Blue Bird Corp

1. Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation

Nature of Business

Blue Bird Body Company ("BBBC"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Blue Bird Corporation, was incorporated in 1958 and has manufactured, assembled and sold school buses to a variety of municipal, federal and commercial customers since 1927. The majority of BBBC’s sales are made to an independent dealer network, which in turn sells buses to ultimate end users. References in these notes to financial statements to “Blue Bird,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us” refer to Blue Bird Corporation and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, unless the context specifically indicates otherwise. We are headquartered in Macon, Georgia.

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant inter-company transactions and accounts have been eliminated in consolidation.

The Company’s fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to September 30 with its quarters consisting of thirteen weeks in most years. The fiscal years ended September 27, 2025, September 28, 2024 and September 30, 2023 are referred to herein as “fiscal 2025,” “fiscal 2024” and “fiscal 2023,” respectively. There were 52 weeks in fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023.

Impacts of Supply Chain Constraints on our Business

During the second half of our fiscal year that ended on October 2, 2021 ("fiscal 2021"), the Company, and automotive industry as a whole, began experiencing significant supply chain constraints that arose subsequent to the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19. Additionally, the already challenged global supply chain for automotive parts was further impacted, including continuing escalating inventory purchase costs, by additional stress resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. These supply chain disruptions had a significant adverse impact on our operations and results during the second half of fiscal 2021 and all of fiscal 2022. Specifically, they resulted in higher purchasing costs, including freight costs incurred to expedite receipt of critical components, increased manufacturing inefficiencies and our inability to complete the production of buses to fulfill sales orders, that outpaced the sales prices that we charged for the buses we sold during these periods.

During fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024, there were slight improvements in the supply chain's ability to deliver the parts and components necessary to support our production operations, resulting in increased (i) manufacturing efficiencies and (ii) production of buses to fulfill sales orders. However, the higher costs charged by suppliers to procure inventory continued over these same periods and adversely impacted our operations and results. However, the cumulative increases in sales prices we charged for our buses outpaced the higher costs we paid to procure inventory, resulting in gross profit and gross margin in fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024 that were consistent with, or better than, historic levels experienced prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supply chain disruptions continued into fiscal 2025 as there were still occasional shortages of certain critical components as well as ongoing increases in raw materials costs, both of which impacted our business and operations by limiting the number and/or mix of school buses that we could produce and sell as well as increasing the costs to manufacture buses. Nonetheless, ongoing improvements in manufacturing operations that have resulted in the consistent production of buses, when coupled with periodic pricing actions taken to ensure that the increased sales prices charged for buses keep pace with increased costs to procure inventory to produce buses, allowed the Company to report gross profit and gross margin that were better than those reported in fiscal 2024.

Significant uncertainty exists concerning the magnitude and duration of the ongoing supply chain constraints and accordingly, precludes any prediction as to the ultimate severity of the adverse impacts on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity.

Impacts of Governmental Policies, Programs, Regulations and/or Laws on Our Business

Changes in trade policies and tariffs began to materially impact our procurement costs for certain imported inventory during the second half of fiscal 2025. However, such higher inventory purchase costs did not negatively impact our operating results or cash flows during the period as such impact was offset by increases in the sales prices we charged for our products. Actions we have taken, and/or are taking, to mitigate the impact from changes in trade policies and tariffs include increasing the volume of steel we purchase at fixed prices up to four quarters in advance, working with our suppliers to identify alternative supply chain sources to minimize the increase in inventory costs and proactively announcing price increases to partially or fully offset our increased costs to produce buses.

In addition to supply chain constraints discussed previously above, the deferral of funds relating to governmental grants, subsidies and/or other incentives that are intended to partially, or fully, offset the higher price of alternative powered school buses impacted, to a lesser extent, the mix of school buses that we produced and sold during the first nine months of fiscal 2025. Although we noted an increase in the flow of government grant money during the second half of fiscal 2025, the timing of some of these payments occurred too late in the year to adjust our production schedule to build and sell more higher priced alternative powered school buses, resulting in the production of these buses being deferred to subsequent periods.

Significant uncertainty exists concerning the magnitude of the impact and duration of changes in governmental policies, programs, regulations and/or laws and their potential impact on the overall economy, both within the U.S and globally. Accordingly, the magnitude and duration of such changes and their related financial impacts on our business cannot be estimated at this time.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Recently Issued Accounting Standards

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions. At the date of the financial statements, these estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities, and during the reporting period, these estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. For example, significant management judgments are required in determining excess, obsolete, or unsalable inventory, allowance for doubtful accounts, potential impairment of long-lived assets, goodwill and intangible assets, the accounting for self-insurance reserves, warranty reserves, pension obligations, income taxes, environmental liabilities and contingencies. Future events, including continued supply chain constraints and/or unfavorable governmental policies, programs, regulations and/or laws and their related economic impacts, and their effects cannot be predicted with certainty, and, accordingly, the Company’s accounting estimates require the exercise of judgment. The accounting estimates used in the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements may change as new events occur, as more experience is acquired, as additional information is obtained and as the Company’s operating environment changes. The Company evaluates and updates its assumptions and estimates on an ongoing basis and may employ outside experts to assist in the Company’s evaluations. Actual results could differ from the estimates that the Company has used.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. The Company deposits its cash and cash equivalents, which are or may become in excess of federally insured limits, with many of the same high credit-quality financial institutions with which it has outstanding loans under the Credit Agreement (defined below) and evaluates and manages the risk of credit loss on a net basis. To date, the Company has not experienced any losses related to its cash and cash equivalents balances.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts receivable consist of amounts owed to the Company by customers. The Company monitors collections and payments from customers, and generally does not require collateral. Accounts receivable are generally due within 30 to 90 days. The Company provides for the possible inability to collect accounts receivable by recording an allowance for doubtful accounts. The Company reserves for an account when it is considered potentially uncollectible. The Company estimates its allowance for doubtful accounts based on historical experience, aging of accounts receivable and information regarding the creditworthiness of its customers. To date, losses have been within the range of management’s expectations. The Company writes off accounts receivable if it determines that the account is uncollectible.

Revenue Recognition

The Company records revenue when the following five steps have been completed:

1. Identification of the contract(s) with a customer;

2. Identification of the performance obligation(s) in the contract;

3. Determination of the transaction price;

4. Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligation(s) in the contract; and

5. Recognition of revenue, when, or as, we satisfy performance obligations.

The Company records revenue when performance obligations are satisfied by transferring control of a promised good or service to the customer. The Company evaluates the transfer of control primarily from the customer’s perspective where the customer has the ability to direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits from, that good or service.

Our product revenue includes sales of buses and bus parts, each of which are generally recognized as revenue at a point in time, once all conditions for revenue recognition have been met, as they represent our performance obligations in a sale. For buses, control is generally transferred and the customer has the ability to direct the use of and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits of the product when the product is delivered or when the product has been completed, is ready for delivery, has been paid for, its title has transferred and it is awaiting pickup by the customer. For certain bus sale transactions, we may provide incentives including payment of a limited amount of future interest charges our customers may incur related to their purchase and financing of the bus with third party financing companies. We reduce revenue at the recording date by the full amount of potential future interest we may be obligated to pay, which is an application of the "most likely amount" method. For parts sales, control is generally transferred when the customer has the ability to direct the use of and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits of the products, which generally coincides with the point in time when the customer has assumed risk of loss and title has passed for the goods sold.

