Helen of Troy (NASDAQ: HELE) is the earnings print I sat with on 8 October 2026, starting from the filing the way I have since the impairment year. I did not have a position. Helen of Troy earnings hit the EDGAR index at 06:50:14 that morning, accession 0000916789-26-000137, for the quarter ended 31 August 2026. The call was set for 9:00 a.m. Eastern, before the Nasdaq open.
The morning's pages did not agree on the share reaction. Investing.com and ADVFN both put the premarket move at 8.30%. Rich Smith at The Motley Fool wrote that the stock jumped 25% early and that the gain was cut to 7.2% by 11 a.m. Eastern. The regular-session close was smaller. Yahoo Finance's full-day change was $1.00, or 3.914%, from $25.55 to $26.55. This piece uses that close. It does not average the headlines.
Key figures from the filing and the tape
- Regular-session close rose $1.00, or 3.914%, to $26.55 on 8 October 2026, from $25.55 on 7 October. Source: Yahoo Finance daily bars, pulled 9 October 2026.
- The 8 October bar opened at $31.33, hit $31.98, and traded down to $26.20. The high matches Yahoo's 52-week high field. Source: Yahoo Finance daily bar, same pull.
- GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.19. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.79. Net sales were $440.9 million, up 2.1%. Source: Helen of Troy Exhibit 99.1, filed 8 October 2026.
- Gross margin was 52.2%, up 800 basis points. About 560 of those points were tariff refunds net of higher tariff costs. Source: Exhibit 99.1, 8 October 2026.
- Gross pre-tax tariff refunds were $26.9 million. About $23 million was reinvested, for a net pre-tax benefit of about $4.0 million and about $0.12 of diluted EPS. Source: Exhibit 99.1, 8 October 2026.
- Home and Outdoor sales were $227.9 million, up 9.2%. Beauty and Wellness sales were $213.0 million, down 4.5%. Source: Exhibit 99.1, 8 October 2026.
- Fiscal 2027 adjusted diluted EPS guidance was raised to $3.60 to $4.15, from $3.25 to $3.75. Net sales were narrowed to $1.768 billion to $1.822 billion. Source: Exhibit 99.1, 8 October 2026.
One session, four clocks
The headline number is the Nasdaq regular session, close to close. On the Yahoo Finance daily series pulled 9 October 2026, HELE closed at $25.55 on 7 October and $26.55 on 8 October. Yahoo's full-day fields print $1.00 and 3.914%. Rounded, that is a 3.9% rise.
The open was a different event from the close.
The bar opened at $31.33, 22.6% above the prior close. The high was $31.98, 25.2% above $25.55, and it matches Yahoo's 52-week high. The low was $26.20. From the open the stock fell 15.3%, giving back $4.78. The close finished $5.43 under the high.
Same pull, two fields that do not match the bar. The day-high field printed $31.94, not $31.98. Volume printed 2,028,014 shares on the quote and 2,028,200 on the bar. This article uses the bar, because that series is the close-to-close comparison. The prior session traded 622,000 shares. The prior 20 sessions averaged 442,625. Earnings day was about 4.6 times that average.
The line shows closing prices only, from 9 October 2025 to 8 October 2026, with no projected level, so $31.98 is not on the line. The highest close is 14 August at $30.22. The earnings close is 12.1% under that. The low close is 27 March at $13.88, beside the $13.85 low. From the 31 December 2025 close of $21.25 the stock is up 24.9%.
| Reading | Figure | Window | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prior close | $25.55 | 7 October regular session | Yahoo daily bar, pulled 9 October 2026 |
| Open | $31.33 | 22.6% above the prior close | Same bar |
| High | $31.98 | 25.2% above the prior close | Same bar, matches the 52-week high field |
| Close | $26.55 | Up $1.00, or 3.914% | Yahoo full-day change |
| Premarket | up 8.30% | Before the open | Investing.com and ADVFN, 8 October 2026 |
| Early trade | up 25%, then 7.2% at 11 a.m. Eastern | Intraday | The Motley Fool, 8 October 2026 |
Rachael Rajan, writing for Investing.com, reported that the shares "surged 8.30% in pre-market trading." Fiona Craig at ADVFN, in a note time-stamped 8:22 a.m., used the same 8.30%. Rich Smith, contributing analyst at The Motley Fool, wrote that the stock "jumped 25% in early trading Thursday" and that "Helen's gain was cut to 7.2% as of 11 a.m. ET."
