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DATE

Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

  • Chief Financial Officer - Anne Hayes
  • President and Chief Executive Officer - Sam Davis

TAKEAWAYS

  • Revenue -- $30.5 million, representing a 1% decrease from $30.8 million primarily due to a $4.3 million delta in non-recurring return-to-service work on Spanish Super Scoopers.
  • Adjusted Revenue Growth -- 16% year over year when excluding non-recurring activity, reflecting increased Super Scooper flight hours and continued demand for aerial firefighting services.
  • Net Loss -- $0.5 million compared to net income of $0.3 million, driven by higher interest and operating expenses.
  • Adjusted EBITDA -- $8.1 million compared to $10.8 million, reflecting seasonal timing and increased costs associated with fleet expansion and readiness.
  • Loss Per Share -- $0.13 per diluted share, including the impact of a $7.1 million adjustment to the redemption value of Series A preferred stock.
  • USFS Task Orders -- $30 million in guaranteed standby revenue from two 160-day orders covering four Super Scoopers, the longest guaranteed contracts in the history of the company.
  • Texas A&M Forest Service Contract -- $58 million for the acquisition, modification, and delivery of three King Air 360 multi-mission aircraft over the next three years.
  • Department of the Interior Task Order -- 112 days for a dual-sensor King Air 350 platform incorporating real-time data dissemination and Wide Area Motion Imagery.
  • Portugal Operations -- Lease agreement with Avincis for two Super Scoopers through mid-October 2026, marking the first revenue-generating operations in Europe for the company.
  • FY 2026 Revenue Guidance -- $135 million to $145 million, representing 29% growth at the midpoint when excluding non-recurring 2025 work.
  • FY 2026 Adjusted EBITDA Guidance -- $55 million to $60 million, representing 27% growth at the midpoint.
  • Fire Activity -- 5.5 million acres burned across the U.S. as of early August, with the national Preparedness Level at the highest tier of 5.
  • Cost of Revenues -- $19.2 million, a 32% increase when excluding return-to-service work, reflecting operating costs for higher fleet utilization and sensor modifications.
  • SG&A Expenses -- $5.3 million compared to $6.5 million, primarily due to lower non-cash expenses including changes in the fair value of warrants and stock-based compensation.
  • Interest Expense -- $6.6 million compared to $5.7 million, reflecting an additional $25 million drawn for fleet expansion and $10 million in short-term credit facility borrowings.
  • Cash Position -- $7.2 million as of June 30, 2026, down from $31.4 million at year-end 2025 due to seasonal working capital usage and strategic aircraft investments.
  • Credit Facility Availability -- $75 million remaining under a $100 million delayed draw feature designed to support future fleet expansion.
  • Accounts Receivable -- $20.5 million as of June 30, 2026, up from $3.2 million at year-end 2025, reflecting the ramp-up of fire season operations.
  • Fleet Maintenance -- $9.1 million in maintenance costs, down from $10.8 million, as the company shifted from heavy Q1 maintenance to active fire season deployments.
  • Warrant Fair Value Change -- $2.9 million non-cash gain, contributing to the reduction in reported SG&A expenses during the quarter.

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RISKS

  • Davis stated, "The late pickup of those aircraft on contract is just an indication of the hesitancy for Europe to turn to private operators until things are developing like we see overseas right now," noting that international commitments arrived later than expected.
  • Hayes noted that fuel expense for support areas, such as airfare and diesel for mobile repair units, can be impacted by price fluctuations as these specific costs are not covered by customer pass-through mechanisms.

SUMMARY

Management at Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. (BAER +4.17%) reported that second quarter results aligned with internal expectations, characterized by a transition toward longer-duration guaranteed contracts and the expansion of multi-mission aircraft services. The company secured its longest-ever task orders from the U.S. Forest Service, extending guaranteed standby revenue into the fourth quarter. Strategic initiatives included the first international deployment in Portugal and a multiyear engineering and modification contract with the Texas A&M Forest Service. Management confirmed its full-year 2026 financial outlook, anticipating significant revenue and margin contribution in the second half of the year as receivables from peak fire season convert to cash.

