Second Quarter Highlighted by Continued Progress Across Key Growth Initiatives and Center Footprint Optimization.
Company Updates Full-Year Outlook.
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 13, 2026--
KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. (NYSE: KLC) ("KinderCare," the "Company," and "we"), a leading provider of high-quality early childhood education, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended July 4, 2026.
Second Quarter 2026 Highlights
-- Revenue of $697.5 million
-- Income from operations of $2.4 million
-- Net loss of $8.8 million and net loss per common share, diluted of
$0.07
Non-GAAP financial measures
-- Adjusted EBITDA (1) of $63.0 million
-- Adjusted net income (1) of $9.9 million and adjusted net income per
common share, diluted (1) of $0.08
"Throughout the second quarter, we remained focused on our mission of providing high-quality early childhood education and care while executing our long-term strategy," said Tom Wyatt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of KinderCare Learning Companies. "We expanded access to our programs in growing communities, built momentum across our early childhood education and school-age offerings, and continued aligning our center footprint to better meet the evolving needs of families."
Mr. Wyatt continued, "We're encouraged by the progress we're making and remain focused on strengthening KinderCare for the long term. That means supporting our educators, delivering high quality early education and care, and ensuring our centers are positioned to serve families where they live and work."
Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Total revenue decreased $2.6 million, or 0.4%, to $697.5 million for the second quarter of 2026 as compared to $700.1 million for the second quarter of 2025.
Revenue from early childhood education centers decreased by $9.6 million, or 1.5%, for the second quarter of 2026 as compared to the second quarter of 2025. The decrease was driven from 4.0% lower enrollment, partially offset by 2.6% increase from higher tuition rates.
Revenue from before- and after-school sites increased by $7.0 million, or 13.4%, for the second quarter of 2026 as compared to the second quarter of 2025 primarily due to higher rates and opening new sites.
Income from operations was $2.4 million for the second quarter of 2026 as compared to $68.7 million for the second quarter of 2025, a decrease of $66.3 million. The decrease was driven by an increase in cost of services of $48.0 million, primarily due to Employee Retention Credits ("ERC") recognized during the second quarter of 2025, which offsets cost of services (excluding depreciation and impairment) in the comparative period, as well as increased rent, insurance, janitorial, and utilities expense, combined with an increase in marketing spend. Additionally, the decrease was attributable to a $20.7 million increase in impairment losses as a result of more centers with lower operational performance as well as center closures and early lease termination agreements executed during the second quarter of 2026. During the second quarter of 2026, the Company closed 49 early childhood education centers as part of an on-going center optimization initiative. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in selling, general, and administrative expenses of $5.6 million, driven by lower personnel costs primarily due to reduced incentive compensation and stock-based compensation expense.
Net loss was $8.8 million for the second quarter of 2026 as compared to net income of $38.6 million for the second quarter of 2025, a change of $47.4 million. The change was primarily driven by the loss from operations noted above, partially offset by a $16.3 million decrease in income taxes, resulting from an income tax benefit in the second quarter of 2026 compared to income tax expense in the comparative period. Net loss per common share, diluted was $0.07 for the second quarter of 2026 compared to net income per common share, diluted of $0.33 for the second quarter of 2025.
For the second quarter of 2026, adjusted EBITDA (1) decreased $19.4 million, or 23.6%, to $63.0 million, and adjusted net income (1) decreased $16.1 million, to $9.9 million, from the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted net income per common share, diluted (1) was $0.08 for the second quarter of 2026 compared to $0.22 for the second quarter of 2025.
As of July 4, 2026, the Company operated 1,567 early childhood education centers and 1,128 before- and after-school sites.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
As of July 4, 2026, the Company had $173.7 million of cash and cash equivalents and $187.7 million of available borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility, after giving effect to the outstanding letters of credit of $74.8 million.
During the six months ended July 4, 2026, the Company generated $104.5 million in cash provided by operating activities and made net investments totaling $58.5 million, primarily from purchases of property and equipment. Additionally, during the six months ended July 4, 2026, the Company utilized $5.6 million in cash for financing activities.
