Operator

Greetings. Welcome to the Strand & Company First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note, this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Alexandra Schilt. You may begin.

Alexandra Schilt

Good morning, and thank you for joining Stran & Company's 2026 First Quarter Financial Results and Business Update Conference Call. With us today are Andy Shape, Chief Executive Officer; and David Browner, Chief Financial Officer.

Yesterday, we issued a press release detailing our results, which is available on our website at ir.stran.com. Before we begin, please note that today's remarks may include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties as described in our SEC filings.

With that, I'll turn the call over to Andy Shape. Please go ahead.

Andrew Shape
Co-Founder, President, CEO & Director

Thank you, Ali. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. The first quarter of 2026 demonstrated that Stran has reached a genuine inflection point in profitability. It validates the strength of our platform, the depth of our client relationships and the scalability of our operating model. Most importantly, it confirms what we've long believed that investments we have made over the past years are now translating directly into profitable growth.

During the first quarter, total revenue grew 8.9% year-over-year to $31.2 million, reflecting continued momentum across both existing client relationships and new business wins. Even more importantly, that growth translated into significantly improved profitability and operating leverage across the organization. Gross profit increased 13.7% to $9.6 million, while gross margin expanded more than 100 basis points to 30.9% when compared to the prior year.