The Company sells extended warranties related to its products. Revenue related to these contracts is recognized based on the stand-alone selling price of the arrangement, on a straight-line basis over the contract period, and costs thereunder are expensed as incurred.

The Company includes shipping and handling revenues, which are costs billed to customers, in net sales on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Shipping and handling costs incurred are included in cost of goods sold.

See Note 12, Revenue, for further revenue information. See Note 3, Supplemental Financial Information, for further information on warranties.

Self-Insurance

The Company is self-insured for the majority of its workers’ compensation and medical claims. The expected ultimate cost for claims incurred as of the balance sheet date is not discounted and is recognized as a liability. Self-insurance losses for claims filed and claims incurred but not reported are accrued based upon estimates of the aggregate liability for uninsured claims, using loss development factors and actuarial assumptions followed in the insurance industry and historical loss development experience. See Note 3, Supplemental Financial Information, and Note 16, Benefit Plans, for further information.

Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables, accounts payable, revolving credit facility and long-term debt. The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, trade receivables and accounts payable approximate their fair values because of the short-term maturity and highly liquid nature of these instruments. The carrying value of the Company’s revolving credit facility, if any, and long-term debt approximates fair value due to the variable rates of interest, which reset frequently, relating to these debt instruments. See Note 8, Debt, for further discussion.

Derivative Instruments

In limited circumstances, we may utilize derivative instruments to manage certain exposures to changes in foreign currency exchange rates or interest rates relating to variable rate debt. The fair values of all derivative instruments are recognized as assets or liabilities at the balance sheet date. Changes in the fair value of these derivative instruments are recognized in our operating results or included in other comprehensive income or loss, depending on whether the derivative instrument qualifies, and is appropriately designated, for hedge accounting treatment and if so, whether it represents a fair value or cash flow hedge. Gains and losses on derivative instruments are recognized in the operating results line item that reflects the underlying exposure that was mitigated either via a formal hedge accounting relationship or economically.

Inventories

The Company values inventories at the lower of cost or net realizable value. The Company uses a standard costing methodology, which approximates cost on a first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) basis. The Company reviews the standard costs of raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods inventory on a periodic basis to ensure that its inventories approximate current actual costs. Manufacturing cost includes raw materials, direct labor and manufacturing overhead. Obsolete inventory amounts are based on historical usage and assumptions about future demand.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization is calculated on a straight-line basis using the following periods, which represent the estimated useful lives of the assets:

Costs, including capitalized interest and certain design, construction and installation costs related to assets that are under construction and are in the process of being readied for their intended use, are recorded as construction in progress and are not depreciated until such time as the subject asset is placed in service. Repairs and maintenance that do not extend the useful life of the asset are expensed as incurred. Upon sale, retirement, or other disposition of these assets, the costs and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the respective accounts and any gain or loss on the disposition is included on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Leases

We determine if an arrangement is or contains a lease at inception. The Company enters into lease arrangements primarily for office and warehouse space, or a combination of both, as well as equipment. We elect to account for leases with initial terms of 12 months or less by recording operating lease expense on a straight-line basis instead of recording lease assets or liabilities. For a lease with an initial term greater than 12 months, the Company records a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and lease liability on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. ROU assets represent our right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent our obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease.

We determine whether the lease is an operating or finance lease at inception based on the information and expectations for the lease at that time. Operating lease ROU assets are included in property, plant and equipment and the lease liabilities are included in other current liabilities and other liabilities on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. Finance lease ROU assets are included in finance lease ROU assets and the lease liabilities are included in finance lease obligations (current) and finance lease obligations (long-term) on our Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Lease ROU assets and liabilities are recorded at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As the leases recorded typically do not provide an implicit rate, we use our incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. Our lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. Operating lease ROU assets also include any base rental or lease payments made and exclude lease incentives.

The two components of operating lease expense, amortization and interest, are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term as a single expense element within cost of goods sold or selling, general and administrative expenses, depending on the underlying use of the assets, on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Under the finance lease model, interest on the lease liability is recognized in interest expense and amortization of ROU assets is recorded on the Consolidated Statements of Operations based on the underlying use of the assets.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews its long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If we are required to analyze recoverability based on a triggering event, undiscounted future cash flows over the estimated remaining life of the asset, or asset group, are projected. If these projected cash flows are less than the carrying amount, an impairment loss is recognized to the extent the fair value of the asset less any costs of disposition is less than the carrying amount of the asset. Judgments regarding the existence of impairment indicators are based on market and operational performance. Evaluating potential impairment also requires estimates of future operating results and cash flows.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price of acquired businesses over the fair value of the assets acquired less liabilities assumed in connection with such acquisition. In accordance with the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification Topic ("ASC")

350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other, goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives acquired in an acquisition are not amortized, but instead are tested for impairment at least annually or more frequently should an event occur or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may be impaired. Such events or circumstances may include a significant change in business climate, economic and industry trends, legal factors, negative operating performance indicators, significant competition, changes in strategy or disposition of a reporting unit or a portion thereof.

We have two reporting units for which we test goodwill for impairment: Bus and Parts. In the evaluation of goodwill for impairment, we have the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary or to perform a quantitative assessment by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit to its carrying amount, including goodwill. When performing a qualitative assessment, an entity is not required to calculate the fair value of a reporting unit unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. If, when performing a quantitative assessment, the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the amount of the impairment loss, if any, must be measured using step two of the impairment analysis. In step two of the analysis, we would record an impairment loss equal to the excess of the carrying value of the reporting unit’s goodwill over its implied fair value, should such a circumstance arise.

The fair value of the reporting units is estimated primarily using the income approach, which incorporates the use of discounted cash flow ("DCF") analysis. A number of significant assumptions and estimates are involved in the application of the DCF model to forecast operating cash flows, including markets and market shares, sales volumes and prices, costs to produce, tax rates, capital spending, discount rate and working capital changes. The cash flow forecasts are based on approved strategic operating plans and long-term forecasts.

In the evaluation of indefinite lived assets for impairment, we have the option to perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary, or to perform a quantitative assessment by comparing the fair value of an asset to its carrying amount. The Company’s intangible asset with an indefinite useful life is the "Blue Bird" trade name. When performing a qualitative assessment, an entity is not required to calculate the fair value of the asset unless the entity determines that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. If a qualitative assessment is not performed or if a quantitative assessment is otherwise required, then the entity compares the fair value of an asset to its carrying amount and the amount of the impairment loss, if any, is the difference between fair value and carrying value. The fair value of our trade name is derived by using the relief from royalty method, which discounts the estimated cash savings we realize by owning the name instead of otherwise having to license or lease it.

Our intangible assets with a definite useful life are amortized over their estimated useful lives,7 or 20 years, using the straight-line method. The useful lives of our intangible assets are reassessed annually and they are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable.

Debt Issue Costs

Amounts paid directly to lenders or as an original issue discount and amounts classified as issuance costs are recorded as a reduction in the carrying value of the debt, for which the Company had deferred financing costs totaling $0.9 million and $1.3 million at September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024, respectively, incurred in connection with its debt facilities and related amendments.

