MSA Safety Inc (MSA)

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the historical financial statements and other financial information included elsewhere in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections about our industry, business and future financial results. Our actual results could differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to the effects of changes in U.S. trade policy and trade agreements, along with increased tariffs as well as those discussed in the sections of our annual report entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors,” and those discussed in our Form 10-Q quarterly reports filed after such annual report (such as in Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors.”)

BUSINESS OVERVIEW

MSA Safety Incorporated is the global leader in advanced industrial safety technology products and solutions. Driven by its singular mission of safety, the Company has been at the forefront of safety innovation since 1914, protecting workers and facility infrastructure around the world across a broad range of diverse end markets while creating sustainable value for shareholders. MSA Safety operates through its Accelerate strategy, leveraging the MSA Business System (MBS) to drive continuous improvement, profitable above-market growth, and balanced capital allocation within a high-performance culture.

The Company's comprehensive products and solutions, governed by rigorous safety standards across highly regulated industries, are used across a broad range of markets, including fire service, energy, utilities, construction, and industrial manufacturing, as well as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (“HVAC-R”). The Company's principal product categories are detection, fire service, and industrial personal protective equipment (“PPE”).

Detection includes fixed gas and flame detection (“FGFD”) systems and portable gas detection instruments; fire service includes self-contained breathing apparatus (“SCBA”), protective apparel and helmets; and industrial PPE includes industrial head protection and fall protection devices. In addition to its principal product categories, MSA continues to deploy and expand its MSA+™ ecosystem, a sophisticated Hardware-enabled Software-as-a-Service ("HeSaaS") model that provides a turnkey approach by integrating MSA’s hardware with cloud-based software and support services, while delivering recurring revenue.

A detailed listing of our significant product offerings in the aforementioned product groups above is included in MSA's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

We tailor our product and solution offerings and distribution strategy to satisfy distinct customer preferences that vary across geographic regions. To best serve these customer preferences, we have organized our business into four geographical operating segments that are aggregated into two reportable segments: Americas and International.

Americas. Our largest manufacturing and research and development facilities are located in the United States. We serve our markets across the Americas with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil. Operations in the other countries within the Americas segment focus primarily on sales and distribution in their respective home country markets.

International. Our International segment includes companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (“EMEA”) and the Asia Pacific region. In our largest International subsidiaries (in Germany, France, U.K., Ireland and China), we develop, manufacture and sell a wide variety of products. In China, the products manufactured are sold primarily in China as well as in regional markets. Operations in other International segment countries focus primarily on sales and distribution in their respective home country markets. Although some of these companies may perform limited production, most of their sales are of products manufactured in our plants in Germany, France, the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Mexico, Morocco and China or are purchased from third-party vendors.

Corporate. Corporate expenses not allocated to the reportable segments consist of general and administrative expenses incurred in our corporate headquarters, costs associated with corporate development initiatives, legal expense, interest expense, foreign exchange gains or losses and other centrally-managed costs. General and administrative costs and overhead comprise the majority of the corporate related expenses.

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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Three Months Ended June 30, 2026, Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2025

Net Sales. Net sales for the three months ended June 30, 2026, were $503.3 million, an increase of $29.2 million, or 6.2%, compared to $474.1 million in the same period of 2025. Please refer to the Net Sales table below for a reconciliation of the quarter over quarter sales change.

Net sales for the Americas segment were $341.4 million in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of $21.3 million, or 6.7%, compared to $320.1 million in the same period of 2025. Organic sales in the Americas segment increased 4.5% during the period, driven by double-digit growth in industrial PPE and high-single digit growth in detection partially offset by a decrease in fire service due to delayed Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) funding. M&C added $1.9 million of sales to the Americas segment during the period as compared to prior year.

Net sales for the International segment were $161.9 million in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of $7.9 million, or 5.1%, compared to $154.0 million in the same period of 2025. Organic sales in the International segment increased 0.3% during the period as double-digit growth in industrial PPE, primarily due to higher protective ballistic helmet sales in Europe, was mostly offset by a decline in detection largely driven by the conflict in the Middle East. Sales in fire service were consistent with prior year. M&C added $3.7 million of sales to the International segment during the period as compared to prior year.

The operating environment continues to be dynamic with continued macroeconomic, tariff and geopolitical uncertainty, particularly surrounding the conflict in the Middle East, and continued delays in 2025 AFG related fire service orders. We are maintaining our mid-single-digit organic sales growth outlook for full-year 2026. Strategic pricing actions in 2025 and 2026, along with moderate volume growth, support our outlook. Overall backlog remains healthy, supported by a double-digit year-over-year order increase in the quarter, and we have strong order momentum and second half demand pipeline, particularly in U.S. fire service. We are also projecting a mid-single-digit contribution from acquisitions.

