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DATE

Thursday, May 28, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

  • Chairman and CEO — Brian E. Shore
  • President and COO — Mark A. Esquivel

TAKEAWAYS

  • Revenue -- $24.2 million for the quarter, within the previously guided range of $23.5 million to $24.5 million, as confirmed by management.
  • Gross margin -- 28.7%, below the company’s 30% preferred level, attributed to a "significant shipment sales of C2B fabric" at lower markups.
  • Adjusted EBITDA -- $5.17 million, at the upper end of management’s guidance range of $4.75 million to $5.25 million.
  • GE Aerospace program sales -- $8.1 million for the quarter and $29.3 million for the fiscal year, returning to pre-pandemic levels last seen in 2020.
  • Fiscal year revenue -- $73.3 million, marking a recovery from previous post-pandemic years and a departure from "five years of malaise" in the industry, as described in the call.
  • Missed shipments -- $715,000 in the quarter, with management expecting this to increase in the following quarter due to ongoing supply chain pressures.
  • ArianeGroup C2B fabric sales -- $7.1 million of C2B fabric sold, representing a high proportion of quarterly revenue, plus $1.3 million in ablative materials manufactured from C2B fabric with higher margins.
  • Cash and marketable securities -- $89.4 million at quarter-end, with management stating that this level may still be insufficient for expansion and future investments.
  • Stock buyback activity -- 718,000 shares repurchased at $12.94 per share for a total of $9.29 million; no shares bought in the most recent quarter.
  • At-the-market (ATM) equity offering -- 943,000 shares sold with gross proceeds of $22.8 million at an average price of $24.21 per share during the quarter.
  • Dividend history -- 41 consecutive years of dividend payments totaling $29.975 per share since 2005, with the next payment to bring the total over $30 per share.
  • Guidance for next quarter -- GE Aerospace program sales guidance of $6.8 million to $7.4 million and company-wide sales guidance of $17.7 million to $18.4 million; adjusted EBITDA guidance of $4.1 million to $4.6 million.
  • Major program developments -- Substantial order backlog for Airbus A320neo (7,410 units) with targeted production ramp-up and 66.2% current market share for the CFM LEAP-1A engine, which Park supplies into.
  • Manufacturing expansion plan -- Company plans to build a new U.S. plant supporting increased solution treating capacity, with updated square footage anticipated above 120,000 square feet and a capital budget expected to exceed the original $50 million estimate.
  • C2B fabric capacity investments -- Agreement signed to advance approximately $5 million to ArianeGroup for future purchases, funding expanded C2B fabric capacity in France, with additional negotiations underway for U.S.-based C2B manufacturing requiring further investment.
  • Missile systems business momentum -- Explicit confirmation that "coding activity, especially for ablative materials...has been hyper and frenetic," with quadrupled production for "exquisite class" weapons like the PAC-3 Patriot missile system described as a "radical sea change."
  • Sole-source and exclusive distributor status -- Park Aerospace (PKE +2.36%) is the sole source for advanced composite ablative materials in the PAC-3 missile program and exclusive North American distributor for ArianeGroup’s C2B fabric.

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RISKS

  • Gross margin declined below the company's preferred 30% threshold, which management attributed to a "significant shipment sales of C2B fabric" at lower margins.
  • Management warned that available cash and securities of $89.4 million "probably is not even enough," citing the scale of plant expansion and future investments now under discussion.
  • Missed shipments rose to $715,000, with management projecting even higher missed deliveries in the following quarter as industry supply chains lag ramping demand.
  • Uncertainty remains about the sufficiency of planned new manufacturing capacity, with current plant design "still may not be enough" to meet reported demand for missile systems and solution treating capabilities.

SUMMARY

Management confirmed that fiscal year revenue reached $73.3 million, reflecting a return to pre-pandemic levels and signaling a turning point after several years of sector stagnation. ArianeGroup C2B fabric sales comprised a sizable portion of the quarter’s revenue, with both C2B and ablative materials called out for their impact on margin structure and strategic positioning. Urgent industry demand for missile systems drove "hyper and frenetic" activity, directly informing company expansions and the scaling of critical material capacity. Capital allocation decisions included both a large share repurchase at $12.94 and execution of a $22.8 million at-the-market offering at an average of $24.21, creating funds for expansion but increasing the need for future capital given outlined investment requirements. New plant design and C2B capacity investments are expected to require capital above current cash holdings, with management indicating these projects are being re-scoped in direct response to unprecedented market shifts.

  • The CFM LEAP-1A engine platform, for which Park Aerospace provides materials, reached 66.2% market share for A320neo programs, amplifying Park Aerospace’s addressable opportunity as Airbus targets 75 aircraft deliveries per month by 2027.
  • Management noted that missile system stockpiles are "badly depleted" across several regions, with official U.S. directives aiming to quadruple production of high-priority weapons systems, further increasing Park Aerospace’s strategic role.
  • Ongoing negotiations with ArianeGroup related to U.S.-based C2B fabric production reflect a recognition that planned capacity in France "Probably not. Because, again, we are looking at increasing the solution treating capacity. Support the missile systems juggernaut. So 120 thousand square feet may not be enough," to meet demand solely for the PAC-3 program.
  • Dividend continuity was highlighted, with 41 consecutive annual payouts and a milestone payout of $30 per share scheduled for announcement.
  • The company maintains zero long-term debt but expressed that funding needs for manufacturing expansion and capacity investments may require further equity issuances beyond the portion already drawn from the at-the-market facility.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

  • C2B fabric: Proprietary advanced composite fabric produced by ArianeGroup, used in manufacturing ablative materials for solid rocket motors, notably in missile systems such as the PAC-3.
  • Ablative materials: Heat-resistant composite materials engineered for protection and structural reinforcement of rocket motor casings and missile system components during high-temperature events.
  • Solution treating: A manufacturing process that enhances composite material properties by controlled heating and chemical treatment, critical for aerospace-grade product performance.
  • Sole source (qualification): Status wherein only one supplier is authorized or qualified to provide a specific material or component for a contract or end-use program.
  • Exclusive North American distributor: Designation granting Park Aerospace the sole rights to distribute ArianeGroup’s C2B fabric within North America.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Brian E. Shore: Thank you, operator. This is Brian. Welcome all to Park Aerospace's Q4 Investor Conference Call. Thank you for joining us. With me, as usual, Mark A. Esquivel, President and COO. We published our fourth quarter earnings release just after the close. You have not accessed that. You probably want to do that. In the earnings release, there are instructions as to how to access the presentation that we are about to go over. You can-- there is a link that is provided. Also, you can access that presentation on our website. If you want to do that, so the call will be meaningful.