All deferred financing costs are amortized to interest expense. The effective interest method is used for debt discounts related to the term loan. The Company’s amortization of these costs was $0.3 million, $0.4 million and $1.5 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively, and is reflected as a component of interest expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. See Note 8, Debt, for a discussion of the Company’s indebtedness.

Pensions

The Company accounts for its pension benefit obligations using actuarial models. The measurement of plan obligations and assets was made at September 30, 2025. Effective January 1, 2006, the benefit plan was frozen to all participants. No accrual of future benefits is earned or calculated beyond this date. Additionally, during the latter part of fiscal 2025, the Company initiated actions to terminate the pension plan, which is expected to be completed in the latter half of the fiscal year ending October 3, 2026 ("fiscal 2026"). A pension plan termination does not impact the pension benefits earned by participants as amounts due to participants are settled either via (i) lump-sum cash payments, as applicable, or (ii) the transfer of the pension obligations to an insurance company via the purchase of group annuity contracts.

Our obligation estimate is based on benefits earned at the time that the benefit plan was frozen discounted using, at September 27, 2025, (i) a required regulatory interest rate for our estimate of those participants who will elect a lump-sum cash payment, as applicable, and (ii) the estimated interest rate inherent in the group annuity contracts for our estimate of those participants whose benefit obligations will be transferred to an insurance company and, at September 28, 2024, an estimate of the single equivalent discount rate determined by matching the plan’s future expected cash flows to spot rates from a yield curve comprised of high-quality corporate bond rates of various durations. The Company recognizes the funded status of its pension plan obligations on the Consolidated Balance Sheet and records in accumulated other comprehensive income or loss certain gains and losses that arise during the period, but are deferred under pension accounting rules. Pension expense is recognized as a component of other income (expense), net on our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Product Warranty Costs

The Company’s products are generally warranted against defects in material and workmanship for a period ofone year tofive years. A provision for estimated warranty costs is recorded at the time a unit is sold. The methodology to determine the warranty reserve calculates the average expected warranty claims using warranty claims by body type, by month, over the life of the bus, which is then multiplied by remaining months under warranty, by warranty type. Management believes the methodology provides an accurate reserve estimate. Actual claims incurred could differ from the original estimates, requiring future adjustments.

The Bus segment also sells extended warranties related to its products. Revenue related to these contracts is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contract period and costs thereunder are expensed as incurred. All warranty expenses are recorded in the cost of goods sold line on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The current methodology to determine short-term extended warranty income reserve is based ontwelve months of the remaining warranty value for each effective extended warranty at the balance sheet date. See Note 3, Supplemental Financial Information, for further information.

Research and Development

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and included in selling, general and administrative expenses on our Consolidated Statements of Operations. For fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, the Company expensed $15.2 million, $9.4 million and $6.6 million, respectively.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), which requires an asset and liability approach to financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Under this approach, deferred income taxes represent the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities. The Company evaluates its ability, based on the weight of evidence available, to realize future tax benefits from deferred tax assets and establishes a valuation allowance to reduce a deferred tax asset to a level which, more likely than not, will be realized in future years.

The Company recognizes uncertain tax positions, if any, based on a cumulative probability assessment if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination by an appropriate tax authority with full knowledge of all information. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Amounts recorded for uncertain tax positions are periodically assessed, including the evaluation of new facts and circumstances, to ensure sustainability of the positions. The Company records interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.

The Company's policy for releasing income tax effects from accumulated other comprehensive loss is to use a specific identification approach.

Environmental Liabilities

The Company records reserves for environmental liabilities on a discounted basis when environmental investigation and remediation obligations are probable and related costs are reasonably estimable. See Note 10, Guarantees, Commitments and Contingencies, for further information.

Retirement of Common Stock

When the Company decides to actually or constructively retire the shares of common stock it has repurchased, including those repurchases that have been previously reflected as treasury stock within its historical consolidated financial statements, it records the amount paid in excess of par value as a reduction in retained earnings, to the extent such recording does not reduce retained earning to an amount below zero. In those instances in which such recording would reduce retained earnings below zero, it records the difference as a reduction in additional paid-in capital. See Note 13, Stockholders' Equity, for further information.

Segment Reporting

Operating segments are components of an entity that engage in business activities with discrete financial information available that is regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”) in order to assess performance and allocate resources. The Company’s CODM is its President and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"). As discussed further in Note 11, Segment Information, the Company determined its operating and reportable segments to be Bus and Parts. The Bus segment includes the manufacturing and assembly of school buses to be sold to a variety of customers across the United States of American ("U.S."), Canada and in certain limited international markets. The Parts segment consists primarily of the purchase of parts from third parties to be sold to dealers within the Company’s network and certain large fleet customers.

Statement of Cash Flows

We classify distributions received from our equity method investment(s), if any, using the nature of distribution approach, such that distributions received are classified based on the nature of the activity of the investee that generated the distribution. Returns on investment are classified within operating activities, while returns of investment are classified within investing activities.

The exchange of cash, if any, associated with derivative transactions is classified in the same category as the cash flows from the underlying items giving rise to the foreign currency or interest rate exposures.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

ASU 2023-07 On November 27, 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which requires public business entities ("PBEs") to disclose information about their reportable segments’ significant expenses on an interim and annual basis. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The new disclosure requirements were effective for the Company in fiscal 2025 and accordingly, are included in Note 11, Segment Information.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

ASU 2023-09 On December 14, 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which requires entities to disclose more detailed information in their reconciliation of their statutory tax rate to their effective tax rate. PBEs are required to provide this incremental detail in a numerical, tabular format. The ASU also requires entities to disclose more detailed information about income taxes paid, including by jurisdiction; pretax income (or loss) from continuing operations; and income tax expense (or benefit). The ASU is effective for PBEs in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted.

ASU 2024-03 On November 4, 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement — Reporting Comprehensive Income — Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses, which requires PBEs to disclose disaggregated information about certain income statement expense line items. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2027.

The new ASUs will not impact amounts recorded in the consolidated financial statements, but, instead, will require more detailed disclosures in the footnotes to the financial statements. The Company plans to provide the updated disclosures required by the ASUs in the periods in which they are effective.

Any recently issued accounting standards not identified above do not apply to the Company or the impact is expected to be immaterial.

3. Supplemental Financial Information

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable, net, consisted of the following at the dates indicated:

Product Warranties

The following table reflects activity in accrued warranty cost (current and long-term portion combined) for the fiscal years presented:

Extended Warranties

The following table reflects activity in deferred warranty income (current and long-term portions combined), for the sale of extended warranties oftwo years tofive years, for the fiscal years presented:

The outstanding balance of deferred warranty income in the table above is considered a "contract liability," and represents a performance obligation of the Company that we satisfy over the term of the arrangement but for which we have been paid in full at the time the warranty was sold. We expect to recognize $11.3 million of the outstanding contract liability in fiscal 2026, and the remaining balance thereafter.

Self-Insurance

The following table reflects the total accrued self-insurance liability, comprised of workers' compensation and health insurance related claims, at the dates indicated:

The current and long-term portions of the accrued self-insurance liability are included in accrued expenses and other liabilities, respectively, on the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Shipping and Handling

Shipping and handling revenues recognized were $23.6 million, $21.7 million and $18.5 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively. The related cost of goods sold were $21.2 million, $19.9 million and $16.6 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively.