Refer to Note 9—Segment Information to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in Part I Item 1 of this Form 10-Q, for information regarding sales by product group.

Gross profit. Gross profit for the second quarter of 2026 was $249.3 million, an increase of $28.6 million or 12.9%, compared to $220.7 million in the same period of 2025. The ratio of gross profit to net sales was 49.5% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to 46.6% in the same quarter last year. The increase in gross profit margin reflects the strength of our MSA business system including price realization, productivity, and value added engineering efforts as well as favorable transactional foreign currency, and tariff refunds partially offset by inflation.

Selling, general and administrative expenses. Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses were $114.1 million during the second quarter of 2026, an increase of $2.0 million or 1.8%, compared to $112.1 million in the same period of 2025. SG&A expenses were 22.7% of net sales during the second quarter of 2026 compared to 23.6% in the same quarter last year. SG&A for 2026 includes $2.0 million of additional expenses associated with M&C operations as compared to the prior year. SG&A also includes $1.7 million and $6.6 million of strategic transaction costs for the second quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively. Organic SG&A increased by approximately $3.4 million or 3.2%, driven primarily by higher variable compensation and inflation, partially offset by discretionary expense management.

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Please refer to the SG&A expenses table below for a reconciliation of the quarter over quarter expense change.

Research and development expense. Research and development expense was $19.2 million during the second quarter of 2026, an increase of $2.2 million, compared to $17.0 million in the same period of 2025. Research and development expense was 3.8% of net sales in the second quarter of 2026 and 3.6% in the second quarter of 2025.

During the second quarter of 2026 and 2025, we capitalized $3.7 million and $3.4 million of software development costs, respectively. Depreciation expense for capitalized software development costs of $3.3 million and $3.1 million for the second quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively, was recorded in Costs of products sold on the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.

The Company's commitment to innovation is supported by a research and development pipeline focused on integrating advanced technology into core safety equipment. Approximately half of MSA’s R&D engineers are now focused on software development to support the expansion of its connected ecosystems and HeSaaS models. As we continue to invest a significant portion of our new product development into technology-based safety solutions, we anticipate that the historical relationship of research and development expense to net sales will continue to evolve; however, we do not anticipate reductions in the relative level of total spend on research and development activities on an annual basis. Total spend on both software development and research and development activities was $22.9 million and $20.4 million during the second quarter of June 30, 2026, and 2025, respectively.

Restructuring charges. Restructuring charges were $2.2 million and $0.5 million during the second quarter of 2026 and 2025, respectively. Charges in both periods were primarily related

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the historical financial statements and other financial information included elsewhere in this annual report on Form 10-K. This discussion may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections about our industry, business and future financial results. Our actual results could differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including those discussed in the sections of this annual report entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.”

This section generally discusses the results of our operations for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. For a discussion on the year ended December 31, 2024, compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, please refer to Part II, Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2025.

MSA Safety Incorporated ("MSA") is organized into four geographical operating segments that are aggregated into two reportable segments: Americas and International. The Americas segment is comprised of our operations in North America and Latin America geographies. The International segment is comprised of our operations of all geographies outside of the Americas. Certain global expenses are allocated to each segment in a manner consistent with where the benefits from the expenses are derived. Please refer to Note 9—Segment Information of the consolidated financial statements in Part II Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.

On May 6, 2025, we acquired M&C TechGroup and its affiliated companies ("M&C") in a transaction valued at approximately $189 million, net of cash acquired. Headquartered in Ratingen, Germany, M&C provides a comprehensive range of gas analysis systems that detect, measure and monitor gases in critical environments. M&C’s product portfolio includes systems and solutions for gas sampling, gas conditioning, as well as advanced process control. Refer to Note 15—Acquisitions to the consolidated financial statements in Part II Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further information.

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BUSINESS OVERVIEW

MSA is the global leader in advanced safety products, technology and solutions. Driven by its singular mission of safety, the Company has been at the forefront of safety innovation since 1914, protecting workers and facility infrastructure around the world across a broad range of diverse end markets while creating sustainable value for shareholders.

We tailor our product and solution offerings and distribution strategy to satisfy distinct customer preferences that vary across geographic regions. To best serve these customer preferences, we have organized our business into four geographical operating segments that are aggregated into two reportable segments: Americas and International. In 2025, 67% and 33% of our net sales were made by our Americas and International segments, respectively.

Americas. Our largest manufacturing and research and development facilities are located in the United States. We serve our markets across the Americas with manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil. Operations in the other countries within the Americas segment focus primarily on sales and distribution in their respective home country markets.

