Creative Realities increased first-quarter revenue after acquiring Cineplex Digital Media, but lower margins in hardware and services, weather-related delays, and higher operating costs weighed on profitability.
DooH: Creative Realities Posts Q1 Growth but Reports Wider Loss
The Louisville, Kentucky-based company posted revenue of $16.3 million (all figures USD) for the quarter ended March 31, up from $9.7 million a year earlier. About $7.9 million of that revenue came from CDM, which Creative Realities acquired from Canadian cinema operator Cineplex in late 2025.
Lower Hardware and Services Margins
Gross profit rose to $5.6 million from $4.5 million, but gross margin fell to 34.2%, compared with 45.7% in the prior-year period. Hardware margin dropped to 14.0% from 32.1%, while services margin declined to 42.0% from 53.0%. The lower hardware margin reflected an unusually high mix of QSR deployments and one-time costs tied to transitioning away from an outsourced installer for a large CDM customer.
Projects Delayed by Winter Storms
CEO Rick Mills said revenue was affected by winter storms and seasonal factors across much of the company’s operating footprint. The company also reported an operating loss of $6.2 million, compared with a $0.7 million operating loss a year earlier. Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $7.9 million, or $0.74 per diluted share.
Creative Realities said the integration of CDM is nearly complete and expects stronger sales through the rest of 2026, supported by its current book of business, new opportunities, and the CDM acquisition. When the deal was announced, Creative Realities said CDM would double the company’s scale and add a large Canadian digital out-of-home network spanning malls, QSR, financial services, retail, and lottery verticals.