Byrna Technologies (NASDAQ:BYRN) reported fiscal first-quarter 2026 results showing year-over-year revenue growth but pressured profitability, while newly appointed CEO Conn Davis laid out a plan to improve execution across e-commerce, retail productivity, and working capital management.
New CEO emphasizes execution, broader brand positioning
Davis said the company has “only scratched the surface” of its less-lethal personal defense opportunity and described the business as entering a phase where “marketing, e-commerce, and operating execution matter enormously.” He credited former CEO Bryan Ganz for building Byrna into a company that generated $118 million in revenue last year and for establishing the firm as “the category leader in less lethal personal defense.”
- Deeper penetration in retail and dealer channels, including improved in-store experiences, merchandising, and inventory support for partners.
- Broadening Byrna’s brand message beyond “a narrower slice of the market,” with more lifestyle-oriented positioning and a more inclusive influencer strategy.
- Establishing a clearer “financial algorithm” focused on disciplined capital deployment, improved inventory turns, and better flow-through of growth to EBITDA and cash generation.
Davis also pointed to Byrna’s inventory position as a working capital opportunity, noting the company has about $33 million in inventory and intends to optimize it to free up cash for brand investment.
Q1 results: revenue up, margins and earnings down
CFO Lauri Kearnes reported net revenue of $29.0 million for fiscal Q1 ended February 28, 2026, up 11% from $26.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Kearnes attributed the increase primarily to “continued sales expansion across dealer and chain store channels,” partially offset by post-holiday seasonality and lower conversion on Byrna’s website.
Gross profit rose to $17.4 million from $15.9 million, but gross margin dipped to 60% from 61%, which Kearnes said was “primarily due to the greater contribution of dealer and chain store sales.” Kearnes said the company expects gross margin expansion in the back half of the year due to product mix, “modest price increases” implemented late in the quarter, and manufacturing efficiency improvements.
Operating expenses increased 16% to $16.5 million, driven by higher advertising and marketing costs tied to retail expansion and brand awareness efforts, as well as higher legal and professional fees. Net income declined to $0.8 million from $1.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA fell to $2.2 million from $3.0 million.
Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $9.6 million at quarter-end, down from $15.5 million at November 30, 2025. Kearnes said the decrease was primarily due to payment of year-end bonuses and other accrued payables. Inventory was $33.1 million, up slightly from $32.7 million at the prior quarter-end.
E-commerce conversion pressured; company highlights new “Find the Right Launcher” tool
Davis said performance at byrna.com “did not perform to our expectations,” emphasizing that the issue is conversion rather than traffic. He said average daily sessions were approximately 37,000 in January, 40,000 in February, and 34,500 in March, while conversion was about 0.68%, 0.64%, and 0.54%, respectively.
By comparison, Davis noted March traffic was roughly in line with April 2025, but conversion was materially lower than the approximately 0.94% in April 2025 and 1.17% in May 2025. Davis said the company is “over-indexed on a static audience” and that Byrna has been “still speaking to the gun enthusiast,” which he said fails to educate and align with newer customers.
As an early step, Davis highlighted the launch of a “Find the Right Launcher” experience on byrna.com. He said the tool had already generated more than 30,000 responses and “is converting at roughly twice the rate of the overall site,” while providing better data about customer needs and familiarity with the category. The company has also started shifting website messaging away from what Davis called a “weapon-first framing” toward safety and use-case messaging.
In Q&A, management said average order value has come under pressure online in part because the CL mix is lower on the website than in stores, and because repeat customers are buying more accessories and ammunition rather than additional launchers. Kearnes said the CL represented roughly 40% of total unit sales in the quarter, while Davis noted that in March at Byrna-owned retail stores the combined CL and CLXL made up “almost 80% of launcher sales.”
