COMPX INTERNATIONAL INC (CIX)

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Business Overview

We are a leading manufacturer of engineered components utilized in a variety of applications and industries. Through our Security Products segment we manufacture mechanical and electrical cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms used in postal, recreational transportation, office and institutional furniture, cabinetry, tool storage and healthcare applications. We also manufacture wake enhancement systems, stainless steel exhaust systems, custom metal fabricated parts, gauges, throttle controls, trim tabs and related hardware and accessories for the recreational marine and other industries through our Marine Components segment.

General

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Statements in this Quarterly Report that are not historical facts are forward-looking in nature and represent management’s beliefs and assumptions based on currently available information. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “believes,” “intends,” “may,” “should,” “could,” “anticipates,” “expects” or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategies or trends. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know if these expectations will be correct. Such statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could significantly impact expected results. Actual future results could differ materially from those predicted. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from those described herein are the risks and uncertainties discussed in this Quarterly Report and those described from time to time in our other filings with the SEC and include, but are not limited to, the following:

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Should one or more of these risks materialize (or the consequences of such development worsen), or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from those currently forecasted or expected. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement whether as a result of changes in information, future events or otherwise.

Operating Income Overview

Operating income in the second quarter of 2026 was $8.9 million compared to $6.3 million in the same period of 2025. Operating income for the first six months of 2026 was $16.0 million compared to $12.2 million for the comparable prior year period. Our operating income increased in the second quarter and for the first six months of 2026 due to higher sales and gross margins, predominantly at the Security Products segment and, to a lesser extent, at the Marine Components segment.

We sell a large number of products that have a wide variation in selling price and manufacturing cost, which results in certain practical limitations on our ability to quantify the impact of changes in individual product sales quantities and selling prices on our net sales, cost of sales and gross margin. In addition, small variations in period-to-period net sales, cost of sales and gross margin can result from changes in the relative mix of our products sold.

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Results of Operations

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Net sales. Net sales increased $3.2 million and $3.5 million in the second quarter and for the first six months of 2026, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2025 due to higher Security Products sales across a variety of markets and higher Marine Components sales to the industrial market. See segment discussion below.

Cost of sales and gross margin. Cost of sales as a percentage of net sales improved by 3.7% and 3.1% in the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2025. As a result, gross margin as a percentage of sales increased over the same periods. The improvement in gross margin percentage for the second quarter and first six months of 2026 was primarily due to a higher gross margin percentage at Security Products. In addition, improved gross margin performance at Marine Components contributed favorably to the increase in the second-quarter comparative period. See segment discussion below.

Operating costs and expenses. Operating costs and expenses consist primarily of sales and administrative-related personnel costs, sales commissions and advertising expenses directly related to product sales, administrative costs relating to business unit and corporate management activities, and gains and losses on property and equipment. Operating costs and expenses for the second quarter and first six months of 2026 were comparable to the same periods in 2025. Operating costs and expenses as a percentage of net sales decreased in the second quarter and first six months of 2026 due to higher coverage of operating costs and expenses as a result of higher sales.

Operating income. As a percentage of net sales, operating income for the second quarter and the first six months of 2026 increased compared to the same period of 2025 and was primarily impacted by the factors impacting sales, cost of sales, gross margin and operating costs and expenses. See segment discussion below.

Interest income. Interest income decreased $.2 million and $.4 million in the second quarter and first six months of 2026, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2025 primarily due to lower average interest rates and decreased cash balances.

Provision for income taxes. A tabular reconciliation of our actual tax provision to the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate is included in Note 6 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Our operations are wholly within the U.S. and therefore our effective income tax rate is primarily reflective of the U.S. federal statutory rate and applicable state taxes.

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Segment Results

Key performance indicators for our segments are gross margin and operating income.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Business Overview

We are a leading manufacturer of engineered components utilized in a variety of applications and industries. Through our Security Products segment we manufacture mechanical and electrical cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms used in postal, recreational transportation, office and institutional furniture, cabinetry, tool storage, healthcare applications and a variety of other industries. We also manufacture wake enhancement systems, stainless steel exhaust systems, gauges, throttle controls, trim tabs and related hardware and accessories for the recreational marine and other industries through our Marine Components segment.

Operating Income Overview

We reported operating income of $22.6 million in 2025 compared to $17.0 million in 2024 and $25.4 million in 2023. The increase in operating income in 2025 compared to 2024 was driven by higher sales and improved gross margin at each of the Security Products and Marine Components segments. In contrast, the decline in operating income in 2024 compared to 2023 resulted from lower sales and reduced gross margin across both segments. See results of operations discussion below.

Our product offerings consist of a large number of products that have a wide variation in selling price and manufacturing cost, which results in certain practical limitations on our ability to quantify the impact of changes in individual product sales quantities and selling prices on our net sales, cost of sales and gross margin. In addition, small variations in period-to-period net sales, cost of sales and gross margin can result from changes in the relative mix of our products sold.

