Insteel Industries reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 net earnings of $9 million, or $0.46 per share, down from $15.2 million, or $0.78 per share, a year earlier. Shipments increased 1.7% from the prior-year quarter, supported by healthy infrastructure activity, but higher raw material, freight, and manufacturing costs more than offset the benefit of an 8.1% rise in average selling prices. Gross margin contracted to 10.2% from 17.1%, and the company cited wet weather and scheduling delays on several customer projects, including data center work, as factors that moderated shipments. Management expects those delays to be timing-related and anticipates an acceleration in data center shipments during the current quarter, while also announcing a price increase effective July 13 to recover rising costs. The company ended the quarter with $22.9 million in cash and no borrowings on its $100 million revolving credit facility, and it repurchased 75,000 shares for $1.9 million during the period.
Insteel Industries IncNet earnings fell to $9M from $15.2M, gross margin contracted to 10.2% from 17.1% due to higher costs.