On 9 October the Fool price module showed $26.55, up 3.91%, beside the 25% sentence. That 25% is the high. A round 20% figure was not on the pages opened here.
A range from $26.20 to $31.98 will not fit in one percentage. How a 30-day volatility reading is built is a separate question, not a live level. A fiscal-quarter beat the share price did not keep is an earlier note on a different company. The borrow is the method. The verified close writes the headline.
Helen of Troy earnings, read off the filing
The release is datelined El Paso, Texas, 8 October 2026. The EDGAR index lists 201 East Main Street, El Paso, and a Hamilton, Bermuda business address. CIK 0000916789 filed items 2.02 and 9.01 for fiscal 2027's second quarter.
Net sales rose 2.1%, or $9.1 million, to $440.9 million.
GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.19, against a loss of $13.44. Net income was $4.6 million, against a loss of $308.6 million. Operating income was $22.9 million, a 5.2% margin, against a loss of $315.7 million that included $326.4 million of impairment.
Our second quarter results reflect continued progress against our multi-year roadmap. Sales were in line, and Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS were better than expected, without including the net tariff refund benefit in the quarter. Sales growth was broad-based across Home & Outdoor, Wellness, and International, with improving fundamentals across the balance of the portfolio.
G. Scott Uzzell, chief executive, in Exhibit 99.1. "Wellness" is his word. The tables say Beauty and Wellness.
While there is still meaningful work ahead, we are encouraged by the progress we are making to build a Better Helen of Troy on the road to becoming a Bigger Helen of Troy. We plan to continue making targeted investments in our brands, capabilities, and organization, including reinvesting the vast majority of tariff refunds, while allowing a portion to support near-term earnings and liquidity.
Same release, the next paragraph. No other officer is quoted in the exhibit, so lines that are not in the filing are left out.
Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.79, up from $0.59, on adjusted income of $19.0 million. From GAAP EPS of $0.19 the bridge adds litigation costs of $0.17, restructuring of $0.11, amortization of $0.12, and share-based pay of $0.20, all net of tax. Diluted shares were 24.153 million, up from 22.959 million.
The litigation add-back is new. Note 5 ties $4.0 million to the June 2021 sale of the personal-care business to HRB Brands LLC, which the company says contested an indemnification tender. Adjusted operating income, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted income now exclude it. Last year's $0.59 adjusted EPS did not.
Investing.com said the company beat a $0.51 consensus by $0.28, and put revenue at $443.22 million. Smith used $0.51 and about $443.2 million of sales. That $0.28 reaches adjusted EPS of $0.79, not GAAP EPS of $0.19. Sales sit about $2.3 million under $443.22 million. The consensus figures are what those pages printed. A broker model was not re-pulled.
The release puts the quarter's net tariff benefit at about $0.12 of diluted EPS. Subtracting that from $0.79 leaves about $0.67. The subtraction is mine, not a line in the reconciliation, and $0.67 is still above $0.51. Uzzell said the adjusted result was ahead of expectations even without that benefit. The refund sits inside the quarter.
Home and Outdoor carried the sales
Home and Outdoor sales rose $19.2 million, or 9.2%, to $227.9 million. Organic growth was 9.3%. The company cites packs, international sales, distribution, closeouts and new products, across the segment's brands. It does not split dollars for Osprey, OXO or Hydro Flask, so this piece does not either.
Segment operating income was $24.1 million, a 10.6% margin, against a year-ago loss of $72.6 million that included $85.5 million of impairment. Adjusted operating income rose 39.2% to $28.0 million, a 12.3% margin.
