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DATE
Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 8:30 a.m. ET
CALL PARTICIPANTS
Chairman, President, and CEO — Ronald M. Lombardi
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer — Christine Sacco
Vice President, Investor Relations — Philip David Terpolilli
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RISKS
Ronald M. Lombardi said, "we certainly have seen a pretty significant reduction in share" and explained that retailers adjusted shelf space for Clear Eyes due to ongoing supply constraints.
Christine Sacco noted lower revenue in fiscal Q2 2026 was "mainly attributable to lower eye and ear care category sales, owing largely to ClearEye supply constraints along with lower cough and cold category sales."
Christine Sacco said, "Timing of distributor orders" affected results in the international OTC segment, impacting short-term revenue visibility.
TAKEAWAYS
Total Revenue -- $274.1 million, down 3.4% for fiscal Q2 2026 (period ended September 30, 2025), driven primarily by reduced eye and ear care sales and planned lower performance in the cough and cold category.
Gross Margin -- 55.7% gross margin in the first six months of fiscal 2026, up 60 basis points. Management reaffirmed a full-year fiscal 2026 target of 56% and fiscal Q3 2026 guidance at approximately 56%.
Adjusted EPS -- Adjusted EPS was $1.07 for fiscal Q2 2026, slightly below last year's $1.09. Management attributed the result to lower sales, offset by timing benefits and capital allocation outcomes.
Free Cash Flow -- $133.6 million in free cash flow for the first half of fiscal 2026, representing a 10% increase. The full-year fiscal 2026 outlook is maintained at $245 million or more.
Leverage Ratio -- 2.4 times net debt to EBITDA, with approximately $900 million in net debt reported as of September 30, 2025.
Share Repurchase -- 1.6 million shares repurchased for approximately $110 million in the first six months of fiscal 2026, with most occurring opportunistically in fiscal Q2 2026.
Segment Performance -- North America OTC revenues declined 6.1% excluding FX, while International OTC increased 2.7%, both compared to the prior year for the first six months of fiscal 2026.
E-Commerce Trends -- Double-digit year-over-year consumption growth continued, along with variability in customer order patterns. Late-quarter shipments temporarily inflated sales in fiscal Q2 2026.
DenTek Market Share -- DenTek dental guards now comprise over half of the brand’s revenue and exceed 50% category share, with an increase of more than five percentage points versus last year, as of fiscal Q2 2026.
Strategic Acquisition -- The acquisition of Pillar 5, a key eye care manufacturer, is expected to close in fiscal Q3 2026 for approximately $100 million, primarily funded by cash on hand.
Guidance -- Full-year revenue outlook reiterated at $1.1 billion to $1.115 billion for fiscal 2026, with organic growth expected to be down 1.5%-3%. Adjusted EPS guidance was raised to $4.54-$4.58 for fiscal 2026, with fiscal Q3 2026 adjusted EPS guidance set at $1.14.
Advertising and Marketing (A&M) -- A&M expense was 14.1% of first-half sales for the first half of fiscal 2026. Fiscal Q3 2026 is expected to exceed 15%, with the full-year fiscal 2026 forecast at approximately 14%.
Tax Rate -- Fiscal Q2 2026 normalized tax rate was 24.1%. Management expects an approximately 24% rate for the remainder of fiscal 2026.
Tariff Impact -- The full-year tariff cost forecast remains at approximately $5 million for fiscal 2026, with only modest exposure expected.
SUMMARY
Prestige Consumer Healthcare (PBH +2.76%) management directly attributed revenue declines in fiscal Q2 2026 and the first half of fiscal 2026 (period ended September 30, 2025) to Clear Eye supply constraints, while highlighting resilient gross margins and record free cash flow during the first half of the fiscal year. The company signaled ongoing strength in e-commerce consumption and international segment growth despite short-term supply and order timing disruptions. Discussion pointed to sustained capital returns via buybacks, disciplined M&A pursuit, and continued progress on securing long-term eye care manufacturing capacity, reinforcing management’s confidence in both near-term operational recovery and strategic positioning.
Acquisition of Pillar 5 is designed to add internal sterile eye care production, with both new suppliers and a new high-speed line expected to resolve supply constraints by year-end.
Order volatility from key e-commerce accounts continues to influence quarterly sales timing in fiscal 2026, with management emphasizing a focus on underlying consumption rather than shipped revenue.
Market share losses and shelf space reductions for Clear Eyes are expected to recover gradually as reliability returns, though full normalization of retailer stocking may extend beyond fiscal 2026.
