Lift truck and material handling solutions manufacturer Hyster-Yale Materials Handling (NYSE:HY) missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q1 CY2026, with sales falling 12.7% year on year to $795.2 million. Its non-GAAP loss of $1.64 per share was 8.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Hyster-Yale Materials Handling (HY) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $795.2 million vs analyst estimates of $878.1 million (12.7% year-on-year decline, 9.4% miss)
- Adjusted EPS: -$1.64 vs analyst estimates of -$1.80 (8.9% beat)
- Adjusted Operating Income: -$28 million vs analyst estimates of -$25.38 million (-3.5% margin, 10.3% miss)
- Operating Margin: -3.5%, down from 2.3% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow was -$32.9 million compared to -$47 million in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $690 million
Company Overview
Playing a significant role in the development of the hydraulic lift truck, Hyster-Yale (NYSE:HY) designs, manufactures, and sells materials handling equipment to various sectors.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Regrettably, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling’s sales grew at a tepid 5.8% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This was below our standard for the industrials sector and is a rough starting point for our analysis.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within industrials, a half-decade historical view may miss cycles, industry trends, or a company capitalizing on catalysts such as a new contract win or a successful product line. Hyster-Yale Materials Handling’s performance shows it grew in the past but relinquished its gains over the last two years, as its revenue fell by 6.5% annually. 
This quarter, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 12.7% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $795.2 million of revenue.
Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 4.4% over the next 12 months. While this projection implies its newer products and services will fuel better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average.
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Operating Margin
Hyster-Yale Materials Handling was profitable over the last five years but held back by its large cost base. Its average operating margin of 1.6% was weak for an industrials business. This result isn’t too surprising given its low gross margin as a starting point.
On the plus side, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling’s operating margin rose by 3 percentage points over the last five years, as its sales growth gave it operating leverage.
This quarter, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling generated an operating margin profit margin of negative 3.5%, down 5.8 percentage points year on year. Since Hyster-Yale Materials Handling’s operating margin decreased more than its gross margin, we can assume it was less efficient because expenses such as marketing, R&D, and administrative overhead increased.
Earnings Per Share
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
Sadly for Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, its EPS declined by 37.3% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew by 5.8%. However, its operating margin actually improved during this time, telling us that non-fundamental factors such as interest expenses and taxes affected its ultimate earnings.
Diving into the nuances of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling’s earnings can give us a better understanding of its performance. A five-year view shows Hyster-Yale Materials Handling has diluted its shareholders, growing its share count by 5.8%. This dilution overshadowed its increased operational efficiency and has led to lower per share earnings. Taxes and interest expenses can also affect EPS but don’t tell us as much about a company’s fundamentals. 
Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.
For Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, its two-year annual EPS declines of 59.1% show it’s continued to underperform. These results were bad no matter how you slice the data.
In Q1, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling reported adjusted EPS of negative $1.64, down from $0.48 in the same quarter last year. Despite falling year on year, this print beat analysts’ estimates by 8.9%. We also like to analyze expected EPS growth based on Wall Street analysts’ consensus projections, but there is insufficient data.
Key Takeaways from Hyster-Yale Materials Handling’s Q1 Results
It was good to see Hyster-Yale Materials Handling beat analysts’ EPS expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its revenue missed and its adjusted operating income fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a weaker quarter. The stock remained flat at $40.08 immediately following the results.
So should you invest in Hyster-Yale Materials Handling right now? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