Beauty and Wellness sales fell $10.1 million, or 4.5%, to $213.0 million. Organic sales fell 4.6%. Hair appliances, prestige hair care and water filtration declined. Heaters, thermometers and nail care grew. GAAP operating loss was $1.1 million, against $243.1 million a year earlier, of which $240.9 million was impairment. Adjusted operating income rose 45.7% to $10.0 million, a 4.7% margin. The margin rose. The sales did not.
Domestic sales, the United States and Canada, were $335.9 million, or 76.2% of the total, up about 1.6%. International sales were $105.1 million, up about 3.7%. That matches the direction in Uzzell's quote. It is not a mix shift.
OXO, Hydro Flask, Osprey, Vicks, Braun, Drybar and the rest of the named portfolio do not get their own sales lines in the release.
Tariff refunds, and what was spent
Gross margin rose to 52.2% from 44.2%. About 560 basis points of the 800-point gain are tariff refunds net of higher tariff costs, plus lower trade spend. Cost of goods sold fell to $210.8 million from $241.1 million.
Gross pre-tax refunds were $26.9 million in the quarter, about $23 million reinvested, net benefit about $4.0 million. For the year the company counts about $80.5 million of Phase 1, 2 and 3 refunds if September 2026 tariff rates hold. It plans to reinvest 83% to 88%, leaving $10 million to $14 million pre-tax, and about $0.30 to $0.45 of adjusted EPS.
SG&A rose to $204.7 million, 46.4% of sales, from $177.0 million, or 41.0%, on personnel, packaging, the new litigation and marketing. Adjusted operating margin still rose to 8.6% from 6.2%, and adjusted EBITDA was $49.4 million against $36.2 million.
Interest expense fell to $10.9 million from $14.2 million on lower borrowings and a lower rate, including swaps. Balance-sheet debt is still $672.6 million, against $893.2 million. What a Treasury yield does to asset prices is a different mechanism from this credit agreement. The link is the mechanism, not a read-through.
Tax expense was $9.2 million on $13.8 million of pre-tax income, against a $21.0 million benefit a year earlier. This was not a low-tax GAAP quarter.
Cash, debt, and a guide that split
Cash was $22.6 million, against $22.4 million. Inventory fell to $480.3 million from $528.9 million. Receivables were $327.8 million, and turnover improved to 67.6 days from 72.2. Assets were $2.10 billion and equity $853.8 million, both lower than a year ago. The impairment year shows up in the equity account.
The leverage ratio is not debt over equity. Credit-agreement borrowings were $676.5 million, unrestricted cash in that sum was $27.3 million, net debt was $649.3 million, and covenant EBITDA was $214.1 million. The table prints 3.03 times. Those are not the same figures as balance-sheet debt of $672.6 million and cash of $22.6 million. The aim is 2.7 times or lower by fiscal year-end, from 3.2 times. The company says it cannot reconcile that forward ratio to GAAP.
Operating cash flow was $57.1 million in the quarter, against a $10.5 million use a year earlier, and $56.5 million for six months. The half is below the quarter, so the first quarter added no operating cash. Free cash flow was $38.3 million, against $23.0 million, after $18.1 million of capital spending. Debt repayments were $109.0 million. Repurchases were $1.3 million.
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Six-month GAAP diluted EPS of $1.69, on sales of $843.0 million, includes a $54.9 million pre-tax gain on the Southaven distribution facility, sold 14 April 2026. Adjusted EPS for the half is $0.96 after removing $2.29 a share for that gain.
The guide narrows sales and raises profit. Net sales are $1.768 billion to $1.822 billion, against a prior range of $1.759 billion to $1.831 billion. Fiscal 2026 sales were $1.786 billion. Home and Outdoor was cut to $851 million to $876 million, from $859 million to $884 million. Beauty and Wellness moved to $917 million to $946 million, from $900 million to $947 million.
GAAP EPS is $3.63 to $4.26, from $3.57 to $4.18. Adjusted EPS is $3.60 to $4.15, from $3.25 to $3.75. The top rose $0.40. The tariff footnote puts $0.30 to $0.45 inside that range. Adjusted EBITDA is $203 million to $210 million.