So we will review our presentation, of course, with you, and then we will be happy to answer questions. Just wanna comment that we have a lot of new investors or potential investors at Park. During our third quarter call in January. There were over 150 participants. that is a lot for us. And I suspect that interest might continue. So the point is that we have a lot of new potential investors or investors we have the veteran investors. So we have to balance between covering the old stuff again and not covering it too much. I know sometimes we do that. The veteran investors get a little impatient that we are going over things. Where we went over.

But out of respect for our new blood, new investor, you want to go back and cover some of these things that we cover every quarter. So we will do the best we can to find a middle ground and compromise in that means that nobody's gonna be happy. But, anyway, we will do our best, of course. Why do not we go ahead and proceed, and we will go right to Slide 2, which is our forward looking disclaimer language. We are not gonna read this for you. But if you have any questions about it, please let us know. Let's go to Slide 3, table of contents.

Slide 1, we start with our investor presentation and in Appendix 1, there is supplementary financial information. We do not normally cover that during our call, but please let us know if you have any questions about it. Our practice has been on your table of contents, to feature something about the James Webb space telescope. We discovered these little red dots, a new class of object. You think about a new class of object. I did not know what to make of that. Small, extremely red points of light that represent the potential seeding of early supermassive black holes challenging our understanding of galactic formation and evolution, Thank you, James Webb.

And James Webb was produced with 18 proprietary signals, Mark Signal Strides. So this is not we are not a high volume program for us. Probably, not opportunity for many spares since the James Webb is in orbit 1 million miles away. Probably not going to send anybody up to replace any of the any of the segment struts. But even though it is a small program in terms of revenue, we feature it every quarter now for the last, I do not know, couple of years because it is just such an incredible thing to be part of. it is just amazing I mean, it is hard to describe. The words do not even get it.

Amazing does not really get it. it is-- we are almost everything you hear that comes from James Webb says, everything we believe, the smartest people in the world believes about the universe was not true. Sorry. We are starting all over again. So we are just I do not know how to say it. We are just so thrilled to be part of that the James Webb. Again, even though from a business financial perspective, you know, not a big impact. And like I said, probably no more revenue from the James Webb anytime soon. Let's go on to slide 4.

Going from the, I know, the lofty to the I do not know if it is mundane, but a little different kind of level. Our own results important, but maybe not quite important in terms of the-- you know, the history of the universe perspective, but nevertheless, we will go over our quarterly results. Q4, sales, 24.2 million. Gross profit, 6.93 million. Gross margin, 28.7%, which as you know, we do not like that too much. We do not like where gross margin is below 30%, but we get to the next slide or 2, we will explain what is going on here. That relates to the significant shipment sales of C2B fabric.

Adjusted EBITDA, 5.17 million and EBITDA margin 21.4%. What do we say about our Q4 during our January '3 investor call? We said our sales estimates 23.5 to 24.5. So we came in within the range, maybe kind of the top half, but still within the range. Adjusted EBITDA estimate for a quarter-- oh, sorry. 4 and 3 quarters to 5 and a quarter. Million, and it seems like we came in within the range, we hit the top half of the range. Which is good. I need to explain, especially for some of our new potential investors, investors that when we give an estimate, we are telling you what we think is going to happen.

We do not like this kind of thing that people do where they, you know, give a number, but it is you know, they haircut it by 10%. You know, so they can beat the number, and they have a beat. I do not like that term when these analysts come up with this sort of stuff. Like, it is some game. We are not playing a game here. it is-- we do not like that. It makes us uncomfortable. We are not playing a game, but whole concept oh, we there is a beat. it is a beat. it is a beat. We do not wanna beat.

When we give you a number, we are telling you what we think is gonna happen. And if we are wrong, that means we did not do a very good job. Now sometimes we will be rolling high, Sometimes we will be wrong low, but we are not trying to do that. We are not trying to give you a number that we can beat we could be a hero. To us, that seems like such a childish waste of time. And I just want you to understand that. So when we say we are within the range, that is a good thing. That means our prediction was right.

So I probably cover that every quarter because it is a little different with many other companies, how they do that kind of guidance thing and it is not something we really have to spend time with. Let's go on to Slide 5. Okay? Talk about Q4 a little bit more. Area group. Here we go. And now we are, you know, talking about that gross margin number. ArianeGroup, this is partner agreement. We talk about this every quarter.

If you significant from many perspectives, But in terms of the quarterly P and L, so entered into the business partner agreement with Ariane in January 2022, under which Ariane appointed Park as their exclusive North American distributor for their RAYCARB C2B fabric used to produce ablative composite materials for advanced missile programs. Now we had 7.1 million of C2B fabric sales in Q4. Well, that is a lot. I mean, 7.1 million. What was the number? out of 24.1. So it is a very high percentage. As we previously explained, we sell C2B fabric to our defense industry customers. for a small markup. You would say, well, that is not so good.

But wait a minute, that is not the whole story. Park sold 1.3 million of ablative materials manufactured with C2B fabric in Q4. And as we also previously explained, our margins producing and selling of ablative materials manufactured with this fabric are significant. Now what is going on here When we sell the product, we buy it from Ariane because we are exclusive. We are we have exclusive rights to buy it in North America. So we sell it to the OEMs because what are they doing? They are stockpiling their product. Where does it go when they stockpile it? In our factory, we do not even ship to them.

We hold it from them in our factory Why are we doing that? They are stockpiling it because, obviously, you are going to tell us at some point please make this into your preregnant. Please produce the material for us. So everything that we stockpile will end up being produced by Mark as a blade of material, which is where those margins are very good. So stockpiling is good and they are doing it because they are the OEMs are doing it because they are concerned about the availability of this very critical C2B fabric. Let's go on to Slide 6. Missed shipments. Now this is interesting because we started talking about at the beginning of the pandemic.

You know, the industry was not doing well. Supply chain international shipments, so 1 thing after another after another. And every quarter with a lot of missed shipments, you know, that calmed down quite a bit over the last couple years. I just think it kind of got close to, quote, unquote, normal based upon the post-pandemic levels. Alright? But what is going on here is this is now reemerging as a problem because now the industry is accelerating and recovering, and the programs are accelerating. So now the industry is kind of struggling once again. With keeping up from a different perspective. But it is the same kind of phenomenon. it is just from a different perspective.

So now we are talking once again about the shipments, 715 thousand. Well, that is a lot. And we talk about Q1 or our Q1 forecast, it is gonna be even more. So it is something to think about. Ultimately, all this product gets produced and shipped but the industry is now struggling again to keep up. As the industry as the industry accelerates and ramps. Net impact of tariffs, tariff related costs, Mark, could you help us with a with a little perspective on tariffs and tariff related cost, please?

Mark A. Esquivel: Yeah, it is the same story as the last few quarters. Very minimal impact for us. Again, we typically pass these on to our customers through pricing, contracts. Or as we do pricing every few months with our regular business. So no impact for us. But maybe a few thousand dollars this quarter.