Management confirmed there is no meaningful impact from private label competition across its categories or new inventory risk in other product areas.
INDUSTRY GLOSSARY
PEG (Professional, Enthusiast, and General): In oral care, refers to market segments classified by consumer expertise and product preferences.
A&M (Advertising and Marketing): Company-specific term for the aggregate cost of brand promotion across advertising and trade marketing channels.
SKU: Stock-keeping unit; an individual product line item tracked by retailers or manufacturers.
VAF (Vaginal Antifungal): Medical product category related to treatments such as Monistat for vaginal antifungal applications.
USMCA: United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade pact referenced for import tariff exemptions.
Full Conference Call Transcript
Philip David Terpolilli: Thanks, operator, and thank you to everyone who has joined today. On the call with me are Ronald M. Lombardi, our Chairman, President, and CEO, and Christine Sacco, our CFO and COO. On today's call, we'll review our second quarter fiscal 2026 results, discuss our full-year outlook, and then take questions from analysts. A slide presentation accompanies today's call and can be accessed by visiting prestigeconsumerhealthcare.com, clicking on the Investors link, and then on today's webcast and presentation. Remember, some of the information contained in the presentation today includes non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations to the nearest GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release and slide presentation.
On today's call, management will make forward-looking statements around risks and uncertainties, which are detailed in the complete safe harbor disclosure on Page two of the slide presentation that accompanies the call. These are important to review and contemplate. Business environment uncertainty remains heightened due to supply chain constraints, high inflation, and geopolitical events, each of which have numerous potential impacts. This means results could change at any time, and the forecasted impact of risk considerations is the best estimate based on the information available as of today's date. Further information concerning risk factors and cautionary statements is available in our most recent SEC filings and most recent company 10-Ks. I'll now turn it over to our CEO, Ronald M.
Lombardi. Ron?
Ronald M. Lombardi: Thanks, Phil. Let's begin on slide five. Our Q2 results exceeded the expectations we communicated back in August thanks to certain timing factors. Sales of $274 million declined versus the prior year but were better than forecast due to the timing of ClearEye supply and accelerated e-commerce shipments late in the quarter that outpaced consumption. We expect these timing factors to come out of Q3 and still expect a second-half improvement in eye care supply previously discussed that underpins our full-year forecast. I'll review our Q3 and full-year outlook in detail later. Aside from these timing factors, our base business continues to perform well, benefiting from the diversity of our portfolio and channels.
We continue to experience double-digit e-commerce consumption growth thanks to the long-term investments previously discussed. Moving down the P&L, gross margin was largely as anticipated. Adjusted EPS of $1.07 was similar to the prior year but ahead of expectations due to the sales beat. Lastly, our financial profile continues to generate strong free cash flow, which was $134 million for the first half, up 10% versus the prior year. This valuable cash flow and our favorable leverage ratio enable multiple ways to create value for our business. We maintained our leverage ratio of 2.4 times. For example, in Q2, while repurchasing over 1.1 million shares, we continue to see additional opportunities for capital deployment that can enhance shareholder value.
Philip David Terpolilli: Now let's turn to page six for a review of our DenTek brand and how we are expanding the brand's reach in the dental care market. DenTek participates in the niche PEG sections of a much larger oral care category. Our product offerings are diverse and include dental guards, floss picks, interdental brushes, and numerous dental accessories such as temporary tooth fillings. The wide-ranging portfolio is geared towards the dental care enthusiast, offering technology-focused solutions to meet oral care needs. Like all of our brands, DenTek's emphasis is behind differentiated product offerings where we can use long-term brand building to drive sales growth at attractive margins.
With that in mind, our largest focus within the DenTek portfolio is around dental guards, which today represents well over half of the brand's revenue. By leveraging the brand's number one share in combination with innovation and proven brand-building tactics, we've been able to drive category growth, and as a byproduct, our market share, which now exceeds 50% of the category.
Ronald M. Lombardi: On the right side of the page, you'll see the most recent example of this proven marketing playbook, the Fantasy Guard's marketing campaign. Fantasy Football consumes an estimated 1.2 billion hours of time annually with fierce rivalry and competition. This results in untold stress to players and fans experiencing physical symptoms, teeth clenching, and jaw pain. DenTek interjects itself in a witty way, allowing for fantasy football leagues to enter a sweepstakes and win an embarrassing grand prize finale for their lowest scorer. Launched in Q2 with the backing of former and current NFL players, the campaign is designed to connect DenTek with both new and existing consumers in a culturally relevant way.
