BROOKINGS, South Dakota, September 2, 2026, 17:38 (EDT) —
- Daktronics hit $21.595, then closed at $19.13 and slipped to $18.90 after hours.
- Fiscal first-quarter EPS rose 21.2% to $0.40, beating a $0.35 consensus.
- New orders fell 19.6%, while backlog declined 13.6% to $311.3 million.
Daktronics, Inc. NASDAQ:DAKT erased an 11.5% intraday gain on Wednesday. The shares closed 1.2% lower, then reached $18.90 by 17:28 EDT. That was 2.4% below Tuesday’s close.
The reversal exposed a sharp split in the quarter. Earnings and cash flow improved, yet orders weakened. A reported regulatory inquiry added another risk during the afternoon.
Fiscal first-quarter sales rose 7.1% to $234.6 million. Diluted EPS increased to $0.40 from $0.33. Operating cash flow climbed 20.3% to $31.4 million.
Daktronics’ earnings gap faded through the session
Price in U.S. dollars; Tuesday close was $19.36.
As of . Source: Yahoo Finance.The company also beat the three-analyst FactSet consensus. Analysts expected $0.35 per share and $230.3 million of sales. The stock rose about 10% before the bell.
That optimism did not last. The stock touched $21.595 shortly after the open. It later fell below Tuesday’s close and ended at $19.13. Regular-session volume reached 2.86 million shares.
CBS Sports reported at 14:49 EDT that acting CFO Howard Atkins confirmed inquiries from the SEC and NBA. The questions concern Daktronics’ endorsement relationship with Kawhi Leonard. The company is cooperating, the report said.
The financial caution was already visible in bookings. New orders fell to $191.8 million from $238.5 million. Backlog declined to $311.3 million from $360.3 million. Both comparisons were year over year.
Profit and cash outpaced sales growth
Fiscal Q1 2027 versus fiscal Q1 2026
Management attributed the order decline to several large deals shifting into the second quarter. CEO Ramesh Jayaraman said the pipeline “remains robust.” Backlog still exceeded $300 million for a sixth straight quarter.
Gross margin rose to 30.5% from 29.7%. Tariff refunds helped that improvement. Higher memory and other price-sensitive input costs offset part of the benefit.
The balance sheet supplied a cushion. Cash reached $154.6 million against $10.5 million of debt. Daktronics repurchased 225,500 shares at a $19.56 average during the quarter.
The quarter’s strongest and weakest signals
Reported balances and year-over-year booking changes
The after-hours price sat 3.4% below that buyback average. That gap matters. It suggests investors discounted the strong cash position after weighing bookings and inquiry risk.
Risks: Large project timing can distort quarterly orders. Regulatory inquiries may add legal costs or reputational damage. Tariff refunds may not repeat, while memory costs could pressure margin.
The next scheduled corporate event is the annual meeting on September 16. Investors will watch for order conversion and any formal disclosure on the inquiries.
Related articles: Earnings Reports