Brian E. Shore: Alright. Thanks, Mark. So why do not we keep going?

Mark A. Esquivel: We can hustle through here.

Brian E. Shore: So Slide 7 for some of the new folks. This is something we do every quarter for I do not know, as long as we have been doing presentations, I guess. Our top 5 customers for the quarter in alphabetical order. And we do a little picture that, you know, ties into each of the customers. The top right, you know, you will hear a lot about this PAC 3 Patriot missile system. that is 2 for the price of 1 because that actually is Aerojet Rocketdyne and L3Harris. So that is nice. We got 1 picture for 2. Kratos is obviously a Kratos Valkyrie. that is a target drone. Middle River Aerostructure Systems.

We will talk more about them. that is the Airbus A320 with the lead point of the engine. And Nordam is the Boeing aerial tanker. So let's keep going. Pie charts. These have gotten a little boring, but they are becoming interesting. again. So we will take a look at this park estimated by aerospace market segment. You see in 2021, that was the pandemic, fiscal 2021. Remember our fiscal year is in February. That was a pandemic year. Look what happened. Was not the military was so great at just commercial was nothing. Remember that you saw the pictures of, like the 737s with 2 people on them or probably more likely, they were just parked.

They were not flying at all. But commercial aerospace was terrible and the airlines ordering any airplanes; they are canceling as many as they could. So you see that happen 21. In 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 kind of normalized, quote, unquote, for the pandemic level post pandemic level. Which was, you know, kind of anemic, let's call it. But in 2026, something is emerging there where the military is increasing more than it had been. And if we showed you Q4 of 26, it would be kind of shocking how strong, how significant military is.

We are not gonna do that because we do not wanna get hung up on 1 quarter, but we think there might be a trend going on here. We look at 20 sixes, you know, that is in the bottom middle of the slide. And let's go on to Slide 9, a little more pie chart stuff. This is another slide we include for you every quarter, Park's loads, niche, military, aerospace programs. The top 5 is that is done by Donna, and this 1's done by Elena. Elena's head of customer service at Mark. This is her thing she does every quarter. Park loves niche military space programs. So these are not necessarily the big programs.

You are just some are big, but some may not be. These are programs of interest. We thought you would be interested in them. I just wanna be clear. Everything we show here and everything we show every quarter those are programs we are involved with. Or supplying into involved with. We are not just, you know, show you nice pictures of rockets and planes and cool stuff like that. So we just want you to be aware of We do not comment anymore on what we do with these programs. These just got to be too sensitive. But just understand these are all programs that we supply into.

And the pie chart Look at missile system, you know, that is getting to be pretty big there, and that is not do not think that is an anomaly. We will talk about missile systems as we proceed with the presentation. I am trying to hustle through it because the back end of presentation, get to missile systems and a lot to talk about. that is a lot of new stuff also. Slide 10, GE Aerospace jet engine programs. We provide a slide almost every not almost every quarter. Very minor changes. I do need to explain for some of our new investors.

The firm pricing LTA is a requirements contract through 2039 with Middle River Aerostructure Systems, who they do not know. They are a sub of ST Engineering Aerospace, who you may not know. We bought a redundant factory. That was part of the deal that we actually with GE Aerospace when we entered into the LTA through 2029, we agreed to build a redundant factory That was done a while ago. it is in production. Sole source for composite materials for various nacelles, thrust reversers, and structural components for multiple MRAS programs. We have the A320neo family, the 747-8, the COMAC C919, the Global 7.5 thousand and on the next slide is the triple 7 x.

Well, what is going on here? These are all GE engines, are not they? We did not say anything about GE and also CFM, which is a, you know, partnership with GE. Yeah. So the thing is that when we entered into this contract, Middle River, MRAS, where they produce the nacelle and thrust reverses structures for these engines. Was a sub of GE. I think in 2019 or 2020, I remember when, GE sold this MRAS to ST Engineering, which is a large Singapore aerospace company. that is the reason why all these programs are GE Aerospace, called GE Aerospace programs. So questions, let me know. Let's just keep moving here. Slide 11, Okay.

We already talked about this triple 7 x. that is 1 of those GE9X. that is a GE engine, of course. And in this LTA, we also included some of our new film proprietary Parkville adhesive products. And for composite bond and metal bond and those products are undergoing qualification. We have been talking about a Life-of-Program agreement to kind of supersede the 10-year deal for, you know, every quarter now for a while. And it this was requested by MRAS and STE, not by Park. We are happy to do it. it is under negotiation. We actually made some progress recently, but we will see.

You know, still a way to go to get to the finish line as we always say. We are happy either way. If we do the Life-of-Program, that is wonderful. If not, we are okay too. Let's go on to Slide 12. Keep moving along here. Still in GE. Updated GE Aerospace Jet Engine programs. Let's go through programs a little more detail. First, we start with the Big Kahuna, which is A320neo family, includes all these different variants. As of March, Airbus is already delivered 4.55 thousand of these airplanes. And had a backlog of 7.41 thousand of these airplanes. So you had those 2 numbers together, and that the total is a big number.

This is a huge program. And, you know, could be the biggest commercial air aerospace program ever, air program ever. A320neo family aircraft deliveries, you see the pattern here. They are ramping up. In 2019, they got to May, and the pandemic hit. Everything collapsed. Then in 2031, kind of it is going way back to the, you know, that May level, kind of got there in 2023, 2024, 2025, you know, inching forward to 50 per month, 51 per month, But let's go to the next slide, Slide 13. Well, just 1 more item before we get to that punch line. 2026 year to date, only 136 deliveries. that is not so good. Off to a slow start.

Airbus is with a 23, the aircraft family. Why is that what is going on? Well, Airbus has been targeting 75 neos per month by 2027. They have been very public about that. So looking at the prior page, we are kind of inching up to 51. We are nowhere close to 75. Airbus recently stated they expect to reach that delivery rate of 75 backing off a little bit by the end of 27, stabilizing. that is their term. To a rate of 75 per month thereafter. So they are backing off a little bit. what is going on here? Why? what is the problem? Maybe we should consider the engine situation.

So sorry. it is a little complicated, but, you know, we need to give you the perspective, I think. The 2 approved engines for the A320neo aircraft family. there is the CFM LEAP-1A engine. that is what we are on. And then there is the Pratt & Whitney PW1.1 thousandG engine. We are not on that program. So we supply into the A320neo family aircraft using the LEAP-1A engine but we do not have any content on the A320neo family aircraft using the Pratt & Whitney engine and important to know that. Let's go on to Slide 14. Now according to the first quarter 26, edition of Aero Engine News, that is our bible.