Engagement is broad-based across all the various marketing channels. The results are early but showing solid success with an over five percentage point gain over last year in DenTek Guards market share. So in summary, through brand building behind DenTek's most differentiated products like Dental Guards, the brand continues to grow sales and market share and is set up well for continued long-term growth. With that, I'll turn it over to Christine Sacco to discuss the financials.
Christine Sacco: Thanks, Ron. Good morning, everyone. Let's turn to Slide eight and review our second quarter fiscal 2026 financial results. As a reminder, the information in today's presentation includes certain non-GAAP information that is reconciled to the closest GAAP measure in our earnings release. Q2 revenue of $274.1 million declined 3.4% from $283.8 million in the prior year. The revenue decline was mainly attributable to lower eye and ear care category sales, owing largely to ClearEye supply constraints along with lower cough and cold category sales, which we expected. EBITDA margin remained in the low 30s.
Adjusted EPS of $1.07 was down slightly versus $1.09 in the prior year, with lower sales primarily offset by the favorable timing of A&M as well as improvements in interest expense and share count thanks to the benefits of our capital allocation strategy. Now let's turn to Slide nine for detail around consolidated results for the first half. For the first six months of fiscal 2026, revenues decreased 4.8% organically versus the prior year. By segment, excluding FX, North America segment revenues decreased 6.1% and international segment revenues increased 2.7% versus the prior year.
The first six-month sales declines were due largely to anticipated impacts of the ClearEye supply chain constraints and were also impacted by the expected order timing of a certain e-commerce customer that benefited Q4 of the prior year. We have continued to see variability in this customer's order patterns, Ron will touch on this when reviewing our updated outlook. In spite of this variability, we experienced impressive double-digit year-over-year consumption growth in the e-commerce business, continuing the long-term trend of higher online purchases. Our ongoing investments have paid off on a consistent basis, including during important large-scale e-commerce sales day events. Elsewhere, our international OTC segment business increased in the first six months, helped by higher Hydralyte sales.
Although Q2 was affected by the timing of distributor orders, which we expected, we continue to have confidence in our long-term algorithm for 5% annual segment revenue growth. Total company gross margin of 55.7% in the first six months was up 60 basis points versus the prior year. Looking forward, we still expect a 56% gross margin for the year with a Q3 gross margin of approximately 56%. For tariffs, our latest full-year potential cost forecast remains approximately $5 million. As a reminder, we have a diverse, predominantly domestic supplier base and have only modest exposure to high tariff countries as well as certain products that are currently exempt from tariffs under USMCA and other specific policies.
Advertising and marketing was down due to the timing of certain marketing initiatives, coming in at 14.1% of sales for the first six months. For fiscal 2026, we now anticipate an A&M percentage of approximately 14% while Q3 A&M is expected to be the highest spend rate of the year at over 15% of sales. As expected, G&A expenses were up for the first six months versus prior year due to the timing of certain expenses. We still anticipate full-year G&A of approximately 10% as a percent of sales.
Finally, adjusted EPS of $2.20 compared to $1.98 in the prior year as improved gross margin, the timing of A&M, and more favorable interest expense helped offset the impact of lower first-half revenues. We continue to expect favorable interest expense through the balance of the year. Lastly, our Q2 normalized tax rate was 24.1%, resulting in a first-half normalized tax rate of 23.7%. We still anticipate a tax rate of approximately 24% for the remaining quarters of fiscal 2026. Now let's turn to Slide 10 and discuss cash flow. For the first half, we generated $133.6 million in free cash flow, up approximately 10% versus the prior year.
We continue to maintain industry-leading free cash flow and are maintaining our outlook for the full year of $245 million or more. At September 30, our net debt was approximately $900 million and our covenant-defined leverage ratio of 2.4 times remains stable. Our strong financial position and consistent business performance continue to enable multiple uses of cash flow in fiscal 2026 that add value for our shareholders. For the first six months, we've now repurchased 1.6 million shares for approximately $110 million. The majority of this was opportunistic repurchases during Q2, which we expect to continue through the remainder of the year. Next, we remain diligent around M&A, seeking leading brands and portfolios that can enhance our portfolio and business.
Lastly, we still anticipate the strategic acquisition of our eye care manufacturer, Pillar 5, for approximately $100 million, which we expect to close in Q3 based on the fulfillment of certain closing conditions. With that, I'll turn it back to Ron.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Thanks, Chris. Let's turn to Slide 12 to wrap up. Halfway through the year, we are reiterating the outlook offered in August and feel good about the performance of our business and the current dynamic retail environment. This confidence stems from our proven business strategy and well-diversified portfolio that is set up for long-term growth and success. For fiscal 2026, we continue to anticipate revenues of $1.1 billion to $1.115 billion with organic growth down approximately 1.5% to 3% versus the prior year. Most importantly, we are on track to improve ClearEye supply in the second half. For Q3, we expect revenue of approximately $282 million, down versus the prior year.
