News Details

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Krispy Kreme, Inc. (NASDAQ: DNUT) (“Krispy Kreme”, “KKI”, or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the quarter ended June 28, 2026.

Second Quarter 2026 Highlights (vs Q2 2025)

• Net revenue of $331.0 million declined 12.8%, reflecting our refranchising efforts and the strategic closure of underperforming doors completed in the third quarter of 2025
• Systemwide sales of $497.3 million increased 1.1% in constant currency, and increased 2.6% excluding sales attributable to the now-ended McDonald’s USA partnership
• GAAP net loss of $19.8 million improved $421.3 million
• Adjusted EBITDA of $28.8 million increased 43.2%
• Year-to-date cash provided by operating activities of $10.0 million increased $63.3 million, and free cash flow of $(6.1) million improved $101.3 million, when compared to the first half of 2025

“The second quarter highlighted continued significant progress on our turnaround to strengthen the balance sheet, reduce leverage, and drive sustainable, profitable growth. Demand for our fresh, iconic doughnuts across the U.S. and international markets drove systemwide sales growth of 2.6% excluding the impact of the now-ended McDonald’s USA partnership,” said Krispy Kreme CEO Josh Charlesworth.

“Our results demonstrate the success of the actions we are taking to grow the business and improve profitability, including a significant expansion in Adjusted EBITDA margin of 340 basis points compared to last year. We remain confident in achieving our 2026 financial targets and are maintaining our previously issued guidance.”

Turnaround Plan

The Company’s comprehensive turnaround plan, announced in August 2025, is designed to deleverage the balance sheet and deliver sustainable, profitable growth. The four components of the plan, along with progress on each, are as follows:

1. Refranchising: Improve financial flexibility through refranchising international markets and the joint venture in the western U.S.
   1. Completed refranchising of Japan and the joint venture in the western U.S. in March 2026.
2. Improving Return on Invested Capital: Reduce capital intensity by using existing assets and focusing on franchise development.
   1. Capital expenditures decreased 70% in the first half of 2026 compared to the year-ago period.
   2. Year-to-date, 59 doughnut shops have been opened around the world, nearly all of which are franchised.
   3. Entered into agreements for three new international franchise markets year-to-date, including the Netherlands, Estonia, and Mauritius.
3. Expanding Margins: Expand margins through greater operational efficiency, including outsourcing U.S. logistics.
   1. Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin in the second quarter increased from 5.3% to 8.7% year-over-year, driven by a 370 basis point increase in the U.S. segment.
   2. Completed outsourcing of U.S. logistics in April 2026.
4. Driving Sustainable, Profitable Growth: Pursue U.S. growth based upon sustainable and profitable revenue streams. Fresh delivery is inclusive of both Company- and franchise-operated doors.
   1. Increased fresh delivery doors by 448 in the U.S. with strategic partners during the first half of 2026.
   2. Average revenue per door per week (“APD”) in the second quarter for the U.S. increased 33.2% to approximately $697 year-over-year.

Second Quarter 2026 Consolidated Results (vs Q2 2025)

Krispy Kreme’s results reflect continued progress in improving U.S. profitability and wider adoption of the capital-light international franchise model.

Net revenue was $331.0 million in the second quarter of 2026, a decline of 12.8% or $48.8 million. Organic revenue decreased by 0.3%, primarily driven by a decline in global points of access and in the International segment, partially offset by growth in the Market Development segment. Global points of access declined 2,448, or 13.5%, reflecting the strategic closure of underperforming doors, including approximately 2,400 doors attributable to the now-ended McDonald’s USA partnership, that was completed in the third quarter of 2025. Systemwide sales were $497.3 million in U.S. dollars during the second quarter of 2026. Systemwide sales increased 1.1% in constant currency and, excluding the impact of sales from the McDonald’s USA doors in the prior year second quarter, systemwide sales increased 2.6%.

GAAP net loss improved to $19.8 million, compared to the prior year second quarter net loss of $441.1 million. Diluted loss per share improved to $0.12, compared to a diluted loss per share of $2.55. Adjusted net loss was $5.4 million, an improvement from an Adjusted net loss of $25.3 million in the prior year second quarter, and Adjusted EPS was a loss of $(0.03), compared with an Adjusted EPS loss of $(0.15) in the prior year second quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA increased 43.2% to $28.8 million compared to the prior year second quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 8.7% from 5.3%, due primarily to productivity initiatives, SG&A savings, and the removal of costs relating to McDonald’s USA.

Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding were 172.6 million, compared to 170.8 million for the prior year second quarter. The reported diluted weighted-average share count reflects basic shares outstanding, as the Company incurred a net loss; approximately 2.0 million and 2.6 million anti-dilutive securities were excluded from the diluted share calculation in the second quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively.

Second Quarter 2026 Segment Results (vs Q2 2025)

U.S.: In the U.S. segment, net revenue declined by 25.0% to $172.7 million, driven by refranchising efforts associated with our turnaround plan and strategic door closures. Organic revenue increased by 0.1% year-over-year, or 4.4% excluding the impact of McDonald’s USA, reflecting strength of our retail and digital channels and improved APD in fresh delivery.

U.S. Adjusted EBITDA increased by 38.5% to $13.8 million and Adjusted EBITDA margin increased approximately 370 basis points to 8.0%. These results demonstrated meaningful improvement as a result of the turnaround plan initiatives.

International: In the International segment, net revenue decreased by 11.6% to $117.3 million compared to the prior year second quarter, due primarily to refranchising Japan. Organic revenue decreased by 5.1%, primarily due to declines in the U.K. and Australia, partially offset by growth in Canada.

International segment Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 22.2% to $14.2 million driven by the refranchising of Japan. Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased by 160 basis points to 12.1% due to lower Adjusted EBITDA in the U.K. and Australia and the Japan refranchising.

Market Development: In the Market Development segment, net revenue increased by 142.3% to $41.0 million, driven primarily by the impact of refranchising. Organic revenue increased by 14.4%, due primarily to growth in royalty revenues in the Middle East, Japan, and Brazil.

Market Development Adjusted EBITDA increased by 116.7% to $19.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin decreased 560 basis points to 47.3%, driven by changes in the regional mix of increased lower-margin U.S. franchised sales, associated with refranchising the western U.S. joint venture with WKS Restaurant Group and the Japan refranchising.

Balance Sheet and Capital Expenditures

During the first half of 2026, the Company spent $16.1 million, or 4.9% of net revenue, on capital expenditures, as the Company continues to primarily invest in repairs and maintenance of existing infrastructure, while leveraging excess capacity for growth where available. Year to date, the Company’s capital expenditures are down 70.2% versus $54.1 million in the first half of 2025.

As of the end of the second quarter of 2026, the Company’s net leverage ratio was 5.4x, reflecting a 1.3x reduction compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. The Company had total available liquidity of $263.9 million as of June 27, 2026, which includes $21.8 million of cash and cash equivalents as well as undrawn capacity of $242.1 million under its credit facilities. The Company remains in compliance with all financial covenants as of June 28, 2026.

Refranchising

Krispy Kreme continues to pursue its goal of two to three international refranchising deals in 2026 and has already completed the refranchising of Japan. In addition, the Company completed the refranchising of the western U.S. joint venture with WKS Restaurant Group. Through evaluation of additional refranchising opportunities, Krispy Kreme remains focused on identifying the right partners both in international markets and the U.S. to maximize value and position the Company for long-term growth.

For fiscal 2025, approximately 25% of the Company’s systemwide sales came from franchise-operated locations. Currently, approximately 42% of systemwide sales are generated through franchised locations. Through additional refranchising efforts, the Company’s goal remains to reach approximately 50% of systemwide sales generated by franchisees beginning fiscal 2027.

2026 Financial Outlook

The Company is maintaining its previously provided annual financial guidance, which includes the impact of the refranchising transactions described above but does not include additional transactions in 2026:

• Net revenue of $1.25 billion to $1.35 billion
• Systemwide sales up 2% to 4% year-over-year in constant currency
• Open at least 100 shops, nearly all of which are expected to be franchised
• Adjusted EBITDA ⁽¹⁾ of $140 million to $150 million
• Capital expenditures of $50 million to $60 million
• Free cash flow ⁽¹⁾ of more than $15 million
• Net leverage ratio ⁽¹⁾ below 5.5x

⁽¹⁾ Non-GAAP figures. The Company does not reconcile forward-looking non-GAAP measures. See “Key Performance Indicators and Non-GAAP Measures.”