The CFM LEAP-1A market share firm engine orders for the A320neo was 66.2% Now that is interesting. Like, what the heck is that number about? You know, we cover this every quarter, and know, the number has been, like, 60%, 61%, 60%. 66.2%. that is not-- or that is that is not the historical number. That market share moved up more than it is sustainable, is it a trend, we will see. But at that delivery at the delivery rate of 75 airplanes per month, 66.2% equals 1.19 thousand LEAP-1A engines per year. Do you remember that number? We will get back to it later. You know, interesting number.

The Pratt engine has now here's the what we are here's the kind of the explanation. The Pratt GTF engine has struggled with serious reliability issues. You probably read about this, you know, it is not it is not a big secret. Reliability is a positive selling point for the CFM LEAP-1A. They upgraded 1 of the components recently for better reliability. And according to Airbus, this is recent. There is now a serious shortage of Pratt & Whitney PW1.1 thousandG engines. Airbus indicated that is the main cause in their disappointing 2020 A320neo aircraft and deliveries are kind of putting the blame on this Pratt engine, not only with the reliability issues, now with shortages.

Meanwhile, CFM has significantly ramped up production of their LEAP-1A engine family, including the LEAP-1A. So let's keep going here. Let's see if we can figure out what really is driving all this. Slide 15. Could these factors lead to an even greater sorry. I am rushing, CFM LEAP-1A engine market share for the A320neo. I do not know. Interesting question now. But we have also read recently something that surprised us which is Airbus now saying, well, you know, CFM is delayed on deliveries as well for the week 1 a. So I do not know what that means. The focus had really been on the Pratt engine. it is, well, you know, LEAP is late as well.

So not sure what to make of it. My guess is that a Mark 2031, there were 8.47 thousand LEAP 1 a engine orders. that is a lot of orders for engines. And if you look further later on in the presentation, we talk about our revenue per engine based upon current pricing. You can do your own math and figure it out, but, you know, we are talking about some very large numbers here. A320neo aircraft family Program could end up being the world's largest commercial aircraft program ever, so we are very happy to be on that program. The A320neo aircraft program could end up being Park's largest non defense program ever.

And that goes back a long, long time. We are talking electronics, you know, back in the nineties and everything else. So that is a big statement. Let's go on to another leap program, which is the COMAK 919. that is a Chinese single aisle. To compete with the A320 and the Boeing 737. COMEX is increasing manufacturing capacity to achieve production rates of 150 919 aircraft a year by 2027 and 200 hundred by 2029, and they reportedly have over 1.2 thousand orders for the 919 aircraft. Let's go on to slide What do we-- what do we got here? Slide 16. Comeback delivered 2 of these airplanes in 24, and 2018, 2025. that is not a lot.

Comeback was targeting 10 to 15 in 2025 but did not get there. So the reports that CFM may be favoring Boeing Airbus with LEAP engine availability. Now, these are different LEAP engine branches. They are not interchangeable, but they are still a it is still a capacity question as to how many LEAP engines that CFM can produce. So and the lack of availability of CFM LEAP-1C engines may explain the shortfall and may be emerging as more impactful to the ramp. Of the 919 aircraft program than originally anticipated by COMAC. Now will this change and improve for COMAC? Not for CFM as a result of the recent summit between President Biden and President Xi.

The answer may be yes. There are reports that there is some plan to increase CFM LEAP-1C engine deliveries to COMAC as a result of that summit. So we will see what happens with that. You know, you get the theme here. It seems like the engines are often the gating items on these programs. Interesting. Slide 17, let's talk about the triple 7 x program. The other the 3rd big program that we are dealing with g aerospace engines. The triple 7 x program, the GE 9 x engines, 777X program has massed over 1.5 thousand flights. Nearly 44 hundred flight hours. We have 652 open orders for the triple 7 x.

And the certification test program seems to be moving along reasonably. Boeing anticipates FA certification entry into service, and first delivery of the 777X next year. This program is very, very, very delayed, you know, delayed a long time. I have to be at Everett Field in Boeing makes these airplanes in, I think, the biggest building in the world actually. And they are all over the field, they are everywhere. A lot of cases, do not have engines and are waiting for engines. Obviously, waiting for certification. They cannot-- with certification. They cannot start delivering the airplane until they get the FAA certification. Now let's go on to Slide 18. So these points are kinda key.

Our understanding is that the COMAK 919 aircraft and the Global 8 thousand aircraft are already being produced and delivered at or close to targeted rates. We covered that in that original slide where we broke down the different programs, but we did not really deal with them in any detail. Point is that we are not expecting much upside from those programs because they are already being produced at their target rates. Clearly, the commercial aircraft juggernaut, as you recall, will be driven by the ramp up of the A320neo aircraft family, the Boeing 777X, and the COMAC C919 aircraft. Okay. Let's go on to Slide 19. We are still talking GE Aerospace. Just some numbers for you here.

GE Aerospace engine program sales history and forecast estimates. So in Q4, 8.1 million And in fiscal 26, 29.3 million. See what happened here. Look at 2020. We are kind of almost at $29 million right before the pandemic again. Wow. Look what happened in 2021. Just dropped off a cliff, and we are clawing our way back in 2026 to kind of get back to where we were in 2020 right before the pandemic. So and it is it is been it is been a long 5 years for the special commercial aircraft industry, that is for sure. So our forecast for Q1 for GE Aerospace program sales, 6.8 million to 7.4 million.

Our forecast for the year, 34 million to 38 million. It would be a mistake for you to take Q1 for anything, multiply by 4 and think that is what we are thinking about. It does not really work that way. The forecast for the year, that is based upon input we have called a build plan from our customer. And we haircut a little bit, you know, the number we got from our customer is actually higher than the forecast we are providing you. We are trying to be more conservative here. Let's go on to Slide 20. Okay. Now let's talk about parks.

Mark numbers, Park financial performance history and forecast estimates, Top is just history, totals you already know about, the Q4 you know about, totals you know about, or you know about them now anyway. Forecast estimate for Q1 17.7 million to 18.4 million of sales. 4.1 to 4.6 million EBITDA. Now remember we talked about missed shipments in Q1 We are expecting 1.3 million approximately amount of shipments. We do not know yet, you know, Q1 ended on Sunday. We are so close to the end of the quarter that we can give you some perspective. Normally, when we announce you know, the mis shipments normally really end up being a phenomenon in the last few weeks of a quarter.

So normally, we announce we cannot give you any perspective on it, but we are still close to the end of the quarter. We give you perspective. there is the same kind of thing, you know, supply chain thing. We are not getting components as quickly as we need. Some shipping issue where if the freight forwarder does not pick it up, you know, international shipment is not a sale, you know, we do not have any sales cut off issues Mark, you know. it is a sale when it leaves our dock. So you see, you know, we are kind of back in that mode now. And the industry is struggling. The industry is starting to struggle.