4. Inventories

The following table presents components of inventories at the dates indicated:

5. Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment, net, consisted of the following at the dates indicated:

(1) Further information is included in Note 10, Guarantees, Commitments and Contingencies.

Depreciation and amortization expense for property, plant and equipment was $13.4 million, $12.2 million, and $13.3 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively.

We capitalized $0.5 million of interest expense in fiscal 2025 related to the construction of plant manufacturing assets.

6. Goodwill

The carrying amounts of goodwill by reporting unit are as follows at the dates indicated:

In the fourth quarters of fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, we performed our annual impairment assessment of goodwill that did not indicate that an impairment existed; therefore, no impairments of goodwill have been recorded.

7. Intangible Assets

The gross carrying amounts and accumulated amortization of intangible assets are as follows at the dates indicated:

Management considers the "Blue Bird" trade name to have an indefinite useful life and, accordingly, it is not subject to amortization. Management reached this conclusion principally due to the longevity of the Blue Bird name and because management considers renewal upon reaching the legal limit of the trademarks related to the trade name as perfunctory. The Company expects to maintain usage of the trade name on existing products and introduce new products in the future that will also display the trade name. During the fourth quarters of fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, we performed our annual impairment assessment of our trade name, which did not indicate that an impairment existed; therefore, no impairment of our indefinite lived intangible asset has been recorded.

Customer relationships are amortized on a straight-line basis over an estimated life of 20 years. Engineering designs are amortized on a straight-line basis over an estimated life of 7 years. Total amortization expense for intangible assets was $1.9 million, $1.9 million, and $2.0 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively.

Remaining amortization expense for finite lived intangible assets is expected to be as follows:

8. Debt

Fiscal 2024 Credit Agreement

On November 17, 2023 (the “Closing Date”), BBBC, as Borrower, executed a $250.0 million five-year credit agreement with Bank of Montreal, acting as administrative agent and an issuing bank; several joint lead arranger partners and issuing banks, including Bank of America; and a syndicate of other lenders (the "Credit Agreement").

The credit facilities provided for under the Credit Agreement consist of a term loan facility in an aggregate initial principal amount of $100.0 million (the “Term Loan Facility”) and a revolving credit facility with aggregate commitments of $150.0 million. The revolving credit facility includes a $25.0 million letter of credit sub-facility and $5.0 million swingline sub-facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility,” and together with the Term Loan Facility, each a “Credit Facility” and collectively, the “Credit Facilities”).

A minimum of $100.0 million of additional term loans and/or revolving credit commitments may be incurred under the Credit Agreement, subject to certain limitations as set forth in the Credit Agreement, and which additional loans and/or commitments would require further commitments from existing lenders or from new lenders.

Borrower has the right to prepay the loans outstanding under the Credit Facilities without premium or penalty (subject to customary breakage costs, if applicable). Additionally, proceeds from asset sales, condemnation, casualty insurance and/or debt issuances (in certain circumstances) are required to be used to prepay borrowings outstanding under the Credit Facilities. Borrowings under the Term Loan Facility, which were made on the Closing Date, may not be reborrowed once they are repaid while borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility may be repaid and reborrowed from time to time at our election.

The Term Loan Facility is subject to amortization of principal, payable in equal quarterly installments on the last day of each fiscal quarter, which commenced on March 30, 2024, with 5.0% of the $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of all initial term loans outstanding at the Closing Date payable each year prior to the maturity date of the Term Loan Facility. The remaining initial aggregate principal amount outstanding under the Term Loan Facility, as well as any outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, will be payable on the November 17, 2028 maturity date of the Credit Agreement.

The Credit Facilities are guaranteed by all of the Company’s wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries (subject to customary exceptions) and are secured by a security agreement which pledges a lien on virtually all of the assets of Borrower, the Company and the Company’s other wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries, other than any owned or leased real property and subject to customary exceptions.

The $100.0 million of Term Loan Facility proceeds and $36.2 million of Revolving Credit Facility proceeds that were borrowed on the Closing Date were used to pay (i) the $131.8 million of term loan indebtedness outstanding under previous credit agreement, (ii) interest and commitment fees accrued under the previous credit agreement through the Closing Date and (iii) transaction costs associated with the consummation of the Credit Agreement.

Under the terms of the Credit Agreement, Borrower, the Company and the Company’s other wholly-owned domestic restricted subsidiaries are subject to customary affirmative and negative covenants and events of default for facilities of this type (with customary grace periods, as applicable, and lender remedies).

Borrowings under the Credit Facilities bear interest, at our option, at (i) base rate ("ABR") or (ii) the Secured Overnight Financing Rate as administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York ("SOFR") plus 0.10%, plus an applicable margin depending on the Total Net Leverage Ratio ("TNLR," which is defined in the Credit Agreement as the ratio of consolidated net debt to consolidated EBITDA on a trailing four quarter basis) of the Company as follows:

Pricing on the Closing Date was set at Level III until receipt of the financial information and related compliance certificate for the first fiscal quarter that ended after the Closing Date, with pricing as of September 27, 2025 set at Level I.

Borrower is also required to pay lenders an unused commitment fee of between 0.25% and 0.45% per annum on the undrawn commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility, depending on the TNLR, quarterly in arrears.

The Credit Agreement also includes a requirement that the Company comply with the following financial covenants on the last day of each fiscal quarter through maturity: (i) a pro forma TNLR of not greater than 3.00:1.00 and (ii) a pro forma fixed charge coverage ratio (as defined in the Credit Agreement) of not less than 1.20:1.00. The Company was in compliance with such covenants as of September 27, 2025.

The Company incurred approximately $3.1 million in lender fees and other issuance costs relating to the Credit Agreement. Of such total, approximately $1.9 million and $0.8 million was capitalized within other assets and long-term debt (as a contra-balance), respectively, on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and is being amortized as an adjustment to interest expense on a straight-line basis and utilizing the effective interest method, respectively, until maturity of the Credit Agreement. The remaining approximate $0.4 million was recorded to loss on debt refinancing or modification on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

In conjunction with executing the Credit Agreement, previously capitalized lender fees and other issuance costs relating to the previous credit agreement and incurred in prior periods totaling $1.1 million were also expensed to loss on debt refinancing or modification on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Additional Disclosures

Debt consisted of the following at the dates indicated:

Term loan borrowings are recognized on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at the unpaid principal balance, and are not subject to fair value measurement; however, given the variable rates on the loans that reset frequently, the Company estimates the unpaid principal balance to approximate fair value. If measured at fair value in the financial statements, the term loans would be classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. At September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024, $91.3 million and $96.3 million, respectively, were outstanding on the term loans.

At September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024, the stated interest rates on the term loans were 6.1% and 6.9%, respectively. At September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024, the weighted-average annual effective interest rates for the term loans were 6.6% and 8.2%, respectively, which included amortization of the deferred debt issuance costs.

There wereno borrowings outstanding on the Revolving Credit Facility at September 27, 2025. Additionally, there were $8.3 million of Letters of Credit outstanding on September 27, 2025, providing the Company the ability to borrow $141.7 million on the revolving line of credit.

Interest expense on all indebtedness for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 was $7.2 million, $10.6 million, and $18.0 million, respectively.

