Image source: The Motley Fool.

Date

Tuesday, May 26, 2026 at 9 a.m. ET

Call participants

• Co-CEO — Eyal Sheratzky
• Chief Financial Officer — Eli Kamer

Need a quote from a Motley Fool analyst? Email [email protected]

Takeaways

• Total revenue -- $102.7 million, representing a 19% increase year over year and surpassing the $100 million quarterly milestone for the first time in company history.
• Subscription revenue -- $75.4 million, marking 21% year-over-year growth and constituting 73% of total revenue.
• Product revenue -- $27.3 million, up 12% year over year; does not sum to total due to rounding.
• EBITDA -- $26.7 million, increasing by 15% year over year and accounting for 26% of total revenue.
• Net income -- $16.8 million, equivalent to 16.3% of revenue; diluted EPS reached $0.85, both up 15% over the comparable period.
• Net subscriber additions -- 40,000 net new subscribers during the period, elevating the total to 2.67 million.
• Geography mix -- Israel generated 57% of revenue, Brazil contributed 22%, and the rest of the world accounted for 21%.
• Cash flow from operations -- $18.2 million, reflecting ongoing profitability and strong cash generation.
• Net cash position -- $108 million in cash and marketable securities as of March 31, 2026.
• Dividend and buybacks -- $10 million dividend declared ($0.50 per share); $500,000 in share repurchases executed, with $13 million authorization remaining.
• OEM partnership expansion -- Launched Connect Fiat with Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) (Fiat Strada, South America), providing an end-to-end connected vehicle platform with initial three-year contract and two-year extension option.
• Big data initiative -- Entered an agreement with an Israeli Ministry of Transportation entity to supply transportation data, initiating multi-year B2B revenue streams distinct from subscription model.
• FX tailwinds -- CEO Sheratzky stated, "this is the first time that we enjoyed from the straightening of the currencies in the geographies that we are working," which notably supported stronger reported growth compared to typical quarters.
• Visibility and growth consistency -- Management indicated stable recurring revenue, low quarter-to-quarter volatility, and high visibility into growth, with no substantial lumpiness in product or subscriber revenue during the quarter.

Summary

Ituran Location and Control (ITRN 2.31%) reached a record quarterly revenue level, with management attributing outperformance both to organic subscriber growth and rare foreign exchange tailwinds. Expansion of OEM collaboration with Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) and progress in non-subscription initiatives such as big data mark ongoing strategic diversification beyond legacy telematics revenue streams. The current quarter demonstrated the company’s cash generation and commitment to shareholder returns through both dividends and share repurchases.

• Management confirmed ongoing efforts to secure additional OEM partnerships beyond Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), Nissan (TSE: 7201), Renault (EPA: RNO), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Yamaha (TSE: 7272), and BMW (XETRA: BMW), but reported that new material agreements had not closed during the quarter.
• Sheratzky described the company’s IturanMob car rental service launch in the United States as "premature," citing sector nascency and limited competitors, while expressing "very high goal to lead this market" in future periods.
• The CFO cited high revenue visibility, consistent subscription growth, and stable operating metrics as hallmarks of the quarter.
• The big data business, while still small, features project-based, multi-year B2B contracts that differ fundamentally from per-subscriber recurring revenues, marking a structural shift in potential revenue composition.

Industry glossary

• OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer; in this context, automotive producers that incorporate Ituran’s telematics or connectivity solutions at the factory level.
• Telematics: Integrated use of telecommunications and informatics for vehicle monitoring, tracking, and fleet management.
• B2B: Business-to-business; sales or contracts made directly with other businesses, such as government agencies or enterprises, rather than individual end users.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Eyal Sheratzky: Thank you, Kenny. I would like to welcome all of you to our first quarter 2026 results call and thank you for joining us today. We are very pleased to report a strong start to 2026. With our revenue crossing the $100 million milestone for the first time in our history. For the quarter, overall revenue grew 19% year over year to $102.7 million. A record with subscription revenue growth of 21% to $75.4 million. Operating income, EBITDA, and net income all grew year over year by double digit with EBITDA reaching $26.7 million. During the quarter, we added 40 thousand net new subscribers bringing our total subscriber base to 2.67 million at the end of March 2026.