Retail expansion continues; experiences and merchandising seen as key drivers
Davis said the company’s big-box relationships remain encouraging, and he emphasized that in-store engagement can significantly lift results. He cited one retail partner where Byrna has year-over-year comparables: same-store sales increased roughly 164% in Q1 and 92% in March, “even before the benefit of additional end cap or shelf display programs.” Davis also said stores with dedicated shooting experiences generate roughly three times the sales of stores without those experiences.
He said Byrna’s owned retail stores also showed improvement, with March sales up 16% year-over-year and conversion improving from the “low sixties” in April 2025 to the “high sixties” in March 2026.
On distribution footprint, Davis said Byrna entered 2025 with about 200 chain stores and a 700-store total footprint, and entered 2026 with about 900 chain stores and a 1,500-store total footprint. By the end of 2026, the company expects to be in around 2,000 total locations, including big-box partners and dealers.
Davis highlighted new and evolving partnerships, including:
- Academy Sports and Outdoors: initial rollout of about 50 stores in Q2, with a target of roughly 200–250 Academy locations by the end of 2026.
- Bass Pro: a shift from behind-the-glass placement in firearm sections to testing high-traffic end caps, which Davis said enables “self-discovery” and reduces friction.
- Murdoch’s Ranch & Home Supply: 14 locations with freestanding displays targeted by the end of Q2, and about 30 locations targeted by year-end.
In the dealer channel, Davis said premier dealers grew 60% year-over-year in Q1 and the top 20 dealers grew 55%. He also said the company is moving from a largely inbound dealer approach to a more proactive outbound strategy to fill “white space” markets.
When asked about shooting experiences, Kearnes said less than 10% of dealers currently have them. Davis said space and store reset timing are primary constraints for broader adoption, rather than cost.
Q2 trending below expectations; company ends practice of pre-announcing quarterly revenue
While Davis said the company is “winning the fight for revenue while simultaneously building the long-term foundation,” he cautioned that fiscal Q2 is “developing materially below our expectations.” He pointed to a tougher comparison with the prior-year Q2, which benefited from the CL launch and about $2.7 million in initial retail “load-in” orders from new partners. For Q2 this year, Davis said the company expects total retail load-in orders to exceed $300,000.
Kearnes agreed with an analyst’s interpretation that the company expects Q2 revenue to be down meaningfully year-over-year and sequentially, citing the load-in comparison and weaker conversion on byrna.com despite similar traffic levels.
Davis said the company’s operational changes are necessary but will not “fully move through the system in a matter of weeks.” He added that Byrna will not provide formal quarterly guidance for now, citing variability and the need for better operating consistency and visibility. He also said the company will discontinue the prior practice of pre-announcing quarterly revenue, arguing that a single early revenue datapoint can be an incomplete picture during a period of operational tightening.
On cash flow, Kearnes said the company expects free cash flow for the year to be “in the mid-teens,” driven by EBITDA and working capital improvements, with a focus on a “meaningful reduction” in inventory. Davis added that production is being tied more closely to demand, and management said the build rate has been reduced and plant headcount lowered.
Finally, Davis discussed longer-term product and operational initiatives, including progress on a next-generation modular platform centered around the .68 caliber system. He said the company is targeting an initial launch in the beginning of 2027, with a broader rollout extending through that year.
About Byrna Technologies (NASDAQ:BYRN)
Byrna Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: BYRN) designs, develops and markets non-lethal personal security devices and accessories intended to provide an alternative to traditional firearms. The company’s flagship offerings deploy impact projectiles and chemical irritants in a compact, pistol-style form factor. Its product portfolio includes the Byrna SD and Byrna HD launchers, which utilize proprietary kinetic and irritant cartridges, as well as the lightweight Byrna Air, a CO₂-powered variant optimized for close-quarters defense.
In addition to its core self-defense launchers, Byrna Technologies supplies a range of consumables and support products, including cartridges loaded with pepper-based irritants, inert training rounds, holsters, safe-carry cases and speed loaders.