The schedule of remaining principal maturities for the term loans is as follows at September 27, 2025:

9. Income Taxes

On July 4, 2025, Public Law No. 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ("OBBBA"), was signed into law. The OBBBA includes comprehensive legislation addressing budget and spending matters that is intended, among others, to reduce taxes; reduce or increase spending, as applicable, for certain federal programs; increase the statutory debt limit and otherwise address certain agencies and programs throughout the federal government. The OBBBA permanently extends, with modifications, certain tax provisions that were enacted as part of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act ("TCJA") that became effective on January 1, 2018, but that were set to change or expire at the end of calendar year 2025. The Act also features certain modified and new tax relief measures for businesses. Additionally, it includes various revenue-raising measures, including changes to certain Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA") clean energy tax credits and various limits on business tax deductions, that are intended to offset part of the cost of the new legislation.

As required by the provisions of ASC 740, the Company recognized the effects of changes in tax laws resulting from the signing of the OBBBA during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. During fiscal 2025, the OBBBA legislation increased bonus deprecation that could be taken for tax purposes on qualifying fixed assets that were acquired and placed in service after the specified effective date. This change is reflected in our recording of the components of income tax expense reflected in the table below. However, several of the more significant changes in the OBBBA that are applicable to the Company become effective for income tax years beginning after December 31, 2024 (i.e., during fiscal 2026 for the Company) and accordingly, the impact from the OBBBA is not reflected in the Company's recognition of income tax expense in fiscal 2025.

The components of income tax (expense) benefit were as follows for the fiscal years presented:

At September 27, 2025, the Company had $6.4 million (tax effected) in total state tax attributes, primarily comprised of $5.9 million (tax effected) in state tax credit carryforwards and less than $0.1 million (tax effected) in state net operating loss ("NOL") carryforwards. The Company maintains a partial valuation allowance on these state tax attributes. Specifically, the Company estimates that approximately $3.4 million (tax effected) of state tax credit carryforwards will expire unused between 2025 and 2032 and less than $0.1 million (tax effected) of state NOL carryforwards will expire unused between 2028 and 2033.

At September 27, 2025, the Company hadno federal NOL carryforwards.

The effective tax rates for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 were 25.9%,26.2% and 34.7%, respectively.

The effective tax rate for fiscal 2025 differed from the statutory federal income tax rate of 21.0%. The increase in the effective tax rate to 25.9% was primarily due to the impacts of state taxes and certain permanent items on the federal rate, which were partially offset by the impacts from discrete period items.

The effective tax rate for fiscal 2024 differed from the statutory federal income tax rate of 21.0%. The increase in the effective tax rate to 26.2% was primarily due to the impacts of state taxes and certain permanent items on the federal rate, which were partially offset by the impacts from federal and state tax credits (net of valuation allowances) and discrete period items.

The effective tax rate for fiscal 2023 differed from the statutory federal income tax rate of 21.0%. The increase in the effective tax rate to 34.7% was primarily due to the impacts of state taxes and certain permanent items on the federal rate.

A reconciliation between the reported income tax expense and the amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate is as follows:

The guidance for accounting for uncertainty in income taxes requires that a determination be made regarding whether a tax position, based solely on its technical merits, is more likely than not to be sustained upon examination, which is the threshold required for recognition of the tax position in the financial statements. The Company's liability arising from uncertain tax positions ("UTPs"), including accrued interest and penalties, is recorded in other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:

The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no accrued interest and penalties at September 27, 2025 or September 28, 2024.

The Company is subject to taxation mostly in the U.S. and various state jurisdictions. At September 27, 2025, tax years prior to 2021 are generally no longer subject to examination by federal and most state tax authorities.

The following table sets forth the sources of and differences between the financial accounting and tax bases of the Company’s assets and liabilities which give rise to the net deferred tax liabilities at the dates indicated:

10. Guarantees, Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

At September 27, 2025, the Company had a number of product liability and other cases pending. Management believes that, considering the Company’s insurance coverage and its intention to vigorously defend its positions, the ultimate resolution of these matters will not have a material adverse impact on the Company’s financial statements.

Environmental

The Company is subject to a variety of environmental regulations relating to the use, storage, discharge and disposal of hazardous materials used in its manufacturing processes. Failure by the Company to comply with present and future regulations could subject it to future liabilities. In addition, such regulations could require the Company to acquire costly equipment or to incur other significant expenses to comply with environmental regulations. The Company is currently not involved in any material environmental proceedings and therefore, management believes that the resolution of environmental matters will not have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial statements. Our environmental liability, included in current accrued expenses and other long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets, was $0.5 million at both September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024. Cash flows over the next five years are expected to be immaterial each year, with no material difference between total cash flows and our accrued balance.

Lease Commitments

We have operating leases for office and warehouse space, or a combination of both, as well as equipment. We had finance leases for equipment that matured during fiscal 2025. Our leases have remaining lease terms ranging from 0.5 years to 5.0 years with the option to extend certain leases for up to 1 year.

The components of lease costs included on the Consolidated Statements of Operations are as follows:

(1) Classification depends on the purpose of the underlying lease.

(2) Short-term lease cost includes both leases and rentals with initial terms of one year or less.

The following table summarizes the lease amounts included on the Consolidated Balance Sheets as follows:

(1) Net of accumulated amortization of $0 and $3.2 million, respectively.

The financing and operating leases recorded do not assume renewal based on our analysis of those leases and their contractual terms.

Lease liability maturities are presented in the following table:

Lease terms and discount rates are presented in the following table:

Supplemental cash flow information is presented in the following table:

Purchase Commitments

In the ordinary course of business, the Company enters into short-term contractual purchase orders for manufacturing inventory and capital assets. The amount of these commitments is expected to be as follows:

11. Segment Information

We manage our business intwo operating segments, both of which are reportable segments: (i) the Bus segment, which includes the manufacture and assembly of buses to be sold to a variety of customers across the U.S., Canada, and in certain limited international markets; and (ii) the Parts segment, which consists primarily of the purchase of parts from third parties to be sold to dealers within the Company’s network and certain large fleet customers.

Our chief operating decision maker ("CODM") is our President and CEO. The CODM primarily uses net sales and gross profit to evaluate segment performance, allocate resources, and make operating decisions as these metrics align with the Company's mission to deliver profitable growth to our stockholders over time. Specifically, net sales is utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the Company's sales functions in obtaining a fair price for the significant value that our products offer and ensuring that the sales prices charged for our products appropriately consider changes in the costs we incur to procure inventory for the products we offer. Gross profit is utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the Company's purchasing functions in controlling the costs we incur in procuring inventory and the effectiveness and efficiency of the Company's manufacturing operations in converting inventory into finished products. The CODM does not utilize segment asset information to evaluate performance and make resource allocation decisions, primarily because the Parts segment operates as a distributor and accordingly, does not have a significant amount of assets. Therefore, disclosures of assets for the segments are not provided. The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as those applied in the consolidated financial statements, as described in Note 2.

