Cimpress Revenue Rises to $934.1 Million as It Swings to a First-Quarter Loss
Key Facts
Cimpress reported on October 28, 2026, a net loss of $991,000 in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, compared with net income of $6.520 million in the year-earlier period. The loss came despite revenue rising to $934.052 million, up 8% on a reported basis from the first quarter of fiscal 2026. But organic constant-currency growth was 2%, down from 4% in the year-earlier period, while reported revenue growth increased from 7% to 8%. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Keane said the results "were below our expectations," adding that the company was dissatisfied with the quarter's performance. The results showed a divergence between sales growth and declining profitability, as the company said operating pressures and costs related to expanding manufacturing affected performance.
Operating income fell 47% to $26.0 million, while adjusted EBITDA declined 9% to $89.8 million. The company attributed the pressures to several items, including a net increase of $5.9 million in costs to ramp up its North American manufacturing network. Depreciation and amortization expense also rose $5.8 million, and the net impact of new tariffs was $4.2 million. Energy input costs added $1.8 million compared with the year-earlier period, following the impact of price increases. The results were partly offset by a $7.5 million refund of fees related to prior periods.
In the Vistaprint segment, revenue rose 2% year over year, but adjusted EBITDA for the segment fell 10% to $80.7 million. The company cited an increase of about $5.1 million in costs to ramp up its North American production network as one reason for the segment's lower profitability. It also cited about $3.0 million in Canadian tariff costs. In European printing operations, revenue at Print Brothers rose 28% and revenue at the Print Group rose 13% on a reported basis, with recent acquisitions contributing to reported revenue growth. National Pen, meanwhile, recorded a 1% increase in reported revenue and 2% organic constant-currency growth, as e-commerce and in-house fulfillment growth offset declines in direct mail marketing.
Revenue from other activities rose 17%, supported by BuildASign and the Canva partnership, but adjusted EBITDA for the segment fell $3.7 million year over year. Operating cash flow was $28.9 million, up $3.9 million from the year-earlier period. Adjusted free cash flow improved by $8.5 million, but remained an outflow of $9.3 million for the quarter. As of September 30, 2026, the company reported cash and cash equivalents of $120.1 million. It had drawn $35 million from a $250 million revolving credit facility to fund the acquisition of Saxoprint.
Cimpress reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 guidance, targeting revenue growth of at least 7% and organic constant-currency growth of at least 3%. It also maintained its targets of net income of at least $116 million and adjusted EBITDA of at least $520 million. Keane said the company was accelerating previously announced cost-cutting plans, with their effects expected to begin emerging in the second quarter and build in the second half of the year. The company added that it expects earnings and cash flow growth to begin improving from the second quarter as savings initiatives take effect, and the impact of manufacturing ramp-up costs to ease in the second half. Second-quarter results are scheduled for February 3, 2027, followed by a conference call on February 4.
Cimpress shares, trading under the ticker CMPR, closed at $74.79 on October 28, 2026, the day the company reported first-quarter results. The company held a public follow-up call on October 29 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time. On the call, management addressed results it said were below expectations and announced that it was accelerating cost-cutting plans. The execution of those plans is tied to the fiscal-year targets the company left unchanged, despite organic growth slowing to 2% in the quarter against a full-year target of at least 3%. The results scheduled for February will be the first planned update on second-quarter performance under the current guidance.