Aspen Aerogels, Inc.

First-quarter 2026 revenue was $37.9 million, with $21.6 million from Energy Industrial and $16.3 million from thermal barrier. Revenue declined 8% quarter over quarter. Gross profit was $4.3 million, implying 11% gross margin; segment gross margins were 15% for Energy Industrial and 6% for thermal barrier. GAAP net loss was $23.7 million versus a $72.9 million loss last quarter, and adjusted EBITDA was negative $12.7 million versus negative $18 million last quarter. Aspen said it received $37.6 million of GM claim proceeds in Q1, with $3.5 million recognized as revenue in the quarter and about $4.9 million per quarter thereafter through 2027. For Q2 2026, management guided to revenue of $40 million to $48 million and adjusted EBITDA of negative $10 million to negative $4 million, assuming the staged restart of East Providence proceeds as expected. Full-year commentary pointed to sequential quarterly revenue growth, Energy Industrial growth of approximately 20%, European thermal barrier revenue of $10 million to $15 million, capex below $10 million, and approximately $26 million of scheduled debt payments; management also expects to end the year with a strong net cash position.

Don Young focused on resilience after the East Providence incident, emphasizing that no employees were seriously injured and that the company has mitigated commercial disruption through inventory and external manufacturing. His tone was constructive and forward-looking, arguing that Aspen’s energy industrial business is still on track for about 20% growth in 2026 and could become a $200 million high-margin business without incremental capital investment. He also highlighted growing European EV demand, an emerging battery energy storage opportunity, and said the strategic review reinforced the current growth strategy.

Grant Thoele framed Q1 as the lowest-revenue quarter of 2026 and said sequential revenue growth each quarter still remains the plan. He cited $37.9 million of revenue, $4.3 million of gross profit, 11% gross margin, $175.6 million of cash, and an $86 million term loan, noting substantial covenant headroom against the requirement to keep cash at least equal to the term loan balance. He said Q2 should be stronger at $40 million to $48 million of revenue, but with elevated costs from expedited freight, repair work, and inventory builds tied to the plant disruption; full-year capex is still expected to be under $10 million and scheduled debt payments around $26 million.

Analysts asked whether Europe’s thermal barrier demand was being pulled forward by energy-market volatility and whether Aspen would need to rely on its EMF facility during the Rhode Island outage. Management said it is too early to tie the European ramp to higher energy prices, and instead pointed to a longer build in EV share and OEM awards already in motion; it also said it wants maximum supply flexibility using both East Providence and the Chinese EMF supplier. On Energy Industrial, management was pressed on the path to a $200 million business, and Don Young pointed to three drivers: subsea, LNG, and deferred refinery maintenance/turnaround work, saying the current opportunity set is the strongest he can remember.