Global Industrial Declares $1.00 Special Dividend As Sales Climb 10.2% To $389.5 Million
Tariff refunds added about $0.04 to third-quarter earnings per share of $0.64, which rose 33.3% from a year earlier.
Global Industrial, which distributes industrial equipment and maintenance supplies, said third-quarter sales rose 10.2% to $389.5 million and its board declared a $1.00-a-share special dividend on top of the regular payout. Tariff refunds padded the profit, adding about $0.04 to per-share earnings, the company said in an 8-K filed Tuesday.
Sales up, profit up faster
Third-quarter sales were $353.6 million a year earlier, and average daily sales grew 8.5%. The U.S. had 64 selling days in the quarter against 63 a year ago.
Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations climbed 33.3% to $0.64 from $0.48, on net income from continuing operations of $24.5 million versus $18.8 million. Operating income from continuing operations rose 24.3% to $32.7 million, and operating margin widened to 8.4% from 7.4%.
CEO Anesa Chaibi said the quarter was the fourth in a row of high-single-digit average daily sales growth, led by industrial and retail customers and "strong double-digit performance among our largest strategic accounts."
What the tariff refunds contributed
Gross margin edged up to 35.7% from 35.6%, and tariff refunds supplied about 60 basis points of it, or 0.6 percentage points. Refunds also added about $2.0 million to operating income.
Over the first nine months the effect was far larger: refunds lifted operating income by about $23.1 million, gross margin by about 200 basis points and per-share earnings by about $0.46. Nine-month earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.00, up 35.1% from $1.48.
A distributor with cash to spare
Global Industrial sells through branded e-commerce sites and account managers, offering products made by other manufacturers, including its own private brands such as Global, Nexel and Absocold. Customers are mainly businesses, schools and government bodies.
At September 30, it held $119.2 million in cash, up from $67.5 million at December 31, 2025, with working capital of $266.2 million. Operating cash flow from continuing operations was $44.5 million in the quarter.
Dividends and the evening call
The board declared a $0.28 regular dividend and the $1.00 special dividend, both payable November 23 to shareholders of record at the close of business November 16. Management hosts its earnings call at 5:00 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Over nine months, the company paid $32.3 million in dividends, before this quarter's $1.00 special payout.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL Co (GIC) — SEC EDGAR
- Exhibit ex_1008626.htm — GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL Co 8-K exhibit — SEC EDGAR