This is in line with our expected run rate and shows continued healthy organic growth across our core markets. While the pace can vary from quarter to quarter for the full year 2026, we continue to expect to add between 160 thousand and 180 thousand net subscribers. Our long term success in growing our global subscriber base constantly is due to our ongoing effort in offering new product and services to our existing customers, while at the same time, tapping into new market segments and new geographies. Our OEM relationship remain a key growth driver.

During the first quarter, we further expanded our strategic partnership with Stellantis through the launch of Connect Fiat, exclusive to the Fiat Strada in South America. is a fully integrated end to end solution from Ituran, covering the embedded hardware connected vehicle services, the technology, back end, and the end user mobile application. This new program with an initial 3-year term and an option to extend by an additional 2 years builds on the partnership we announced with Stellantis in early 2025 and reinforces our role as a complete connectivity partner for global OEMs in our region.

Beyond Stellantis, we remain in active discussions with additional OEMs, and this, alongside our existing partnership with Nissan Renault, General Motors, Yamaha, BMW, and others. Gives us strong confidence in our long term OEM growth trajectory. Beyond our core subscriber base telematics business, we are advancing with several growth initiatives, which I discussed last quarter in detail, that we believe can become meaningful long-term contributors to Ituran. This include IturanMob, our car rental solution, Credit Carbon and our big data capabilities, all of which significantly grow our addressable market.

While these initiatives are still early in their commercial development, we are already involved in active discussions with potential customers and partners and we are seeing interest across multiple market and use cases. As an example of our big data capabilities, recently signed an agreement with 1 of the entities of the ministry of transportation in Israel to provide transportation data to support it, helping it better understand commuter patterns and plans for the future. Expect more such projects in Israel to mature during the coming quarters.

Together with our other interesting projects in the pipeline, this highlights the significant long term potential of Ituran's data capabilities to support governments transportation authorities, commercial, centers, OEMs, and other customers while creating scalable revenue opportunities beyond our traditional subscription model. Ituran continues to be a strongly cash- generating business cash flow from operations of $18.2 million in the first quarter. Reflecting our continuing strong profitability, our ongoing positive cash flow and strong balance sheet, the Board of Directors declared a dividend of $10 million for the quarter, which represents $0.50 per share in line with our standard dividend policy. During the quarter, $0.5 million dollars in shares were purchased under the buyback program.

We see our ongoing dividend alongside our buyback program as a reward to our shareholders for the loyalty and long term support of our company. In summary, we are very pleased with our strong start to 2026. With revenue crossing the $100 million milestone for the first time double digit growth in revenue, operating income, EBITDA, and net income, and continued healthy subscriber addition in line with our goal for the year. At the same time, we continue to look for new avenues to drive further growth across all of our regions.

The OEM expansion with Stellantis through Connect Fiat, the launch of IturanMob, our car rental solution in the United States, and our partnership with Griiip, the development of Credit Carbon, and the monetization opportunities around our big data assets are all examples of this. We remain confident in our ability to deliver continued growth and profitability throughout 2026 and in our long term strategy to transform Ituran into a significantly larger company. And with that, I hand it over to Eli. Please go ahead.

Eli Kamer: Thanks, Eyal. I will provide a short summary of the financial results. You can find the more detailed results in the press release that we issued earlier today. First quarter revenues were a record $102.7 million, a 19% increase compared with revenues of $86.5 million in the first quarter of last year. Revenues from subscription fees in the quarter were $75.4 million, an increase of 21% year over year and represented 73% of total revenues. Product revenues in the quarter were $27.3 million, an increase of 12% year over year. Subscriber base expanded to 2.17 million by the end of the first quarter. An increase of 40 thousand from the end of the previous quarter.

