Motorcar Parts Cuts Fiscal Sales Outlook After Order Delays

The Tip Desk · November 9, 2026 · 3 min read

The aftermarket parts maker now sees fiscal 2027 net sales of $715 million to $740 million after second-quarter sales of $169.2 million.

Motorcar Parts of America (MPAA) cut its fiscal 2027 net sales outlook to $715 million to $740 million from $780 million to $800 million after delayed customer orders and later launches of new business awards, and it now estimates operating income of $37 million to $44 million for the year ending March 31, 2027.

The remanufacturer, manufacturer and distributor of automotive aftermarket parts said the revision reflects delayed orders for existing and new awards. It expects increased sales in the second half of the current fiscal year compared with the same period a year ago.

Net sales for the fiscal second quarter ended September 30, 2026 were $169.2 million, compared with $221.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Prior-year sales included $14.8 million of core revenue from inventory realignment at certain customer distribution centers. The company said the remaining $37.5 million decline primarily reflected delayed customer orders and lower tariff pass-throughs.

Sequential sales were little changed from the first quarter’s $168.0 million, a period in which the company had reaffirmed the higher full-year sales range.

Gross profit was $40.9 million, with gross margin of 24.2% versus 19.3% a year earlier. Gross margin was impacted by non-cash expenses equivalent to 2.8 percentage points and benefited from one-time items equivalent to a net 5.7 percentage points, including about $11.1 million of IEEPA tariff refunds. Foreign currency was a $2.4 million, or 1.4 percentage point, headwind.

Operating income was $10.0 million, compared with $16.4 million a year earlier, impacted by $11.2 million of non-cash expenses and benefited from a net $9.1 million of one-time items. Interest expense decreased to $11.3 million from $12.7 million, primarily due to lower sales and lower utilization of accounts receivable discount programs.

Net income was $1.4 million, or $0.07 basic and ($0.03) diluted per share, compared with a net loss of $2.1 million, or ($0.11) a share, in the prior year. Net income was impacted by $6.0 million of non-cash expenses and benefited from a net $6.9 million of one-time items.

The company received approximately $60 million in annualized new customer business awards. Initial shipments have begun; the majority of those awards, and about $25 million of additional annualized awards it expects to secure by fiscal year-end, are expected to launch later in fiscal 2027.

Chairman, president and chief executive officer Selwyn Joffe said the company has benefited from the recent bankruptcy of First Brands, that liquidation of First Brands inventories temporarily impacted the timing of certain new orders, and that the Centric Parts relaunch is not included in current growth estimates. He said the company completed relocation of its heavy-duty program to Mexico, with an expected reduction in manufacturing costs.

Fiscal 2027 operating income guidance includes estimated non-cash expenses of about $30 million and transition expenses of about $5 million for the heavy-duty Mexico relocation. IEEPA tariff refunds were about $11 million for the three months ended September 30, 2026. Depreciation and amortization is estimated at about $9 million for the year.

For the six months ending March 31, 2027, net sales are estimated at $378 million to $403 million, a 0.5% decline to a 6.1% increase versus the prior-year six months of $380.0 million, which included $19.9 million of core revenue. Excluding that core revenue, sales are estimated to increase 5.0% to 11.9%. Operating income for that six-month period is estimated at $23 million to $30 million.

At September 30, 2026, revolver borrowings were $126.6 million and cash was $20.8 million. Revolver availability plus cash was approximately $104.8 million. About $20.1 million remained available under the share repurchase program.