207.1 million, driven by the Tyr Tactical and Alien Gear acquisitions and higher demand for nuclear safety and armor products, yet fell 6.6% to $11.4 million as , compensation, and adverse foreign exchange outweighed the gain. The order nearly doubled to $367.7 million, but debt has climbed to $374.3 million and remains below its recent peak.
Key takeaways
rose 31.8% to $207.1 million, a quarterly record, with the Product up 35.6% to $190.0 million on $36.6 million from acquisitions and higher demand for nuclear safety, armor, and duty gear products.
fell 6.6% to $11.4 million, as higher expense, compensation expense, and adverse foreign exchange rates more than offset the increase in from higher sales.
widened 1.2 points to 42.1%, recovering from the 38.7% trough in Q1 2026, as the mix of and pricing improved sequentially.
Section summaries
Management's Discussion and Analysis
Q2 FY2026 sales rose 31.8% to $207.1M on acquisitions and nuclear/armor demand, but net income fell 6.6% to $11.4M.
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rose 31.8% to $207.1M in Q2 FY2026, driven by current-year acquisitions and higher demand for nuclear safety, armor, and duty gear products.
The order nearly doubled from year-end to $367.7 million, led by $107.0 million in vehicle blast attenuation seats, blast exposure monitoring sensors, and remotely operated vehicles, signaling a large pipeline of future .
was $22.1 million for the quarter, essentially flat sequentially, while was $18.7 million; for the first half, operating cash flow reached $44.7 million.
Total debt rose to $374.3 million, and cash and equivalents fell to $54.0 million from $122.9 million at year-end, as the company drew on its to fund the $174 million Tyr Tactical and $10.3 million Alien Gear acquisitions.
What changed
The Q1 2026 watch item on recovery is partially resolved: gross margin rebounded to 42.1% in Q2 from 38.7% in Q1, suggesting the Q1 compression was driven by acquisition-related costs that are now being absorbed, though the 42.1% level remains below the 43.4% reported in Q4 2025.
The Q1 2026 watch item on conversion is beginning to play out: the $355.4 million backlog reported in Q1 grew further to $367.7 million in Q2, and the $107.0 million in vehicle blast attenuation seat orders has not yet converted to , leaving the conversion question open for the second half.
The Q1 2026 watch item on sustainability is tentatively positive: free cash flow of $18.7 million in Q2 was essentially stable with Q1's $19.8 million, and the first-half total of $38.5 million already exceeds the full-year 2024 total of $26.1 million, though needs from the growing remain a risk.
The Q1 2026 watch item on additional M&A deployment has been answered: the company deployed $10.3 million for Alien Gear in Q2, and cash has fallen to $54.0 million while debt has risen to $374.3 million, reducing near-term capacity for further deals without additional financing.
What to watch
Whether the $367.7 million order —including $107.0 million in vehicle blast attenuation seat orders—converts to in Q3 2026 at a pace that sustains the 31.8% growth rate and begins to absorb the higher cost base from recent acquisitions.
The trajectory of , which recovered to 42.1% in Q2 from 38.7% in Q1; whether it can return to the 43-44% range seen in late 2025 as acquisition-related step-up is fully recognized and pricing gains flow through.
Whether can be sustained near the $18-20 million quarterly level as the Tyr Tactical and Alien Gear integrations progress, or whether needs tied to the $367.7 million consume cash in future quarters.
The pace of additional M&A deployment now that cash has fallen to $54.0 million and debt has risen to $374.3 million, and whether any new deal requires additional financing that further increases , which a 100-basis-point rate move would change by $1.4 million annually after swaps.
Product grew 35.6% to $190.0M, with $36.6M from acquisitions, $8.4M from nuclear safety, $3.2M from armor, and $2.3M from duty gear.
Distribution rose 6.3% to $27.1M on higher hard goods demand in Q2, but fell 11.2% to $47.4M for the six months on lower hard goods demand.
fell 6.6% to $11.4M in Q2, pressured by higher expense, compensation expense, and adverse FX, partially offset by higher .
rose 55.5% to $42.0M in Q2, while nearly doubled to $367.7M from $189.8M at year-end, led by $107.0M in vehicle blast attenuation seats, blast exposure monitoring sensors, and remotely operated vehicles.
was $44.7M for the six months; investing used $170.0M, including $153.6M for TYR and $10.3M for Alien Gear, and outstanding debt rose to $374.3M.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market risks are not significant, with floating-rate debt hedged by swaps and limited FX exposure to CAD and MXN.
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The company states its market-risk exposures are not significant to results of operations, though they may become so in the future, and it does not hold or issue financial instruments for speculative or trading purposes.
As of June 30, 2026, the company had $375.8 million of floating-rate debt tied to one-month (3.64%) plus applicable margin.
Five interest rate swap agreements, designated as , convert a portion of floating-rate debt to fixed rates ranging from 0.812% to 4.080%, with notional amounts totaling about $296.4 million.
A 100-basis-point change in applicable interest rates would change annual by $3.8 million on the principal debt amount, or $1.4 million when including the effect of the swap agreements.
Foreign currency exposure is primarily to the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso; a 10% move in CAD would change reported by about $0.6 million (three months) and $0.8 million (six months), and by about $0.1 million in each period.
A 10% move in the Mexican peso would change reported by about $0.6 million (three months) and $1.3 million (six months), excluding unrealized gains or losses and the impact of .
The company uses forward contracts designated as to manage forecasted Mexican peso-denominated costs of its Mexican subsidiary.
Refer to Note 10 of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Refer to Note 10 of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which is incorporated herein by reference.
There have been no material changes in our risk factors from those disclosed in Part I, Item 1A. of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.
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There have been no material changes in our risk factors from those disclosed in Part I, Item 1A. of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.