Kornit Digital Q1 Earnings Call Highlights
Kornit Digital (NASDAQ:KRNT) reported first-quarter 2026 revenue at the high end of its guidance range and said customer activity is strengthening as the company pushes further into digital, on-demand textile production.
Chief Executive Officer Ronen Samuel said on the company’s earnings call that the quarter was “a strong start to the year” and evidence that Kornit’s strategy is translating into execution. The company posted revenue of approximately $48.5 million and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $2.8 million. Kornit also generated positive operating cash flow for the 10th consecutive quarter.
Samuel said trailing 12-month impressions grew about 12% year over year, driven by higher utilization across Kornit’s installed base and the ongoing shift from screen printing to digital production. He said approximately 40% of first-quarter system sales came from new customers, while about 65% were to traditional screen-printing customers, primarily targeting long-run production environments.
Recurring Revenue and AIC Momentum
Chief Financial Officer Assaf Zipori said total revenue for the quarter reflected year-over-year product and services growth of 4% and 7%, respectively. Revenue from Kornit’s AIC model grew approximately 103% compared with the first quarter of 2025.
Kornit ended the quarter with approximately $27 million in annual recurring revenue, or ARR, after adding about $2.1 million during the quarter. Samuel said the company expects a “meaningful step-up” in ARR in the second quarter, with further acceleration in the second half of the year, based on signed backlog, advanced pipeline and customers committed to AIC.
In response to a question from Morgan Stanley analyst Maya Neuman, Samuel said adoption of AIC is particularly high among new customers in the screen-printing market. He said more than 90% of those customers are entering through AIC, while adoption among customized-design customers varies depending on whether they are new or existing customers.
Samuel said AIC can shorten the sales cycle and improve predictability. He added that AIC customers, on average, print more impressions than customers using traditional capital expenditure purchases because they have both commitments and incentives to produce more.
Margins, Cash Flow and Buybacks
Kornit reported a first-quarter non-GAAP gross margin of 41%, down from 45.2% in the prior-year quarter. Zipori said the decline primarily reflected a higher mix of systems and services relative to consumables, tied to normal seasonality. He said gross margin was also affected by foreign exchange movements related to the strengthening Israeli shekel and certain tariff-related costs, which together reduced gross margin by about 190 basis points year over year.
Non-GAAP operating expenses were $25.5 million, down 7% from the prior-year period despite an unfavorable foreign exchange impact of approximately $2 million from the stronger shekel. Zipori said Kornit remains disciplined on costs while continuing to invest in growth initiatives, product innovation and go-to-market activity.
The company ended the quarter with approximately $462.2 million in cash, bank deposits and marketable securities. Operating cash flow was $6.3 million. During the quarter, Kornit repurchased just over $30 million of stock under its share purchase program. Since launching its initial repurchase program in 2023 through the end of the first quarter of 2026, the company has repurchased approximately 9.1 million shares for a total gross amount of about $200 million.
Asked about future buybacks, Zipori said Kornit continues to evaluate capital allocation across organic growth, acquisitions and repurchases. He noted that the company has authorization to buy up to $100 million, but said the pace does not necessarily imply a consistent quarterly run rate.
New Platforms Expand Addressable Markets
Samuel highlighted Kornit’s Konnections 2026 event, which he described as a defining moment for the company and the broader industry. He said the event drew close to 600 participants, including existing customers, prospects, brands, retailers, fulfillers and partners.
At the event, Kornit demonstrated its Atlas MATRIX platform for the first time. Samuel said customer response exceeded expectations, citing the platform’s ability to produce across cotton, polyester and blends with industrial-scale quality and consistency. He said the system is powered by Kornit’s Karbon Shield technology, which is designed to enable digital production on polyester fabrics while preventing dye migration.
Samuel said Atlas MATRIX expands Kornit’s addressable market into polyester, sportswear, performance apparel and other growth segments. He said the company is already building a meaningful backlog of new and upgrade orders.
Kornit also showcased Apollo in live production environments and, for the first time, demonstrated production on cut pieces using Apollo. Samuel said that capability opens opportunities in workflows that historically have been difficult to automate digitally at scale.
Following Konnections, Kornit introduced Presto MAX PLUS at Texprocess in Frankfurt. Samuel said the product generated high interest in footwear, technical apparel, camouflage, performance wear, home décor and other high-performance applications. He said Presto MAX PLUS is powered by Kornit’s DuraTech architecture and is intended to deliver durability and print performance on demanding fabrics without traditional pre- and post-processing steps.
PrintFactory Acquisition and Second-Quarter Outlook
Kornit also discussed its announced acquisition of PrintFactory, which Samuel called a strategic transaction that strengthens the company’s software, workflow and production automation capabilities. Zipori said the transaction, announced after quarter-end, is expected to close during the second quarter.
Samuel said PrintFactory is already deployed across thousands of production sites globally and supports Kornit’s long-term strategy to build connected digital infrastructure for textile and apparel production, linking demand generation, workflow, production and fulfillment.
For the second quarter of 2026, Kornit guided for revenue of $51 million to $55 million and adjusted EBITDA margin between negative 5% and breakeven. Zipori said the outlook reflects continued momentum in customer activity, backlog growth and execution, while also including investments in strategic initiatives and ongoing pressure from the stronger shekel.
Samuel said Kornit’s backlog and pipeline are improving visibility into the second half of the year. He told analysts the company expects revenue from Atlas MATRIX to begin in the second quarter, including both new shipments and upgrades, with most upgrades expected in the third quarter and early fourth quarter and continuing into next year.
In closing remarks, Samuel said the industry is accelerating toward digital on-demand production and that Kornit is increasingly positioned as a platform enabling that shift. He said the company is entering the rest of 2026 with stronger momentum, improved visibility and growing confidence in its strategy.
About Kornit Digital (NASDAQ:KRNT)
Kornit Digital Ltd. (NASDAQ: KRNT) is a global technology company specializing in digital textile printing solutions. Headquartered in Rosh Ha'Ayin, Israel, Kornit develops and manufactures an integrated ecosystem of industrial inkjet printers, proprietary NeoPigment inks and pretreatment systems. Its product portfolio addresses a range of applications including direct-to-garment, direct-to-fabric, digital embellishment and hybrid manufacturing, enabling businesses to produce custom apparel, sportswear, fashion and home textiles on demand.
The company's flagship offerings include the Avalanche and Atlas series for high-volume production, as well as the Storm and Helix lines designed for mid-to-large scale operations.
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