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Cooper-Standard Holding reported first-quarter 2026 sales of $686.4 million, up 2.9% year over year, while gross margin improved to 12.0% despite production headwinds and inflation. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $51 million, largely reflecting a year-over-year comparison that included about $10 million in royalty payments that did not recur.
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John Banas said first-quarter sales increased to $686.4 million from $666.2 million in the first quarter of 2025. The growth was driven primarily by favorable foreign exchange, partially offset by unfavorable volume and mix net of customer recoveries.
Gross margin rose 40 basis points from the prior-year period to 12.0% of sales. Banas said the improvement came despite production volume headwinds on certain key platforms in North America.
Adjusted EBITDA was $51 million, down from $58.7 million a year earlier. Banas said the decline was mainly due to the non-recurrence of about $10 million in royalty payments received in the first quarter of 2025. Excluding that comparison, he said adjusted EBITDA and margin would have improved versus the prior year.
On a GAAP basis, Cooper-Standard reported a net loss of $33.3 million, compared with net income of $1.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. Adjusted net loss was $5.2 million, or $0.29 per share, versus adjusted net income of $3.5 million, or $0.19 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Capital expenditures totaled $24 million, or 3.5% of sales, slightly above the prior-year period due to increased launch-related investments. Banas said the company continues to manage capital spending with a focus on returns on invested capital.
Management said the company delivered $17 million in savings from lean initiatives and other cost-saving programs during the quarter. Banas added that Cooper-Standard also realized $2 million in incremental savings from prior restructuring actions and $1 million of lower selling, general and administrative costs compared with the prior year.
Those benefits were offset by $7 million of unfavorable volume and mix, including customer price adjustments and short-term production disruptions; $7 million of higher wages and general inflation; $2 million of unfavorable foreign exchange; and $12 million of other unfavorable items, mainly the non-recurrence of the royalty payments received in the first quarter of 2025.
During the call, Banas said the company is fairly well protected against higher input costs, including oil and aluminum, through contractual indexes and customer negotiations. He said more than 70% of the company’s exposure is covered, though there can be a lag between cost increases and recoveries. He also noted that oil-price timing limited the impact of inflationary pressures in Q1, with expectations that the headwind would appear in Q2 and recoveries would follow the usual sequential cadence.
Cooper-Standard ended the quarter with about $118 million in cash. Banas said the cash balance reflected typical seasonal working capital changes expected to unwind over the next couple of quarters, as well as $24 million of out-of-period accrued interest paid in connection with refinancing activity.
Including $167 million of availability on its unused asset-based lending facility, total liquidity was about $286 million as of March 31, 2026.
Banas said the refinancing completed on March 4 lowered the company’s overall interest rate and is expected to reduce annual cash interest by about $6 million. He also said the transaction improved financial flexibility and extended the maturity on newly issued notes to 2031.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Edwards said Cooper-Standard received $128 million in net new business awards during the first quarter, ahead of plan and supporting the company’s full-year goal of more than $400 million in net new awards.
Edwards said approximately 60% of the first-quarter awards were in Fluid Handling and 40% were in Sealing. He added that about 50% of the awards were in North America, with a large percentage also based in China.
Edwards said Fluid Handling is expected to benefit from growth in hybrid vehicle programs, noting that hybrid products can produce more than double the content per vehicle compared with traditional internal combustion engine programs in that business. He said as hybrid products continue to be introduced, the content per vehicle for Fluid is expected to rise.
The company reiterated its longer-term target to double its Fluid Handling business within the next five to seven years, citing recent wins and target business opportunities as support for the goal.
Edwards said the company began 2026 with operational performance consistent with 2025, including 99% green customer scorecards for quality and service and 97% green scorecards for new program launches. He also highlighted safety performance, saying Cooper-Standard recorded a total incident rate of 0.18 reportable incidents per 200,000 hours worked during the quarter, below a world-class benchmark of 0.35.
Edwards said management believes Cooper-Standard is on track to achieve or exceed the full-year targets outlined in February, with a more formal guidance update expected alongside second-quarter results.
He said the company increased gross profit margins by 160 basis points over the past two years despite reduced or flat production volumes in its two largest operating regions. Management attributed the improvement to cost efficiencies, fixed-cost reductions and the launch of new programs with higher variable contribution margins.
Management also pointed to sustainability-related initiatives, including Cooper-Standard’s FlexiCore thermoplastic body seal technology, recognized in the 2026 Environment+Energy Leaders Awards. Edwards said the technology replaces a traditional metal carrier with a patented thermoplastic carrier, creating a lightweight, recyclable seal.
Looking ahead, Edwards said the company continues to face industry disruption and macroeconomic uncertainty, but suggested that some recent headwinds could become tailwinds in the second half of the year if geopolitical conditions improve.
Cooper-Standard Holding Inc is a global supplier of sealing, fuel and brake delivery, and fluid transfer systems for the automotive industry. The company designs and manufactures engineered rubber, plastic and metal products, including sealing systems for doors, windows and powertrain assemblies, fuel and brake hoses and lines, and fluid transfer components such as coolant, refrigerant and washer fluid systems.
Founded in 1922 and headquartered in Novi, Michigan, Cooper-Standard operates manufacturing facilities and technical centers across North America, Europe, South America and Asia.
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