Bridger Aerospace Group Holdings, Inc. Common Stock 2026 Q2 Earnings Call

You may begin. Thank you, 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.

Thank you, Anne, welcome everyone. As we entered 2026, our focus was on ensuring our fleet, our technology, and our people were fully prepared for what we believed 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. 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, 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, We believe it represents an attractive new avenue of non-seasonal, long-term growth. 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, 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. 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 five and a half 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 a preparedness level of 5, the highest level on a national scale, meaning firefighting resources nationally are fully committed.

We've even seen international crews mobilize 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, We expect demand for our services to remain strong through the remainder of the season. 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 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'd like 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.

Thanks, Sam. Bridger continues to execute against significant growth opportunity. 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 margin, 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 through on-contract flying.