The geographic breakdown of revenues in the first quarter was as follows: Israel, 57% Brazil, 22% rest of world, 21% EBITDA for the quarter was $26.7 million, or 26% of revenues an increase of 15% compared with EBITDA of $23.3 million, or 26.9% of revenues in the first quarter of last year. Net income for the first quarter was $16.8 million, or 16.3% of revenues or diluted earnings per share of $0.85. An increase of 15% compared with $14.6 million or 16.9% of revenues or diluted earnings per share of $0.73 in the first quarter of last year.

Cash flow from operation for the first quarter of 2026 was $18.2 million As of March 31, 2026, the company had net cash including marketable securities of $108 million. This is compared with net cash including marketable securities of $107.6 million as of year-end 2025. During the first quarter, Ituran paid the dividend to shareholders relating to the third quarter of last year. Amounting to a total of $10 million The board of directors declared a dividend of $10 million for the first quarter, or $0.50 per share. The current dividend take into account the company's continuing strong profitability, our ongoing positive cash flow and strong balance sheet.

During the quarter, $500 thousand in shares were purchased under the buyback program. The total remaining authorization is approximately $13 million. Share repurchase will be funded by a valuable cash and will be made in accordance with SEC rule 10b-18. And with that, I would like to open the call for the question and answer session. Operator, okay.

Operator: So we will open the question and answer session. If you have a question, please raise your hand in the Zoom platform. And we will poll for questions. Our first question will be from Derek Greenberg of Maxim. Derek, you may unmute yourself and ask your question.

Analyst: Hey, guys. Congrats on the quarter. I wanted to just dig in to the growth a bit. You had strong results there. I was wondering if you are seeing stronger growth contributions in any specific area, whether it be geographically or new products or if you are seeing just strong results across the board. I was wondering if you could dig into that a little bit.

Eyal Sheratzky: Actually, we have no specific geography that grows more than usually. Still, from the subscribers movement, there is always some volatility, and it can vary between quarters and between ARPUs. Actually, we have a nature edge. Sometimes Israel growing faster than Brazil in 1 quarter, and then there is OEM deal like we did with Stellantis and its contributes.

So there was nothing but I think that it is fair to mention that when we see Q1 2026, compared to Q1 of 2025, this is the first time that we enjoyed from the straightening of the currencies in the geographies that we are working, and this is supported, I would say, to a much stronger differences and growth numbers compared maybe to a typical quarter This is something that we are not counting on. And after almost a decade that it was always a headwind. Still, we grew. of course, when it is a tailwind, we are happy.

But in terms of operation, we are continue our growth as we always do, And, of course, we work on expanding it as I declared and said regarding new businesses and new OEM deals. But this is not something that we still faced in Q1 2026. I think that this will be more material in our growth toward the next years. Yeah. that is super helpful. Is there a way to think about maybe what the FX neutral growth rate was this year versus last year, and maybe what the impact of FX headwinds were in the prior quarter? In our EBIT, it was about $1 million.

Again, 6--it is it is not material for the overall,, but when you compare it quarter to quarter, it says something, which is fair to mention. And when I will not analyze now each 1 of the currencies, but this is the total amount raised from the average FX of the currencies. Yeah. Got it. And then just in terms of potential lumpiness in the quarter, did you see any lumpiness in the, product revenue segment in terms of maybe an inflated number there or anything else to call out. And then on the subscribers, was there any price increases factored into the quarter? As well? No.

Since we talk about more than almost 2.7 million subscribers, even if there is a change in the 1 geography net new subscribers, the influence is very close to zero. This is general saying, but to be more concrete, there was nothing And I think that 1 of the, I think, things which are very typical to Ituran there is not many lumpy situation. I think that the visibility is very high. The Ituran's market situation in each geography I think, allow a very stable and constant growth as long as, of course, we continue with our efforts. Yeah. Great. I have 1 last question, and then I will pass it along.

I was wondering just on the big data initiative you guys are working on. And you would called out that you would signed an agreement with a ministry in Israel, the transportation ministry. Was wondering maybe if you could talk a little bit about how we should think about the sales cycle in terms of engagements for that or maybe other useful color in terms of the pipeline and potential sizes per engagement? First of all, we are as you should know, as I said in our last quarter call, this is only in the beginning, but still, the big data engine that we launched currently in Israel is something that, having a lot of traction.