The lower revenue versus the prior year is attributable to two factors. First, the receipt of ClearEye's inventory late in Q2 reduces our expected Q3 revenue by an estimated $5 million. Second, we anticipate an e-commerce retailer order adjustment in Q3 due to their September order patterns above our stable consumption levels. We realized a similar trend in March and April earlier this year, where we saw sales shift into Q4 from Q1. For EPS, we now anticipate adjusted EPS of $4.54 to $4.58 for the full year, which is the higher end of our prior range, thanks to our share repurchase efforts. For Q3, we anticipate EPS of $1.14.
Lastly, we continue to anticipate free cash flow of $245 million or more. We have ample capital deployment optionality that has a history of maximizing value for our shareholders. With that, I'll open it up for questions. Operator?
Operator: Thank you. At this time, we will conduct a question and answer session. As a reminder, to ask a question, you will need to press 11 on your telephone and wait for your name to be announced. To withdraw your question, please press 11 again. Our first question comes from the line of Susan Kay Anderson with Canaccord Genuity. Your line is now open.
Susan Kay Anderson: Hi. Good morning. Nice job on the quarter. I guess maybe just a follow-up on the ClearEye. So it looks like you guys are on track to reach the shipments. I mean, maybe if you could just give some color on how we should expect that to flow through, I guess, in the rest of the year. And then also just curious while you guys kinda were out of supply, if you lost any shelf space at any other retailers, and then also just a lower distributor orders in the Eye and Ear internationally, I assume has nothing to do with that, but just checking on that. And then may I have a follow-up after that? Thanks.
Christine Sacco: Hey. Good morning, Susan. It's Chris. I'll start. Maybe Ron can chime in also. You know, just a reminder. Right? Back in August, we laid out the three elements of our long-term efforts that we're focused on best positioning our supply chain to support ClearEye growth. And the first phase of this was to bring on two new suppliers to supplement our requirements. The first of these suppliers came up towards the end of Q1. And the second came up late in Q2 as we had planned. Pillar 5, the third, continues to make progress with the new high-speed line we've talked about.
We continue to expect some benefit in Q3 with more in Q4 when they're producing for the entire quarter. So while it takes some time to ramp a new line to full capacity, Pillar 5 has already produced some commercial product that we expect to ship later in the quarter. So we continue to expect sequential improvement in Q3 over Q2. Then Q4 over Q3. And then maybe just I'll just take the third part of your question, and Ron can take So yes, to your point, your question on international eye care, Pillar 5 does produce some eye care products for our international segment, and so they are also feeling the effects of our constraints.
Ronald M. Lombardi: So, Susan, it was your question on lost shares in shelf space, we certainly have seen a pretty significant reduction in share. As we haven't been able to keep up with prior year's levels of product. And as we communicated to our retail partners what we would be able to supply, they made appropriate adjustments at shelf. So if you go to shelf and look, you'll see our base redness and max redness pretty much the main available product, which is what we have focused on because it was the most significant element of the product sales.
So as we get the two new suppliers into full production, steady production, and Pillar 5's new high-speed lineup, we'll begin to look at recovering that shelf space in those SKU offerings.
Susan Kay Anderson: Okay. Great. And then maybe if you could just talk a little bit about the cold season. I know you guys are not as exposed as some others. It's been pretty weak to start, here and then over in Europe as well. It looks like your international, which is probably primarily Asia and Australia, though, was performed pretty well. And then if you could just talk about what you're expecting for the rest of the season here domestically.
Ronald M. Lombardi: So when we talk about the cold and flu category, we always like to remind everybody, as you stated, it's not a significant category with high single digits for us. And we're primarily in the cough segment. Our international business, right, which is in the Southern Equator, did have a good season. So that was good for us. But we're primarily in the saline nasal care segment there. But we just reported results through September. Right? So two quarters, we haven't even got into the cough, cold season yet. We'll see how illness levels play out during the important Thanksgiving to New Year's time frame, so we'll see where it goes, Susan.
Too early to predict, I guess, is my final comment on it.
Susan Kay Anderson: Okay. Great. Thanks so much. Good luck the rest of the year.
Operator: Thank you so much. Our next question comes from the line of Rupesh Dhinoj Parikh with Oppenheimer and Company. Your line is now open.
