Empire Company Limited (EMP.A) Q2 2026 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Empire Second Quarter 2026 Conference Call. At this time, all lines are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press Store 0 for the operator. This call is being recorded on Thursday, December 11, 2025. I would now like to turn the conference over to Katie Brine, Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Thank you, Ludi. Good morning, and thank you all for joining us for our second quarter conference call. Today, we will provide summary comments on our results and then open the call for questions. This call is being recorded, and the audio recording will be available on the company's website at empireco.ca. There is a short summary document outlining the points of our quarter available on our website as well. Joining me on the call this morning are Pierre St. Laurent, our new President and Chief Executive Officer, and Costa Pafanis, Chief Financial Officer. Today's discussion includes forward-looking statements. We caution that such statements are based on management's assumptions and beliefs and are subject to uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially. I refer you to our news release and MD&A for more information on these assumptions and factors. I will now turn the call over to Pierre Saint Laurent. Thanks, Katie. Good morning, everyone. I'm pleased to be speaking with you today for my first quarterly earnings call as CEO. I've spent my career at Empire in multiple roles, most recently as CEO, working closely with our stores and teammates to serve customers. As a company, we have been on an incredible journey that has included t...