These things are ramping up aggressively. Things were quiet, and things were kind of normalized and the industry kind of caught up, but now we are back to maybe getting behind the power curve a little bit. And let's see how that pans out, but it may-- I do not know. It may take I do not know, a couple of years for the industry to, you know, get back up to speed or maybe it will always be behind because things are ramping so aggressively, you know. As soon as they catch up, they will turn around, oh, we ramp more. We will have to see about that. Slide 21.

We are just, you know, trying to ensure the full perspective with you. Slide 21. Let's stop here for a second. I know we are we are kinda running late here, but our historical fiscal year results because it tells a story that is kind of interesting, I think. Look in sales, This is aerospace only. We sold electronics, I think, in 2019, but this is aerospace only. No. 31.8 million going year over year 40.2 million, 51.1 million, 60. So for 2017 to 2020, we kinda were we went up $10 million per year, aerospace, which is a lot. Then look what happened in 2021. We just gonna solve cliff. there is a pandemic year.

And 2022, 2023, 2024, maybe 2025, we try to crawl our way back to the, you know, the 2020, the pre-pandemic fiscal year, and maybe just got there in fiscal 2025. But it has been a-- it is been a difficult 5 years post pandemic for the industry. that is for sure. Now 2026, it seems like we are breaking out a little bit with sales of 73.3 million. For 2026, a little bit of a maybe departure, which is a good thing. Important theme, supply chain limitations, industry delays were affecting aerospace industry post pandemic. Yeah. Yeah, the industry to us was kind of sleepwalking through those 5 years, you know, in a sense, state of malaise.

And it was a long 5 years, long 5 years for us, that is for sure. You know, I think a lot of people were not did not really believe in us very much. We believe in ourselves, but we not too many people. I think we were kind of a forgotten company that we are kinda lost, and we knew what to do, and we never felt that way. We always stayed focused. I think we worked very hard in our quarters. that is for sure. I know that. I do not think we listened to people telling us to sell the company at $12 or $13 per share.

You like that? that is the kind of crap we had to listen to. It was a long 5 years. And you know, we are in the industry, so there is not much we could do about it. But the industry was, to us, sleepwalking. Now we will get to that in a little while, but, you know, I think that is over. The industry has gotten a pretty serious wake up call, maybe shock treatment. And we always wanna remind you how many how much fabric sales were in this year because they do drive the top line numbers and the bottom line as well.

So I hope you do not mind that commentary, but, you know, we thought we are not complaining. We just thought you should know how we feel about things. If you want to invest in Park, you should know how we feel. Slide 22, Okay. So let's talk about this. This is interesting stuff. We our buyback authorization yeah. We purchased 718 thousand shares of our common stock $12.94 per share, $9.29 million. We did not buy any stock in our Q4, q 1. I said, I am I am not shocked to hear that. So, you know, we used to comment that we really do not like buybacks so much. And we do not comment on our stock price.

You know, we actually do that. Except this is 1 exception. We said when the price gets so stupid, we do not have a choice but to buy the stock. So we thought the price was goddamn stupid. And we bought a lot of stock at $12.94. So let's go on to the next slide. We juxtaposed each 2 slides for, you know, potentially Our recently announced public offering, that is Slide 23, We announced this during the last quarter call. We follow the registry registration statement and prospective supplement for a $50 million at the market public offering.

It was the purpose to replenish a portion of the $50 million-plus With that plus sign, we plan to invest in our major manufacturing plant. We will get back to that later. Other investments, under serious consideration, we will talk about that soon as well. And to ensure, this is an important 1, that Mark has the necessary funds to be in a position to take advantage of and exploit the key opportunities currently being presented to park. And the new key opportunities as they arise in the future. that is a little bit more of kind of an amorphous thing, but I think equally important. Now let's go to numbers.

During our Q4, under this registration statement, we sold 943 thousand approximately shares of common stock. Before for proceeds of 22.8 million. And a price of $24.21 per share. So we bought we let's see. We bought the stock at $12.94. We sold it at $24.21. Now I will tell you something. I do not have an MBA. I do not have an I have a degree in economics, but where we come from, that is a pretty good deal, I think. So just wanted to mention those 2 numbers to you. Let's go on to Slide 24. Here's still on the same kind of theme, Park's balance sheet and cash has been very incredible.

In cash dividend history is our opinion, of course. We have 0 long-term debt. that is not our opinion. Park reported $89.4 million in cash and marketable securities. At the end of the quarter. And you say, well, that is a lot for Mark. And, actually, it is not. I mean, it probably is not even enough. We will get to that later in the presentation when we talk about. The expansion plan and then other potential investment that we are seriously negotiating is probably not enough money for Park. 41 consecutive years of dividends. Mark has paid $614 million or $29.975 per share since 2005.

So our next dividend, which we are announcing soon, that will put us over $30 per share since 2005. We like to show the picture of our founders back when Park was founded in 1.95 thousand. It was about $30 thousand a small was not a factory, it was a garage in Woodside, Queens. This actually is a step up. it is about 3 years later. it is actually a real factory in Flushing, New York. Which I think was about 10 thousand square feet. With our founders in a picture. Slide 25. I will try to hustle. I know we are you know, taking too much time here.

Financial outlook for GE Aerospace jet engine programs, the commercial aircraft juggernaut for those of you who have been listening to our presentations, every quarter, we say what? We say the juggernaut is coming. It cannot be stopped, we better be ready. We are not saying that anymore. We are saying that juggernaut is here. Commercial aircraft Juggernaut is now. So let's go to go through this quickly slide. Was it Slide 26? We show you this every quarter. I just wanna remind you the A320neo engine is something for you, 1.08 thousand that is based upon a 60%. that is based on 75 airplanes per month and 60% market share.

But that market share, the actual market share, that gives us 1.19 thousand engines, not 1.08 thousand. We are still sticking with 1.08 thousand to be conservative here. that is millions of dollars. Additional revenue. Just want you to be aware of that. And slide 27 goes through a lot of math as to how we computed the numbers on Slide 26. I am not going to spend time on Slide 27. Slide 28, Okay. So here we go. And now we need to spend some serious time on this whole new juggernaut extreme we call it. Let's just go through some basics. Park's missile systems niche.

Park specializes in the design and manufacture of advanced composite ablative materials used to produce solid rocket motor structures and heat shields for critical missile systems, including the PAC-3 Patriot missile system. We talk about that a lot, we keep you know, we will talk about a lot during the presentation. I just wanna flag here before I forget, that there are dozens of missile systems that we work on it is just that the Patriot has, you know, so much known variety, so well known, so we tend to on that more just as an example. And the other programs are probably would not wanna talk about just, you know, it is maybe not something for public consumption.