Rupesh Dhinoj Parikh: Thank you. So good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. I guess just starting off with retailer inventories. So I know you went through the e-commerce volatility there. But just curious, outside of that, I guess, the e-commerce channel, do you characterize the health of retailer inventories in the U.S.?
Ronald M. Lombardi: Yeah. So, you know, I'll comment on our space within the store, which is what we focus on in general. You know, outside of the e-commerce order patterns that we talked about, the rest of our inventory at retail has been steady or predictable. Is the way I would describe it. So there really hasn't been any significant impact on our performance in those channels. You know, you are hearing other companies talk about it more broadly in CPG, but even in our space. But it seems to be more concentrated in the big categories where there's multiple brands or competitors fighting for shelf space.
Or it's, lots and lots of SKUs and big shelf space where retailers may look to reduce inventories in those spaces. So think about cold and the cold and flu section of the store. Think about the analgesic section. Right? Lots and lots of space. Where there's an opportunity to find ways to take cash out of the system. So for us, it continues to be steady with the exception of the e-commerce as we've talked about.
Rupesh Dhinoj Parikh: Great. And then maybe my one follow-up question. So women's health, you've had momentum in recent quarters. It looks like it was down this quarter in North America. So just curious, what's happening there. I don't know if it's comparisons or just some additional color there.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Yeah. So there's kind of a lot going on take a look at one quarter's comp. So, you know, over the last three quarters or so, we've had a lot of noise in the order patterns. Not only in women's health, but across that portfolio. In women's health in particular, we had some funny comps going on last year. As the Monistat VAF category changed from vertical product offering to horizontal. So it impacted retailer order patterns and inventory levels last year as they were getting rid of the old and bringing in the new.
So if you go look at it over the three quarters ended September, or the four quarters ended September versus the same comps, you'll actually see that women's health is up. I always like to go back to we continue to feel good about the work that we've done, to continue to position those two brands for long-term growth.
Rupesh Dhinoj Parikh: Okay, great. Thank you, El Paso one.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Okay. Thanks, Rupesh. Thank you so much.
Operator: Our next hold one moment. Our next question comes from the line of Keith Devas with Jefferies. Your line is now open.
Keith Devas: Hey. Hey, good morning. Thanks for the question. I'm curious if you guys can actually just comment what you're seeing on the macro environment. It's been volatile for some time, and we're seeing consumption across a lot of consumer health categories. Kind of slow into the end of the year. So any color on, you know, how that's you know, playing out in your business? And then as it pertains to the guidance, particularly on top line, is a lot of the difference between the high and low end of the range. Mostly related to eye care recovery and, you know, how are you factoring the rest of, the underlying performance into that?
Ronald M. Lombardi: So good morning, Keith. Let me make a few comments on the macro environment, and I'll let Chris comment on the sales outlook. So first of all, you don't have to look very hard to hear and see lots of news on slowing consumer trends and concerns about momentum in the consumer environment. So if you think about a retail store, right, the stores in general are under some pressure. Know, for our part of the store, right, we sell needs-based products. Right? You wake up, someone in your household is ill. Gonna reach for that trusted brand.
So we have a certain moat around our categories that have us a little bit disconnected from the general macro environments that are going on. Know, for us, we have broad offerings that are available in broad channels with many brands having multiple price points. With either different kinds of technology and innovation or different pack sizes. We're well-positioned to catch the consumer with our trusted brand as they think about maybe shopping differently or looking for different price points. So for now, we haven't seen any meaningful impact on how we would think about the outlook for the business for the rest of the year.
Christine Sacco: Keith, this is Chris. So question regarding the low and the high end of the range, yes, you're correct. Eye care is the primary driver behind those two numbers. As Ron mentioned, you know, rest of the business largely as expected. Back in August, no real change from those comments where we talked about an international the early shipments on Clear Eyes and the retailer order patterns from step up just for normal seasonality in the back half versus the first half. Q2 to Q3. And really just updating today for the timing of the
Keith Devas: Great. That's very helpful. If I could squeeze in a follow-up just on capital allocation and the deal environment. We saw a large consumer health player Curious how that plus maybe the potential for future consolidation changes kind of taken off the board earlier this week. you think about the deal environment, and in terms of where to allocate capital between reinvestment and share repos and potential M&A. If any of the activity recently kind of changes how what your order of preference is? Thanks.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Yeah. So, Keith, let me start, and I'll let, Chris add at the end here. So for capital allocation, our priorities can continue to be consistent. We would like to do M&A. We're sitting on historically low levels of leverage and M&A capacity. You know, again, over the next four years, we expect to generate a, you know, a billion or more of cash flow that we'll be looking to do something with. And I think the quarter ended September is a great example of that. We were out in the market opportunistically buying back our shares. We bought back over a million shares. Which is a great way to add value to the existing shareholders. Right?