Significant reportable segment information provided to and used by the CODM in assessing performance and allocating resources is as follows:

(1) Parts segment net sales includes $6.9 million, $9.3 million, and $5.6 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively, related to inter-segment sales of parts that was eliminated by the Bus segment upon consolidation

The following table is a reconciliation of segment gross profit to consolidated income before income taxes for the fiscal years presented:

Sales are attributable to geographic areas based on customer location and were as follows for the fiscal years presented:

12. Revenue

The following table disaggregates revenue by product category for the periods presented:

(1) Includes buses sold with any power source other than diesel (e.g., gasoline, propane, compressed natural gas ("CNG"), or electric).

(2) Includes shipping and handling revenue, extended warranty income, surcharges, chassis, and bus shell sales.

13. Stockholders’ Equity

Share Repurchase Program and Common Stock Retirement

On January 31, 2024, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized and approved a share repurchase program for up to $60 million of outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock over a period of 24 months, expiring January 31, 2026. On August 5, 2025, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized and approved a second share repurchase program for up to $100 million of outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, expiring January 1, 2028. Under both share repurchase programs, the Company may repurchase shares through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, accelerated share repurchase transactions, block purchases or otherwise in accordance with applicable federal securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Pursuant to the share repurchase plan, the Company repurchased 1,060,438 shares of its common stock for $39.5 million in fiscal 2025. In fiscal 2024, the Company repurchased 201,818 shares for $9.9 million. The total remaining authorization for future common stock repurchases under the Company's share repurchase program was $110.5 million as of September 27, 2025.

In fiscal 2024, the Company constructively retired the shares of common stock it had repurchased by recording the $9.9 million paid in excess of the $0.0001 par value of each share as a reduction in retained earnings. Later in the fiscal year, the Company retired the shares of common stock that had previously been reflected as treasury stock within its historical consolidated financial statements by recording the amount paid in excess of the $0.0001 par value of each share as a $39.9 million reduction in retained earnings, which reduced the value in this account to zero, with the remaining $10.4 million recorded as a reduction in additional paid-in capital. In fiscal 2025, the Company constructively retired the shares of common stock it had recently repurchased by recording the $39.5 million in excess of the $0.0001 par value of each share as a reduction in retained earnings.

14. Earnings Per Share

The following table presents the basic and diluted earnings per share computation for the fiscal years presented:

(1) There wereno potentially dilutive securities for fiscal 2025 or fiscal 2024 that were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share because their effect would have been anti-dilutive while potentially dilutive securities representing 0.7 million shares of common stock were excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2023 as their effect would have been anti-dilutive.

15. Share-Based Compensation

In fiscal 2015, we adopted the Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan ("Plan") and in fiscal 2020, amended and restated it. The Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors and the Committee may grant awards for the issuance of up to an aggregate of 5,200,000 shares of common stock in the form of non-qualified stock options, incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights (collectively, “SARs,” and each individually, a “SAR”), restricted stock, restricted stock units, performance shares, performance units, incentive bonus awards, other cash-based awards and other stock-based awards. The exercise price of a share subject to a stock option may not be less than 100% of the fair market value of a share of the Company's common stock with respect to the grant date of such stock option. No portion of the options vest and become exercisable after the date on which the optionee’s service with the Company and its subsidiaries terminates. The vesting of all unvested shares of common stock subject to an option will automatically be accelerated in connection with a “Change in Control,” as defined in the Plan.

New shares of the Company's common stock are issued upon stock option exercises, or at the time of vesting for restricted stock. We have granted performance awards as part of our overall compensation plans. The vesting of these awards is primarily based upon the attainment of certain performance metrics established under our annual Management Incentive Plan ("MIP"), with the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors maintaining final discretion over vesting amounts.

Stock-based payments to employees, including grants of stock options, restricted stock and restricted stock units ("RSU"), are recognized in the financial statements based on their fair value. The fair value of each stock option award on the grant date is estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions: expected dividend yield, expected stock price volatility, weighted-average risk-free interest rate and weighted average expected term of the options. Because we do not have sufficient history with respect to stock option activity and post-vesting cancellations, the expected term assumption is based on the simplified method under U.S. GAAP, which is based on the vesting period and contractual term for each vesting tranche of awards. The mid-point between the vesting date and the expiration date is used as the expected term under this method. The risk-free interest rate used in the Black-Scholes model is based on the implied yield curve available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues at the date of grant with a remaining term equal to the Company’s expected term assumption. The Company has never declared or paid a cash dividend on its common stock. Restricted stock and RSUs are valued based on the intrinsic value of the difference between the exercise price, if any, of the award and the fair market value of our common stock on the grant date.

Beginning in fiscal 2024, the Compensation Committee decided that all new annual stock awards issued in accordance with the terms of the Plan would be RSUs.

We expense any award with graded-vesting features using a straight-line attribution method and account for forfeitures in recording share-based compensation expense as they occur.

RSU Awards

The following table summarizes the Company's RSU activity for the fiscal year presented:

The weighted-average grant date fair value of restricted stock awards granted in fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 was $21.35 and $23.41, respectively.

Compensation expense for restricted stock awards, recognized in selling, general and administrative expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, was $13.1 million, $7.2 million, and $3.2 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively, with associated tax benefits of $3.3 million, $1.8 million, and $0.8 million, respectively. At September 27, 2025, unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock awards totaled $3.6 million and is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.7 years.

Stock Option Awards

The following table summarizes the Company's stock option activity for the fiscal year presented:

(1) Stock options exercised during the fiscal year had an aggregate intrinsic value totaling $9.7 million.

(2) Stock options outstanding at the end of the fiscal year had $8.7 million intrinsic value.

(3) Fully vested and exercisable options at the end of the fiscal year had $4.9 million intrinsic value.

The total aggregate intrinsic value of stock options exercised during fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 was $6.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively.

Compensation expense for stock option awards, recognized in selling, general and administrative expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, was $1.6 million, $1.2 million, and $0.8 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively, with associated tax benefits of $0.4 million, $0.3 million, and $0.2 million, respectively. At September 27, 2025, unrecognized compensation cost related to stock option awards totaled $0.3 million and is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.2 years.

The fair value of each option award at grant date was estimated using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions made and resulting grant-date fair values during the fiscal years presented:

16. Benefit Plans

Defined Benefit Pension Plan

The Company has a defined benefit pension plan (“Defined Benefit Plan”) covering U.S. hourly and salaried personnel. On May 13, 2002, the Defined Benefit Plan was amended to freeze new participation as of May 15, 2002, and therefore, any new employees who started on or after May 15, 2002 were not permitted to participate in the Defined Benefit Plan. Effective January 1, 2006, the benefit plan was frozen to all participants. No accrual of future benefits is calculated beyond this date.

Additionally, during the latter part of fiscal 2025, the Company initiated actions to terminate the Defined Benefit Plan, which is expected to be completed in the latter half of fiscal 2026. A pension plan termination does not impact the pension benefits earned by participants as amounts due to participants are settled either via (i) lump-sum cash payments, as applicable, or (ii) the transfer of the pension obligations to an insurance company via the purchase of group annuity contracts.

The Company made $0.9 million of contributions to the Defined Benefit Plan during fiscal 2025 and madeno contributions in fiscal 2024. For fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, benefits paid were $8.0 million and $8.8 million, respectively.