2026 Outlook
Based on current trends and outlook, the Company is updating its guidance ranges for the full year 2026. Revenue is now expected to be approximately $2.66 billion to $2.70 billion and adjusted EBITDA is expected to be approximately $200 million to $220 million (2) . Adjusted net income per common share, diluted is expected to be approximately $0.05 to $0.15 (2) . The Company will provide additional details on its outlook during its earnings conference call.
Conference Call and Webcast
Management will host a conference call today at 5:00 pm ET to discuss the financial results for the second quarter of 2026. The conference call will be webcast live via the Company's investor relations website at https://investors.kindercare.com. A replay of the webcast will be made available on the same investor relations website shortly after the event concludes.
Interested parties may also access the conference call live over the phone by dialing 1-833-461-5787 (Toll-free) or 1-585-542-9983 (Toll) and referencing conference ID 681 245 687. Participants are asked to dial in a few minutes prior to the call to register.
A supplemental presentation of second quarter results will be available at https://investors.kindercare.com.
Footnote References
(1) Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, and adjusted net income per common
share are non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP
financial measures to the comparable GAAP measures are included in the
tables at the end of this press release.
(2) Future period non-GAAP outlook, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted
net income per common share, diluted, includes adjustments for items not
indicative of our core operations, which may include, without
limitation, items described in the below section titled "Use of Non-GAAP
Financial Measures" and in the accompanying tables. Such adjustments may
be affected by changes in ongoing assumptions and judgments, as well as
nonrecurring, unusual, or unanticipated charges, expenses or gains, or
other items that may not directly correlate to the underlying
performance of our business operations. The exact amounts of these
adjustments are not currently determinable but may be significant. It is
therefore not practicable to provide the comparable GAAP measures or
reconcile this non-GAAP outlook to the most comparable GAAP measures.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release and on the related teleconference that express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those that are not historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the Company's expectations or guidance regarding, among other things, future enrollment trends, the impact of occupancy initiatives on future performance, future government support for childcare (including the timing or amount of future grants, reimbursement or other forms of government assistance); future business plans, objectives or initiatives; the Company's future financial position; future financial outlook and performance; general economic and industry trends; future operating results; and working capital and liquidity and other statements that are not statements of historical facts. When used in this press release and on the related teleconference, words such as "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "seek," "vision," or "should," or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. They involve a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events and results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our ability to attract and retain families in our centers, schools and programs, and to attract and retain employers that contract with us for family care benefits for their workforce; our ability to address changes in the demand for child care and workplace solutions; our ability to adjust to shifts in workforce demographics, economic conditions, office environments and unemployment rates; our business may be affected by delays, disruptions or reductions in federally funded childcare subsidies or tuition reimbursements or from reductions in certain federal, state and local government programs; our ability to hire and retain qualified teachers, management, employees, and maintain strong employee engagement; the impact of public health crises on our business, financial condition and results of operations; the negative impact of impairment
of goodwill, other intangible assets or long-lived assets on our current and potentially future results of operations; our ability to address adverse publicity; our ability to acquire additional capital; risks associated with acquired centers; our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our business; our reliance on our subsidiaries; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights; our ability to protect our information technology and that of our third-party service providers; our ability to manage the costs and liabilities of collecting, using, storing, disclosing, transferring and processing personal information; our expectations regarding the effects of existing and developing laws and regulations, litigation and regulatory proceedings; our ability to maintain adequate insurance coverage; the fluctuation in our stock price; we have a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting; the occurrence of natural disasters, environmental contamination or other highly disruptive events; the interests of Partners Group, a controlling stockholder, may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders; and other risks and uncertainties set forth under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 3, 2026 and in our other filings with the SEC. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect any change in management's expectations or any change in the assumptions or circumstances on which such statements are based, except as otherwise required by law.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including EBIT, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, and adjusted net income per common share. Tables showing the reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP measures are included at the end of this release. Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating the Company's operating performance, and may be helpful to securities analysts, institutional investors and other interested parties in understanding the Company's operating performance. Management also uses these non-GAAP financial measures for budgeting and compensation purposes.
Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on non-GAAP financial measures and are urged to review and consider carefully the adjustments made by management to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, such as net (loss) income or net (loss) income per common share. Non-GAAP financial measures may have limited value as analytical tools because they may exclude certain expenses that some investors consider important in evaluating our operating performance or ongoing business performance. Further, non-GAAP financial measures may have limited value for purposes of drawing comparisons between companies because different companies may calculate similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures in different ways because non-GAAP measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles.
About KinderCare Learning Companies$(TM)$
KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc. (NYSE: KLC) is a leading private provider of early childhood and school-age education and care, KinderCare builds confidence for life in children and families from all backgrounds. KinderCare supports hardworking families in 42 states and the District of Columbia with differentiated flexible child care solutions:
-- In neighborhoods, with KinderCare$(R)$ Learning Centers that offer early learning programs for children six weeks to 12 years old; -- Crème School(R), which offers a premium early education experience using a variety of enrichment classrooms; and -- In local schools, with Champions(R) before and after-school programs.
KinderCare partners with employers nationwide to address the child care needs of today's dynamic workforce. We provide customized family care benefits for organizations, including care for young children on or near the site where their parents work, tuition benefits, and backup care where KinderCare programs are located. Headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, KinderCare operates more than 2,600 early learning centers and sites.
KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
(In thousands)
July 4, 2026 January 3, 2026
-------------- -----------------
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 173,706 $ 133,205
Accounts receivable, net 114,312 118,523
Prepaid expenses and other current
assets 54,038 106,291
---------- -------------
Total current assets 342,056 358,019
Property and equipment, net 391,559 417,789
Goodwill 692,405 964,829
Intangible assets, net 416,774 420,922
Operating lease right-of-use assets 1,474,434 1,500,786
Other assets 86,339 85,545
---------- -------------
Total assets $ 3,403,567 $ 3,747,890
========== =============
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued
liabilities $ 174,793 $ 163,312
Current portion of long-term debt 9,620 9,620
Operating lease liabilities--current 162,938 146,594
Deferred revenue 54,875 49,577
Other current liabilities 56,893 115,762
---------- -------------
Total current liabilities 459,119 484,865
Long-term debt, net 916,097 917,925
Operating lease liabilities--long-term 1,421,301 1,447,524
Deferred income taxes, net 34,585 35,454
Other long-term liabilities 106,278 106,860
---------- -------------
Total liabilities 2,937,380 2,992,628
---------- -------------
Total shareholders' equity 466,187 755,262
---------- -------------
Total liabilities and
shareholders' equity $ 3,403,567 $ 3,747,890
========== =============
KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share data and percentages)
Three Months Ended
----------------------------------------
July 4, 2026 June 28, 2025
------------------- -------------------
Revenue $697,522 $700,110
Costs and expenses:
Cost of services
(excluding depreciation
and impairment) 567,434 81.3% 519,477 74.2%
Depreciation and
amortization 31,699 4.5% 31,074 4.4%
Selling, general, and
administrative expenses 73,068 10.5% 78,648 11.2%
Impairment losses 22,923 3.3% 2,235 0.3%
------- ---- ------- ----
Total costs and