  • CEO Davis attributed the shift toward longer contract durations to a "broader shift toward year-round wildfire preparedness among our government partners," improving operational visibility.
  • Management plans to reposition the two Super Scoopers currently in Portugal back to the U.S. in October to capitalize on higher-value domestic opportunities if European long-term commitments do not materialize.
  • CFO Hayes noted that the Texas A&M contract utilizes cost-to-cost accounting, with most revenue and milestone recognition expected to begin in 2027.
  • Davis stated that eight of nine surveillance aircraft are now on multiyear guaranteed commitments, which he noted "improving the baseline for the entire fleet."
  • The company expanded its Ignis wildfire intelligence platform through a partnership with TracPlus to integrate real-time aircraft tracking and aerial suppression data into a unified operating picture.
  • Davis indicated that wildfire response is becoming "increasingly intelligence-driven," with dual-sensor aircraft acting as force multipliers for incident commanders.
  • Management reported that while Europe's commitment came later than anticipated, the demand from U.S. Super Scooper operations has more than offset the delay.

INDUSTRY GLOSSARY

  • Super Scooper (CL-415/CL-415EAF): Specialized amphibious aircraft designed for aerial firefighting that can scoop water from lakes or reservoirs to drop on fires.
  • Ignis: The proprietary wildfire intelligence and data software platform of the company.
  • Multi-Mission Aircraft (MMA): Aircraft configured to perform various roles, including infrared mapping, fire surveillance, and communications relay.
  • WAMI (Wide Area Motion Imagery): Advanced sensor technology providing high-resolution, real-time video over a broad geographic area.
  • EO/IR (Electro-Optical/Infrared): Imaging systems that provide both visual and heat-signature data for detecting fire perimeters.
  • Preparedness Level 5: The highest level of wildfire activity in the U.S., indicating that national firefighting resources are fully committed.
  • Mobile Repair Unit (MRU): Diesel-powered ground stations that follow the aircraft fleet to provide on-site maintenance and repairs during overnight periods.

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Greetings, and welcome to the Bridger Aerospace Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Anne Hayes, CFO. You may begin.

Anne Hayes: Thank you, and welcome, everyone to our second quarter 2026 earnings call. Joining me today is our President and Chief Executive Officer, Sam Davis. Before we begin, I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that during the course of this call, management may make forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements as described in our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings we make with the SEC from time to time. Except to the extent otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements.

In addition, we may discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures such as Adjusted EBITDA. Please refer to our earnings release for the calculation of these measures and the appropriate GAAP reconciliation. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Sam.

Sam Davis: Thank you, Anne, and welcome, everyone. As we entered 2026, our focus was on ensuring our fleet, our technology, and our people were fully prepared for what we believe would be another active wildfire year. Today, just a few months later, we're seeing that preparation translate into execution, and I'm incredibly proud of the long hours and diligence the Bridger team has shown throughout the year so far. Our second quarter financial results were in line with our expectations. Revenue was $30.5 million, essentially flat compared to, the prior year period, reflecting the timing of non-recurring return-to-service work on our Spanish Scoopers in 2025.

Excluding that impact, revenue increased year over year, which Anne will walk through in more detail shortly. First, I'd like to start with an update on some of the highlights from the second quarter. During the quarter, the U.S. Forest Service awarded us two 160-day task orders covering four of our Super Scoopers, the longest guaranteed task orders in Bridger's history. These orders will activate on a staggered basis into October and November, reflecting the agency's anticipated need for wildfire suppression well into the fourth quarter.

Longer contract durations like these improve our fleet utilization, give us greater operational visibility and allow us to better plan maintenance and staffing, and we believe they reflect a broader shift toward year-round wildfire preparedness among our government partners. We also deployed our most advanced platform, the King Air 350, under a Department of the Interior task order. This aircraft incorporates dual sensor capability and real-time data dissemination into a software. As wildfire response becomes increasingly intelligence-driven, we believe these aircraft are becoming force multipliers, providing incident commanders with real-time situational awareness that improves proactive decision-making throughout an incident.

Shortly after quarter end, we announced a $58 million contract with the Texas A&M Forest Service to acquire, modify and deliver three King Air 360 multi-mission aircraft over the next three years. Texas is building one of the nation's most advanced state wildfire aviation programs, and we are proud to have been selected to help design and deliver that capability. This contract is a notable example of how our opportunity extends beyond simply operating aircraft into engineering, modification, and integrated intelligence work. And we believe it represents an attractive new avenue of non-seasonal long-term growth. Also, following the quarter, we announced a collaboration with Avincis, Europe's leading provider of emergency aerial services, deploying our two newest Super Scoopers in Portugal.