As a result of the pending pension plan termination, the significant assumptions utilized in computing the benefit obligation as of September 27, 2025 were amended as discussed further below. The projected benefit obligation (“PBO”) for the Defined Benefit Plan was $109.6 million and $113.6 million at September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024, respectively, with the reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the PBO for the Defined Benefit Plan for the fiscal years indicated presented in the following table:

(1)Includes assumption changes, as applicable, resulting from (i) changes in the utilized discount rate to value the future obligations, and (ii) updates to the mortality table projections used in the calculation of the benefit obligations.

Plan Assets: In connection with initiation of the pension plan termination during the latter part of fiscal 2025, all plan assets were converted to a money market fund comprised of high quality, highly liquid investments, primarily issued by the U.S. government, having maturities of less than one year to minimize the risk of significant fluctuations in the balance of the assets due to market volatility. The summary and reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the fair value of the Defined Benefit Plan assets are as follows:

Funded Status: The following table reconciles the benefit obligations, plan assets, funded status and net pension asset information of the Defined Benefit Plan at the dates indicated. The net pension asset is reflected in long-term assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Fair Value of Plan Assets: The Company determines the fair value of its financial instruments in accordance with the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic of the ASC. Fair value represents the price to hypothetically sell an asset or transfer a liability in an orderly manner in the principal market for that asset or liability. This topic provides a hierarchy that gives highest priority to unadjusted quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. This topic requires that financial assets and liabilities are classified into one of the following three categories:

The Company evaluates fair value measurement inputs on an ongoing basis in order to determine if there is a change of sufficient significance to warrant a transfer between levels. Transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy are recognized on the actual date of the event or circumstances that caused the transfer, which generally coincides with the Company's valuation process.

In fiscal 2024 and for a portion of fiscal 2025, the Defined Benefit Plan assets were comprised of various investment funds. However, at the end of fiscal 2025, the Defined Benefit Plan assets were invested exclusively in a money market fund comprised of high quality, highly liquid investments, primarily issued by the U.S. government, having maturities of less than one year as discussed previously above. All investment funds are valued based upon their quoted market prices. The invested pension plan assets of the Defined Benefit Plan are all Level 2 assets under the provisions of ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements (“ASC 820”). During fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2024, there were no transfers between levels. There are no sources of significant concentration risk in the invested assets at September 30, 2025.

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, a summary of the Defined Benefit Plan’s investments measured at fair value:

The following table represents net periodic benefit (income) expense and changes in plan assets and benefit obligations recognized in other comprehensive loss (income), before tax effect, for the fiscal years presented:

The estimated net loss for the Defined Benefit Plan that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost over the next fiscal year is $0.5 million. The unrecognized gain or loss is amortized as follows: the total unrecognized gain or loss, less the larger of 10% of the liability or 10% of the assets, is divided by the average future working lifetime of active plan participants.

As a result of the pending pension plan termination, the significant actuarial assumptions utilized in determining the benefit obligation as of September 27, 2025 were amended, with the following actuarial assumptions used to determine the benefit obligations at the dates indicated:

As of September 27, 2025, the benefit obligation was discounted using (i) a required regulatory interest rate for the estimate of those participants who will elect a lump-sum cash payment, as applicable, and (ii) the estimated interest rate inherent in the group annuity contracts for the estimate of those participants whose benefit obligations will be transferred to an insurance company. As of September 28, 2024, the benefit obligation was discounted using a benchmark interest rate representing an estimate of the single equivalent rate determined by matching the Defined Benefit Plan’s future expected cash flows to spot rates from a yield curve comprised of high-quality corporate bond rates of various durations.

The Defined Benefit Plan asset allocations at the dates indicated are as follows:

There was no Company common stock included in equity securities. Assets of the Defined Benefit Plan are invested primarily in funds that further invest in equity or debt securities. Assets are valued using quoted prices in active markets.

As of September 27, 2025, the expected rate of return on plan assets was adjusted to reflect the average rate of earnings expected on the funds invested, or to be invested, to provide for the settlement of the benefit obligations during fiscal 2026.

As of September 28, 2024, the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets reflects the average rate of earnings expected on the funds invested, or to be invested, to provide for the benefits included in the PBO. In estimating that rate, appropriate consideration was given to the returns being earned by the plan assets in the fund and rates of return expected to be available for reinvestment and a building block method. The expected rate of return on each asset class was broken down into three components: (1) inflation, (2) the real risk-free rate of return (i.e., the long-term estimate of future returns on default free U.S. government securities), and (3) the risk premium for each asset class (i.e., the expected return in excess of the risk-free rate).

The investment strategy for pension plan assets at the end of fiscal 2025 is to minimize the risk of significant fluctuations in the balance of the assets due to market volatility in order to maximize the funds available to provide for the settlement of the benefit obligations during fiscal 2026. This strategy is being executed through the investment in a money market fund comprised of high quality, highly liquid investments having maturities of less than one year, with dividends and interest reinvested in the account.

The investment strategy for pension plan assets at the end of fiscal fiscal 2024 was to limit risk through asset allocation, diversification, selection and timing. Assets were managed on a total return basis, with dividends and interest reinvested in the account.

The Company expects to make $0.6 million of contributions to the Defined Benefit Plan in fiscal 2026 in accordance with required IRS minimums. Additionally, in connection with the plan termination, all $109.6 million of benefit obligations are expected to be paid out of pension assets in fiscal 2026 either via (i) lump-sum cash payments to certain participants, as applicable, or (ii) the transfer of the pension obligations to an insurance company via the purchase of group annuity contracts. Subsequent to such settlements, the pension plan will cease to exist for the Company.

Defined Contribution Plan

The Company offers a defined contribution 401(k) plan covering substantially all U.S. employees and a defined contribution plan for Canadian employees. During fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, the Company offered a 50% match on the first 6% of the employee’s contributions. However, due to the impacts of supply chain constraints on the Company's operations and cash flows, the Company temporarily paused this match from August 2022 through December 2022. The plans also provide for an additional discretionary match depending on Company performance. Compensation expense related to defined contribution plans totaled $2.9 million, $2.3 million and $1.3 million for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively.

Health Benefits

The Company provides and is predominantly self-insured for medical, dental, and accident and sickness benefits. A liability related to this obligation is recorded on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as accrued expenses. Total expense related to this plan recorded for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, was $18.0 million, $13.7 million, and $15.3 million, respectively.

Employee Compensation Plans

The MIP compensates certain salaried employees and is derived based upon the "Adjusted EBITDA" (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, as adjusted) and "Free Cash Flow" metrics, as and when applicable. There was $16.0 million in MIP bonus liabilities included in accrued expenses on the Consolidated Balance Sheets at September 27, 2025 and $17.4 million at September 28, 2024.

17. Equity Investment in Affiliate(s)

Micro Bird Holdings, Inc.

On October 14, 2009, Blue Bird and Girardin MiniBus JV Inc. entered into a joint venture, Micro Bird Holdings, Inc. (“Micro Bird”), to combine the complementary expertise of thetwo separate manufacturers. Blue Bird Micro Bird by Girardin Type A buses are produced in Drummondville, Quebec by Micro Bird. Additionally, in September 2025, Micro Bird began producing small and mid-sized commercial buses at a newly opened facility in Plattsburgh, New York.