expenses 695,124 99.7% 631,434 90.2%
------- ---- ------- ----
Income from
operations 2,398 0.3% 68,676 9.8%
Interest expense 18,255 2.6% 20,073 2.9%
Interest income (970) (0.1%) (1,424) (0.2%)
Other income, net (4,342) (0.6%) (3,049) (0.4%)
------- ---- ------- ----
(Loss) income
before income
taxes (10,545) (1.5%) 53,076 7.6%
Income tax (benefit) expense (1,775) (0.3%) 14,488 2.1%
------- ---- ------- ----
Net (loss) income $ (8,770) (1.3%) $ 38,588 5.5%
======= ==== ======= ====
Net (loss) income per
common share:
Basic $ (0.07) $ 0.33
Diluted $ (0.07) $ 0.33
Weighted average number of
common shares outstanding:
Basic 118,798 118,309
Diluted 118,798 118,371
KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share data and percentages)
Six Months Ended
---------------------------------------------
July 4, 2026 June 28, 2025
---------------------- ---------------------
Revenue $1,370,044 $1,368,354
Costs and expenses:
Cost of services
(excluding depreciation
and impairment) 1,118,357 81.6% 1,035,665 75.7%
Depreciation and
amortization 62,776 4.6% 61,051 4.5%
Selling, general, and
administrative expenses 144,197 10.5% 150,375 11.0%
Impairment losses 314,398 22.9% 3,745 0.3%
--------- ----- --------- ----
Total costs and
expenses 1,639,728 119.7% 1,250,836 91.4%
--------- ----- --------- ----
(Loss) income from
operations (269,684) (19.7%) 117,518 8.6%
Interest expense 36,475 2.7% 40,181 2.9%
Interest income (1,812) (0.1%) (2,083) (0.2%)
Other income, net (3,435) (0.3%) (2,651) (0.2%)
--------- ----- --------- ----
(Loss) income
before income
taxes (300,912) (22.0%) 82,071 6.0%
Income tax (benefit) expense (2,310) (0.2%) 22,326 1.6%
--------- ----- --------- ----
Net (loss) income $ (298,602) (21.8%) $ 59,745 4.4%
========= ===== ========= ====
Net (loss) income per common
share:
Basic $ (2.52) $ 0.51
Diluted $ (2.52) $ 0.50
Weighted average number of
common shares outstanding:
Basic 118,648 118,274
Diluted 118,648 118,346
KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)
(In thousands)
Six Months Ended
---------------------------------
July 4, 2026 June 28, 2025
-------------- -----------------
Operating activities:
Net (loss) income $ (298,602) $ 59,745
Adjustments to reconcile net
(loss) income to cash provided by
operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 62,776 61,051
Impairment losses 314,398 3,745
Change in deferred taxes (2,781) (1,963)
Amortization of debt issuance
costs 2,982 3,189
Stock-based compensation 4,171 7,309
Realized and unrealized losses
from investments held in
deferred compensation asset
trusts (2,354) (1,978)
Gain on disposal of property
and equipment -- (97)
Changes in assets and liabilities,
net of effects of acquisitions 23,892 2,489
--------- ----------
Cash provided by operating
activities 104,482 133,490
--------- ----------
Investing activities:
Purchases of property and
equipment (58,005) (57,735)
Payments for acquisitions, net of
cash acquired (995) (14,560)
Proceeds from the disposal of
property and equipment -- 169
Investments in deferred
compensation asset trusts (3,537) (3,667)
Proceeds from deferred
compensation asset trust
redemptions 4,070 3,603
--------- ----------
Cash used in investing
activities (58,467) (72,190)
--------- ----------
Financing activities:
Payments of deferred offering
costs -- (275)
Principal payments of long-term
debt (4,810) (2,417)
Payments of debt issuance costs -- (269)
Repayments of promissory notes (149) (165)
Payments of financing lease
obligations (511) (689)
Tax payments related to net
settlement of restricted stock
units (138) (786)
--------- ----------
Cash used in financing
activities (5,608) (4,601)
--------- ----------
Net change in cash, cash
equivalents, and
restricted cash 40,407 56,699
Cash, cash equivalents, and
restricted cash at beginning of
period 133,299 62,430
--------- ----------
Cash, cash equivalents, and
restricted cash at end of period $ 173,706 $ 119,129
========= ==========
KinderCare Learning Companies, Inc.