That was about So we've got backups to 2% of our float during the quarter. to do while we wait for those right M&A opportunities. In terms of the pipeline or the kind of opportunities that might pop up, We don't think this week's announcement really changes that. They're gonna continue to look at their portfolio and make decisions about what they keep based on where they see opportunities and what fits their investment criteria. So really nothing changed there. Or with any of the other big spin-outs that have happened or are expected to happen. And again, over time, we bought from families. We bought from private equity. We bought from big pharma. And or big consumer companies.
So we expect that we'll see more opportunities. The important thing for us is we're going to continue to be disciplined and make M&A investments where it presents long-term growth and value creation opportunities.
Keith Devas: Thanks. I'll pass it on.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Great. Thanks, Keith.
Operator: Thank you so much. Our next question comes from the line of John Anderson with William Blair.
John Anderson: Morning, everybody.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Morning, John.
John Anderson: Hey. Sorry. I jumped on a little bit late, so I may have a duplicate question. I apologize in advance. Really, just two things. I was wondering if you could comment on taking kind of Clear Eyes out of the equation. The kind of consumption trends North America that you saw across the balance of the portfolio? Kind of where you came in? And then any particular you know, strengths, and or know, weaknesses by, you know, brand and category. Would be helpful.
And then I just back to Clear Eyes, I was kinda wondering what you're assuming around your kind of ability or visibility to reclaiming maybe some of the shelf space that you've lost during this supply constraint period and how that your what kind of assumptions you're making around reclaiming that over what kind of time period? Thanks.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Yeah. So let me take those questions in reverse order, John. So for Clear Eyes, in terms of recovering our share, recovering shelf space, it'll take a little bit of time as the retailers, quite frankly, get comfortable with our ability to sustain service levels. So we'll see how that plays out over the next two resets, but certainly, there'll be a recovery as we get the retailers' inventories filled and the shelves filled. But the important thing to remember there is, you know, Clear Eyes in a lot of ways defined that segment of eye care.
And if you go look at the categories, the categories have actually declined, the redness section, the category has actually declined as Clear Eyes supply and share has declined. So that's where we're gonna start with our discussions with the retailer the importance of getting our SKUs back online. Because there's consumers out there waiting to buy the product. Right, and get to looking to get back into the category. So you know, you just don't get it. We're gonna have to, invest in marketing and get that field flywheel going again. But we feel good about the historic positioning and brand recognition with consumers. For that. Now back to your comment about the total company's performance.
And, you know, as I commented a little while ago on women's health, over the last three quarters or so, there's been a lot of noise. Right? Clear Eye Supply has had a big impact on company performance. And we've had these order patterns of roller coasters way up one quarter, way down the next, way back up again. So know, one of the things we're looking at here is kind of TTM performance. If you take a look at the total company's TTM performance through September, take out Clear Eyes and adjust for FX, total company sales up about 2.5%, in line with our long-term organic expectations of 2% to 3%.
The international business is up about 5%, which is what we would have expected for the international business. And then, North America has been up you know, one-ish percent or so. Again, a little North America is a little bit below the long-term algo, but it's all pretty consistent with what we would expect over the long term. Callouts for areas that we've seen very strong performance, GI, not just Dramamine, but Fleet. As well as Gaviscon up in Canada. In particular, has done well for us. But women's health has grown over that TTM period as well as we've continued to position those brands for long-term growth.
And consistency in the international business, but the list could go on and on. But and my comment on this question that we continue to feel good about the position of the company, the brands, as we manage through this environment. Right? Lots of turmoil, lots of fluidity out there in the environment.
John Anderson: Yeah. Makes sense. Maybe one follow-up. Given the gross margin rate in the first half of the year, I guess, was a bit depressed because of some of the mix dynamics. But the guide for the year implies a pretty meaningful step up in sequentially second half to first half. What are the building blocks there? And how much how confident or what kind of visibility do you have in that happening? Or is it dependent on some of these ranges you've given around ClearEye's outcomes? Thanks.
Christine Sacco: Hey, John. It's Chris. So, you know, just note we have a 60 basis point step up in the first half gross margin. So really just a continuation of the benefits of cost savings and mix. The implication to your point is a bigger step up in Q4. It's similar to last year, largely driven by the timing of cost savings and when we look at our International segment, we were carrying two warehouses gross margin revenues were impacted by mix. But also in the quarter, as we transitioned facilities and the provider for our warehouse in Australia.