Definitions

The following definitions apply to terms used throughout this press release:

• Systemwide Sales: Reflects global sales in U.S. dollars on a nominal basis of all Krispy Kreme products, whether by the Company or franchisees, excluding mix, equipment, and royalty revenue. Sales from franchisees are reported to the Company by such franchisees and are not included in Company revenues. Growth in systemwide sales represents the change in one period from the same period in the prior year on a constant currency basis. The Company believes systemwide sales information is important because it is indicative of the health of the Company’s brand and aids in understanding the Company’s financial performance.
• Global Points of Access: Reflects all locations at which fresh doughnuts can be purchased. We define global points of access to include all Hot Light Theater Shops, Fresh Shops, Carts and Food Trucks, and fresh delivery doors (which includes Krispy Kreme branded cabinets and merchandising units within high traffic grocery and convenience stores, quick service or fast casual restaurants, club memberships, and drug stores), and other points at which fresh doughnuts can be purchased at both Company-owned and franchise locations as of the end of the applicable reporting period. We monitor global points of access as a metric that informs the growth of our omni-channel presence over time and believe this metric is useful to investors to understand our footprint in each of our segments and by asset type.
• Hubs: Reflects locations where fresh doughnuts are produced and processed for sale at any global point of access. We define hubs to include self-sustaining Hot Light Theater Shops and Doughnut Factories, at both Company-owned and franchise locations as of the end of the applicable reporting period.
• Hubs with Spokes: Reflects hubs currently producing fresh doughnuts for other Fresh Shops, Carts and Food Trucks, or fresh delivery doors, and excludes hubs not currently producing fresh doughnuts for other shops, Carts and Food Trucks, or fresh delivery doors.
• Sales Per Hub: Sales per hub equals fresh revenues from hubs with spokes, divided by the average number of hubs with spokes at the end of each of the five most recent quarters.
• Fresh Revenues from Hubs with Spokes: Fresh revenues is a measure focused on the Krispy Kreme doughnut business and includes product sales generated from our Hot Light Theater Shops, Fresh Shops, Carts and Food Trucks, fresh delivery doors, and digital channels and excludes sales from Cookie Bakeries and Branded Sweet Treats (through the date of the Insomnia Cookies Holdings, LLC (“Insomnia Cookies”) deconsolidation and Branded Sweet Treats exit, respectively). Fresh revenues from hubs with spokes equals the fresh revenues derived from hubs with spokes.
• Free Cash Flow: Defined as cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment.

Conference Call

Krispy Kreme will host a public conference call and webcast at 8:00 AM Eastern Time today to discuss its results for the second quarter 2026. A slide presentation will be available prior to the start time on the investor relations section of the Company’s website at investors.krispykreme.com.

To listen to the live webcast and Q&A, visit the Krispy Kreme investor relations website at investors.krispykreme.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the website within 24 hours after the call. This earnings release and related materials will also be available on the investor relations section of the Company’s website.

About Krispy Kreme

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Krispy Kreme is one of the most beloved and well-known sweet treat brands in the world. Our iconic Original Glazed® doughnut is universally recognized for its hot-off-the-line, melt-in-your-mouth experience. Krispy Kreme operates in more than 40 countries through its unique network of fresh doughnut shops, partnerships with leading retailers, and a rapidly growing digital business. Our purpose of touching and enhancing lives through the joy that is Krispy Kreme guides how we operate every day and is reflected in the love we have for our people, our communities and the planet. Connect with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts at www.KrispyKreme.com, or on one of its many social media channels, including www.Facebook.com/KrispyKreme and www.X.com/KrispyKreme.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by use of forward-looking terminology, including terms such as “plan,” “believe,” “may,” “continue,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “could,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “objective,” “seek,” “pursue,” “strive,” “look forward,” or the negative of these words, comparable terminology, or other references to future periods; however, statements may be forward-looking whether or not these terms or their negatives are used. Forward-looking statements are not a representation by us that the future plans, estimates, or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. Our actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements included in this press release. We consider the assumptions and estimates on which forward-looking statements are based to be reasonable, but they are subject to various risks and uncertainties relating to our operations, financial results, financial conditions, business, prospects, future plans and strategies, projections, liquidity, the economy, and other future conditions. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements including, without limitation: food safety issues, including risks of food-borne illnesses, tampering, contamination, and cross-contamination; impacts from any material failure, inadequacy, or interruption of our information technology systems, including breaches or failures of such systems or other cybersecurity or data security-related incidents; our ability to execute our business strategy, including our turnaround plan and growth through international development with strategic partners and profitable expansion of our fresh delivery and digital channels; our ability to realize the anticipated benefits from past or potential future strategic transactions (including refranchising); failure by our franchisees, subfranchisees, or third-party service providers to operate effectively and in compliance with our standards and applicable law; any harm to our reputation or brand image; negative impacts on our business due to changes in consumer spending habits, consumer preferences, or demographic trends; our ability to open new and maintain existing shops and points of access both domestically and internationally; disruptions to our and our franchisees’ supply chain, including the loss of or failure to perform by single-source or limited suppliers, vendors, distributors, or manufacturers; our significant indebtedness and our ability to meet the financial and other covenants under our credit facilities; changes in the cost of raw materials and fuel or other commodities, including due to import and export requirements (including tariffs), inflation, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, or heightened geopolitical tensions (including the recent Iran conflict); our ability to recruit and retain key personnel; failure to develop or maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures; adverse regulatory actions or publicity concerning food or occupational safety, food quality, health, and other issues or regulatory investigations, enforcement actions, or material litigation; and other risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and in other filings the Company makes from time to time with the SEC. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this document, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Key Performance Indicators and Non-GAAP Measures