Consolidated Non-GAAP Measures (Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share data)
The following table shows EBIT, EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA for
the periods presented, and the reconciliation to its most
comparable GAAP measure, net (loss) income, for the periods
presented:
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
---------------------- -----------------------
July 4, June 28, July 4, June 28,
2026 2025 2026 2025
------ ------- -------- -------
Net (loss) income $(8,770) $ 38,588 $(298,602) $ 59,745
Add back:
Interest
expense 18,255 20,073 36,475 40,181
Interest
income (970) (1,424) (1,812) (2,083)
Income tax
(benefit)
expense (1,775) 14,488 (2,310) 22,326
------ ------- -------- -------
EBIT $ 6,740 $ 71,725 $(266,249) $120,169
------ ------- -------- -------
Add back:
Depreciation
and
amortization 31,699 31,074 62,776 61,051
------ ------- -------- -------
EBITDA $38,439 $102,799 $(203,473) $181,220
------ ------- -------- -------
Add back:
Impairment
losses (1) 22,923 2,235 314,398 3,745
Stock-based
compensation
(2) 1,663 3,461 4,171 7,534
COVID-19
Related
Stimulus, net
(3) -- (26,050) -- (26,713)
Other costs
(4) -- -- -- 210
------ ------- -------- -------
Adjusted EBITDA $63,025 $ 82,445 $ 115,096 $165,996
====== ======= ======== =======
The following table shows adjusted net income and adjusted net
income per common share for the periods presented and the
reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measure, net (loss)
income and net (loss) income per common share, respectively, for
the periods presented:
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
-------------------- -----------------------
July 4, June 28, July 4, June 28,
2026 2025 2026 2025
------- ------- -------- -------
Net (loss) income $ (8,770) $ 38,588 $(298,602) $ 59,745
Income tax
(benefit)
expense (1,775) 14,488 (2,310) 22,326
------- ------- -------- -------
Net (loss) income
before income
tax $(10,545) $ 53,076 $(300,912) $ 82,071
------- ------- -------- -------
Add back:
Amortization
of intangible
assets 2,074 2,309 4,148 4,618
Impairment
losses (1) 22,923 2,235 314,398 3,745
Stock-based
compensation
(2) 1,663 3,461 4,171 7,534
COVID-19
Related
Stimulus, net
(3) -- (26,050) -- (26,713)
Other costs
(4) -- -- -- 210
------- ------- -------- -------
Adjusted
income
before
income
tax 16,115 35,031 21,805 71,465
Adjusted
income tax
expense (5) 6,222 9,042 7,691 18,445
------- ------- -------- -------
Adjusted net
income $ 9,893 $ 25,989 $ 14,114 $ 53,020
======= ======= ======== =======
Net (loss)
income per
common share:
Basic $ (0.07) $ 0.33 $ (2.52) $ 0.51
Diluted $ (0.07) $ 0.33 $ (2.52) $ 0.50
Adjusted net
income per
common share:
Basic $ 0.08 $ 0.22 $ 0.12 $ 0.45
Diluted $ 0.08 $ 0.22 $ 0.12 $ 0.45
Weighted average
number of common
shares
outstanding:
Basic 118,798 118,309 118,648 118,274
Diluted 118,798 118,371 118,648 118,346
Explanation of add backs:
(1) Represents impairment charges for goodwill and long-lived assets.
Goodwill impairment recognized during the six months ended July 4, 2026
of $273.5 million was driven by the further deterioration in our market
capitalization from a continued decline in our stock price during the
first quarter of 2026. Impairments of long-lived assets for the periods
presented was a result of reduced operating performance at certain
centers due to the impact of changing demographics in certain locations
in which we operate and current macroeconomic conditions on our overall
operations, as well as centers closed or identified for closure and
early lease terminations executed.
(2) Represents non-cash stock based compensation expense in accordance with
Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 718, Compensation: Stock
Compensation.
(3) Includes expense reimbursements and revenue arising from the COVID-19
pandemic, net of pass-through expenses incurred as a result of certain
grant requirements. During both the three and six months ended June 28,
2025, we recognized $30.1 million of Employee Retention Credits ("ERC")
offsetting cost of services (excluding depreciation and impairment) as
well as $2.1 million in professional fees in selling, general, and
administrative expenses as a result of calculating and filing for ERC.
COVID-19 Related Stimulus is net of pass-through expenses incurred as
stipulated within certain grants of $1.9 million during both the three
and six months ended June 28, 2025. Additionally, we recognized $0.7
million during the six months ended June 28, 2025 in funding for
reimbursement of center operating expenses in cost of services
(excluding depreciation and impairment).
(4) For the six months ended June 28, 2025, other costs include $0.2 million
in costs related to our IPO. These costs represent items management
believes are not indicative of core operating performance.
(5) Includes the tax effect of the non-GAAP adjustments, calculated using
the appropriate federal and state statutory tax rate and the applicable
tax treatment for each adjustment. The non-GAAP tax rate was 38.6% and
35.3% for the three and six months ended July 4, 2026, respectively, and
25.8% for both the three and six months ended June 28, 2025. Our
statutory rate is re-evaluated at least annually.
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