And the deal or the contract that we signed, and I just mentioned about it, which is a few hundred more than few hundred thousand of dollar this model is a little bit, different than the subscribers recurring revenues. This is typically a B2B deal. This is a measure the data sizes, data what is the information and the measurements. And in that case, it is a deal with a onetime not a 1-time payment, but sometimes a project that we are, for example, now in negotiation can go for 4 or 5 years with an annual payment, but this is not based on a specific customer or a specific car.

So in that case, it is not yet something that I can disclose. But overall, when I am looking more strategic wise, I think that all this information will allow us to in the future, to increase revenues and create more and more deals of selling data that in 1 day, for example, in 3 or 4 years from now, when the Israeli subscriber base will be more than a more cash cow because Israel, as you know, we have something like 90% market share. We grow very aggressive among the new car sales. So in 1 day, we will have to find another growth engine, and this will be this data and the rental car application, etcetera.

Now, I do not know how to give you what can be your model, how you model it, with the subscriber base today, But it is something that we have to create some orders, some expectation, and add it first to the revenues, etcetera. I do not know now to tell you exactly what will be the numbers. Or how you model it. Yeah. Got it. That was very helpful. Well, congrats again. Thank you for taking my question. Thank you. Thanks, Derek.

Operator: Our next question will be from Sergey Glinyanov from Freedom Capital Markets. Sergey, please go ahead.

Analyst (Sergey Glinyanov): Yeah. Good day. And I would like to congratulate you on the significant milestone, $100 million in revenue and $1 billion in market capitalization breaking through.

Eyal Sheratzky: So the first question is, assuming stable FX rate, does it mean that we should expect strong Q2 as well? I cannot tell you about Q2, but again, some assumption that you can learn from Q1 can be Relevant for Q2. I think that you can look, backward and try to try to illustrate it through your model. that is how I would say. Okay.

Analyst (Sergey Glinyanov): Okay. And regarding new agreements, do you have any new substantial OEM agreement on the table or were you under discussion now?

Eyal Sheratzky: We are again, we are always under discussion.

Analyst (Sergey Glinyanov): If you look again backward, you will see that every year, we provide 1 or 2 new agreements. We do and put all our efforts in order to continue and make it.

Eyal Sheratzky: And I believe that it will be.

Analyst (Sergey Glinyanov): And, of course, we are in discussions When it happens, we will report, and, of course, we will publish it. Okay. Good. And, I guess last 1 from me. what is the goal in terms of subscribers, revenue, or market share per person in the U.S. deploying IturanMob and how is it progressing at all?

Eyal Sheratzky: This specific solution that we are now starting to provide it is premature. it is something that we saw that we did not expect that it will be so premature. There are other players with a very, very limited market share not something that can even be called a market and industry. And as being the first or part of the first-comers to this solution Of course, we are put a very high goal to lead this market. But as I said, it just started. We have to educate the market.

We just finished a very large conference of rental companies and rental service, rental car services we were speakers as well as demonstrators and I am very optimistic after the leads and the discussion and the attraction that we saw from all the players in this industry but it is too premature to say what will be our market share. But we aim to be the leaders of this industry in the U.S. in the future.

Analyst (Sergey Glinyanov): Okay. Thank you for taking my question. that is all for me.

Eyal Sheratzky: Thanks, Sergey.

Operator: That ends our question and answer session.

Kenny Green: Before I hand back to Eyal for the closing statements, I just want to let everybody know that this call will be available from Ituran's website in the coming hours as well as from the original Zoom link. And with that, I am going to hand back to Eyal for his closing statement. Eyal, please go ahead.

Eyal Sheratzky: On behalf of the management of Ituran, I would like to thank you, our shareholders, for your continued interest and long term support of our business. Look forward to continuing our accomplishment over the coming years. If you are interested in meeting or speaking with us, please feel free to reach out to our investor relations team And with that, we end our call. Have a good day. Bye-bye.