We are glad to support one of Europe's most demanding fire seasons in recent history. Commitments there came somewhat later than expected, but consistent with Europe's more cautious approach to long-term contracts with private operators. This has been more than offset, however, by the demand we're seeing here with our U.S.-based Super Scoopers. Now let's turn to look at the fire conditions. Fire conditions today accelerated throughout the quarter with above normal activity across multiple regions of the West. As of early August, more than 5.5 million acres have burned across the U.S., while Europe is experiencing one of its most severe wildfire seasons in years.

We are currently at Preparedness Level 5, the highest level on a national scale, meaning firefighting resources nationally are fully committed. We've even seen international crews mobilized to support U.S. efforts, including more than 60 firefighters from Australia and New Zealand in recent weeks. Current drought conditions and long-range forecasts suggest this activity will continue, and we expect demand for our services to remain strong through the remainder of the season. Now let me provide a quick update on Ignis. Technology continues to be an important differentiator for Bridger. During the quarter, we expanded Ignis through a strategic partnership with TracPlus, integrating real-time aircraft tracking, mission information, and aerial suppression intelligence into a unified operating picture.

Over time, we believe software and data will become an increasingly valuable complement to our aviation assets. These developments reinforce our conviction that Bridger has an evolving integration into a solution that combines aerial suppression, airborne intelligence, engineering and expertise, and software, not simply an aerial operator. And we believe this diversification can help smooth our revenue and earnings visibility over the long term. This provides a competitive edge to our aviation contracts, increases our utilization while we're deployed, and opens the door for standalone use of our software in the field. While the second quarter reflects the seasonal ramp-up of our business, the underlying fundamentals remain strong.

With demand continuing to build and our fleet fully engaged, we believe Bridger is well positioned and we remain focused on executing our mission with the utmost focus on safety and efficiency. I want to thank our employees for their continued dedication and vigilance in the field and our government partners and shareholders for their continued trust and support. With that, I'll turn the call back over to Anne to review our financial results in more detail.

Anne Hayes: Thanks, Sam. Bridger continues to execute against significant growth opportunity. And as the business scales, we're focused on ensuring we have the financial infrastructure, processes and discipline to support that growth over the long term. As mentioned last quarter, I am focused on continuing to build and strengthen the finance function at the company and to support anticipated growth, especially as we ramp up for new programs with new fleets. With that, let me walk through our second quarter results. Looking at our results for the second quarter of 2026, revenue was $30.5 million compared to $30.8 million in the second quarter of 2025.

While revenue was generally consistent with the prior year period, it's important to note that the prior year quarter benefited from $5.1 million of non-recurring return-to-service work on the Spanish Super Scoopers, which was mostly non-contributing to margins, compared to $0.8 million in the current quarter, a delta of $4.3 million. Excluding this non-recurring activity, revenue increased 16% year over year, primarily reflecting increased Super Scooper flight hours during the quarter and continued demand for our aerial firefighting services. Cost of revenues was $19.2 million compared to $18.7 million for the second quarter of 2025. When excluding the return-to-service work on the Spanish Scoopers, cost of revenues increased 32%.

The increase primarily reflects the operating costs required to support increased fleet utilization during the quarter. It also captures fleet expansion, including sensor modifications to our two new King Air 350 aircraft and fleet readiness as we entered peak fire season towards the end of June. As a reminder, and given the continued volatility in fuel prices, I'd like to briefly touch on Bridger's exposure to fuel costs. Fuel expense is largely a pass-through cost across our portfolio. Under all of our Super Scooper fire suppression contracts, fuel is fully reimbursed by the customer while on contract.

Across the majority of our light fixed-wing contracts, we either benefit from economic price adjustment mechanisms or fuel is similarly treated as a pass-through expense. As a result, fluctuations in fuel prices generally have limited impact to on-contract flying. Where we do see an impact is across support areas like airfare and other workforce travel and costs for our MRU or mobile repair unit diesel trucks that follow our fleet and act as on-the-ground repair stations when aircraft are not operating at night. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $5.3 million compared to $6.5 million in the prior year period.

The year-over-year decline was primarily driven by lower non-cash expenses, including changes in the fair value of warrants, stock-based compensation, and contingent consideration. Interest expense for the second quarter was $6.6 million compared to $5.7 million in the prior year period, reflecting an additional $25 million drawn for fleet expansion and $10 million in short-term borrowings on the credit facility revolver during heavy maintenance periods in Q1. For the second quarter of 2026, we reported a net loss of $0.5 million compared to net income of $0.3 million in the prior year period. As a reminder, our reported earnings per share include the impact of the adjustment to the redemption value of our Series A preferred stock.

