💸 The Tape

^{Tilray Brands (Nasdaq: TLRY) opened fiscal 2026 on a high note, proving that cannabis profits don’t have to be hazy. For the quarter ended August 31, 2025, the company reported net income of $1.5 million—a sharp reversal from last year’s $34.7 million loss—on record quarterly revenue of $209.5 million, up 5% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA climbed 9% to $10.2 million, marking another solid step toward Tilray’s full-year guidance of $62–72 million.}

Chairman and CEO Irwin D. Simon framed the results as validation of Tilray’s “strategic vision and disciplined execution,” pointing to record revenue, positive cash flow trends, and what he called “proof points” of operational excellence. The message to shareholders was clear: after years of restructuring and acquisitions, Tilray is tightening the screws on efficiency and profitability.

Segment Highlights

• Cannabis: Net revenue rose 5% to $64.5 million, maintaining Tilray’s #1 share in Canadian adult-use sales and a 10% gain in international cannabis revenue. Margins dipped slightly to 36% (from 40%), reflecting pricing pressure but continued scale efficiencies.

• Beverage Alcohol: Revenue held steady at $55.7 million, as the company digests its growing U.S. craft-brew and RTD portfolio. Gross margin came in at 38%.

• Wellness: Sales inched up 3% to $15.2 million with a consistent 32% margin.

• Distribution: European wholesale operations generated $74 million (+9%), though margins softened modestly to 11%.

Cash, Debt, and Discipline

The big operational headline: cash used in operations improved by $34 million year-over-year, landing at just $(1.3) million. Tilray ended the quarter with $265 million in cash and trimmed net debt to $4 million, bringing leverage to a mere 0.07× TTM EBITDA—balance-sheet breathing room rare in cannabis land.

Simon emphasized that the company’s diversified platform across cannabis, beverages, and wellness provides “strategic flexibility” as U.S. rescheduling and European reform take shape. “Tilray isn’t just participating in the global cannabis economy—we’re positioning to lead it,” he said.

Outlook

Management reaffirmed fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $62–72 million, signaling confidence that its integration playbook is delivering. With cash on hand, improved free-cash generation, and a stronger foothold in key global markets, Tilray appears poised to consolidate its lead as one of the few cannabis operators reporting consistent profit.

Still, margin pressure and global regulatory uncertainty remain watchpoints—but for now, Tilray’s earnings narrative has finally shifted from survival to sustainability.

📈 Dog Walkers

Germany Slows Down Sales

What’s Going On Here: Just months after becoming Europe’s boldest cannabis reformer, Germany is already tightening the reins. The federal cabinet this week approved an amendment to restrict the online sale and mail delivery of cannabis, responding to what officials called an “alarming surge” in imports since recreational legalization took effect in April 2024.

Under the new rules, patients seeking medical cannabis must have direct, in-person consultations with physicians, while all prescriptions must be dispensed through physical pharmacies—no more home deliveries or click-and-ship cannabis care.

“The massive increase in cannabis imports and the practice of prescribing cannabis online without any personal medical contact require political action,” said Health Minister Nina Warken, noting that imports jumped over 400% in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year.

Officials stressed that this isn’t about limiting access for legitimate patients. Prescriptions issued through Germany’s social health insurance system rose only slightly, suggesting much of the growth stemmed from telemedicine and gray-market prescribing platforms. “People who really need medicinal cannabis will still be able to get it,” Warken assured.

Still, not everyone is convinced. A spokesperson from Berlin-based Jiroo Pharmacy, which specializes in cannabis, warned the new rule could disproportionately affect patients in rural areas with limited access to qualified doctors.

The move underscores the German government’s challenge in balancing medical oversight with patient access while containing the unintended side effects of its recreational reform.

Germany may have legalized cannabis to curb the illicit market—but for now, it’s tightening regulation on one of its newest legal ones.

Nebraska Is Coming Online... Kinda

What’s Going On Here: After missing its Oct. 1 voter-mandated deadline, the Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission broke the stalemate this week, awarding the state’s first two cultivation licenses — and defying a legal threat from the Attorney General’s Office in the process.

The inaugural winners: Nancy Laughlin-Wagner of Midwest Cultivators Group LLC and Patrick Thomas of Raymond. Each now has five business days to accept the offer. Thomas, a lifelong Nebraskan and seasoned contractor with a USDA hemp license, pledged to “do right by the people.” Laughlin-Wagner’s team boasts deep chops in healthcare, accounting, and agriculture, positioning their group as a turnkey contender for compliance and patient safety.

The Commission’s vote was unanimous — though not without drama. Two other applicants, including Crista Eggers, who led last year’s medical-cannabis ballot victory (winning a stunning 71% of voter support), fell short of the 70-point cutoff. Commissioners refused to disclose who gave what scores, leaving advocates wondering whether Nebraska’s long-awaited program will start on shaky transparency ground.

Each cultivator may grow no more than 1,250 flowering plants, per the state’s strict regulations. Future licenses for manufacturing, transportation, and dispensaries are expected later this year.

Yet controversy looms: under emergency draft rules, dispensaries cannot sell flower, vapes, smokeables, or edibles — only pills and tinctures. Prevention advocates praised the restriction (“as challenging as giving a cat a bath,” one quipped approvingly), while patient groups blasted it as ignoring voter intent and science.

For now, Nebraska has officially joined the medical-cannabis map — cautiously, bureaucratically, and perhaps a bit begrudgingly. But as one advocate put it: “After 10 years of fighting for this, two licenses are better than zero.”

🗞️ The News

📺 YouTube

Hemp Industry's Dirty Secret: 99% Non-Compliance Revealed | TTB Powered by Dutchie

What we will cover:

✅ How deep does the hemp fraud problem really go — and why isn’t Washington doing anything about it? Across the U.S., billions of dollars in hemp-derived THC and THCa flower are being sold under the guise of “compliant hemp.” But according to testing data analyzed by compliance expert Kirk Barry, 99% of THCa flower products exceed the legal THC limit under federal law. The result? An unregulated gray market that’s outpacing the licensed cannabis industry — with little to no oversight.

In TDR Trade To Black presented by Dutchie, host Anthony Varrell brings in Kirk Barry, a fraud examiner and hemp industry watchdog, to unpack how this loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill is distorting the market, undercutting legal operators, and costing states millions in lost tax revenue.