Maybe a little bit of lingering cost in Q3, but we would expect to see a sequential improvement in that segment as well, which will impact the total company, obviously.
John Anderson: Great. Thanks so much.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Thanks, John.
Operator: Thank you so much. Our next question comes from the line of Mitchell Pinero with Sturdyvant and Company. Your line is now open.
Mitchell Pinero: Hey. Good morning. So a couple of admin questions here. First, you know, I saw inventories were up $5 million sequentially. In Q2. And I assume is a Clear Eyes? Is that attributed to Clear Eyes? And I didn't quite understand what's happening in the third quarter with Clear Eyes. If you could just clarify that. No pun intended.
Christine Sacco: So the inventory step up during the quarter no, is not really Clear Eyes. I mean, what comes in on Clear Eyes goes right out the door. So you recall that we had a very large order from our e-commerce retailer in Q4. We've kind of been correcting on that for several brands. That's kind of not one particular thing, just across the board. And then for Q3, even with the about $5 million we received very late in Q2 that we kind of took out of Q3. We're still expecting sequential improvement in Q3.
As we have longer periods with the two, one in particular, but the two new suppliers that came have come online already for Clear Eyes and then, some commercial product at the very beginning of commercial products coming out of that high-speed line that Pillar.
Mitchell Pinero: Okay. Thank you for that. And then so from the A&M point of view, you it's gonna be your highest spend in Q3. Any particularly particular initiatives there? That you're focused on?
Christine Sacco: No. Not in particular. Just, really driven you know, we built it from the brands up, so the timing of, new product innovation could be impacting that, and there is some seasonality to some of our brands and our spend associated with that. But nothing in particular. That's one thing.
Mitchell Pinero: And then on, you know, the e-commerce order, variability, is that just something that you're just gonna see going forward? Or is there something unusual happening you know, sort of with your e-commerce customer? Or is it is there new buyers, new how should we think about the variability there?
Ronald M. Lombardi: Yes, so Mitch, it's hard to predict. We don't get any insight from our e-commerce customers around their planned, timing of their orders or what they're doing with their inventory. So you know, our focus is on being prepared to have high service levels during these peaks and valleys. So we you know, that's the way we think about it. We dig into consumption to understand what's going on with that element of it. Managing our investments by brand to find opportunities to continue to do well there.
So we always go back to, at the end of the day, we wanna win with consumption and grow our share and grow with the customers who are showing up in increasing numbers in our categories. And be positioned to just provide the best service we can based on when our customers who no matter who they are when they decide to order.
Christine Sacco: And, Mitch, I would also just comment that, you know, through our distributor, right, we don't think this is unique to us. You know? Maybe a different size customer to some other larger companies that may not talk about it, but we certainly don't think it's specific to the speech.
Mitchell Pinero: Okay. And then, you know, sort of related to that, you know, as you reflect on the Clear Eyes issue, and the suppliers. Like, you have over a hundred third-party you know, outside suppliers. And I'm wondering whether you know, as you look at this are there any other areas or candidates that you'd consider bringing in-house to have sort of better control? Is that have you thought about that? And then and related to that, and I know maybe this is a one-off incident to Clear Eyes, but is there do you have any do you think you need more inventory to carry higher levels of inventory going forward?
Maybe not a lot, but you think there should be increased emergency sort of inventories that would be a sort of you know, higher than historical levels?
Ronald M. Lombardi: So Mitch, let me start with your comment on the suppliers. Yeah. We have well over 100 suppliers. It's really a function of our broad product offering. Right? We offer everything from tablets to sterile eye care products and everything in between. We take advantage of our fleet facility in Lynchburg, and we've brought in a couple of products over the last few years. To take advantage of what they do to give us an advantage in the market. And, you know, eye care is a unique situation that's evolved. Right?
Available sterile eye care capacity over the last ten years is just gotten smaller and smaller each year over the, you know, fifteen, years I've been here, I've seen it just decline. So we've got to a point where it made sense given our focus on sterile eye care. Right? We added TheraTears. We've had meaningful growth. On Clear Eyes. We've got a nice international business around sterile eye care. It made sense for us to invest and bring that technology in-house. But for the rest of our portfolio, there's plenty of external available capacity for the things that we need. So there isn't any anything else. No other meaningful shoe to drop that we would expect.
That would drive a change in bringing stuff in-house. I'll let Chris comment on inventory and service.
