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Here are a couple of brief analogies for Matthews International (MATW):

• The Ford Motor Company for the funeral industry, manufacturing caskets, monuments, and cremation products.
• A diversified B2B industrial company, similar to a specialized 3M (MMM), providing industrial technologies and brand solutions to other businesses.

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Matthews International (MATW) offers a diverse range of products and services primarily through three segments:

• Industrial Technologies: Designs, manufactures, and distributes marking, coding, and industrial automation solutions for various industries.
• Memorialization: Provides products and services for the cemetery and funeral home industries, including caskets, cremation products, and memorials.
• SGS (SGK Brand Solutions): Offers brand development, creative design, and execution services for consumer packaged goods and retail brands worldwide.

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Matthews International (symbol: MATW) primarily sells its products and services to other companies, operating on a business-to-business (B2B) model across its three main segments.

According to its public filings, including its annual 10-K report, Matthews International does not disclose specific major customer names due to competitive reasons. Furthermore, no single customer accounted for 10% or more of its consolidated net sales in recent fiscal years, indicating a diversified customer base within the industries it serves.

Below are the categories of companies that serve as customers for Matthews International's various segments. While specific customer names are not publicly disclosed, examples of publicly traded companies that operate in these industries and could be potential customers are provided for context. It is important to note that these are not confirmed direct customers of MATW, but rather illustrative examples of the types of businesses they serve:

1. Memorialization Segment Customers

This segment serves the deathcare industry, providing products and services related to funerals, cremations, and memorials.

• Types of Companies: Funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories. These can range from independent local businesses to larger regional or national chains.
• Examples of Public Companies in this Industry:
  • Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI)
  • Carriage Services, Inc. (NYSE: CSV)

2. Industrial Technologies Segment Customers

This segment provides solutions for energy storage (primarily lithium-ion battery production equipment), industrial printing, and material handling automation.

• Types of Companies: Lithium-ion battery manufacturers, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) involved in electric vehicle battery production, industrial manufacturers requiring marking/coding equipment, and logistics/material handling companies.
• Examples of Public Companies in this Industry:
  • Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA)
  • General Motors Company (NYSE: GM)
  • Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F)
  • Volkswagen AG (OTC: VWAGY) - (ADR for a major global automotive OEM that is investing heavily in battery production)
  • Other large industrial or technology manufacturers.

3. SGK Brand Solutions Segment Customers

This segment offers brand strategy, design, packaging, and digital marketing services to help brands succeed in the marketplace.

• Types of Companies: Global consumer brand owners (Consumer Packaged Goods - CPG), pharmaceutical companies, retailers, and other businesses with significant brand portfolios.
• Examples of Public Companies in this Industry:
  • The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG)
  • Unilever PLC (NYSE: UL)
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
  • Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT)
  • Other major consumer goods, healthcare, or retail corporations.

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Joseph C. Bartolacci, President and Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Bartolacci was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Matthews International in 2006, having served on the Board of Directors since 2005. His previous roles at Matthews include President and Chief Operating Officer, President of the Casket Division, Executive Vice President, President of Matthews Europe, President of Caggiati, S.p.A. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Matthews), and General Counsel. Before joining Matthews in 1997 as General Counsel, he served as Vice President and General Counsel for Thrift Drug, Inc. and was an associate attorney at Reed Smith Shaw & McClay. He began his career as a senior auditor at Touche Ross & Co. While in Europe, he acquired and managed nine businesses to establish the largest packaging graphics group in Europe. He also serves on the board of Federated Hermes, a global investment management company.

Steven F. Nicola, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Mr. Nicola has served as Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, and Treasurer for Matthews International since 2003. He joined the company in 1992, holding prior positions as Vice President, Accounting and Finance (2001) and Corporate Controller (1995). Before his tenure at Matthews, he was a manager with Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP). Mr. Nicola has dedicated over 30 years to the company, with 22 years as CFO. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Robert Morris University.

Daniel E. Stopar, Incoming Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Mr. Stopar is slated to succeed Mr. Nicola as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, effective December 1, 2025. He joined Matthews International in 2013 and has extensive experience in financial, accounting, and reporting matters, having held various executive financial roles within the company, most recently as Senior Vice President, Operations Controller, and Head of Global Business Services. Prior to joining Matthews, Mr. Stopar served in several financial leadership roles for Royal Philips Electronics and Respironics, Inc.

Steven D. Gackenbach, Executive Vice President (Group President, Memorialization)

Mr. Gackenbach has been the Group President for Matthews Memorialization since 2011, where he leads the Cemetery Products Division and Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions Division. He previously served as Matthews Memorialization's Chief Commercial Officer. Before joining Matthews, Mr. Gackenbach spent nearly 20 years at Kraft Foods, where he held roles in general management, strategy, and marketing.

Ronald C. Awenowicz, Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Mr. Awenowicz joined Matthews International in February 2015 and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, responsible for developing and implementing global HR strategies. His prior role at Matthews was Vice President of Human Resources Americas. Before joining Matthews, he gained extensive experience in various HR management roles across the financial services, manufacturing, finance, and retail banking industries.

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The key risks to Matthews International (MATW) primarily revolve around its substantial debt burden, declining profitability across key segments, and ongoing litigation impacting its Industrial Technologies division.