But there are dozens of missile programs that Park also designs and manufactures advanced composite structural materials used to produce other missile system components. Depletion of the depleted stockpiles. Okay. Here we go. it is well understood that critical missile system stockpiles already badly depleted by the ongoing brutal war in Europe in last June's 12-day war in the Mideast, and now we have the war with Iran. The shell game. what is a shell game? That means moving the Patriot-- sorry, batteries from 1 country to another, 1 country to another to try to, you know, be ready for the incomings. The shell game has been tried, the law of diminishing returns has set in. You can only play.

Only so many times the shells can be moved before there are no shells left to move. that is the problem. You know? that is really the problem. Slide 29. There is much reporting about how badly stockpiles of critical missile systems like in their Patriot and other systems reportedly have been depleted as a result of the war with Iran. We are not gonna report or cover that reporting here as it could be irresponsible to do so. But you can check it out yourself. You could go find it yourself. We just wanna go into that. Running empty. Yeah. Running empty. Replenishing the depleted stockpiles. Well, that is obviously very urgent.

It clearly is a highly urgent need to replenish the depleted missile system stockpiles. Is that enough? Does it end there? Maybe not. Quadrupling the production of exquisite class of weapon systems What? Quadrupling? Are you kidding me? I do not know, maybe not. Let's go on the slide was it 30?? On March 29, 2026, I guess a couple of months ago, President Biden met with the white House with 6 top defense contractors, including Lockheed and L3Harris Missile Solutions, Reason we mentioned those 2 is they are both, you know, very key for us on the PAC-3 missile system.

At the meeting, the contract's reportedly agreed to quadruple production of exquisite class of weapon systems as rapidly as possible. That was reported by President Biden, I think, actually. Is a new world order for the defense industry. a radical, like, sea change for the defense industry. The old days were likely gone for this defense industry, and that is a good thing in our opinion. So, like I said, the industry generally had been sleepwalking for 5 years. The and the commercial.

But there is now this wake up call We have the NWO, we have the depletion of the supply, and then there is quadrupling scenario which is more than a wake up call, more than an alarm clock. it is shock treatment. What does the NWO mean for Park? So this is really important for you to understand our experiences that the defense industry has entered into hypersonic mode. that is our personal park experience Not just what we hear, that is our experience, our day to day experience. In all our years, we have never seen anything like this, particularly for ablative materials. For solid rocket motors. I have been at Park since 1.99 thousand.

I have never seen anything like this electronics or aerospace. The coding activity, especially for ablative materials for solid rocket missile systems, has been hyper and frenetic. Almost too much to bear, really.

Mark A. Esquivel: it is something we have never seen before.

Brian E. Shore: And it is hard to really describe and help you understand what we are experiencing. We are just trying to do the best we can here. And just in case it is not obvious, the PAC 3 missile and many other missile systems which Park supports are very key members of that quote, unquote, exquisite class of weapon systems. So let's keep going here. Missile systems on Slide 31, now talking about specifically the PAC-3 Patriot missile system. Park is sole source qualified for advanced composite ablative materials for solid rocket motors for the PAC-3 missile system program. The PAC 3 missile system is considered by many to be the world's premier missile defense system.

So, you know, we would like to discussion about maybe it is not great for shooting down low-flying drones, but for incoming ballistic missiles, yeah, that is just the system everyone wants to have. it is highly effective. Highly effective. We have covered the PAC-3 missile system extensively in recent quarterly investor presentations. We will just hit the high points of new items here. Stockpiles of the PAC-3 missile system interceptors were already badly depleted by the war in Europe and last June's 12-day Mideast war of So we do not want to go into repeating reporting here.

As it may not be appropriate responsible to do so, but suffice to say the current war the is very badly depleted, already depleted stockpile of PAC-3 interceptors. The PAC 3 missile system interceptors have been extensively and very effectively, maybe too effectively, meaning so effective that everybody in the world wants them used by US allies in the region, the Mideast region, or including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, and Israel to defend against incomings. During the Iran war. Slide 32, just a little side note here. Israel, you probably know there is also uses its own system called Arrow 3 and Arrow 4, for the missile defense. And park is qualified and supports both those programs.

Back to the PAC 3 as previously reported, on January 26, 2024, Lockheed announced it reached a 7-year agreement. With the Department of War to increase PAC-3 MSE interceptor production. From 500 to 650. You know, that is a lot. that is almost 4, is not it? 4x. What about us? What have we been told by Lockheed is that number is likely to be closer to 2,000. On April 13, 2026. I think we covered this last time as well. the DoD announced investing $1 billion in the PAC-3, continuing with missile systems, ArianeGroup. We got to talk about ArianeGroup now. We go by PAC-3. Now I am gonna talk about ArianeGroup.

So ArianeGroup is a joint venture. it is a large French company between Airbus and Safran. Our relationship with ArianeGroup and its predecessors goes back to early 2000s. We have very special relationship with Ariane, and we are proud to be their partner. And we do not take liberties. that is their term, partner. that is true. We do not do that. that is a term they use for us. I just want you to be aware of that. ArianeGroup produces a proprietary product called RAYCARB C2B. Which is sorry, proprietary fabric. RAYCARB C2B, which is used to produce ablative composite materials for solid rocket missile programs. So here's something highlighted.

Park is sole source qualified on a solid rocket motor for the PAC-3 missile program for special ablative materials produced with ArianeGroup's proprietary C2B fabric. So we are kinda double sole source qualified. We are sole source, but also ArianeGroup with the with the C2B fabric is sole source. Mark entered into a business partner agreement with Ariane in January 2022. Under which they appointed us as their exclusive North American distributor for C2B fabric. On March, this is something worth noting, March 2025, we entered into what they call a new agreement with Ariane under which Mark agreed to advance ArianeGroup €4.57 million to ArianeGroup. that is about $5 million, I guess.

Against payments for future purchases by Park of C2B fabric. And Why would we do that? Slide 34. Yeah. And we pay The first installment, you know, in Q1. Of 26. We paid the second installment in Q1 of 27. And third installment, we paid. It will turn last, I think, in Q1 of 28. what is the purpose of this big advance is, you know, approximately $5 million to fund 50-50 with Ariane, the construction of additional C2B fabric. Manufacturing capacity in France. Will this capacity, that capacity will be online or maybe, I think 2028. Will this will this additional capacity be adequate to support the ramp up of the just the just the PAC-3 missile programs.

Let's not even talk about the other programs on which C2B is getting qualified or is qualified. The answer is no. Not even close. Not even close. So what do we do now? Mark is engaged in serious discussions with ArianeGroup leading to an agreement to significantly increase C2B manufacturing fabric manufacturing capacity in The US to support critical department of war missile programs, including the PAC-3 missile programs. Agreement under negotiation contemplates this important, Park making a significant investment in this C2B fabric manufacturing plant. Remember I mentioned the our own expansion there is another investment here. We will get to our own expansion in a minute.