Christine Sacco: Yeah, Mitch. Certainly, you know, customer services are our number one priority. So there may be little pockets, as Ron mentioned, where we'll look to increase safety stock for some of the other brands. Nothing material that you'll likely hear us talking about on a call like this.
Mitchell Pinero: Okay. I have a couple questions on the dental care enthusiast but I'll save that for offline.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Okay, Mitch.
Mitchell Pinero: Thanks.
Operator: Thank you so much. Our next question comes from the line of Anthony Chester Lebiedzinski with Sidoti. Your line is now open.
Anthony Chester Lebiedzinski: Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for taking the questions. So I wanted to follow-up. I think, Ron, you said that as it relates to Clear Eyes, once the supply improves, you will need to invest more into marketing. So, typically, Prestige has spent roughly 13 to 14% of its revenue on A&M. How should we think about that once we hopefully get into fiscal 2027, things get are kind of back to normal. Do you think that ratio for A&M will go up? Or how do we think about that going forward?
Ronald M. Lombardi: Yes. So going forward, I didn't mean to imply that we were spending more as a company if I did, but, we'll get back to looking at reallocating A&M and spending the right amount compared to the opportunity. So spending marketing on Clear Eyes when we can't deliver enough didn't make sense. So it was reallocated to other brands. To invest in anything from trying to accelerate NPD or innovation or take advantage of the momentum in the marketplace that's out there. So we'll get back to reevaluating what the right level of A&M versus the expected return on sales going forward. So we'll continue to be disciplined around having the right level of investment.
Anthony Chester Lebiedzinski: Alright. That's good to hear. And then as it relates to private label competition, are you seeing kind of more of the same? Or has anything changed meaningfully in the products that you guys sell?
Ronald M. Lombardi: Yeah. No real change in market share or differences in impact from private label. You know, you may get the private label players making comments that they're seeing share gains in this environment. Matter of fact, this week, I think there was announcements out on that. But, again, they're focused on different spaces than we are. Right? Think tablet and analgesics. Think about the cold and flu, smoking cessation. So it really isn't impacting us at this point.
Anthony Chester Lebiedzinski: Got it. Alright. Well, thank you, and best of luck.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Thank you, Anthony.
Operator: Thank you so much. Our next question comes from the line of Douglas Matthai Lane with Water Tower Research. Your line is now open.
Douglas Matthai Lane: Did you quantify the amount of that pull forward think happened with the online retailer into the second quarter from the third quarter?
Christine Sacco: Talked about Doug, this is Chris. Good morning. We talked about Good morning. The Clear Eyes timing of about $5 million, and the majority of the rest of the beat was attributable to that retailer order.
Douglas Matthai Lane: Okay. Got it. And then you mentioned in Clear Eyes that the third quarter should be better than the second quarter and the fourth quarter should be better than the third quarter. Are we all the way there yet by the end of the year? Are we still going to be catching up in 2027?
Christine Sacco: By the end of the year, we should be producing at a level where we're kinda already there. Right? The timing of how we get that through to retailers and get it number one on their shelves and then back in their warehouses and then build our safety stock, that'll flow into fiscal 2027 a bit.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Okay. Because to say that just to add some color to that, say that in a different way, We expect by the end of our fiscal year, all the changes that we've been making in the Clear Eye supply chain will be implemented in place. So the two new suppliers will be in place. And the new high-speed line at Pillar 5 will be in place, and we'll have control and ownership of the facility, Pillar 5, at that point as well.
Douglas Matthai Lane: Right. Pillar 5 closes in Q3. Does anything change Or are you already acting like you own it? Or you get to do more things that we don't know about once you own it?
Christine Sacco: Yeah. So we've been partners with Pillar for a number of years. Doug, we're certainly involved, at a very deep level in the organization. There. We've been partnering with them even before the ownership change was contemplated. So, you know, what we talked about on the last call when we announced the acquisition was essentially just, we wanna run this for the long term. As Ron said, there's scarcity and availability for sterile eye care out there. And we just think our you know, the needs of the business to better align with our long-term focus on the category made sense for us to acquire it. It.
Douglas Matthai Lane: Okay. That makes sense. And just one last thing. Have you talked about how you're gonna finance the $100 million?
Christine Sacco: Primarily cash on hand.
Douglas Matthai Lane: Okay. Sounds good. Thanks.
Operator: Thank you so much. I am showing no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn it back to Ronald M. Lombardi for closing remarks.
Ronald M. Lombardi: Thank you, operator, and thank you to everyone for joining us today, and we look forward to providing further updates on our next quarterly call. Have a great morning.
Operator: Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This does conclude the program. You may now disconnect.