Loss attributable to common stockholders was $7.6 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, compared to a loss of $6.3 million in the prior year period, or $0.12 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA was $8.1 million compared to $10.8 million in the second quarter of 2025. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income is included in Exhibit A of the earnings release we issued today. Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the second quarter with $7.2 million of cash and cash equivalents compared to $31.4 million at year-end 2025.

The decrease primarily reflects seasonal working capital usage, including the timing of customer receipts, strategic investment in aircraft production slots, continued investment in modernizing our fleet with sensor and other technology capabilities, capital expenditures and continued investment in fleet readiness to support peak fire season operations. As expected, the second quarter represents a period of elevated working capital investment, as aircraft are deployed and operations ramp up during the peak fire season. We continue to expect cash generation to improve as the fire season progresses and receivables convert to cash.

We also continue to maintain significant financial flexibility through our credit facility, including a delayed draw feature of up to $100 million, which is designed to support future fleet expansion and capitalize on growing demand for our services. As of June 30th, we had approximately $75 million of remaining availability under the facility. Turning to our outlook, we are reiterating our full year 2026 guidance of $135 million to $145 million in revenue and $55 million to $60 million in Adjusted EBITDA. This represents continued strong growth, including 29% growth in revenue when excluding non-recurring return-to-service work recognized in 2025 on the two Spanish Super Scoopers.

As Sam mentioned, our 2 Spanish Super Scoopers are flying a shorter-than-planned summer fire season in Europe, after which we intend to reposition these aircraft to the U.S. for higher value opportunities. The third and fourth Spanish Scoopers are still undergoing return-to-service work. We continue to expect improved operating cash flow generation over the course of the year, driven by increased fleet utilization and higher levels of fire activity during the peak season. As we expand our multi-mission fleet mid-year, we expect the sensor-enabled Air Attack Program to contribute to growth in 2026 and support attractive margin expansion in our fleet over time. With that, operator, we are now ready for questions.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our first question is from Austin Moeller with Canaccord. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Austin Moeller: Hi, good afternoon. You have the lease agreement in place for two Scoopers with Portugal. Can you just talk about where we're at with European negotiations, just considering the catastrophic wildfire season there? And could those planes be moved to the U.S. in October if there's not further progress?

Sam Davis: Hey, Austin, good to hear from you. Great question. Yes, I'll just be candid. The late pickup of those aircraft on contract is just an indication of the hesitancy for Europe to turn to private operators until things are developing like we see overseas right now. That is heavily influencing our decision, given the demand we see in our U.S. fleet, for what happens to those aircraft as they finish their work there in Portugal. We did partner with Avincis to lease those to Avincis as they operate them, so that was a great outcome for us, just later than anticipated. And we do think there will be continued talks with European countries based on the year they're having.

And we think the success they'll see with having these two Scoopers in Portugal. But for Bridger's internal purposes, we're planning on a move to the U.S. without that commitment with the economics and demand we see here.

Austin Moeller: Okay. And if we think about next year and the overall fleet, is the goal to lock up as many of your scoopers and MMAs as possible into a 120-day or longer task order?

Sam Davis: Absolutely. That's been a deep part of our strategy and we've chipped away at that methodically year after year. This year we look at 8 of our 9 surveillance aircraft on multi-year guaranteed commitments. We have 4 of our 6 here in the U.S. on guaranteed 160 days. And that's been a long and drawn out process of improving that. So, we continue to capitalize on that. And I will say, given the demand we see, the extensions into Q3 and Q4 with the Forest Service, the Department of the Interior, we now consider this to be the norm and something we can continue to move the baseline for the entire fleet.

We also see that the more those days are guaranteed, the higher flight hours we see across the fleet, because once we're committed and pre-positioned we're effective for flying in initial and direct attack, and so those 2 things seem to be symbiotic in our utilization.

Operator: Our next question comes from Jon Siegmann with Stifel. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Unknown Analyst: This is actually Sebastian Rivera on for Jon Siegmann today. Apologies if I may have missed this in the opening remarks, but can you maybe -- is there any portion of these recent contracts with Texas A&M, Avincis, the DOI King Air 350 baked into this 2026 revenue guide?

