💸 The Tape

Curaleaf's Reset Is Working. Just Not Where The Headline Says.

Curaleaf Holdings (TSX: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF) posted second-quarter net revenue of $340.1 million, up 10% year-over-year and 5% sequentially. Chairman and CEO Boris Jordan called it a second consecutive quarter of domestic growth and proof that the reset is taking hold in a durable way.

He's right that something is working. It's worth being precise about what.

The domestic story is a wholesale story

Domestic revenue reached $288.7 million, up 7% from $269.7 million. Break it apart and the composition matters more than the total.

Retail revenue grew to $224.4 million from $216.4 million — up 3.7%. Wholesale revenue grew to $64.0 million from $53.2 million — up 20.4%.

Now layer in the footprint. Curaleaf expanded Florida retail to 73 dispensaries during the quarter with openings in Jacksonville Beach and Fernandina Beach, taking the national operated-and-managed count to 174. Two more followed after quarter-end in Edgewater and Boynton Beach, reaching 176.

More doors, 3.7% retail growth. The release doesn't disclose comparable sales — and unlike Green Thumb, which published a -1.1% comp last week, Curaleaf leaves that math to you. Add stores and grow retail by less than four points, and the mature base almost certainly isn't growing.

This is now the sector's signature: wholesale is doing the heavy lifting while retail treads water. Jushi's wholesale grew 68%. Curaleaf's grew 20%. The channel with the receivable risk is the channel with the momentum.

International is the actual standout

International revenue hit $51.4 million, up 26% from $40.9 million — and it grew across every line. Retail $16.4 million (+26%), wholesale $31.9 million (+23%), management fees $3.1 million from $2.0 million. Sequentially, international grew 8.8% against domestic's 4.2%.

For the six months, international revenue reached $98.6 million versus $75.8 million — a 30% gain while domestic managed 4.5%.

Curaleaf backed that with capital: it bought out the remaining 45% of Four20 Pharma, its German subsidiary, taking Curaleaf International to 100% ownership, and appointed Four20 co-founder Torsten Greif to the board alongside Faith Charles of Thompson Hine. Post-quarter, Curaleaf Spain became the first company to receive approval for two cannabis medicines.

That's the same conclusion Tilray reached and SNDL is now chasing with its EU-GMP audit at Atholville: international medical is where the margin lives while domestic markets grind through price compression. Curaleaf just went from partial owner to full owner of its version of it.

The margin paradox

Here's the line that deserves scrutiny. Gross margin improved 70 basis points to 50%, with gross profit of $169.9 million. Good — that's real operating improvement in a compressing market.

But adjusted EBITDA margin fell 120 basis points to 20.6%, on $70.1 million. For the six months, gross margin declined 80bps to 49% while adjusted EBITDA margin fell 100bps to 20.1%.

Gross margin up, EBITDA margin down means one thing: operating expenses are growing faster than the business. Curaleaf isn't losing the fight at the product level. It's losing it below that line — and the release doesn't itemize where, which is a disclosure gap worth asking about on the call.

Mind the tax timing

Net income from continuing operations was $12.5 million, or $0.05 per share, in the quarter. For the six months: $82.6 million, or $0.32 per share.

Do the subtraction. Roughly $70 million of the first half's net income landed in Q1 — which is where the Schedule III reclassification and the unwinding of 280E showed up on Curaleaf's books.

That matters for how you read this print. Jushi and Green Thumb both booked their tax benefits in Q2, flattering results that were weaker underneath. Curaleaf's already happened. The $12.5 million here is closer to a clean operating quarter — smaller, but less borrowed from an accounting change. Just don't annualize the $0.32.

The balance sheet is the constraint

$107.0 million of cash against $611.5 million of debt, net of discounts and financing fees.

Set that beside Green Thumb's $283.6 million cash against $283.0 million debt and the strategic gap is obvious. Net debt around $504 million against roughly $267 million of annualized adjusted EBITDA is about 1.9x — serviceable, not alarming. But $107 million of cash doesn't leave much room for opportunism in a sector where distressed assets are hitting the market weekly.