In our opinion, it is urgent that this C2B fabric manufacturing plant is built. So the interest in C2B is hyper and frenetic. So there are a lot of companies, lot of customers, a lot of OEMs looking to sign up for C2B on their programs. The obvious challenge is supply, you know. Probably take about 4 years for this plant to be built. What do we got going here? We got the NWO. We have the war. Where systems have been barely depleted and quadrupling.

So that is driving a very, very hyper need for the C2B fabric, which is, like I said, considered the you know, my understanding, the premier product for missile systems for solid rocket motors for missile systems. Go on to Slide 35. This will tie together a little bit as well. Our new manufacturing plant yeah. Sorry. We are going so long here. An update. We talked about this for the last couple quarters, but, you know, we are regrouping with our new manufacturing plan. Why is that? We are planning okay. Let's go through it. Park is planning to build a major new manufacturing plant. New plant will include the following manufacturing lines.

This is going to review solution treating, hot melt film, hot melt, and what else? What else? Because we are always looking to expand and develop our business. We do not want to limit ourselves always to what we are doing now. New plant is being designed to produce in support our complete composite materials product line, including special ablative materials, solid rocket motors, film adhesive materials, and lightning strike protection materials. What else? Well, again, you know, we are looking always to develop into new areas. I mean, new related areas, not looking to go into making amusement park, you know, marigold runs or something like that.

What has changed from the original plant design discussed just in our Q3 in January. So hot melt, let's break it down. Is hot melt solution tape manufacturing capacity and capacity of the original plant adequate? Yeah. It probably is, actually. Go on to Slide 36. The hot melt film and tape lines primarily support parks commercial aircraft programs, commercial aircraft juggernaut. So we think we are okay with the commercial aircraft juggernaut. How about the solution treating? How about the solution treating capacity though, contemplated by the original plant design? Is it adequate? No. it is not adequate. The current plan design contemplates the current.

Now I am not talking about the original plan design about 3 or 4 months ago. The current plan design, the 1 we are working with now, contemplates additional solution treating capacity but it still may not be enough. And we are evaluating increasing solution treating capacity even further. Why is that? The solution treating lines support, among other things parks missile system programs. Yep. The missile You see the connection here? The original plant design contemplated a plant of 120 thousand square feet. Will that be enough? Probably not. Because, again, we are looking at increasing the solution treating capacity. Support the missile systems juggernaut.

So 120 thousand square feet may not be enough, This is all coming out pretty recently. So like I said, we are regrouping. it is only a did not know that there would another war in Iran. We did not know there president Trump would bring these guys in and say, you know, we got a new world order here, a new sheriff in town. You increase your missile production by 4x. We did not know when that was coming, so we are trying to regroup and make the adjustments that are good for 20 acres. And why is that?

Because the original plant, even with the let's say, expanded footprint, let's say, a little bit more than 120 thousand that is still that would fit within 10 acres very nicely. But we are looking for 20 acres because we wanna have the ability to add another plant of pry approximately the same size at some point in the future. it is important for us that plants are in the same campus. You know, we do not want a second plant across town. It does not work too well for us. So we wanna have that ability to expand. that is that is why we are our spec is approximately 20 acres.

Does not have to be exactly, but that is the concept anyway. Slide 37. Well, the new plant still approximately double Park's current composite materials manufacturing capacity? No. No more than double Park's current solution treating manufacturing capacity. Will the capital budget for the new plant still be approximately $50 million I do not think so. No. It should be more than that. And I should say something. You know? This is the capital budget. What about working capital? You know, start up costs. You know, it is just significant. Not even talking about that.

Going back to that cash number of $90 million approximately, plus the amount we are, you know, seriously negotiating investing with the ArianeGroup plant in The US. We add those 2 needs together and So, yeah, we do not do not have enough. I do not have enough money. Likely be more. Where will the new plant site be located? In The US Heartland at a location which is supportive of, conducive to, and inspirational for Mark's future development and growth as a company. So not just looking at it from a mundane perspective, we are need this many machines to make this much product. You know? it is about our future. We are going to go for our future.

The next build a plant. We will be there for 30 years. You gotta think 30 years out. Slide 38 Sorry. it is taking so long, folks. We are building this new manufacturing plant. Why? Why are we doing it? Because our commercial aircraft juggernaut, the missile systems juggernaut, it is being required. that is just basic math. You know, we need the capacity to support those juggernauts. Also, though, to enable the this more futuristic thinking, enable, facilitate, inspire 70 years young. So thank you everybody for hanging in there. Operator, we are done with the presentation. We will be happy to answer any questions that investors may have at this point.

Operator: Thank you. And with that, we will indeed be conducting a question and answer session. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press *1 on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate that your line is in the question queue. You may press star 2 to remove yourself from the queue. And for any participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up the handset before pressing the star keys. 1 moment while I poll for questions. And our first question comes from the line of Nick Ripostella with NR Management. Please proceed with your question.

Nick Ripostella: Hey. Can you hear me?

Brian E. Shore: Yeah. We can hear you fine, Nick. Yeah. How are you doing? Great.

Nick Ripostella: Good afternoon. it is nice to hear you all, and the everything's moving along. Okay. I just wanted to ask. I have been thinking about this 1 for a while. On the C2B fabric, Is there any alternative that is used in any missile programs that you know of? that is what I am asking. that is it. Okay.

Brian E. Shore: Let's deal with that. that is a complete question. There are stockpiles of 2 different types of fabric which are available, but they are not in production anymore and there is no plan to put them back into production. So interesting. Since you brought up, this is my perspective on it. But not only mine. Until a couple of months ago, I think some of the defense subcontractors were kind of counting on using those stockpiles Oh, we got a long way to go. The stockpile will last for many, many years. But when you take everything and multiply by 4, they start to panic. Like, these stockpiles are not gonna last very long at all.

And that probably is 1 of the reasons that there is kind of a hyper interest in C2B. Now, there always are going to be efforts to develop new products that would maybe be, you know, would be, let's say, equivalent to C2B or could serve the same purpose as C2B serves. But what is existing in the market now that are at the level of C2B. There are other ablative products that are not at the level of C2B In terms of capability. There are 2 products that are kind of close, but they are in stockpiles that are being depleted and limited.

So it is important it is an interesting question, and the answer is, you know, a little more complicated.

Nick Ripostella: Okay. So do you consider that a risk I mean, you know, necessity is the mother of invention. You know?

Brian E. Shore: Yeah. Some new products will be developed. Yeah. Sure. it is a risk, but, of course, we would like to be involved. Right. And that is our attitude. We do not I do not wanna say too much more about it, actually, Nick, but yeah, we are not sitting back passively and say, okay. So, I mean, we wanna be the driver of new products as well. And at the same time, everything we are doing with Ariane and our partner. You know, we have never undermined them. We are do anything to hurt them. That we would not do that.