Sam Davis: Yes, I will say that for Avincis and for the King Air that we have at the Department of the Interior, we anticipated those and had those into our guidance. The Texas A&M, because that's a 3-year program that starts more towards the end of this year, it's going to be a slow ramp-up, but we don't think it will be impacting our guidance overall. So, that's why we're reiterating what we have. The Texas contract is a delivery of three aircraft starting in 2028, actually, to the customer. And so, over the next three years, we recognize milestones with most of those starting effectively in 2027, if that makes sense.

Unknown Analyst: And then, yes, on that Texas contract, can you maybe just walk through the accounting treatment there, given it's a little bit different nature contract..

Sam Davis: Yes. I'll turn that.

Unknown Analyst: [indiscernible] recognition.

Sam Davis: I'll turn that to Anne.

Anne Hayes: Yes, you're exactly right. So this will be a different, you know, a different business for us. It's modification. So it's more of cost-to-cost accounting. That's why in 2026, the majority of the work will not be done until 2027. We may, you know, we may place orders for the three King Airs from Textron, and we may receive some cash payments. But as far as recognizing revenue, we anticipate, you know, it's preliminary to say, but very little to be in this year. And if so, it may not be margin-generating revenue.

Operator: Thank you for your question. Our next question is from Mark Smith with Lake Street. Please go ahead. Your line is open.

Mark Smith: Hi, guys. I wanted to ask a little bit about the guidance here, kind of looking at what we've booked year to date in revenue versus reiterated guidance. Just walk us through kind of back-half ramp, you know, what's already contracted versus kind of dependent on fire activity and what gives you the confidence in holding the guidance range.

Sam Davis: Hey, Mark, good to hear from you. I'll take that, and then I'll let Anne add a little bit of flavor. So going into this year, last year I'll remind you that we had a below-average fire year in terms of overall activity. And we saw some unique fire activity, especially in Q1 with the Palisades fire that made our typical bell curve a little bit different than normal. And then activity kind of dropped off in terms of fires in September and October.

This year we saw a fairly normal ramp-up and we see the activity in Q3 now at an all-time high and continued outlooks into Q3 and the commitments that we have that are coupled with that from the Forest Service and the DOI going into Q4, which we've never had, is kind of the shift from a 1H, you know, to a 2H, you know, half of the year recognition of the bulk of our revenue. Even more so than maybe last year, but fairly typical with what we see in Q3 being the bulk of our revenue.

And then kind of the last comment I'll make there is there could be a few days here or there or the fleet flying 30 hours in a day, which we've been seeing across the Scooper fleet that could really move the needle a few million bucks, whether it's June 30th or July 1st, that we've kind of seen that take effect as things got ramped up. And maybe last comment there, we've also seen a little bit of a strategy with our agencies as they've committed later into Q3 and Q4 to making sure that our assets are set for the peak of the season.

So, as we got deployed, we noticed a little bit of a staggered deployment so that they had the last half of the year covered for fire activity.

Mark Smith: Okay. And then just as we think about revenue coming out of Europe with this new contract in Portugal, can you give us any more insight into maybe how much of an impact that this makes and maybe how much was maybe disappointing on a late start to that contract?

Anne Hayes: I can speak to it at a high level. I will tell you there's two components to this lease. We are leasing not by months but also by hours. And as we've seen even the headlines from Europe hitting over here that they are having a very active fire season. So, there is a variability to that contract as well. So, I can't say for sure how much we will make up. I can say that we did miss in Q2, in our internal estimates, just when we thought Europe would pick up.

Kind of what Sam has said, though, between the U.S. flying more than, you know, a fire season like last year, as well as Europe, you know, potentially flying these harder than we are anticipating now, there is room to, you know, make up all of that gap that we have and then some.

Mark Smith: Okay. And then I did just want to confirm, it sounds like the plan is still to roll these two planes into the U.S. after the season's done?

Sam Davis: Yes, that's currently the plan, Mark. Obviously, we have to see what materializes overseas, especially what we hope is the commitment is now there for, unfortunately, the terrible headlines we see on the activity, but I will tell you with the economics and the utilization demand here in the U.S., until that commitment materializes in a like-for-like comparison, the plan is to finish out the fire season and begin to move those over to the U.S.

Operator: Thank you for your question. At this time, there are no further questions. I will now turn the call back to Sam Davis for closing comments.

Sam Davis: Thank you again for joining us today and your interest in Bridger. Please reach out to our Investor Relations team with any questions, and we'll be participating in a fireside chat at the Canaccord Growth Conference in Boston next week for any interested investors. Have a great day.

Operator: Thank you. This brings us to the end of today's meeting. We appreciate your time and participation. You may now disconnect.