Capital allocation reflects that. Curaleaf retired and repurchased 1.01 million shares for $7.4 million in the first half. Meanwhile basic weighted average shares rose to 263.1 million from 252.4 million — an increase of 10.6 million shares, or 4.2% dilution.

Ten million shares issued, one million retired. The buyback is a rounding error, not a capital return program.

Capital expenditures ran $32.9 million across six months on facility upgrades, automation and selective retail expansion. Disciplined, given the cash position.

The forward-looking items

Three worth flagging.

Dark Heart, an ultra-premium flower brand, launched across 11 states. In a market defined by price compression, moving up-market rather than chasing volume is the correct instinct — though "strong consumer reception" is a press release phrase, not a data point.

Curaleaf applied to register all medical cultivation, processing and dispensing locations with the DEA. This is the quiet one. Schedule III brings DEA registration obligations, and getting in the queue early is real positioning, not theater. Very few operators have said this out loud yet.

And CURA options now trade on the Montreal Exchange — a liquidity and institutional-access improvement that costs the company nothing.

The read

The reset is genuine. Two consecutive quarters of domestic growth, gross margin expanding, international compounding at 26%, and a tax benefit already banked rather than pending.

But the growth is wholesale and international, not domestic retail. The EBITDA margin is going the wrong way while gross margin improves. And $107 million of cash against $611.5 million of debt limits what Curaleaf can do with the opportunity Jordan describes.

Built for Growth is the strategy. The balance sheet is the governor.

📈 Dog Walkers

$VRNO ( ▼ 7.04% ) Reports Steady Q2

Verano Holdings (Cboe CA: VRNO) (OTCQX: VRNO) reported Q2 revenue of $218 million, up 5% sequentially and 8% year-over-year — a third consecutive quarter of gains, which George Archos rightly flagged.

Then look at what it cost. Gross margin fell to 46% from 56% a year ago — a ten-point collapse, and down again from 48% last quarter. SG&A rose to $92 million, or 42% of revenue. Net the two and income from operations was $3.1 million, against $26.2 million last year and $13.1 million last quarter. That's an 88% year-over-year decline and a 76% sequential one, on revenue that grew both times.

Adjusted EBITDA of $51 million (24%) looks respectable until you set it beside $66 million a year ago. The net loss narrowed to $13 million from $19 million — improvement driven below the operating line, not within it.

The genuine bright spot: operating cash flow of $31 million, nearly triple last year's $11 million, against $12 million of capex. Capex guidance tightened to $40–50 million for the year. Liquidity holds at $85 million cash and $295 million working capital, against $393 million of total debt.

Strategically, Verano is positioning for a US listing — a 1-for-5 reverse split completed, a $20 million buyback authorized ($2 million used), and DEA registration applications filed for state-licensed medical operations. Shares outstanding now 73.2 million.

The footprint keeps growing: 86 Florida dispensaries, 163 nationwide across 13 states, plus Virginia adult-use landing July 1, 2027.

Verano is buying its way to 2027 with an operating engine currently generating 1.4% margins. The cash flow says it can. The gross margin says hurry.

📺 Trade To Black

Verano Holdings Posts Third Straight Quarter of Growth | TTB Presented by Flowhub

• Verano's leadership takes the mic. CEO George Archos and CIO Aaron Miles join Shadd Dales to break down Q2 2026: revenue of $218 million, up 8% year-over-year for a third straight quarter of growth, with gross profit at $100 million (46% of revenue) and adjusted EBITDA of $51 million.

• Verano is positioning for a US listing. The quarter included a $20 million buyback authorization, a 1-for-5 reverse stock split aimed at advancing a U.S. exchange listing, and DEA applications filed to register certain state-licensed medical cannabis operations.

• The Florida build continues. Verano opened its 85th and 86th Florida dispensaries, bringing the national footprint to 163 locations across 13 states.

• Seth Yakatan returns for Aurora. Special guest host Seth Yakatan breaks down Verano's print alongside Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ: ACB), which posted net revenue of $67.6 million with 17% growth in international medical. Aurora's Safari Flower Company landed a three-year EU-GMP certification, and the company closed the quarter debt-free with $149.1 million in cash and short-term investments.