International. Our International segment includes companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa ("EMEA") and the Asia Pacific region. In our largest International subsidiaries (in Germany, France, U.K., Ireland and China), we develop, manufacture and sell a wide variety of products. In China, the products manufactured are sold primarily in China as well as in regional markets. Operations in other International segment countries focus primarily on sales and distribution in their respective home country markets. Although some of these companies may perform limited production, most of their sales are of products manufactured in our plants in Germany, France, the U.S., U.K., Ireland, Mexico, Morocco and China or are purchased from third-party vendors.

Corporate. Corporate expenses not allocated to the reportable segments consist of general and administrative expenses incurred in our corporate headquarters, costs associated with corporate development initiatives, legal expense, interest expense, foreign exchange gains or losses and other centrally-managed costs. General and administrative costs and overhead comprise the majority of the corporate related expenses. During the years ended December 31, 2025, and 2024, corporate expenses were $43.4 million and $50.4 million, respectively. The decrease is related to lower professional service fees and variable compensation as well as other discretionary expense management partially offset by inflation.

We leverage the MSA Business System ("MBS") to develop and introduce innovative safety solutions, secure new business opportunities, and operate with greater efficiency. The MBS is our approach to working at our best - at our most efficient and most empowered. It is a combination of behaviors, processes and tools that provide a framework to run the business and continuously improve. Our commitment to MBS has enabled us to drive customer satisfaction and profitable growth while generating significant improvements in operating results.

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Year Ended December 31, 2025, Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2024

Net Sales. Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2025, were $1.87 billion, an increase of $66.7 million from $1.81 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024. Please refer to the Net Sales table below for a reconciliation of the year over year sales change.

Net sales for the Americas segment were $1.26 billion for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $15.2 million, or 1.2%, compared to $1.25 billion for the year ended December 31, 2024. Organic sales in the Americas segment increased 0.5% compared to the prior year. This increase was driven by double digit growth in detection and a minor increase in industrial PPE partially offset by a decrease in fire service partly due to a shift in Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) funding as well as the 2025 U.S. federal government shutdown. M&C added $13.0 million of sales to the Americas segment during the period.

Net sales for the International segment were $613.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $51.5 million, or 9.2%, compared to $561.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Organic sales in the International segment increased 1.4% compared to the prior year period. This increase was driven by growth in detection primarily in China and Europe and to a lesser extent industrial PPE partially offset by a modest decline in fire service due to budgetary shifts within key European markets. M&C added $27.9 million of sales to the International segment during the period.

The operating environment continues to be dynamic with an uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical climate. We expect to generate full-year mid-single digit organic sales growth in 2026. We anticipate ongoing momentum in detection and fall protection as key growth drivers, as well as SCBA, which should benefit, in part, from the timing delays in 2025 that shifted some business to 2026. Furthermore, pricing actions in 2025 and 2026, along with moderate volume growth, should also support our outlook. Overall backlog remains healthy, and we have a solid commercial pipeline. Our overall book-to-bill was slightly below one and above the year-ago period.

Refer to Note 9—Segment Information to the consolidated financial statements in Part II Item 8 of this Form 10-K, for information regarding sales by product category.

Gross profit. Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2025, was $871.1 million, an increase of $10.7 million, or 1.2%, compared to $860.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. The ratio of gross profit to net sales was 46.5% in 2025 compared to 47.6% in 2024. The decrease in gross profit margin is primarily related to inflation, transactional foreign currency challenges, tariffs and additional amortization related to the M&C acquisition partially offset by price realization, product mix and improved productivity.

Selling, general and administrative expenses. Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses were $414.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, an increase of $19.6 million, or 5.0%, compared to $394.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Selling, general and administrative expenses were 22.1% of net sales in 2025 compared to 21.8% of net sales in 2024. Organic SG&A decreased $8.6 million, or 2.2%, driven primarily by the absence of the net cost for a product related legal matter from the prior year, lower variable compensation, discretionary expense management and lower professional service costs partially offset by inflation and higher sales commission expense on double-digit detection growth.

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Research and development expense. Research and development expense was $65.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, a decrease of $1.2 million, or 1.8%, compared to $66.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. Research and development expense was 3.5% of net sales in 2025, compared to 3.7% of net sales in 2024.

We capitalized $14.9 million and $13.0 million of software development costs during the years ended December 31, 2025, and 2024, respectively. Amortization expense for capitalized software development cost of $12.0 million and $11.3 million during the years ended December 31, 2025, and 2024, was recorded in costs of products sold on the Consolidated Statements of Income. Refer to Note 1—Significant Accounting Policies of the consolidated financial statements in Part II Item 8 of this Form 10-K for further details regarding our software development costs.

MSA remains committed to dedicating significant resources to research and development activities, including the development of technology-based safety solutions. As we continue to invest a significant portion of our new product development into technology-based safety solutions, we anticipate that the historical relationship of re

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