Nick Ripostella: Okay. So, by the way, so all the manufacturing, you know, with Ariane, they have plants in France. So is that where tariffs would hit if there were any you know, like, you know, on a product like that or are you shielded from that somewhat? Do tariffs apply to the product that is being shipped to you? In other words, yeah.

Mark A. Esquivel: Yeah. Yeah.

Brian E. Shore: Well, I think the answer would be yes. I mean, you know, I think it is pretty obvious the answer is yes. Now the tariff situation is changing. Of course, in dynamic, but, you know, tariffs did apply to products that were being imported from France.

Nick Ripostella: Well, it is just I find it interesting, you know, that the Department of War wants to, you know, quadruple on it. You know, the material is important and it would seem like, you know, they are shooting themselves in the foot tariffing something that you know? Is kinda Yeah. Causing the problem. You know? that is Sorry to interrupt.

Brian E. Shore: that is an interesting point. it is been brought up. by us, yeah, I mean, through the Department of War.

Nick Ripostella: Okay. So is it is it fair to say that the missile programs throughout the world that are mostly using C2B? Or is that an incorrect statement? Missile programs. Other programs? Yeah.

Brian E. Shore: So you are asking about other missile programs. Oh, there are many different kind of missiles many different kind of ablative materials. I see. C2B is considered to be, you know, my opinion, but not only my opinion, the premier ablative material fabric for solid rocket motors. Okay.

Nick Ripostella: Alright. Fair enough. Okay.

Brian E. Shore: I am sorry.

Nick Ripostella: But if you know, you can stop me if I am going too much. But I have asked this before. And you already have a lot on your plate. But is there any content or work developing on anything with SpaceX or Blue Origin or others? So we-- yeah.

Mark A. Esquivel: Mark, do you want to chime in? that is fine. I think we do a little bit of work with Blue Origin.

Brian E. Shore: My opinion is we would love to do work with SpaceX. They are not solid rocket motor people. Solid rocket motors are for defense. They are 1-shots. You know, you cannot reuse a solid rocket motor. So when you think about SpaceX, they are big into reusing their, you know, their rocket systems. You know, they are all different kind of a psychology about it. My opinion and we talked about this, though. I would love to be able to, you know, work with SpaceX. I am not sure we are doing very much. Mark, Blue Origin, I think we are doing a little bit with Blue Origin.

Mark A. Esquivel: Are we Yeah.

Brian E. Shore: We are doing a little bit. I think most of that work's in our parts business, not our structures business. So but we do supply some material. But lately, it is been we are we have been building some parts for them.

Nick Ripostella: Okay. Fair enough. And 1 other thing. So are-- do you expect to do additional, you know, aftermarket stock sales? You know, you are maybe needing to raise more capital.

Brian E. Shore: Yeah. So it is a $50 million ATM. we explained how much we raised so far, and it was only in our Q4, you know, as we explained. We did not we have not raised any since the end of Q4. So the balance is still available and we will see. Well, I think we try to be very intelligent and very disciplined about the ATM. We said no a lot. In other words, you know, on pricing. So no. No. it is not gonna work for us. You know, we are trying to protect our existing shareholders.

I think we did, you know, quite an outstanding job with that if I do not if you do not mind my saying so, Nick. You were quite disciplined, and you know, we get offers. None of them. that is not gonna work for us. So we wanna be careful about how we do it, and I think we are quite disciplined, like I said. And I think it worked out fine, and I was very happy with the results. And, yeah, we would like to raise more money, and we will we will have to see what happens. Okay.

Nick Ripostella: I will let you figure out how I feel.

Brian E. Shore: Yeah. We will we will update you every quarter, though. Just you know, I do not wanna you know, so go ahead.

Mark A. Esquivel: We will update you on this, Nick.

Nick Ripostella: You know how I feel.

Brian E. Shore: You have done an excellent job of caring for shareholders. there is no question about that.

Nick Ripostella: And just 1 little other thing here. Yeah. You have been in this business for a long time, as you said. So, you know, will the new facilities you are building, you know, are they much different? I know you highlighted some things in the call, but in terms of the technology, you know, because I do not know, at some point in the last couple years, you have talked about automation and things like that. I am just curious because there is a lot going on in terms of, you know, extensive robotics and things like that. But maybe you are just not the type of process that you know, could avail yourself of those things.

But I am just curious. About your role.

Brian E. Shore: Yeah. So we want to be-- we want to use those things as tools intelligently. You know, we want to go into automation because it is, quote, unquote, cool, you know. So we could show people in a factory, look how automated it is. Automation is complicated, you know, and it is not it is probably a multiple-edged sword to that sword. We talked about this internally, but it is, you know, an important point. Often, automation is really good if you wanna do the same exact thing every time. Because machine is not going to make the mistakes people make.

But if you are kind of culture is about flexibility, response, and there is urgency, change things quickly. that is not really what automation is best at. that is what people are best at. So that is why I say we yeah. We wanna use automation, but we want to be intelligent about it. Want to think it through, where would we like to use automation? Where can it be helpful to us? I hear you. I guess I am just I am 1 of those nerds that I watch too many videos of, you know, aircraft engines being built and all those. You know, I find them fascinating. So yeah. Mhmm. Just thought I would ask. Yeah.

Nick Ripostella: But it is amazing, the things that are you know, people do not realize how complex it is. Particularly on aircraft engines. But, anyway but alright, thank you for your time, and I just have to say you know, there is an old Bruce Springsteen song From Small Things (Mama) Big Things 1 Day Come, and that is Park. You know? Thank you very much.

Brian E. Shore: I will have to look that 1 up. Alright. I am just not familiar with that 1, but I will go check it out. But thank you very much.

Nick Ripostella: Thank you so much. Thank you.

Brian E. Shore: You take care.

Mark A. Esquivel: Alright.

Brian E. Shore: Bye.

Nick Ripostella: Bye.

Brian E. Shore: Operator, do we need to-- go ahead.

Mark A. Esquivel: Yeah.

Brian E. Shore: Yeah.

Operator: I was just gonna say as a reminder, if there are any more questions, you can just press star 1 To get yourself in queue. Okay. That looks like there are no further questions at this time.

Brian E. Shore: So I will turn the floor back to Brian E. Shore for closing remarks. Thank you, operator, and thank all of you for listening and being patient with us. I know we went on really long. I appreciate taking the time to listen. And so it is, I guess, the beginning of summer. Have a wonderful summer. We will talk to you again pretty soon. I guess mid-July when we announce our Q1. And, of course, if you have any questions, any follow-up questions, feel free to give us a call anytime. Thanks. Have a great day. Take care. Bye.

Operator: Thank you. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's teleconference. We thank you for your You may disconnect your lines at this time, and have a wonderful rest of your day.