Results of Operations - 2025 Compared to 2024 and 2024 Compared to 2023

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Net Sales. Net sales increased $12.4 million in 2025 compared to 2024 primarily due to higher Security Products sales to the government security market and higher Marine Components sales to various markets including the towboat, government and industrial markets. See segment results discussion below.

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Net sales decreased $15.4 million in 2024 compared to 2023 primarily due to lower Marine Components sales to the towboat market and lower Security Products sales to the government security market as a result of sales related to a pilot project that shipped in the third and fourth quarters of 2023 and for which there were no related sales in 2024. See segment results discussion below.

Cost of Sales and Gross Margin. Cost of sales increased in 2025 compared to 2024 primarily due to the effects of higher sales at both Security Products and Marine Components as well as increased production costs across both business segments. However, cost of sales as a percentage of net sales declined over the same period driven by a more favorable customer and product mix, particularly within Security Products, and increased coverage of fixed costs due to higher sales across both segments. As a result, gross margin as a percentage of net sales increased in 2025 compared to 2024. See segment results discussion below.

Cost of sales decreased in 2024 compared to 2023 primarily due to the effects of lower sales at both Security Products and Marine Components partially offset by higher production costs across both business segments. As a result, cost of sales as a percentage of net sales increased over the same period. Gross margin as a percentage of net sales decreased in 2024 compared to 2023 primarily due to the factors affecting cost of sales and decreased coverage of fixed costs due to lower sales. See segment results discussion below.

Operating Costs and Expenses. Operating costs and expenses consist primarily of sales and administrative-related personnel costs, sales commissions and advertising expenses directly related to product sales and administrative costs relating to business unit and corporate management activities, as well as gains and losses on sales of property and equipment. Operating costs and expenses increased $1.3 million in 2025 compared to 2024 predominantly due to higher employee-related costs including salaries, benefits, and medical expenses at both segments. As a percentage of net sales, operating costs and expenses decreased in 2025 compared to 2024 primarily due to higher coverage of operating cost and expenses as a result of higher sales, partially offset by the increased employee-related costs discussed above. See segment results discussion below.

Operating costs and expenses increased $.5 million in 2024 compared to 2023 predominantly due to higher employee salary and benefit costs at Security Products. As a percentage of net sales, operating costs and expenses increased in 2024 compared to 2023 primarily due to increased operating costs and expenses and decreased coverage of operating cost and expenses due to lower sales. See segment results discussion below.

Operating Income. As a percentage of net sales, operating income increased in 2025 compared to 2024 and decreased in 2024 compared to 2023. Operating income margins were primarily impacted by the factors affecting net sales, cost of sales, gross margin and operating costs discussed above. See segment results discussion below.

General. Our profitability primarily depends on our ability to utilize our production capacity effectively, which is affected by, among other things, the demand for our products and our ability to control our manufacturing costs, primarily comprised of labor costs and materials. The materials used in our products consist of purchased components and raw materials some of which are subject to fluctuations in the commodity markets such as zinc, brass, aluminum and stainless steel. Total material costs represented approximately 43% of our cost of sales in 2025, with commodity-related raw materials representing approximately 14% of our cost of sales. During 2025, we experienced increases in the cost of certain raw materials. Throughout the year, market prices for brass and aluminum experienced a general upward trend. Stainless steel prices were relatively stable in the first part of 2025 but began increasing during the latter half of the year. Zinc pricing was relatively stable in 2025, and we were able to mitigate increases through strategic spot buy purchases. In most cases, commodity raw materials we purchase include processing and conversion costs, such as alloying, extrusion and rolling, which remain elevated due to costs of labor, transportation and energy. Processing and conversion costs are not expected to decrease. Based on current economic conditions, we expect the prices for zinc, brass, aluminum, stainless steel and other manufacturing materials in 2026 to be more volatile compared to 2025. In addition to supply and demand, governmental actions such as tariffs may impact raw material markets.

We occasionally enter into short-term commodity-related raw material supply arrangements to mitigate the impact of future increases in commodity related raw material costs. See Item 1 - “Business- Raw Materials.”

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Interest Income. Interest income decreased in 2025 compared to 2024 primarily due to lower average interest rates and decreased average investment balances. Interest income increased in 2024 compared to 2023 primarily due to higher interest rates and higher average investment balances, somewhat offset by lower average loan balances on our loan to an affiliate. See Note 9 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Income tax expense. A tabular reconciliation of our actual tax provision to the U.S. federal statutory income tax rate of 21% is included in Note 7 to the Consolidated Financial Statements. As a member of the group of companies consolidated for U.S. federal income tax purposes with Contran, the parent of our consolidated U.S. federal income tax group, we compute our provision for income taxes on a separate company basis, using the tax elections made by Contran.

Our effective income tax rate was 24% in each of 2023 and 2024 and 25% in 2025. See Notes 7 and 10 to our Consolidated Financial Statements. We currently expect our effective income tax rate for 2026 to be comparable to our effective income tax rate for 2025.

Segment Results

The key performance indicator for our segments is operating income (see discussion below). For additional information regarding our segments refer to Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

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