The Company holds a 50% equity interest in Micro Bird, utilizing the equity method of accounting as the Company does not have control to direct the activities that most significantly impact Micro Bird’s financial performance based on the shared powers of the venture partners. The carrying amount of the equity method investment is adjusted for the Company’s proportionate share of net earnings or losses and any dividends received. At September 27, 2025 and September 28, 2024, the carrying value of the Company's investment in Micro Bird was $35.2 million and $24.4 million, respectively. No dividends were paid by Micro Bird during fiscal 2025, while it paid each venture partner $5.3 million in dividends during fiscal 2024.

In recognizing the Company’s 50% portion of Micro Bird net income, the Company recorded $10.8 million, $12.1 million, and $7.0 million in equity in net income of non-consolidated affiliate(s) for fiscal 2025, fiscal 2024, and fiscal 2023, respectively.

Micro Bird's summarized balance sheet information at its September 30 year end is as follows (denominated in U.S. Dollars):

Micro Bird's summarized financial results for its three fiscal years ended September 30 are as follows (denominated in U.S. Dollars):

Clean Bus Solutions, LLC

On December 7, 2023, the Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, BBBC, and GC Mobility Investments I, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Generate Capital, PBC (“Generate Capital”), a sustainable investment company focusing on clean energy, transportation, water, waste, agriculture, smart cities and industrial decarbonization, executed a definitive agreement (“Joint Venture Agreement”) establishing a joint venture, Clean Bus Solutions, LLC (“CBS”), to provide a fleet-as-a-service ("FaaS") offering using electric school buses manufactured and sold by the Company. The service is offered to qualified customers of the Company. Through CBS, the Company provides its end customers with turnkey electrification solutions, including a wide product range consisting of, among others, electric school buses, financing of electric buses and supporting charging infrastructure, project planning and management, and fleet optimization.

The Company and Generate Capital initially have an equal common ownership interest in CBS, and will initially jointly share management responsibility and control, with each party having certain customary consent and approval rights and control triggers. The parties each agreed to contribute up to $10.0 million to CBS, as agreed from time to time, for common interests to fund administrative expenses, and up to an additional $100.0 million of capital in the form of preferred interests to fund the purchase, delivery, installation, operation and maintenance of FaaS projects, inclusive of Blue Bird electric school buses and associated charging infrastructure. Of this amount, the Company committed to provide up to $20.0 million and Generate Capital committed to provide up to $80.0 million, with the Company’s aggregate commitment in any one year not to exceed $10.0 million without its consent.

In accordance with the terms of the Joint Venture Agreement, the Company promotes CBS as its preferred FaaS offering for electric school buses and agreed to not participate as a joint venture partner in any other similar FaaS offering for electric school buses, except as anoriginal equipment manufacturer of buses. The Company’s obligations do not prevent or limit any activities of its dealers.

CBS has a perpetual duration subject to the right of either party to terminate early upon the occurrence of certain events of default or the failure to achieve certain milestones set forth in the terms of the Joint Venture Agreement.

The Company utilizes the equity method of accounting in recording its interest in CBS as it does not have control to direct the activities that most significantly impact CBS' financial performance based on the shared powers of the venture partners. The carrying amount of the equity method investment is adjusted for the Company’s proportionate share of net earnings or losses and any dividends received.

In connection with the execution of the Joint Venture Agreement, the Company granted Generate Capital warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 shares of Company common stock at an exercise price of $25.00 per share during a five-year exercise period (“Warrants”). Two-thirds of the Warrants were immediately exercisable while the remaining Warrants became exercisable upon Generate Capital satisfying certain funding conditions during our fiscal 2024. The exercise price and the number of shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants are subject to adjustment in the event of a recapitalization, stock dividend or similar event.

The Company recorded the $7.4 million fair value of the Warrants upon issuance as permanent equity within additional paid-in capital on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and is not required to subsequently record changes in fair value as long as the Warrants continue to be classified within stockholders' equity. Additionally, since the Warrants were provided in exchange for an investment in CBS, the Company recorded the cost of its investment based on the fair value of the Warrants upon issuance, which increased the balance of equity investment in affiliates on the Consolidated Balance Sheets by a corresponding $7.4 million.

During fiscal 2025 and 2024, the Company made $1.0 million and $0.6 million of cash contributions to CBS, respectively, which was recorded to equity investment in affiliates. In recognizing the Company’s 50% portion of CBS' net income or loss, the Company recorded $(1.3) million and $(0.3) million of losses in equity in net income of non-consolidated affiliate(s) on the Consolidated Statements of Operations during fiscal 2025 and 2024, respectively. CBS paidno dividends in any period.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company performed an impairment assessment of its equity investment in CBS. Based upon the historical losses generated by CBS since inception, when coupled with CBS' projections of continued losses in future periods, management determined that the Company would not recover the carrying amount of its investment in the near term. Accordingly, a conclusion was reached that an impairment that was other-than-temporary in nature existed. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, the Company recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $7.4 million in equity in net income of non-consolidated affiliate(s) on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, which reduced the carrying value of the Company's investment in CBS included within equity investment in affiliates on the Consolidated Balance Sheets to $0 at September 27, 2025. At September 28, 2024, the carrying value of the Company's investment in CBS was $7.7 million.

18. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

The following table provides information on changes in accumulated other comprehensive loss (“AOCL”) for the periods presented:

19. Stockholder Transaction Costs

On June 7, 2023, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement with BofA Securities, Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc., as representatives of the several underwriters and American Securities LLC, Coliseum Capital Partners, L.P. and Blackwell Partners LLC (collectively, the "2023 Selling Stockholders"), pursuant to which the 2023 Selling Stockholders agreed to sell 5,175,000 shares of common stock, including the sale of 675,000 shares pursuant to the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, at a purchase price of $20.00 per share. On September 11, 2023, the Company entered into another underwriting agreement with Barclays Capital, Inc. and the 2023 Selling Stockholders, pursuant to which the 2023 Selling Stockholders agreed to sell 2,500,000 shares of common stock, at purchase price of $21.00 per share (collectively, the "2023 Offerings").

The 2023 Offerings were conducted pursuant to prospectus supplements, dated June 7, 2023 and September 11, 2023, respectively, to the prospectus, dated December 22, 2021 included in the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-261858) that was initially filed with the SEC on December 23, 2021 (the "December 2021 Prospectus"). The 2023 Offerings closed on June 12, 2023 and September 14, 2023, respectively.

On December 14, 2023, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement with BofA Securities, Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc., as representatives of the several underwriters and American Securities LLC ("2024 Selling Stockholder"), pursuant to which the 2024 Selling Stockholder agreed to sell 2,500,000 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $25.10 per share. On February 15, 2024, the Company entered into an underwriting agreement with Barclays Capital Inc., as representative of the several underwriters and the 2024 Selling Stockholder, pursuant to which the 2024 Selling Stockholder agreed to sell 4,042,650 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $32.90 per share (collectively, the “2024 Offerings”).

The 2024 Offerings were conducted pursuant to prospectus supplements, dated December 14, 2023 and February 15, 2024, respectively, to the December 2021 Prospectus. The 2024 Offerings closed on December 19, 2023 and February 21, 2024, respectively.

Although the Company did not sell any shares or receive any proceeds from the 2024 Offerings or 2023 Offerings, it was required to pay certain expenses in connection with these transactions that totaled approximately $3.2 million and $7.4 million during fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023, respectively. These expenses are included within other income (expense), net on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.