We lease certain warehouses, manufacturing facilities, office space, equipment, and vehicles, primarily through operating lease agreements. We have elected to not recognize leases with a term of 12 months or less in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Instead, we recognize the related lease expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Although the majority of our right-of-use asset and lease liability balances consist of leases with renewal options, these optional periods do not typically impact the lease term as we are not reasonably certain to exercise them. Certain leases also include termination provisions or options to purchase the leased property. Since we are not reasonably certain to exercise these types of options, minimum lease payments do not include any amounts related to these termination or purchase options. Our lease agreements generally do not contain residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants that are material.

We determine if an agreement is or contains a lease at inception by evaluating whether an identified asset exists that we control over the term of the arrangement. A lease commences when the lessor makes the identified asset available for our use. We generally account for lease and non-lease components as a single lease component. Minimum lease payments do not include variable lease payments other than those that depend on an index or rate.

Because the interest rate implicit in the lease cannot be readily determined for the majority of our leases, we utilize our incremental borrowing rate to present value lease payments using information available at the lease commencement date. We consider our credit rating and the current economic environment in determining this collateralized rate. As of April 30, 2026, we have entered into operating lease commitments related to two distribution centers that had not yet commenced. The leases will begin during the first half of 2027, and upon commencement, we expect to recognize a right-of-use asset and lease liability of approximately $45.0 in the Consolidated Balance Sheet.


	Year Ended April 30,
	2026		2025
Operating lease right-of-use assets	$	148.8	$	115.4
Operating lease liabilities:
Current operating lease liabilities	$	30.4	$	37.5
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities	125.3		84.1
Total operating lease liabilities	$	155.7	$	121.6
Finance lease right-of-use assets:
Machinery and equipment	$	25.9	$	25.4
Accumulated depreciation	(16.2)		(13.5)
Total property, plant, and equipment	$	9.7	$	11.9
Finance lease liabilities:
Other current liabilities	$	3.5	$	3.3
Other noncurrent liabilities	6.9		9.2
Total finance lease liabilities	$	10.4	$	12.5

The following table summarizes the components of lease expense.


	Year Ended April 30,
	2026		2025		2024
Operating lease cost	$	47.6	$	46.2	$	49.7
Finance lease cost:
Amortization of right-of-use assets	3.5		3.5		3.4
Interest on lease liabilities	0.6		0.6		0.6
Variable lease cost	22.2		23.2		23.7
Short-term lease cost	40.5		45.2		44.3
Total lease cost (A)	$	114.4	$	118.7	$	121.7

The following table sets forth cash flow and noncash information related to leases.


	Year Ended April 30,
	2026		2025		2024
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities:
Operating cash flows from operating leases	$	46.5	$	64.4	$	49.2
Operating cash flows from finance leases	0.5		0.6		0.5
Financing cash flows from finance leases	3.7		3.4		3.3
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for new lease liabilities:
Operating leases	72.7		10.2		98.4
Finance leases	1.3		4.7		10.9

The following table summarizes the maturity of our lease liabilities by fiscal year.


	April 30, 2026
	Operating Leases		Finance Leases
2027	$	36.7	$	3.8
2028	28.0		3.6
2029	26.4		2.2
2030	26.2		0.9
2031	24.7		0.5
2032 and beyond	39.3		0.3
Total undiscounted minimum lease payments	$	181.3	$	11.3
Less: Imputed interest	25.6		0.9
Lease liabilities	$	155.7	$	10.4

We entered into a lease and financing agreement with the Development Authority of Columbus, Georgia (the “Development Authority”), effective December 1, 2025, in connection with a taxable revenue bond transaction between Hostess Brands, LLC and the Development Authority on December 30, 2025 (the “Bond Transaction”). The Bond Transaction required Hostess Brands, LLC to exchange its property to the taxing jurisdiction for one or more tax-exempt bonds issued in the name of Hostess Brands, LLC not to exceed $120.6. As both the owner of the bonds and the lessee of the project, we are not required to make lease payments as our obligation to pay rent is equal to the Development Authority’s obligation to pay debt service on the bonds. Further, in connection with the Bond Transaction, we received a letter agreement from the Columbus, Georgia Board of Tax Assessors granting tax abatement for certain real and personal property located at our Columbus, Georgia bakery through 2045, subject to certain commitments. We have elected to use the right of offset under FASB ASC 210-20 to net the asset and the liability.

We entered into bond and lease agreements with Clark County, Arkansas, on October 4, 2022. The bond-lease transaction required Hostess Brands, LLC and New HB Acquisition (RE), LLC to exchange its property to the taxing jurisdiction for tax-exempt bonds issued in the name of Hostess Brands, LLC not to exceed $160.0. As both the holder of the bonds and the lessee of the project, we are not required to make lease payments as our obligation to pay rent is equal to the county’s obligation to pay debt service on the bonds. Also, on October 4, 2022, we entered into agreements for payments in lieu of taxes (“PILOT”) with Clark County, Arkansas, whereby the county granted ad valorem tax savings with respect to certain real and personal property in Arkadelphia, Arkansas through September 30, 2052. In accordance with the PILOT agreements, we will owe 35% of the ad valorem taxes on the Arkadelphia, Arkansas property that would have otherwise been due. We have elected to use the right of offset under FASB ASC 210-20 to net the asset and the liability.

The following table sets forth the weighted-average remaining lease term and discount rate.


	Year Ended April 30,
	2026		2025
Weighted-average remaining lease term (in years):
Operating leases	6.1		6.1
Finance leases	3.3		4.0
Weighted-average discount rate:
Operating leases	4.9	%	4.6	%
Finance leases	4.7	%	5.0	%