KinderCare Reports Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results

About this update from Kindercare Learning Companies, Inc.

Management Provides Full-Year 2026 Guidance LAKE OSWEGO, Ore., March 12, 2026 --( BUSINESS WIRE )--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 fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025, which ended January 3, 2026, and provided guidance for fiscal year 2026. The fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025 consisted of 14 weeks and 53 weeks, respectively, compared to 13 weeks and 52 weeks in the comparable prior year periods. Fourth Quarter 2025 Highlights Non-GAAP financial measures Fiscal Year Ended 2025 Highlights Non-GAAP financial measures "We closed the year having driven progress across our brands, even as results were varied across the portfolio," said Tom Wyatt, Chief Executive Officer of KinderCare. "I’m excited to return to KinderCare and have spent my first months back listening to families, clients, and teachers, and translating those insights into a more focused operating plan." Mr. Wyatt continued, "Our focus for 2026 is simple. We need to execute better, center by center and market by market. That means strengthening how we attract and enroll families, scaling the practices that are working across our network, and driving greater consistency to center performance, while continuing to grow responsibly through new openings, acquisitions, and employer partnerships." Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results Total revenue increased $41.2 million, or 6.4%, to $688.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 as compared to $647.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, primarily due to the impact of the 14th week in the fourth quarter of 2025, which contributed an additional $45.1 million of revenue. Revenue from early childhood education centers increased by $34.8 million, or 5.9%, for the fourth quarter of 2025 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 primarily due to the impact of the 14th week in the fourth quarter of 2025. During the comparable 13- week periods, revenue decreased $9.5 million, or 1.6%, of which 3.6% was from lower enrollment, partially offset by 2.0% from higher tuition rates. Revenue from before- and after-school sites increased by $6.4 million, or 11.9%, for the fourth quarter of 2025 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 primarily due to opening new sites. Loss from operations increased $74.6 million, or 83.6%, to $163.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 as compared to a loss from operations of $89.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. The increase was driven by a $193.6 million increase in impairment losses of goodwill and long-lived assets primarily due to the deterioration in our market capitalization from the declines in our stock price in the fourth quarter of 2025. This increase was partially offset by a $119.8 million decrease in stock-based compensation expense primarily attributable to the PIU modification and accelerated vesting in the fourth quarter of 2024. Net loss increased $43.6 million, or 32.6%, to $177.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 as compared to $133.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. The increase was driven by the impact to income from operations noted above, partially offset by a $31.0 million decrease in interest expense primarily due to the loss on extinguishment of debt recognized in the prior year associated with the October 2024 repayment and repricing amendment, which also resulted in a reduced principal balance and lower interest rates. Net loss per common share, diluted was $1.50 for the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to $1.17 for the fourth quarter of 2024. For the fourth quarter of 2025, adjusted EBITDA (1) increased $1.7 million, or 2.6%, to $67.7 million. The 14th week in the fourth quarter of 2025 contributed an estimated $12 million of adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted net income (1) increased $3.5 million, to $14.2 million, from the fourth quarter of 2024 and adjusted net income per common share, diluted (1) was $0.12 for the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to $0.09 for the fourth quarter of 2024. As of January 3, 2026, the Company operated 1,601 early childhood education centers and 1,153 before- and after-school sites. Balance Sheet and Liquidity As of January 3, 2026, the Company had $133.2 million of cash and cash equivalents and $189.7 million of available borrowing capacity under the revolving credit facility, after giving effect to the outstanding letters of credit of $72.8 million. Total debt under the first lien term loan facility, net of debt issuance costs, was $927.5 million as of January 3, 2026. During the fiscal year ended January 3, 2026, the Company generated $238.5 million in cash provided by operating activities and made net investments totaling $154.4 million, which included $128.3 million in property and equipment and $23.1 million in acquisitions. Additionally, during the fiscal year ended January 3, 2026, the Company utilized $13.3 million in cash for financing activities. 2026 Outlook Based upon current estimates, we expect revenue for the full fiscal year 2026 to be approximately $2.70 billion to $2.75 billion, adjusted EBITDA to be approximately $210 million to $230 million (2) , and adjusted net income per common share, diluted to be approximately $0.10 to $0.20 (2) . The fiscal year 2026 includes 52 weeks as compared to 2025 which included 53 weeks. Management will provide further detail on the 2026 financial outlook on the 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 fourth quarter and fiscal year 2025. 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 1-800-549-8228 (Toll-free) or 1-646-564-2877 (Toll) and referencing conference ID 68886. Participants are asked to dial in a few minutes prior to the call to register. A supplemental presentation of fourth quarter results will be available at https://investors.kindercare.com . 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 most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K 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™ 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 41 states and the District of Columbia with differentiated flexible child care solutions: 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 2,700 early learning centers and sites. Explanations of add backs are located after the reconciliation of adjusted net income and adjusted net income per common share. 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 and net loss per common share, respectively, for the periods presented: Explanation of add backs:   View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260312699138/en/ Contacts Investors Investor Relations [email protected] Media Media Relations [email protected]

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