On August 10, Dole plc (NYSE:DOLE) reported second-quarter 2026 financial results that told two very different stories under one roof. Revenue climbed 2.9% to $2.499 billion for the three months ended June 30, and net income more than doubled to $35.1 million. Yet Adjusted EBITDA fell 14.8% to $116.8 million, dragged down by fruit sourcing costs the company had already flagged. The quarter is a reminder that top-line growth and bottom-line health do not always move together.
Where The Growth Is Real
The clearest bright spot was the Diversified Fresh Produce – Americas & ROW segment, where revenue jumped 13.9%, or $53.8 million, in the quarter, and Adjusted EBITDA rose 33.8%, or $5.2 million. Dole pointed to seasonal timing benefits with North American cherries and underlying growth in kiwi and avocados, along with better pricing in its southern hemisphere export business. That segment did the heaviest lifting in an otherwise mixed quarter.
Dole also moved on two deals that reshape its balance sheet. On July 1, the company completed the sale of its port in Ecuador, a transaction expected to bring in roughly $95 million in net proceeds, and it also completed the acquisition of the Greenfood Fresh Produce division in Scandinavia. Net debt stood at $746.1 million and net leverage at 2.0x as of June 30, with the Ecuador proceeds still to show up in the third quarter numbers.
The company kept returning cash to shareholders through all of this. On August 7, the board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, payable October 7 to shareholders of record as of September 16, following a $0.085 dividend paid July 8. Dole also repurchased $10.0 million of stock in the quarter at an average price of $13.88 per share, with $85.4 million still authorized for buybacks.
Fruit Costs Bite Hard
The pressure showed up fastest in Fresh Fruit. Adjusted EBITDA for that segment fell 30.9%, or $22.5 million, as Dole absorbed higher fruit sourcing costs, elevated shipping and fuel costs, and higher pineapple growing costs tied to adverse weather that also cut pineapple volumes across every market it serves. The strengthening of the Costa Rican Colón against the US dollar added another layer of cost. Fresh Fruit revenue came in essentially flat at $972.8 million, as higher banana pricing in North America was offset by lower banana volumes there.
Those pressures flowed through the whole income statement. Gross profit fell $23.0 million and operating income dropped $55.7 million, hurt by the higher cost of sales, a $23.054 million non-recurring charge tied to settling a historical legal matter and some restructuring costs, and the absence of the large asset-sale gains from selling land in Hawaii the year before. Adjusted EBITDA for the group fell 14.8%, or $20.4 million, and Adjusted Diluted EPS came in at $0.46, down from $0.55 a year earlier. The Diversified Fresh Produce – EMEA segment did not escape either, with Adjusted EBITDA down 6.2% on weaker results in South Africa, the Netherlands and Spain. Looking ahead, Dole said fuel and shipping costs remain elevated, and geopolitical developments continue to create uncertainty, calling the operating environment complex.
What The Market Is Pricing
Hedge fund ownership of Dole fell from 32 funds to 26 in the most recent quarter, a pullback that lines up with the margin pressure in the results. Short interest sits at 4.76% of float, a level that suggests some organized skepticism without signaling a heavily crowded short trade. The stock trades at a forward P/E of 8.76, as of September 14, a multiple that prices in little growth and leaves the market unconvinced the Fresh Fruit cost pressures are behind Dole yet.
The Tension Ahead
Dole is targeting full-year Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $400 million for 2026, banking on cost pressures moderating and the Ecuador and Greenfood deals paying off. For the growth case to hold, the Americas & ROW momentum needs to keep offsetting what Fresh Fruit is losing to sourcing and shipping costs. For the caution to hold, fuel costs, currency swings and weather would need to keep squeezing margins the way they did in the second quarter. The next few quarters should show which force wins out.
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