This press release includes certain financial information that is not presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (“GAAP”). These non-GAAP and operating measures include organic revenue growth/(decline), Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted net loss, diluted, Adjusted EPS, free cash flow, net debt, fresh revenue from hubs with spokes, sales per hub and systemwide sales. We believe these non-GAAP and operating measures are useful in evaluating our operating performance. Management believes these measures are important indicators of operations because they exclude items that may not be indicative of our core operating results and provide a better baseline for analyzing trends in our underlying business, and they are consistent with how business performance is planned, reported and assessed internally by management and the Company’s Board of Directors. We monitor the key business metrics and non-GAAP metrics set forth herein to help us evaluate our business and growth trends, establish budgets, measure the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts, and assess operational efficiencies. These non-GAAP and operating measures are not standardized, and it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies’ non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures. Other companies may calculate similarly titled financial measures differently than we do or may not calculate them at all. Additionally, the non-GAAP financial measures are not measurements of financial performance under GAAP or a substitute for results reported under GAAP. In order to facilitate a clear understanding of our consolidated historical operating results, we urge you to review our non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with the Company’s financial statements and not to rely on any single financial measure.

The Company does not provide reconciliations of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure because it is unable to predict with reasonable certainty or without unreasonable effort non-recurring items, such as those reflected in our reconciliation of historic numbers. The variability of these items is unpredictable and may have a significant impact on the forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures presented.

See “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

Krispy Kreme, Inc.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share amounts)

We define “Adjusted EBITDA” as earnings before interest expense, net, income tax expense, and depreciation and amortization, with further adjustments for share-based compensation, certain strategic initiatives, acquisition and integration expenses, and certain other non-recurring, infrequent, or non-core income and expense items. Adjusted EBITDA, both on a consolidated and at the segment level, is a principal metric that management uses to monitor and evaluate operating performance and provides a consistent benchmark for comparison across reporting periods. “Adjusted EBITDA margin” reflects Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net revenues.

We define “Adjusted net loss, diluted” as net loss attributable to common shareholders, Adjusted for interest expense, share-based compensation, certain strategic initiatives, acquisition and integration expenses, amortization of acquisition-related intangibles, the tax impact of adjustments, and certain other non-recurring, infrequent, or non-core income and expense items. “Adjusted EPS” is Adjusted net loss, diluted converted to a per share amount.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted net loss, diluted, and Adjusted EPS have certain limitations, including adjustments for income and expense items that are required by GAAP. In evaluating these non-GAAP measures, you should be aware that in the future we will incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in this presentation, such as share-based compensation. Our presentation of these non-GAAP measures should not be construed to imply that our future results will be unaffected by any such adjustments. Management compensates for these limitations by relying on our GAAP results in addition to using these non-GAAP measures supplementally.

Organic revenue growth/(decline) measures our revenue growth trends excluding the impact of acquisitions, divestitures, and foreign currency, and we believe it is useful for investors to understand the expansion of our global footprint through internal efforts. We define “organic revenue growth/(decline)” as the growth/(decline) in revenues, excluding (i) the impact of revenues of acquired shops owned by us for less than 12 months following their acquisition, (ii) the impact of foreign currency exchange rate changes, (iii) the impact of shop closures related to restructuring programs, (iv) the impact of the divestiture of shops through refranchising, and (v) the impact of revenues generated during the 53^rd week for those fiscal years that have a 53^rd week based on our fiscal calendar.

Fresh revenues from hubs with spokes and sales per hub are defined above.