1. High Debt Levels and Liquidity Pressures: Matthews International faces significant financial risk due to its high debt levels and constrained financial flexibility. S&P Global Ratings recently downgraded the company, citing concerns about its ability to improve performance and reduce debt, highlighting high leverage and cash flow deficits. The company's net debt to equity ratio is considered high, and its interest payments are not adequately covered by its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT). Furthermore, operating cash flow turned negative in the first half of fiscal year 2025, and long-term liabilities exceed short-term assets, indicating liquidity pressures.
2. Declining Profitability and Segment-Specific Headwinds: The company has reported a net loss of $8.9 million in Q2 2025, a stark reversal from a profit in the prior year, alongside a 9.3% year-over-year decline in sales. Both its Memorialization and Industrial Technologies segments are experiencing headwinds. The Memorialization segment is seeing reduced demand for funeral products due to normalizing mortality rates post-pandemic. The Industrial Technologies segment has suffered a 30% year-over-year sales decline, partly attributable to litigation and execution challenges.
3. Litigation and Operational Challenges in Industrial Technologies Segment: A significant contributor to the Industrial Technologies segment's struggles is an ongoing dispute with Tesla concerning Dry Battery Electrode (DBE) technology. This litigation has resulted in substantial legal costs, totaling approximately $22.2 million in 2025, and has disrupted project timelines and customer confidence. Despite a favorable arbitration ruling in MATW's favor, the prolonged nature of the dispute and the uncertainty in rebuilding its order pipeline continue to pose a risk to the segment's profitability and future prospects.

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Memorialization Segment:

• Emergence of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Models and Online Retailers for Funeral Products: Companies like Titan Casket are selling caskets directly to consumers at significantly lower prices than through traditional funeral homes, which are Matthews' primary customers. This bypasses Matthews' established distribution channels and puts pricing pressure on their products, potentially eroding their market share and profit margins in the memorialization segment.

• Growing Adoption of Alternative Body Disposition Methods: Practices such as human composting (recomposition) and water cremation (alkaline hydrolysis) are gaining legal acceptance and consumer interest in various jurisdictions. These methods often require significantly different or fewer products than traditional burial or cremation, directly impacting demand for Matthews' core memorialization products like caskets, urns, grave markers, and mausoleums.

Brand Solutions Segment:

• Rapid Advancements and Adoption of AI in Graphic Design, Pre-Media, and Packaging Artwork Creation: Generative AI tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated, capable of automating and streamlining significant portions of the design and pre-press processes. This could reduce the need for Matthews' specialized pre-media services, commoditize their offerings, and allow clients to either bring more work in-house or choose competitors leveraging these technologies for faster and cheaper solutions, eroding Matthews' service revenue and competitive advantage.

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Matthews International (symbol: MATW) operates across three main business segments: Memorialization, Industrial Technologies, and SGK Brand Solutions. The addressable markets for their main products and services are identified as follows:

Memorialization

• The global market size for Cremation Urns is projected to reach approximately USD 2.22 billion by the end of 2025.
• The global market size for Cremation Furnaces is projected to be USD 622.37 million in 2025, growing to USD 867.20 million by 2033.
• The global market for Funeral Homes and Funeral Services, which includes products such as memorials, caskets, and cremation equipment, was valued at approximately USD 79.62 billion in 2025, with projections to reach USD 103.96 billion by 2033.

Industrial Technologies

• The global Industrial Automation market, encompassing marking and coding equipment and warehouse automation solutions, was valued at USD 196.94 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 372.70 billion by 2032.

Brand Solutions (SGK Brand Solutions)

• The global Brand Management Solutions market is expected to reach USD 13.23 billion by the end of 2025.

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Matthews International (MATW) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next two to three years through several key initiatives:

• Strategic Diversification and Expansion into New Markets: Matthews International has strategically diversified its portfolio into promising new markets and established a global platform to compete across various brands, solutions, and markets. The company is making strategic investments within its Industrial Technologies segment to target end markets with significant growth potential.
• Innovation and New Product Development in Industrial Technologies: The company is focused on continuous innovation, particularly within its Industrial Technologies segment. This includes advancing Dry Battery Electrode (DBE) technology, which has garnered significant interest from global markets, and unveiling new printing technologies such as the Axian Inkjet (Xij) Printing Technology.
• Growth within the Memorialization Segment: The Memorialization segment has demonstrated stability and modest revenue increases. This growth has been supported by strategic acquisitions, such as the Dodge acquisition, which contributed to its strong performance in fiscal Q3 2025.
• Leveraging Operational Efficiencies for Strategic Investments: While cost reduction programs are underway, aiming for up to $50 million in annual savings, these efficiencies are expected to free up capital. This capital can then be strategically invested in capital expenditures and inorganic growth opportunities across the businesses, fostering long-term revenue expansion.

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Share Repurchases

• Matthews International repurchased approximately 386,000 shares in the fiscal 2025 third quarter at an average cost of $19.96 per share, with year-to-date repurchases totaling approximately 562,000 shares.
• Approximately 171,000 shares were purchased in the fiscal 2025 first quarter, primarily to cover withholding taxes on equity compensation vesting.
• Since 2014, Matthews International has returned around $490 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

Share Issuance

• The company's Amended and Restated 2019 Director Fee Plan authorizes the issuance or credit to a deferred stock compensation account of 300,000 shares of Class A Common Stock.

Outbound Investments

• In May 2025, Matthews International acquired The Dodge Company for $57 million to expand its Memorialization segment's offerings in the death care industry.
• On May 1, 2025, Matthews contributed its SGK business to a new entity, Propelis, receiving 40% of Propelis' common equity and a $50 million preferred equity investment in Propelis.
• Matthews International completed acquisitions of Olbrich and R+S Automotive in June 2022, for undisclosed amounts.

Capital Expenditures

• Capital expenditures for the nine months ended June 30, 2025, were $26.390 million, a decrease from $33.180 million for the same period in 2024.
• The company's capital expenditures were $61 million in fiscal year 2022, $51 million in 2023, and $45 million in 2024.
• Strategic capital investments have been directed towards the Industrial Technologies segment to target end markets with significant growth potential.