Operating cash flow is guided at $163 million to $179 million, from $119 million to $130 million. Free cash flow is $120 million to $140 million, from $85 million to $100 million, with capital spending up to $39 million to $43 million.
Diluted shares are guided at 24.2 million, including 24.5 million in the second half, "primarily reflecting an increase in the Company's stock price." Half-year repurchases were $1.3 million.
What this changes
The change that matters is which clock you use. The 8.30% premarket print and the 25% early jump were descriptions of parts of 8 October. They were not the close. Helen of Troy opened at $31.33, tagged a 52-week high at $31.98, and finished at $26.55, up 3.9% on the completed session. That is the share fact. It is not a forecast, and there is no price target in this piece.
Earnings quality is the other change. Adjusted EPS of $0.79 cleared the $0.51 figure two wires used, even without about $0.12 of tariff benefit, on management's account. GAAP EPS was $0.19, after a new litigation exclusion and the usual add-backs. Gross margin rose 800 basis points, about 560 from refunds, while about $23 million was spent back. Home and Outdoor grew 9.2%. Beauty and Wellness fell 4.5%.
The guide split the same way. Sales were narrowed and the Home and Outdoor range was cut, while profit and free cash flow ranges rose. About $0.30 to $0.45 of the adjusted EPS band is the net tariff benefit. Leverage is 3.03 times, aiming at 2.7 times, with no GAAP reconciliation offered for that forward ratio.
A later filing that claws the refunds back, a quarter in which Beauty and Wellness stops shrinking, or a session that closes near its open would be a new set of facts. None of those is a line on the chart. Until one shows up, the verified reaction is a 3.9% rise, close to close, on a day the high did not last.
Questions the tape leaves open
How much did HELE rise on the earnings session?
The regular-session close on 8 October 2026 was $26.55, up $1.00, or 3.914%, from $25.55 the day before, on Yahoo Finance's daily bar pulled 9 October 2026. Premarket reports said 8.30%. One early-trading account said 25%, then 7.2% at 11 a.m. Eastern. Those windows are not the close this piece uses.
Did Helen of Troy earnings beat the published consensus?
Investing.com and The Motley Fool both printed a $0.51 consensus. Investing.com also printed $443.22 million of expected revenue. Adjusted diluted EPS were $0.79, which is $0.28 above $0.51. GAAP diluted EPS were $0.19. Net sales of $440.9 million were about $2.3 million under that revenue figure.
How large were the tariff refunds in the quarter?
Exhibit 99.1 puts gross pre-tax refunds at $26.9 million, with about $23 million reinvested. The net pre-tax benefit was about $4.0 million, or about $0.12 of diluted EPS. For the year the company estimates about $80.5 million of gross refunds and plans to reinvest 83% to 88% of them.
Which segment grew, and which did not?
Home and Outdoor sales rose 9.2% to $227.9 million. Beauty and Wellness sales fell 4.5% to $213.0 million. Both segments reported higher adjusted operating income than a year earlier. The company did not publish separate dollar sales for Hydro Flask, OXO or Osprey.
Did the company raise its sales forecast?
It narrowed sales and raised profit guidance. Fiscal 2027 net sales are $1.768 billion to $1.822 billion, versus $1.759 billion to $1.831 billion before. Adjusted diluted EPS moved to $3.60 to $4.15, from $3.25 to $3.75. The Home and Outdoor sales range was cut.
Does this piece set a price target?
No. The chart is a year of closes and has no projected level. The 3.9% figure is the 8 October close against the 7 October close. This is analysis of a finished session, not an instruction, and capital is at risk on any trade you place yourself.
This is analysis, not a recommendation. Capital is at risk. Figures come from Exhibit 99.1, filed 8 October 2026, and from the Yahoo Finance daily chart for HELE pulled 9 October 2026. Other outlets are cited only for descriptions they printed. Unchecked numbers were left out.